The Great Phone Rip Off

[JonCris]

Watched this & was appalled at their greed & total disregard for the consumer

Also Margaret Hodge instead of defending those who pay her wages colluded with the phone companies in their great rip off..........what on earth is this woman doing in public office.........1st the Camden child abuse .............. now this

Channel 4 - News - Dispatches - The Mobile Phone Rip-Off

[5layer]

Mobile phone companies have been up to no good since the begining, they would not have been able to accomplish any of this without higher backing and proverbial loop holes conveniently left in place by the government.

The whole think stinks of a setup.

[5layer]

It’s really quite simple.

Step 1 – come up with a really good product/service that will make millions even billions.

Step 2 – approach the government and tell them how much levies and tax they can make of this product/service if they give you there backing and approval.

Step 3 – mass market your product/service.

Step 4 – sit back and be reassured that you have a winning product/service and that you have higher powers looking out for your and there best interest.

And finally, who suffers out of this enterprising venture??

You’ve guessed it, us, the public in the masses.

I feel better now that I got that of my chest.

[PrettyPaula]

im sorry... but you know something shows like this only show a very few people... a very few things... and often are VERY biased. i understand that anyone who has had their fingers burned by a mobile company will be a little sceptical but ya know something... they arent ALL the same.

it grinds my gears that people think they are.

[lawbunny]

I watched this programme last night (all hail Virgin Replay!) and was laughing my head off! I cannot believe how they actually portrayed everything in this programme! The major points were:

1. Staff will try to sell you a higher contract than you need
2. They will try to talk you into an 18 month contract rather than a 12 month contract
3. Many cashback offers have crashed and burned
4. Often people do not actually realise what plan they are even getting
5. Staff will not tell people about other offers from other networks or lower plans than they one they are pushing to sell
6. Roaming costs are high
7. Text messages cost customers more to send than the actual cost the network incurs

Ok... well... erm, yeah, the mobile phone industry is just that - an industry, a "business" ie there to make a profit! As a response to these claims:

1. Obviously they're going to try to talk you into a higher contract, they want to make a bigger commission and more profit. But it is up to YOU if you want to take it or not! Do your research first! There is TONS of info on the internet - network websites, websites such as this - find out what you want before you go get it rather than just asking one member of staff in one shop!
2. Pretty much the same as above. Remember, they would rather get ANY sale out of you than no sale at all.
3. Ok, this one had a fair point. Mostly. I agree that a lot of cashbacks are dodgy and it is terrible that people lose out on these. However, there are a number of people taking out almost 100% cashbacks - if it looks too good to be true it probably is! Additionally, a lot of people don't even read the T&Cs attached to their cashbacks.
4. There is not really an excuse for this one. If nothing else, I have yet to be in a mobile phone store where there are not posters on teh wall giving details of every tariff available! Yes, some staff may lie, and yes some may just make a small mistake (this is bound to happen when they are trying to remember the details of 20+ tariffs at the same time), but the information is freely available to customers all over the place - posters/leaflets in store, websites, your bills!
5. Well, no... but you wouldn't expect to walk into Curries and have them tell you about a better offer for the same product at another shop two doors down! That would be ridiculour business sense! Its up to the customer to research this stuff on their own.
6. You are using your phone abroad, it costs money. A mobile phone is not an essential whilst you are abroad, there are plenty other ways to call home - calling cards are ALWAYS way cheaper!
7. Again, networks are there to make profits.

Ultimately, all of these points were addressed in the programme, but typically it was skewed to portray the networks as being evil entities for making profits! Again, mobile phone networks are businesses: they are not there to do the public a favour or a service out of the kindness of their hearts, they are there to provide a service which customers can access if they want, but they have to pay for it. Common business practice! People need to remember that mobile phones are a luxury, not an essential! What did we all do 10 years ago before people had mobiles? We survived just like we did for centuries before!

[PrettyPaula]

thankyou law bunny.. you said everything that i thought myself.

networks are not all evil... some of them want to provide the best service possible!

[buzby]

Yup - I thought the programme was biased an unhelpful. As for dorstepping CEOs, this proved nothing - other than to expect them to comment off-the cuff and without any briefing what the problem was. As for people agreeing they had no idea what they signed up for.... I mean whose fault is that then? But no, that wasn't dwelt on.