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I have a bt mobile contract bought through dialaphone. Part of the deal was £9.99 line rental for the first 3 months then £27 thereafter with cashback having to be claimed at months 6, 9 and 12 to keep the price at £9.99/month. So at the moment £51.03 is due from them for months 4 to 6.
To claim the cashback I had to send them back the first page (name/address/account etc) of my most recent bill before 31st March. At the bottom of the sheet they provided it says:
We will contact you within 10 days to confirm that we have recieved your claim, but if you don't hear back from us, please contact us....
Now the claim was posted on 22nd March, 10 days passed and nothing. Phoned the 0870 number 2nd April and spoke to someone who claimed they didn't recieve the letter and since its now April that they can't do anything. Andrew (who refused to give their last name or let me speak to a manager) ended the call there.
Also of note is that the cashback isn't written into the signed contract, just an sheet with the information on how and when to claim.
I'm not wanting to waste more time and money trying to call their useless staff. Is there anything it would be useful to include in a letter to them, legalities etc?
Many horror stories have appeared on the moneysavingexpert forums, and this company has had it's fair share of those.....
I would suggest doing 2 things;
Firstly, write to your local Trading Standards office to outline your case in the hope they will intervene - this has happened before to some, not to others, but it may well be worth the price of a stamp!
Secondly, you need to let them know, in no uncertain terms, that you are serious about your claim.
I have prepared a letter that you may wish to use, merging some of the text from this site's "Initial Letter" with some I initially used, and of course if any other forum members can offer any other advice you can alter it accordingly. I'm sure that BF or Dave won't mind this bit of cut and paste!
Post this by special delivery (just as you should have posted the cash-back claim!). Then, pretty much the way of reclaiming bank charges, stick to your deadline rigidly. This first one gives 14 days, then next, if necessary, gives a further 14 days, then court action.
I followed a similar proceedure when I took The CarPhoneWarehouse to court for delaying payment in my first cash-back deal. They paid up as soon as I issued that!
Anyway, here it is.....
Your Street
Town
City
Postcode
19 April 2006
Phone Company name
And address
Request for payment of cashback
Dear Sirs,
Account number: (if applicable)
Telephone number:
I am writing to ask you to pay me the cash-back which you have failed to honour.
As per the terms and conditions of the contract I signed with you, as well as the additional literature that relates to this offer, I am entitled to a cash-back payment of £xx once I have supplied you with the relevant airtime bill.
This was posted to you on 22nd March. When I did not receive confirmation of receipt, I telephoned your company on 2nd April. Once again, this is in accordance with your terms and conditions. Your representative’s response to my call was unsatisfactory.
I hope that you will enter into a sincere dialogue with me about this matter and I am writing this letter to you on the assumption that you will prefer to do this than merely respond with standard letters and leaflets.
I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment, which should be made by cheque.
If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. I believe that these targets are more than sufficient for a large company such as yours with dedicated staff and departments.
After that, there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline.
By doing so, you will also be eligible for my court costs.
Opinions given herein are made informally by myself as a lay-person in good faith based on personal experience. For legal advice, you must always consult a registered and insured lawyer.
Hi, I have had a similar experience with e2save - I sent the relevant airtime bill by 1st class recorded delivery and presumed I would receive my cheque in due course, they sent me a letter after the 'expiry date' stating that the bill had been received too late so I then phoned royal mail to ask how it could have taken over 8 days for them to deliver and the reason was that the postcode supplied on my chequeback vouchers was incorrect. I have tried to phone them but their office always seems to be closed and have e-mailed but got no response [grr!] so I think I will write using a similar letter [once I can establish their correct address of course!] Thanks, Arfon
E2Save are part of CarPhoneWarehouse, so if all else fails, send your request to
Group Legal Department
1 Portal Way
London
W3 6RS
Good luck
..
.
Opinions given herein are made informally by myself as a lay-person in good faith based on personal experience. For legal advice, you must always consult a registered and insured lawyer.
Dialaphone - Cashback
number 2nd April and spoke to someone who claimed they didn't recieve the letter and since its now April that they can't do anything. Andrew (who refused to give their last name or let me speak to a manager) ended the call there.
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Re: Dialaphone - Cashback
