Delays and Customer Service Issues with Lebara regarding “Free Amazon voucher” with sim-only contrac

Grapes_growing

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to share my recent experience with Lebara and raise awareness regarding some critical customer service issues and misleading information regarding the free Amazon voucher that comes with their SIM-only contracts. It seems this is a widespread issue, as I’ve seen other posts mentioning similar problems.

Despite finally receiving my Amazon voucher, it was a long, drawn-out process. Without persistent effort on my part, Lebara initially tried to claim I wasn't eligible. Here's a summary of my experience:

The Initial Issue:

I was supposed to receive an Amazon voucher as part of a mobile monthly contract promotion, popular on MSE. This was advertised as being issued after maintaining Lebara service for 180 days. Despite fulfilling all the requirements, the voucher was significantly delayed. Here are the key dates:

• Purchase Date: 21st December 2023
• Validity Period: 180 days
• Cancellation Date: 16th June 2024 (within the validation period)
• Plan Expiry: 19th June 2024

Like many others, I expected to receive the voucher on the 180th day. This was advertised multiple times in emails as:

"Once your purchase has been verified by Lebara, you will receive your gift card within 180 days."

This clearly states the gift card will be received within 180 days. I received this message even on 30th April 2024. The terms and conditions used more obscure language, and I was later told (like many others) that I had to wait another 30 days after the 180 days. At this point, I decided to cancel my contract with Lebara as soon as the 180 days were up to avoid further stress from a misleading company.

On 16th June, I canceled, and my plan expired on 19th June. This meant I was a little over 180 days. When I followed up on 13th July and 16th July (after receiving an email stating I would get my voucher on 15th July), I was told by the complaints team that I was not eligible for the voucher. Someone even tried to insist that I hadn’t made six payments. If I hadn’t been confident in my evidence, it would have been easy to accept their false claims.

My advice: Gather your evidence before you get gaslit!

Fortunately, since I was prepared, I declined their offer of “£27 compensation” and persisted in demanding the £40 Amazon voucher I was promised. On 21st July, I made a formal complaint and had back-and-forth emails with MSE and Lebara, compiling detailed evidence. It was very stressful and time-consuming and definitely not worth a £40 Amazon voucher.

My Complaint:

I had two simple requests:

1. Immediate issuance of the Amazon voucher (now resolved).
2. Compensation for the delay and inconvenience (not resolved).

I finally received my voucher, but after that point, I heard nothing from MSE or Lebara, who had promised to look into this further. It has been over two weeks, and I have chased them up regarding this with still no information regarding the compensation. I ask for compensation based on the following ethical considerations.

Ethical Considerations:

• Transparency and Fairness: Honest communication is crucial. Lebara’s deviation from its promises is concerning and highlights a lack of transparency.
• Customer Trust: Trust is the cornerstone of any business relationship. By not adhering to their terms and conditions, Lebara risks eroding customer trust.
• Compensation for Inconvenience: The delay and subsequent effort spent following up have been significant. It's reasonable to expect compensation for the inconvenience caused.

I urge others who might be facing similar issues to share their experiences. Together, we can advocate for better customer service and ensure companies like Lebara uphold their promises.

If anyone has advice on how to proceed or has faced similar issues, please share. It's important to raise our voices collectively to bring about change.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Your support and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Neil49

It has nothing to do with MSE. They merely show what deals are available at any given time. 

These kind of promotions are typically run via Giftcloud (or similar operations) so I suggest that you identify who was running your particular promotion and contact them for further information. 

fiish

It sounds like they've given you the Amazon voucher that was due to you under the terms of the deal. Since you're no longer a Lebara customer, the business relationship is now over.

While you have suffered a lot of inconvenience and wasted a lot of time chasing this, I don't think it likely they'd be interested in entertaining a claim for further compensation - they owed you £40 in Amazon vouchers, they gave that to you, so it's all settled from their point of view.

You have shared your story, which can help others hopefully avoid a similar experience, and I at least am now having second thoughts about switching to Lebara.

Grapes_growing

Neil49 said:

It has nothing to do with MSE. They merely show what deals are available at any given time. 

These kind of promotions are typically run via Giftcloud (or similar operations) so I suggest that you identify who was running your particular promotion and contact them for further information. 

I contacted Lebara and made a formal complaint as well as Giftcloud and have on going liasons. MSE only got involved on 21st July when I was still not hearing back from both Gift cloud or Lebara. MSE are in touch with me now, but Lebara and Giftcloud have gone radio silence.

Grapes_growing

fiish said:

It sounds like they've given you the Amazon voucher that was due to you under the terms of the deal. Since you're no longer a Lebara customer, the business relationship is now over.

While you have suffered a lot of inconvenience and wasted a lot of time chasing this, I don't think it likely they'd be interested in entertaining a claim for further compensation - they owed you £40 in Amazon vouchers, they gave that to you, so it's all settled from their point of view.

You have shared your story, which can help others hopefully avoid a similar experience, and I at least am now having second thoughts about switching to Lebara.

I’m currently not using a phone so my network is still Lebara, I just don’t pay anything for a phone contract, so technical I’m still on their network. My main aim is to bring more awareness to others. If I had not persisted, I would definitely not have had the voucher. Hopefully if others are more aware of what they may say, it will help others also to persist or, like you, stay away from Lebara completely

Snot

I also had issues getting my £40 voucher, Lebara keep fobbing me off saying they would escalate and the voucher would be send in x days.
I asked MSE to intervene and they were excellent, they keep me updated as they investigated with Lebara and I now have the voucher.

Yes it annoying and it will influence my future choice of providers, but I wouldn’t say it was ‘very stressful’.

mellattimer

I took am having a great deal of hassle getting my £40 Amazon voucher. I have been complaing to Lebara and Giftcloud for months and so I will now ask MSE to help. Lebara customer service is shockingly bad 

PHK

Neil49 said:

It has nothing to do with MSE. They merely show what deals are available at any given time. 

These kind of promotions are typically run via Giftcloud (or similar operations) so I suggest that you identify who was running your particular promotion and contact them for further information. 

Don’t MSE receive an affiliate payment for these deals and promotions?

Incidentally, I found Lebara to have atrocious customer service and I don’t know why MSE recommend them (or Lyca). 

MSE_James

mellattimer said:

I took am having a great deal of hassle getting my £40 Amazon voucher. I have been complaing to Lebara and Giftcloud for months and so I will now ask MSE to help. Lebara customer service is shockingly bad 

Sorry to hear that - please see https://help.moneysavingexpert.com/en/articles/9925591-not-got-your-mse-blagged-broadband-phone-tv-voucher for how to get help from MSE