o2 non refundable deposit

pau1777

GDB2222 said:

pau1777 said:

I would be happy to pay for the service that I have used, Id even be happy to pay for the first months contract. I dont want to get anything for free as it were.
The issue is they are refusing to refund the £300 deposit.
Now I could have taken out the same phone with no deposit but higher monthly bill and they would not have been able to keep anything.
Im just confused about the distance selling regulations, I thought the cooling off period was 14 days. Its within that timeframe.
There is no damage to the phone at all so Im happy that they can examine it.
Im just really confused as I always thought the first 14 days you could change your mind.
Yes I would be looking to swap providers.

Thanks

With a service like mobile communication, you can cool off providing you haven’t started using the service. That’s why, with lots of services like energy, they don’t do the switch over for 14 days. The phone has been used, so it is not new, and they can’t sell it as new.  So, someone has to bear that cost, and the consumer legislation doesn’t protect you to that extent. 

 I don’t know what happens if there’s no deposit. They may well simply say that you have to pay the 18 monthly payments, and whether you use the phone is up to you.

As Lunatic said, you are happy with the phone. So, can you cancel the mobile service and pay a reduced monthly charge? 

O2 told me I couldnt cancel the contract without sending back the phone. Si I was stuck there.
Ive found this page

https://www.o2.co.uk/help/device-and-sim-support/returning-your-device#2

Changed your mind?

If you’ve decided that the device isn’t for you, you can return it to us within 14 days for a refund. If you’d like to exchange it for a different device, just complete the return and place a new order.

• If you’re a new Pay Monthly customer returning your device, we’ll also cancel any Airtime Plan purchased with it 
• If you’re an existing Pay Monthly customer returning your device to cancel an upgrade, your Airtime Plan will remain connected and we’ll return you to your previous tariff. If your previous tariff is no longer available, you’ll need to choose a new one
• We’ll refund any upfront device payments once your return is received and checked. If your airtime account is being cancelled, you’ll need to pay for your Airtime Plan until the cancellation, plus any additional charges incurred on your bill
•  If you’re a Pay As You Go customer, we’ll refund the cost of the device. If you don’t want to keep your sim and number, we’ll also refund any unused credit.

So from reading this they should refund upfront device payments once it has been checked?

Am I reading this correctly

GDB2222

I’m wondering whether you have asked your question on the wrong board. I think you have been given the right answer to your questions taking account  general consumer rights. 

What you need is information about how O2 operate and any specific rights that you may have with mobile phones. O2 have a community forum. There’s a mobile phone forum here, where they’re probably knowledgeable about O2.

And, I agree that the link you posted is very helpful. 

GDB2222

pau1777 said:

GDB2222 said:

pau1777 said:

I would be happy to pay for the service that I have used, Id even be happy to pay for the first months contract. I dont want to get anything for free as it were.
The issue is they are refusing to refund the £300 deposit.
Now I could have taken out the same phone with no deposit but higher monthly bill and they would not have been able to keep anything.
Im just confused about the distance selling regulations, I thought the cooling off period was 14 days. Its within that timeframe.
There is no damage to the phone at all so Im happy that they can examine it.
Im just really confused as I always thought the first 14 days you could change your mind.
Yes I would be looking to swap providers.

Thanks

With a service like mobile communication, you can cool off providing you haven’t started using the service. That’s why, with lots of services like energy, they don’t do the switch over for 14 days. The phone has been used, so it is not new, and they can’t sell it as new.  So, someone has to bear that cost, and the consumer legislation doesn’t protect you to that extent. 

 I don’t know what happens if there’s no deposit. They may well simply say that you have to pay the 18 monthly payments, and whether you use the phone is up to you.

As Lunatic said, you are happy with the phone. So, can you cancel the mobile service and pay a reduced monthly charge? 

O2 told me I couldnt cancel the contract without sending back the phone. Si I was stuck there.
Ive found this page

https://www.o2.co.uk/help/device-and-sim-support/returning-your-device#2

Changed your mind?

If you’ve decided that the device isn’t for you, you can return it to us within 14 days for a refund. If you’d like to exchange it for a different device, just complete the return and place a new order.

