EE mis-selling contract to OAP

Dorastar

F-i-l just got a new phone from EE in the shop and we think they've fleeced him. Gone from a Samsung to a Google Pixel 7a which he now can't work anything out on. Took about 3 hours in total in the shop  (his old phone was next to dead & they kept ignoring him) He's being charged £42.60 a month for 25GB and basically uses it for calls, texts, Facebook and photos. He got a free cover for it but he hasn't even got a plug for the charger so now he needs to get one & another for the car. Contract is 24 months and it says he doesn't own the phone for the first 6 months. Does he have any way of addressing this or getting out of it (have read up & cos he signed in person it doesn't seem likely) Same phone is £25 on Tesco mobile without the data which he'll never use, they've included insurance & EU data roaming for his 1 trip every few years. He's 80 & not in great health so quite probably already had his last trip abroad. He's also locked out of Whatsapp now & we can't work out how that's happened so still working on it! 

PHK

The problem with you getting the story second hand is that you'll get stuff wrong. So I'd tone down the outrage. It's also a bit odd to compare an actual network with a bare bones service from a supermarket. 

Pixel is Android just like Samsung, so no reason he can't work anything out. It would be good if you could help him see how similar it is. 

You need an appointment at a shop, so that's probably how long he had to wait without an appointment before a free slot came up. 

Phones  haven't had chargers for years as you're expected to use your own charger. They'll have asked him if he had a charger (because they want to sell him one) so he must have said he has one. 

So what you've really got is your suspicion he doesn't need that much data. Plus you think he can't make good decisions. He can always ask them if they'll change his tariff. Hell need to explain he is not in good health. 

If it's the case that he makes poor decisions then you should consider getting lasting Power of Attorney before it's too late. If you leave it until he can't make decisions then a court will have to decide and that's expensive. 

eDicky

Did he ask for advice from anyone, or just go to the shop on his own initiative..?

lyndawilliam

Is it possible to sell a contract phone? Wondering 'can I sell my contract phone EE?

Peppa537

When did he sign the contract as there should be a cooling off period. 
I'm not sure how old his Samsung was but unless very old the charger for that should fit the Pixel. Also as both those makes are Android with a bit of help he should hopefully see his new phone isn't too difficult to use.
My 84yr old fil got his first smart phone and contract last year, asked us for advice first then went into an O2 shop and sorted a contract he was happy with. He's only used his desktop computer to get online before but he soon got the hang of it. 

Peppa537

Damn, just realised the OP was from a month ago 😂 someone has resurrected it with a random question. 

Dorastar

He's got used to it (mostly) waiting to see if we can buy him out of the contract at some point. Went to the shop to ask and the same lady who served him was ridiculously rude to us just for asking about it. Told us it was his fault & if he wasn't happy he shouldn't have signed the contract. I can totally see how he got bamboozled into the purchase if she's that brusque with everyone.

EnPointe

Peppa537 said:

When did he sign the contract as there should be a cooling off period. 
I'm not sure how old his Samsung was but unless very old the charger for that should fit the Pixel. Also as both those makes are Android with a bit of help he should hopefully see his new phone isn't too difficult to use.
My 84yr old fil got his first smart phone and contract last year, asked us for advice first then went into an O2 shop and sorted a contract he was happy with. He's only used his desktop computer to get online before but he soon got the hang of it. 

Samsung   have used USB-C for  charging for  at least 6  or 7  years   ( the  Note 7 when not Kerspolding  and  the S8 were  among the first Samsung phones with  USB -C  and IIRC the A series phones following  S8 /Note 7 were also  USBC)