MSE Phone Finder Deal Invalid

akira181

My old phone broke so I used the MSE Cheap Mobile Finder to find the best deal. The best deal I liked was the Pixel 9 with iD Mobile, £24.99, £99 upfront from CarPhoneWarehouse.

I purchased the phone, CPW took payment, and 10 minutes later, I have an email from CPW saying:

"The order you placed through www.carphonewarehouse.com has been accepted by the iD Mobile network, however not for the chosen handset and tariff combination that you have ordered. The iD Mobile network would be willing at this time to offer you one of their great sim only packages."

So what's the deal? Have CPW/MSE something that's not actually for sale?

oldernonethewiser

The deal is still on the CPW site. 

Could it have been declined after a credit check?

https://www.idmobile.co.uk/help-and-advice/credit-checks-explained

akira181

no, it's a copy and paste of th email in the OP. They says it's been accepted, they just won't sell that handset/tariff combination despite it being clearly advertised.

flaneurs_lobster

Don't think accepting an order means that you have been accepted for the credit deal, just means that the order has enough information to be accepted into id's system. 

PHK

akira181 said:

no, it's a copy and paste of th email in the OP. They says it's been accepted, they just won't sell that handset/tariff combination despite it being clearly advertised.

I think you've misunderstood the email, it's not saying that the offer isn't generally available. It's saying that you don't meet their (id Mobile) criteria for a handset contract. 

As CPW point out on their website, order acceptance doesn't take place until network accepts. 

oldernonethewiser

akira181 said:

no, it's a copy and paste of th email in the OP. They says it's been accepted, they just won't sell that handset/tariff combination despite it being clearly advertised.

They will and they do sell it.  Unfortunately not to you.

akira181

My credit history is perfect so it's not my credit check that's the issue. I've been in full time employment for over 10 years in this job, own my flat outright, been living here for 6 years, and the only debt I currently have is <£800 on a credit card with a £10k limit that I clear every month without fail. If that isn't enough to pass a credit check, I don't know who would be eligible.

I tried getting in touch with ID Mobile but they only have Live Chat and can't/won't help you unless you have an account with them. And you can't get an account unless you have an ID Mobile network number. So utterly useless.

After some calls with CPW, they've told me that it's ID Mobile policy to reject all new customers for a handset deal if they've never been an ID Mobile customer before. They will only offer new customers a SIM Only deal and then may allow you to upgrade 3 months into the 12 month contract.

Talk about moving the goal posts after doing a hard credit check on me. No guarantee that the offer will still be available after 3 months or that the upgrade will even be approved. Should have known something was off when the total cost of the contract (sim and handset) over 24 months is £699 but the handset alone costs £800. Feels like a bait and switch to me.

flaneurs_lobster

Agree, very poor if they have that requirement and don't make it clear at the point of application. 

akira181

it's not stated anywhere on CPW or ID Mobile website. Assuming I went SIM Only, I wouldn't be surprised if ID Mobile move the goal posts again and claim that offer is for "new contracts only" or some other excuse.

I called Vodafone to see if they could match or come close to that offer since I have broadband and a phone contract with them already. They said that deal is unmatchable, the handset costs £750 alone before any airtime, £800 SIM free. He said he doesn't know how ID Mobile can offer that so cheap. My guess is they don't or only a limited amount.

I'd be interested to know if anyone actually got approved for that tariff/handset combination or if the standard is to be rejected and then contacted with alternative "offers" more in line with the market.