• If you’re a new Pay Monthly customer returning your device, we’ll also cancel any Airtime Plan purchased with it 
• If you’re an existing Pay Monthly customer returning your device to cancel an upgrade, your Airtime Plan will remain connected and we’ll return you to your previous tariff. If your previous tariff is no longer available, you’ll need to choose a new one
• We’ll refund any upfront device payments once your return is received and checked. If your airtime account is being cancelled, you’ll need to pay for your Airtime Plan until the cancellation, plus any additional charges incurred on your bill
•  If you’re a Pay As You Go customer, we’ll refund the cost of the device. If you don’t want to keep your sim and number, we’ll also refund any unused credit.

So from reading this they should refund upfront device payments once it has been checked?

Am I reading this correctly

Read the section headed Small Print 

You're allowed to do what's necessary to make sure that what you've received from us is what you thought you were buying, and that it all works as you expected. But no more than that. You'll be responsible for any damage and drop in value as a result of you opening, testing or playing with the product.
 

If you've used it more than was needed to check it, we'll have to deduct an amount from your reimbursement to cover the damage. You'll also be charged for any services you've used. So if you asked us to start providing you with calls, texts and data before the end of your 28-day cancellation period, you'll pay for what you used. These charges will come after the cancellation has been completed.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

pau1777 said:

GDB2222 said:

pau1777 said:

I would be happy to pay for the service that I have used, Id even be happy to pay for the first months contract. I dont want to get anything for free as it were.
The issue is they are refusing to refund the £300 deposit.
Now I could have taken out the same phone with no deposit but higher monthly bill and they would not have been able to keep anything.
Im just confused about the distance selling regulations, I thought the cooling off period was 14 days. Its within that timeframe.
There is no damage to the phone at all so Im happy that they can examine it.
Im just really confused as I always thought the first 14 days you could change your mind.
Yes I would be looking to swap providers.

Thanks

With a service like mobile communication, you can cool off providing you haven’t started using the service. That’s why, with lots of services like energy, they don’t do the switch over for 14 days. The phone has been used, so it is not new, and they can’t sell it as new.  So, someone has to bear that cost, and the consumer legislation doesn’t protect you to that extent. 

 I don’t know what happens if there’s no deposit. They may well simply say that you have to pay the 18 monthly payments, and whether you use the phone is up to you.

As Lunatic said, you are happy with the phone. So, can you cancel the mobile service and pay a reduced monthly charge? 

O2 told me I couldnt cancel the contract without sending back the phone. Si I was stuck there.
Ive found this page

https://www.o2.co.uk/help/device-and-sim-support/returning-your-device#2

Changed your mind?

If you’ve decided that the device isn’t for you, you can return it to us within 14 days for a refund. If you’d like to exchange it for a different device, just complete the return and place a new order.

• If you’re a new Pay Monthly customer returning your device, we’ll also cancel any Airtime Plan purchased with it 
• If you’re an existing Pay Monthly customer returning your device to cancel an upgrade, your Airtime Plan will remain connected and we’ll return you to your previous tariff. If your previous tariff is no longer available, you’ll need to choose a new one
• We’ll refund any upfront device payments once your return is received and checked. If your airtime account is being cancelled, you’ll need to pay for your Airtime Plan until the cancellation, plus any additional charges incurred on your bill
•  If you’re a Pay As You Go customer, we’ll refund the cost of the device. If you don’t want to keep your sim and number, we’ll also refund any unused credit.

So from reading this they should refund upfront device payments once it has been checked?

Am I reading this correctly

Yes you are which is why I wondered if you were being advised incorrectly by CS  

All you can do is return and see what is refunded, if they withhold an exact £300 then you can challenge this based on the above from their site.

If they withhold a different amount and they claim it is for use of the phone and the resulting diminished value pop back and we'll examine the terms closer.

Regarding the monthly service they are only entitled to charge for the service received up until the point of cancellation, so obviously any calls made/data used + the monthly fee on a pro rota basis depending upon the number of days exactly. This part I'm sure they will calculate correctly.  

pau1777

So If Im reading this correctly from the paragraph in bold.
You're allowed to do what's necessary to make sure that what you've received from us is what you thought you were buying, and that it all works as you expected. But no more than that. 

