Do I have to return it?

FatPuppy

I've just been sent a brand new smart phone (in gold) worth about £600.

The full story is:
- Received a phone call from the sales team from my provider on Monday, I couldn't hear anybody on the call so I hung up, call lasted about 20 seconds.
- 10 minutes later I receive confirmation of my "order", no details of what it is
- 2 minutes later (before I could even log in to see what I had ordered) I get another email that tells me I've decided not to go through with my order (still no details). I assume this is the end of it.
- On Thursday the smartphone is delivered to my house

I did receive delivery information but I was out of the country working Tues-Thursday and didn't check my emails and therefore get a chance to ask my wife (who was on holiday) to reject the delivery.

So my questions are, before I contact them:
1. Do I have to return it?
2. They are welcome to pick it up on a Saturday in a hour or so slot, but given what couriers are like, what happens if this fails to happen, at what point can I say, you had your chance?

I should add that I don't really need the phone but I have what I hope is a reasonable expectation that they should make the effort to rectify the mistake at their own cost as regards collection and my time. I also had a reasonable expectation of their network coverage and customer service but never mind

ChumLee

Keep it and pay the contract or one off payment cost.

HopeAndDriftWood

I believe they have six years to claim the value from you, so in 2020 you can tell them that they had their chance.

Otherwise you can return it to them and ask them to refund your costs, make it available for collection for a reasonable amount of time, or pay for it.

FatPuppy

Interesting idea. As it looks like it was sent by mistake I've not been informed of any changes to my contract cost or length which expires in a year. I could really do with getting out of it early as their network is appalling (but not bad enough to get out of a contract). Maybe I can charge them for my time in dealing with this at the same cost as my contract buyout

societys_child

Oh, another of those, they've made a mistake/ can I keep it threads :j

my questions are, before I contact them:
1. Do I have to return it?

Yes (they should pay the postage)

2. They are welcome to pick it up on a Saturday in a hour or so slot

A one hour time slot on Saturday - you don't think that might be a teeny bit unreasonable?

but given what couriers are like, what happens if this fails to happen, at what point can I say, you had your chance?

As answered above, they have 6 years to chase you for it.

Other well known [STRIKE]excuses[/STRIKE] ways to be awkward we might see in similar threads, include:
I can't take it to the post office because:
/ it's a 25 mile round trip/ my car wont start/ my dogs died/ I can't leave my lodger alone in the house/ it's raining/ it might snow/ any other odd reason you can think of.

I can't leave it with a neighbour because:
/I don't speak to them/ none of them like me/ they might be drug dealers/ they might sell it on ebay (other excuses are available . .)

Then we have the "how much can I make out of this" question
Where's me compunsashun? :rotfl:

tomtontom

Give them a call and let them know their mistake. Find a mutually convenient means of return - a prepaid Royal Mail label, return to their store, or a half day courier time slot. Or perhaps they could collect it from you or your wife at work?

Whilst it was their mistake, the item is not yours to keep and if you do not act reasonably they can ultimately sue you for the value of the item. A one hour time slot on a Saturday is not reasonable.

FatPuppy

Hi All,

Thanks for the comments, I contacted the provider and they were very apologetic. They've asked me to return it to one of their shops and credited my account with £20 as a gesture of goodwill.

It seems I that they've improved their customer service, now if only they could do the same with there network

custardy

FatPuppy wrote: »

Hi All,

Thanks for the comments, I contacted the provider and they were very apologetic. They've asked me to return it to one of their shops and credited my account with £20 as a gesture of goodwill.

It seems I that they've improved their customer service, now if only they could do the same with there network

Yes, maybe their network is flawed. Aren't we all?

Zandoni

This was a salesperson trying to make a bit of commission by conning the OP, it was no mistake.

Good it's sorted now though.

unholyangel

Zandoni wrote: »

This was a salesperson trying to make a bit of commission by conning the OP, it was no mistake.

Good it's sorted now though.

Yep because for as little as a few pence, its well worth risking their job on it.

Or - more likely imo - the customer service agent mistyped another customers number - realised their mistake a few minutes later and then cancelled it thinking that would be the end of it.

We may hear stories about fraud etc which makes us think theres something more sinister afoot, but real life is usually much more mundane. The reason we hear of such stories is because they are out of the ordinary, not because its a likely occurrence.

Zandoni

unholyangel wrote: »

Yep because for as little as a few pence, its well worth risking their job on it.

Or - more likely imo - the customer service agent mistyped another customers number - realised their mistake a few minutes later and then cancelled it thinking that would be the end of it.

We may hear stories about fraud etc which makes us think theres something more sinister afoot, but real life is usually much more mundane. The reason we hear of such stories is because they are out of the ordinary, not because its a likely occurrence.

Of course you are entitled to your opinion and I'll stand by mine. These companies put their phone sales staff under a lot of pressure to sell and they have been known to just send out the phones hoping customers will just accept them.