Carphone Warehouse not honouring contract - advice needed!

Associate
Joined
10 Nov 2005
Posts
650
Location
Unknown
Hi,

So I got my O2 Upgrade sorted with Carphone Warehouse on 19th Nov (delivered on 21st).

The site said Unlimited mins, texts and 5GB data for £32/month for 24 months and a free phone.

Here is the confirmation email:

QuRKQq8l.png.jpg

I phoned O2 this afternoon and I'm getting charged £37 (£32 for tariff and £5 for data bolt-on).

I went to a CPW store tonight to see what can be done. The assistant manager phoned their customer support team, who confirmed there was a "glitch" and claimed that their disclaimer covers online faults.

I was apparently "lucky" that I hadn't gone past the 14 days since taking the contract out as then I wouldn't be able to do anything as the contract (which I didn't agree to by the way), couldn't be broken.

So, I am being offered a refund tomorrow night when I return to the store with the box/charger etc.

My question is, where do I stand with this? Can I push them further to get this deal? Can anyone find this disclaimer about online sales and potential faults?

It's just made worse because they knew the problem yet didn't contact its customers!

Cheers,
Ross.
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Aug 2013
Posts
2,565
CPW instore staff is useless.

bought a PAYG upgrade online, that I wanted to return 2 days later. Phoned CPW CS: sure, return it to store np. So I get to store: dude says: sorry, we can't process PAYG upgrade returns/refunds in store. what?
phoning CPW CS again later that day: store must accept return, if not tell them to ring CS from store.
went to store and suddenly it can be done. utter apes.

but as for OP. I would argue, but it says £37 on their web now, so they might be talking truth, when they say it was a "glitch". On the other hand, T-Mobile had a free SIM Only contract glitch on their web. I was honoured 3 of those. Depends.

btw I noticed it says £37 on the top of your screenshot, even if the price shows £32.

this is what it says now: £32 + £5 5GB Smartphone Data
 
Last edited:
Soldato
Joined
4 Jan 2009
Posts
4,142
The deal isn't even great, you can buy the nexus 5 off contract for £300 then sign up to the one plan on 3 (2,000 minutes, 5,000 Three to Three minutes, all you can eat data and 5,000 texts for £15 per month.
15x24= 360 +300 = 660 vs 768 for the contact you went with.
 
Associate
Joined
20 Dec 2007
Posts
1,319
Location
Nottingham
The deal isn't even great, you can buy the nexus 5 off contract for £300 then sign up to the one plan on 3 (2,000 minutes, 5,000 Three to Three minutes, all you can eat data and 5,000 texts for £15 per month.
15x24= 360 +300 = 660 vs 768 for the contact you went with.

Or looking here: http://phonestore.techradar.com/phones/google/nexus-5

£27 a month with £72 cashback, plus Topcashback for about £540 (tmobile via mobile phones direct)

Actually i didn't see the unlimited minutes, that deal is only 500 mins
 
Last edited:
Associate
OP
Joined
10 Nov 2005
Posts
650
Location
Unknown
Or looking here: http://phonestore.techradar.com/phones/google/nexus-5

£27 a month with £72 cashback, plus Topcashback for about £540 (tmobile via mobile phones direct)

Actually i didn't see the unlimited minutes, that deal is only 500 mins

Good man! I think this'll be the one!

Just off the phone with "High Level Complaints Team" and they will not honour the contract as the glitch was that 5GB bolt-on for £5 was not shown on the site at the time of purchase.

After arguing my point that they did not inform me of this error at all at any stage and that they communicated the £37pcm price to O2, almost behind my back, they would not do anything and will only accept a refund today in-store or tomrrow by courier collection.

This now puts me without a phone for numerous days and a potential bill from O2 as I've already used 750MB of data, where my old contract, which I will be reverted to on a rolling basis, had 500MB.

Apparently they sent an email to me regarding the error, but as always, it was never received. I have requested this email delivered again as well as a formal response in writing to the phone call today.

I think this is terrible customer service and makes me feel trodden upon.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
10 Nov 2005
Posts
650
Location
Unknown
Well, here's the update!

Here's a recording from last Friday when I was interviewed by BBC Radio about my story.

https://audioboo.fm/boos/1858935-mobile-phone-contract-hassle-hear-ross-s-story

Have a listen and then read the below statement which was read out on air today.

Last Friday we brought you Ross McCracken's story about the problems he'd faced with his new mobile phone contract with Carphone Warehouse. At the time, we asked the company for their response but they said they needed time to investigate.

They've come back with a statement.

In it they say they couldn't replace Ross' phone as it fell outside the 14 day refund or exchange period and agreed to pay him £120 as a goodwill gesture to cover additional costs he incurred.

Now I don't know about you, but that is an incredible response to my interview.

I doubt that the 14 day return period even applies in this case as THEY were the ones that messed up.

I have an official letter from the complaints team which states that they will cover all expenses.

I am really thinking of going after fuel costs, phone call costs and time without my phone.

Good will? No, they should have done this in the first place!
 
Caporegime
Joined
9 May 2004
Posts
28,551
Location
Leafy outskirts of London
What did your paperwork say when the phone was delivered? As far as I remember (ex CPW employee) the online transaction wasn't a binding contract, but the paperwork that comes with the phone (which the customer is to review and contact if anything is amiss) is. The onus is on the customer to make sure the paperwork matches what they agreed to, and if not, return for full refund.
 
Soldato
Joined
4 Jul 2011
Posts
4,267
Location
England
Tip for anyone, CPW is one of the worse companies in the world. Just don't even bother with them. They may not mess up very often but when they do they will **** you over.
 
Associate
OP
Joined
10 Nov 2005
Posts
650
Location
Unknown
The paperwork that came with the phone said only about the cost of the phone itself.

It did name the tariff I was on.

37 4G Unlm UnlTx 5GB 24mU

At the time when reviewing this I didn't think anything of the 37 as it wasn't prefixed with a '£' indicating currency. I had an email stating £32pcm so there was no connection between that and a number on the page.
 
Last edited:
Associate
OP
Joined
10 Nov 2005
Posts
650
Location
Unknown
Also, they admitted in store to me that they knew of the pricing error. They said an email had been sent to me. I requested a copy of this email during my initial complaint, but it has never surfaced. To say the onus is on me is fair enough, but to know about a price error and STILL go ahead with completing the upgrade with O2 at a higher price without the customer's consent is quite careless.
 
Back
Top Bottom