She used it to check the coverage at her home and at her school, its not working as we expected it to do as there is no coverage. Ive checked the coverage checker on o2 it says there are some areas of signal and some areas where there is no signal, so its not working as expected. Its taken 2 days to do this as she needed to go to school.

The phrase used it more than needed and we will deduct an amount to cover damage is something Im not really sure about, if there is no damage then where do we go? Im happy to pay for services used no problem!

Im Im reading this correctly its more about returning an item which they have classed as being damaged from use or indeed misuse. to see if its working correctly.

pau1777

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

pau1777 said:

GDB2222 said:

pau1777 said:

I would be happy to pay for the service that I have used, Id even be happy to pay for the first months contract. I dont want to get anything for free as it were.
The issue is they are refusing to refund the £300 deposit.
Now I could have taken out the same phone with no deposit but higher monthly bill and they would not have been able to keep anything.
Im just confused about the distance selling regulations, I thought the cooling off period was 14 days. Its within that timeframe.
There is no damage to the phone at all so Im happy that they can examine it.
Im just really confused as I always thought the first 14 days you could change your mind.
Yes I would be looking to swap providers.

Thanks

With a service like mobile communication, you can cool off providing you haven’t started using the service. That’s why, with lots of services like energy, they don’t do the switch over for 14 days. The phone has been used, so it is not new, and they can’t sell it as new.  So, someone has to bear that cost, and the consumer legislation doesn’t protect you to that extent. 

 I don’t know what happens if there’s no deposit. They may well simply say that you have to pay the 18 monthly payments, and whether you use the phone is up to you.

As Lunatic said, you are happy with the phone. So, can you cancel the mobile service and pay a reduced monthly charge? 

O2 told me I couldnt cancel the contract without sending back the phone. Si I was stuck there.
Ive found this page

https://www.o2.co.uk/help/device-and-sim-support/returning-your-device#2

Changed your mind?

If you’ve decided that the device isn’t for you, you can return it to us within 14 days for a refund. If you’d like to exchange it for a different device, just complete the return and place a new order.

• If you’re a new Pay Monthly customer returning your device, we’ll also cancel any Airtime Plan purchased with it 
• If you’re an existing Pay Monthly customer returning your device to cancel an upgrade, your Airtime Plan will remain connected and we’ll return you to your previous tariff. If your previous tariff is no longer available, you’ll need to choose a new one
• We’ll refund any upfront device payments once your return is received and checked. If your airtime account is being cancelled, you’ll need to pay for your Airtime Plan until the cancellation, plus any additional charges incurred on your bill
•  If you’re a Pay As You Go customer, we’ll refund the cost of the device. If you don’t want to keep your sim and number, we’ll also refund any unused credit.

So from reading this they should refund upfront device payments once it has been checked?

Am I reading this correctly

Yes you are which is why I wondered if you were being advised incorrectly by CS  

All you can do is return and see what is refunded, if they withhold an exact £300 then you can challenge this based on the above from their site.

If they withhold a different amount and they claim it is for use of the phone and the resulting diminished value pop back and we'll examine the terms closer.

Regarding the monthly service they are only entitled to charge for the service received up until the point of cancellation, so obviously any calls made/data used + the monthly fee on a pro rota basis depending upon the number of days exactly. This part I'm sure they will calculate correctly.  

Thank you that is reassuring!

Grumpy_chap

Duplicate thread 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6581541/o2-non-refundable-deposit#latest

Frozen_up_north

The bottom line is that you need to check coverage with a PAYG SIM before committing to any contract that exceeds 30 days.

The issue appears to be one of poor coverage, as opposed to a faulty phone. So checking with a cheap PAYG would have shown that.

pau1777

Grumpy_chap said:

Duplicate thread 
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6581541/o2-non-refundable-deposit#latest

Thank you! The advice from that forum was to ask here to see if there was specific issues that the mobile phone forum could help with!

pau1777

Frozen_up_north said:

The bottom line is that you need to check coverage with a PAYG SIM before committing to any contract that exceeds 30 days.

The issue appears to be one of poor coverage, as opposed to a faulty phone. So checking with a cheap PAYG would have shown that.

Hi, No I get that, o2 works fine where I live and the phone was a gift.
My issue is should this be covered in the 14 day cooling off period,
She is on three at the minute with her old phone and that has perfect signal so Ill look at them!