Cancelling a contract

neil3k

neil3k

neil3k

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Walked into a shop yesterday and got a new phone contract. Found out the coverage is crap and can't get a signal in my flat. Can i walk back into the shop and cancel my contract and give them the phone back etc ?
 
You may have a cancellation period, if not then go to another provider and they will buy it out for you.

You might not be able to and if thats the case they youll have to pay out the whole contract which wouldnt be worth it obv..

I suggest asking them, checking your small print and then ask another provider to beat it!
 
I know most mobile phone companies stopped their 14 day trial periods but I stopped working with mobiles a few years back so don't know what it's like now.
Did you not check what sort of reception you receive before you got the contract?
 
ICEx21 said:
I know most mobile phone companies stopped their 14 day trial periods but I stopped working with mobiles a few years back so don't know what it's like now.
Did you not check what sort of reception you receive before you got the contract?
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I checked on the website and it said fine for my area. Obviously not the case.
 
It depends on the network and the shop, if you bought it in a high-street store. Some of them may offer a returns period, whereas others don't. You will have to check with the shop.

If bought over the phone or internet there is at least 7 days' period of cancellation for any network and any shop, due to the Distance Selling Regulations.
 
Is there not a "cooling off period" that all mobile phone companies have to adhere to?

I got the whole "this contract cannot be cancelled" thing when I signed up to mine, but I just assumed it was them trying to put me off trying to bring it back.
 
One of the shops tied to the network, or one of the shops that sell phones for all networks? If it's the latter, you may be more successful if you try to switch to a different network, rather than just demanding a refund.

End of the day, though, the simple answer is to check your contract. That will tell you what you can and can't do - much better than us lot trying to second-guess what the outcome will be.
 
All contracts of this nature have a cooling off period, it statutory. If you take the phone back straight away, there's sod all they can do about it.
 
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GarethDW said:
One of the shops tied to the network, or one of the shops that sell phones for all networks? If it's the latter, you may be more successful if you try to switch to a different network, rather than just demanding a refund.

End of the day, though, the simple answer is to check your contract. That will tell you what you can and can't do - much better than us lot trying to second-guess what the outcome will be.
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Well as I said, they pointed out the bit where it said there was no "cooling-off period" - but i'm fairly sure there is one by law.
 
there almost certainly is one, take it back kick up a stink and say coverage is appauling therefore its not fit for purpose anyway.
 
when i worked for virgin mobile sales....it was 28 days you had to return it before you were tied in until the end of the contract....if you wanted to cancel b4 the end of the contract(after 28 days had passed) you would have to pay off the rest of the contract.
 
Just been into the shop and no luck. Say i need to have a note on my account from customer services before they can cancel. Also i apparently don't have a 7 day grace period either. Annoyed now and can't get through to Cs because they are recieving a high volume of calls.
 
mattyfez said:
All contracts of this nature have a cooling off period, it statutory. If you take the phone back straight away, there's sod all they can do about it.
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Sorry but this is just false. If he bought the phone in store then he's not entitled to any refund unless it's faulty or mis-sold.
Even if reception shows good on the website they usually have a disclaimer saying that it's not guaranteed.
However if the consumer bought it from the net then yeah he does have a cancellation period due to the distant selling regulations (think somone mentioned this already).

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/calitem.cgi?file=adv0043-0100.txt
 
neil3k said:
Just been into the shop and no luck. Say i need to have a note on my account from customer services before they can cancel. Also i apparently don't have a 7 day grace period either. Annoyed now and can't get through to Cs because they are recieving a high volume of calls.
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dump the phone on them and cancel the direct debit
 
jonno.co.uk said:
dump the phone on them and cancel the direct debit
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Which is the worst possible thing you can do.
You will be illegally cancelling a contract (by not making payments) and will find yourself in court - does the OP have dreams of mortgages etc in the future?

Advice along these lines is realy not good.
People need to learn the legality of contracts and more importantly read what the hell they are signing!
 
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