PAYG Sim - Distance Selling Regulations

Shoog

I purchased a new PAYG sim online. I've now discovered my phone is locked to another network and I can't use it.

I expected to be able to cancel and get a refund but the company (Three Mobile) are being difficult.

The sim was £10 and came with a certain amount of minutes and data.

What are my rights under distance selling regulations?

I phoned Three and the service team are asking me to activate the sim in another phone before they "try" to action a refund. My understanding is that this will constitute usage and end my rights under distance selling. I also don't trust that I will get the full refund if I do that.

Any advice?

unholyangel

Its no longer the distance selling regulations. Its the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

Have you informed them in a durable medium that you'd like to cancel?

Rainbowgirl84

Shoog wrote: »

I purchased a new PAYG sim online. I've now discovered my phone is locked to another network and I can't use it.

I expected to be able to cancel and get a refund but the company (Three Mobile) are being difficult.

The sim was £10 and came with a certain amount of minutes and data.

What are my rights under distance selling regulations?

I phoned Three and the service team are asking me to activate the sim in another phone before they "try" to action a refund. My understanding is that this will constitute usage and end my rights under distance selling. I also don't trust that I will get the full refund if I do that.

Any advice?

Get your phone unlocked or let it go and forget it and sell it on ebay. For £10 it's not worth the hassle.

societys_child

There should be someone on ebay who can unlock it.
Depending on the phone, prices start from ~£1 (or did last time I looked)
I got an unlock code for £2.

Shoog

unholyangel wrote: »

Its no longer the distance selling regulations. Its the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

Have you informed them in a durable medium that you'd like to cancel?

I've only spoken on the phone as that's where their cancellation page directs you.

I've just found a form on another page, but it's to do with cancelling a contract, rather than cancelling a purchase.

By durable medium, do you mean email or letter? I can't find an email address, so my options seem to be to use the form on that page, post a letter or try Resolver.

I realise I could pay to get the phone unlocked but after my experience with Three support I don't want to use them and intend to cancel the other Three contracts we have in the household.

I can get an O2 sim with exactly the same rates and they will unlock it for free after a period of time, so that's my intention. O2 also state clearly on their website they would refund within 14 days in the same situation, not that I will need to exercise that.

dj1471

As you've purchased a service by distance you have the usual right to cancel within 14 days.

If you activate the SIM during the cancellation period you will lose the right to a full refund as the service will have commenced.

Though I wonder... As you've purchased the SIM with credit, does that mean that the SIM comes pre-activated, with no right to cancel? If that's the case 3 need to make that clear before purchase.

Shoog

dj1471 wrote: »

As you've purchased a service by distance you have the usual right to cancel within 14 days.

If you activate the SIM during the cancellation period you will lose the right to a full refund as the service will have commenced.

Though I wonder... As you've purchased the SIM with credit, does that mean that the SIM comes pre-activated, with no right to cancel? If that's the case 3 need to make that clear before purchase.

Thanks - that ties in with my understanding. The sim is not activated according the Three support team. They were unable to do anything to the account because of this - kept saying there was no account in fact, even though I have an account number. When I pointed this out they said there was an account but it wasn't activated, before going on to tell me there was no account again!

I've just gone through the order process again to check information.

store.three.co.uk wrote:

You can return any new and unused device or accessory bought online for an exchange or refund within 14 days of purchase by contacting our returns team on 0333 300 0333. If you change your mind and wish to exchange your Device for a different make or model, a charge will be applied as set out in our Price Guide.

It later includes a link to this:
https://store.three.co.uk/footer/terms_and_conditions

store.three.co.uk wrote:

[FONT=&quot]If you change your mind and want to [/FONT]return or exchange[FONT=&quot] your device, please call us on 0333 300 0330 (standard charges apply) within 14 days from delivery of your new SIM and/or device. If you wish to exchange your device for a different make or model, a charge of £12.99 will apply. If you incur any charges (for example, call charges) during these 14 days you will be charged for those services and for any reduction in value of your device. You must not install “Find My iPhone” on your Apple device during the returns or exchanges period. If you do, and you fail to remove it before returning your device to us, we will reduce your refund or apply a charge to your Three account by an amount of up to £200. See our [/FONT]Returns and Exchange[FONT=&quot] Policy for more details.[/FONT]

So nothing to suggest you cannot cancel.

I might try phoning again on Monday to see if they have a different call centre. I don't know if Twitter is a worthwhile option?

I have found a returns form that can be printed and posted but since I'm only chasing £10, it's not ideal. It's also talking about devices, despite being linked from the sim order page.

IvanOpinion

If the reason is genuinely down to a locked mobile phone then why not just unlock your phone? No need to pay anything just search for your provider and 'unlock phone'. The information was in the providers support pages.

unforeseen

The clue is 'new and unused'

It is now used because you have popped the correct size sim out of the card, put it in a phone and powered it up.

Shoog

IvanOpinion wrote: »

If the reason is genuinely down to a locked mobile phone then why not just unlock your phone? No need to pay anything just search for your provider and 'unlock phone'. The information was in the providers support pages.

The first thing I did was to search for a free unlock for the phone. There are none and in terms of paying for an unlock - this is Money Saving Expert, so if it's within my rights to cancel the purchase and find an alternative then I'll do that rather than paying out extra.

unforeseen wrote: »

The clue is 'new and unused'

It is now used because you have popped the correct size sim out of the card, put it in a phone and powered it up.

What are you quoting there? I could easily return the sim to its original condition, but the I don't think that's relevant here. What I've purchased is surely classed as a service rather than goods? In which case the service has not started, because it hasn't been activated.

[Deleted User]

Shoog wrote: »

The first thing I did was to search for a free unlock for the phone. There are none and in terms of paying for an unlock - this is Money Saving Expert, so if it's within my rights to cancel the purchase and find an alternative then I'll do that rather than paying out extra.

You just call whoever the phone is locked to and they'll send you the unlock code, it's a legal requirement I think.

If you bought the phone from (say) Asda Mobile then you need to call them rather than EE (the network operator).