Ombudsman complaint - Should I accept or reject O2 proposal?

Fernendo321

Hi all

I had to complain about O2 (details of the complaint are below). I need to figure out whether to accept the early offer of £150 or reject and let the ombudsman rule on it.

I suppose the question is what percentage of complaints end up with a lower settlement than was offered at the start. If I had this data I could make a calculated decision.

Does anyone have any data / experience / an educated guess of whether or not 50% or more of referrals get a lower amount than the early offer? Normally I would assume that an early offer is a lowball offer HOWEVER if it saves O2 paying an ombudsman fee there is potentially an incentive to make a good offer at the start at it saves them money.

I know you're unlikely to have hard facts and data but any insight would be appreciated. UKPF is in my opinion full of such smart people and great advise it's an amazing resource. I love surrounding myself with people smarter than me I get to learn so much that way.

The full complaint is below.

Complaint in a nut shell - I ordered 3 phones 1 was delivered but I had to spend 84 minutes on the phone sorting out an issue with sim card cancellation (multiple failed attempts) The other 2 orders had the order process dragged out for an incredible 2 months before being cancelled. I chased it up multiple times and was assured in writing and by email they would be delivered. Eventually the 2 orders were cancelled and the price is now £500 total higher than before so I am at a £500 loss when I reorder.

==Complaint==

I ordered 3 <redacted> phones on <redacted>. 1 was delivered the other 2 weren’t. I called on <redacted> to chase it up and was told that they would be dispatched and I would be contacted if there were any problems.

Issue 1

When the 1st phone arrived I wanted to cancel the sim card deal which I was entitled to do as the phone was paid for in full.

In my attempt to cancel I was passed from department to department. In total I had to make 4 phone calls and speak to multiple agents. The total duration of all the phone calls was 83 minutes. The ordering process was fast and easy but they make it unnecessarily difficult to cancel I should have been able to cancel it with a 5 minute phone call. I wasn't on hold during these calls I was speaking to multiple agents that were unable / unwilling to cancel it I was passed from 1 department to another and then back again. This wasted a huge amount of my time. It seems like it could be a strategy to dissuade customers from cancelling by being as obstructive as possible.

Issue 2

The 2 other orders weren’t delivered. On my first phone call about this I was told they would be dispatched and if they were any problems I would be notified.

Nothing arrived so 1 month after the order <redacted> I rang and was assured that the orders were accepted and the credit check was successful. I was told my orders would be dispatched and arrived within a few days. I also received an email confirmation of this the same day ref <redacted>. I took this verbal and written confirmation as the formation of a binding contract.

It wasn’t until the <redacted> that o2 told me the orders were cancelled. It’s outrageous that they caused made me wait 2 months and 1 week only to cancel the orders despite multiple emails to the contrary.

This breach of contract caused me significant disruption and financial loss. The price I got for the cancelled ordered was £349 each but they are now for sale for the much higher price of £599 so they have caused me a loss of £500 and also caused me a loss of around 2.5 hours of my time trying to get this mess resolved as well as the disruption of having to wait 2 months 1 week for the phones only to then be told the orders were cancelled.

money08

Bird in hand alwasy better then one in bush...old chinese proverb......you should have done a runner at the first sign of issues and cancelled. Another proverb no floggy dead horsees