Mobile insurance Phones4u scam. Years of overpayment....

Smegreg

Hi All,

Hoping someone could help me.....

My mum has been paying Phones4u money for insurance for a mobile phone bought around 7-8 YEARS ago.

Only problem being she got rid of the phone about 6 -7 years ago......

They have continued to take a monthly payment from her for a mobile phone she no longer has!

The company she pays is definately part of the same company so they cant use that as an excuse. It comes up on her statement under a different name though so it appears to be a bank charge.


How can she go about getting her money back.

Surely they knew her contract was cancelled! And surely its wrong to make the payment appear as a bank payment rather than what it really is.....


I am disgusted with them for stealing so much money off her. I would really apreciate any help that anyone can give me.


thanks,

Smegreg. x

ioscorpio

I think you'll find it is a separate ltd company, even though it might be owned by phones4u and therefore 2 separate agreements are drawn up, one for the phone and one for the insurance. How would they know that your mum no longer has that phone, unless she tells them to cancel the policy. Why did she not cancel the insurance when she cancelled the phone contract, or at least cancel the direct debit? Obviously they will keep taking her money, if she has not told them to cancel it. Why has she waited so long to query it?

Most people would not keep a phone for 7-8 years, but it is not up to the company to enquire if she still has the phone and wants to keep insuring it. I doubt she has any chance of getting any money back, but it's always worth complaining to the MD.

MrsJ2008

Also it's cheaper to insure your phone on the house insurance - approx £10 for the year, rather than usual £10 monthly fee from your phone supplier.

devilish_jane

Hi ,i am in a similar situation , i didnt realise that i had two direct debits to mobile phone insurance i thought they were for something else , i would never have asked for or needed insurance. Is there anyway of re claiming it as surely this is mis sold if i knew nothing about it ? is it like the loan insurance scam ?

agsnu

MrsJ2008 wrote: »

Also it's cheaper to insure your phone on the house insurance - approx £10 for the year, rather than usual £10 monthly fee from your phone supplier.

Of course your house insurance may have a larger excess, and it may be financially damaging losing your no claims bonus over a phone. And it may not cover things like unauthorised calls, which some insurance policies do cover.

johnllew

drbeth wrote: »

I recommend to all that they avoid Phones4U as high street crooks.

You're joking; just because you allegedly had a bad experience? I've had exceptional service from P4u and made a lot of money out of them. I'll stick with them, thanks.

ray123

You could try contacting your bank and explaining the situation. I know someone who did this and managed to get part of the money back. The problem with Direct debits is that a company can go on taking the money, at least until you confirm with your bank that it has been cancelled...

paddy_rice

This happened to my girlfriend too. 4 years ago she bought a phone from Phones4U and started a contract with O2. P4U advised her to take out insurance for £8 per month for her phone which she did, with a company called Policy Admin Services (who appear to be a 'sister' company of P4U, or something similar). She signed a contract agreeing to a direct debit. Six months later, she lost her phone while she was out one night, and phoned O2 up who informed her that her phone was not insured! Fortunately she found the phone again - she then thought, well I'd better take out insurance then, and started paying O2 about a fiver a month for their 'gold' insurance. Her phone then got stolen, and she claimed on O2's insurance, got a new phone and had to pay excess of £25. The original policy admin services contract was thus void because the phone was a new, different model. However they continued to take money out every month. My girlfriend feels a bit sheepish because she should have been more vigilant with bank statements, but she has only just realised that PAS are STILL taking money out of her account, 3 years after she got a new phone! She's now cancelled the DD and has informed her bank (HSBC), who are investigating the matter. It's called a 'direct debit indemnity claim'. She's waiting to see what happens.

Just goes to show you should always make sure you know what's coming out of your account... I think it's a bit shady of P4U to 'recommend' this insurance (they made her pay 3 months' worth up front too), as most phone companies offer their own insurance, in O2's case it was cheaper too. Obviously service providers and phone retailers operate independently of one another when it comes to things like this, otherwise my girlfriend would've been able to claim on insurance when she first lost her phone. It's confusing and not good for the customer!

Paddy

Scousebird_2

If they have used the word 'recommend' then that's against the law. Shame on them! Hope your GF gets every penny back!

Scousebird_2

johnllew wrote: »

You're joking; just because you allegedly had a bad experience? I've had exceptional service from P4u and made a lot of money out of them. I'll stick with them, thanks.

Probably because you have done well out of their cashback deals-you should see how much gross profit they make out of you for each contract. You like their sales gimmicks and you are their ideal customer because you make them money so to close their deals they will give you anything within reason. But if the OP's GF has been (mis)sold a policy then surely that is wrong?? And it is probable that the OP's GF didn't recieve a key facts document which is mandatory under FSA requirements.

An insurance is supposed to protect you from certain perils and events that cause the insured party to suffer a loss. Kind of defeats the object when you come to claim that Policy Admin Services (part of P4U group) reject the claim.

O2 Insure are very good and I have claimed off them recently. No hassle and I had a new handset within 3 days. I know of people who have waited up to 28 days without a phone before PAS have taken any action. Quite poor in my opinion. Plus recent media exposure has confirmed the actions of some salespeople on the high street (in the mobile phone industry)-not selling products in the right manner.

NOT GOOD!!