Distance selling rules - same for mobiles?

EddScott · 14 Mar 2006 at 13:41

My girlfriend placed an order for a mobile phone on the 5th March. The phone arrived at home on the 9th March.

She thought the deal she entered into was for a tarif equalling £18.50 a month. It turns out that her monthly bill is actually £35 per month and she has to claim the money back at a later date.

She doesn't want to have to jump through these hoops set out by the phone company and just wanted a cheap contract phone.

Its now the 14th March. Is she covered under the distance selling rules with regard to purchases online?

Quite happy to pay the bill and send the phone back (its faulty anyway) but is she stuck with the contract?

thanks

Sanchez · 14 Mar 2006 at 13:45

Yeah you are. A quick Google reveals this. This only states 7 working days though so I should get in contact with them ASAP.

Dolph · 14 Mar 2006 at 13:45

Most networks offer a 14 day moneyback period where you can cancel the contract for any reason, no matter where you purchased it.

The DSA gets a little more complicated, as it's a service that has started...

Which network is it with?

EddScott · 14 Mar 2006 at 15:14

Its T Mobile. She has recently called me to say they are fine with sending it back and are posting some return labels to us.

Having looked at the site she bought it from (Link). It say something like £14.99 for 12 months and underneath it says "Usually £35" and it has 2 asterixs next to it. My GF did try looking for what these 2 asterix were for and I had a brief look myself and couldn't see what they referred too.

I assume once you start the purchase process it points this out to you but as far as I'm concerned it is deliberately missleading. Fortunately they sent a bill to her within a week of receipt hence we have the time to send it back.

Also, the phone was going back anyway. Its a V3x and the backlight for the buttons goes on and off at random and it locks up regularly.

These sites do seem a little sneaky for the unwary. When I got my phone I chose the one that has a PSP included but the website didn't actually state it wouldn't arrive for over a month - it does now though in big red letters. I complained it took too long and they sent me the Giga pack instead of the Value pack.