Carphone Warehouse false advertising?

Maloismycat

I'm new to this so sorry if I've broken any etiquette :-)


In 2015 I upgraded my phone with Carphone Warehouse. I looked on their website, chose the phone and contract I wanted, went into their store and ordered the phone (with a 'free' PS4). I chose the Sony Xperia M2 as it had everything that I needed. One of the things their site said it was, was 4G compatible and as I live in Southampton I knew that I would be able to access the network.


It became apparent that I could not access the 4G network so after following a few self help sites (turn off then on and carry out a reset etc) I went into an O2 store to complain I could not access their 4G network. They gave me a replacement sim card and told me to reset the phone again and sent me on my way. This didn't work. I then spent between July 2015 and Feb 2016 in discussions with O2 about the phone. finally in Feb 2016 they confirmed that my particular model of M2 (the D2305) was not 4G compatible and suggested I went back to where I had got the phone from and complain to them.


I spoke to Carphone and they advised me that because it was passed their 30 day returns period they could do nothing about my issue and sent me on my way. I have since been speaking to their complaints department online. They have offered me a replacement 4G compatible phone and a £33 cheque (one month line rental) but have not offered anything as recompense for the fact that they mis sold me the phone contract. I have asked for either a full refund and for carphone to pay the early redemption fee to O2 so I can start a new contract with a 4G phone or for them to just pay the early redemption fee. They have said they will do neither as they only advertised the phones capabilities based on what the manufacturers had told them.


To me this means they are saying it doesn't matter what they say online about a phone and can say anything they want about a phones capabilities.


I believe they have mis sold me a contract. They have referred me to trading standards. I am happy to talk to trading standards but I don't want to waste my time. Should I accept their offer or should I hold out for a full refund for a mis sold contract?


I have links available to the carphone website showing that they say it is 4G ready and also have a link to the Sony whitepaper showing that my phone is not compatible but as a new poster I can't put them on here :-(

Thanks in advance for any advise or help.

jessw640

I don't have any advice regarding trading standards but I would be wanting to follow up with that if I were you. From what you have described it is false advertising. Make sure you have screenshots of the advert not just links!

cookie365

I don't understand why you want to cancel the O2 contract if they've now offered you a replacement 4g phone.

The big question is whether £33 is adequate compensation for the months when you only got 3g.

Did O2 offer an equivalent 3g contract to the one you're on? If so, what was the difference per month?

diamonds

The old discontinued Sale of Goods Act applies for the time period, contact TS or Citizens Advice.

forgotmyname

As mentioned if they give you a brand new 4G model then your in the same situation you should have been at the start.

You have not been able to get 4G speeds for 7 ish? months, but would you have used the 4G speed anyway?

The contract is another issue, you dont seem to have any issues with the contract, just the handset.

How much would it have been for a 3G only plan? I know Vodafone offered the 4G for nothing extra.

I found the 4G to be so patchy it was mostly on 3G anyway.

I think you need to look into how much less you would have paid for the 7 months on a 3G plan, and how much you think not having 3G cost you in real terms.

I dont see why they will cancel the contract which is not the issue.

Maloismycat

Thank you for the reply.

Carphone are saying that I paid no extra for a 4G contract as all o2 contracts are 4G anyway. They are missing the point that I chose the particular phone because it was allegedly 4G enabled and didn't cost too much a month.

I don't particularly want the contract cancelled. As you have said I do not have an issue with o2 just carphone warehouse. They were unwilling to offer any recompense for the time where I didn't have access to the network so gave them the two options I thought were reasonable (and hoped they would then offer a phone and some form of cash back). £33 in my eyes is not enough but they are not budging.

I guess I'm looking for confirmation from the masses as to whether I should accept their offer or push for more.

Thank you again:D

Tony5101

Take what they've offered you and move on. Life's too short.
Have you actually been inconvenienced by the lack of 4g - doubtful
Have you used all the services that you contract gives you - probably
Take the new phone and the cheque.
IMO the only way you're going to get anything more is buying going down the small claims route, which is going to cost you more time and stress, and the outcome might still not be to your satisfaction.

macman

Describing a 3G phone as 4G is clearly mis-selling, and the retailer cannot hide behind the excuse that the manufacturer mis-described it in error, as the contract that the OP has is with the retailer, not the manufacturer.