Misold contract???

[gryffen]

Hi, can you guys help me?

This is a LONG SAGA and ill break it down into small bits.

bought blackberry in CPW on 23march 08 an was told i would get a bottle of champagne free too. (18month contract but i bought insurance)

after 1month later i went down to the Darnley store and the woman who sold me it advised it can take upto 28 working days (4 weeks as they are open 7 days a week) for delivery. (not impressed)

3 months pass...no champagne..numerous calls/emails go unanswered, advised i would recieve a £20 cheque as a good will gesture from customer services.

1st letter sent by mail to the head office and i got a reply saying it was being sent back for the store manager who was meant to be involved in te case from 2 weeks previously according to customer services.

My phone broke down, i went down to the shop with myhusband and she told me the money was being raised asap for the champagne, my phone was also broken so it was away for repair, she said it would be ready by the next day and i would recieve a call letting us know that - she didnt give me courtesy phone tho...so i asked how...she shrugged!!!

I go shopping, check the price of the champagne in question and laugh at the price (£19.99) of the champagen in question...all this 3month hassel fr that cheap plonk!!

I get home about an hour later and find a message on the housephone and she told me there is a bottle of champagne waitng for me. I call up customer services to check something and they say that £20 has been requsted out of the petty cash and after explaining whats happening she agrees that she has justwent out and bought it.

THE BEST PART IS HERE!!!

My phone was bought on 23rd March 08

The offer i was sold under went out of date on the 29th February!!

since we got the call about the champagne 20 mins before closing time we couldnt go and get it, so we waited until next day and were advised that my phone was not ready and it needs sent away to blackberry as they dont fix them...so it could be 28 days without a phone. Also, the champagne was missing! (we still have the recording of the message).

I phoned customer services again when i got home and i told them how furious i was, how disgusting i was treated and they have the nerve to come around and say....so? what do you want us to do about it??

Finnally just over a week ago the store manager called me, told me another story and i politly told him i did not believe him and put he phone down. i called custmer services and they advised that someone called Janette had put a note on the account to raise £31.99 for me and the champagne and that i have agreed with the manager on the phone.

I told him since i had put the phone down i did not agree with him and i did not speak to anyone called Janette and the manager was called Phil.
He advised me that he cant do anything as its on the system and i then demanded to cancel my contract under breach of consumer rights...he told me to go to O2 to cancel, i said they had told me tocome to you....he then verbaly became threatning and told me "i've worked for O2 and this is what will happen to you!".

Im still waiting for any money raised for me and we obviously have had no choice to accept the phone and champagne as they wont cancel as hehas bound my hands with what he has written on he account system.

What can i do??

My 2nd letter is going out today and im now demanding my contract be cancelled free of charge due to the threatning, disgusting treatment from the staff...

I am actually physically and mentally feeling shocked an sickened with their treatment and im needing advice as there actions have bound my hands to complaining as i did not agree to anything with the manager.

Please help!!

*sorry about the bad grammer, im on my old laptop and its a bit crackly!*

[old_andrew2007]

bump

[OrangePrimate]

Unfortunately Blackberry's do have to go back to manufacturer when they are faulty - but if you took it back to the store within 28 days you should have been given a brand new replacment, leaving them to deal with the faulty item.

I dont think you would be able to claim a mis-sold contract because they havent been able to come up with a bottle of bubbly!

There are clauses in soga that state if a product/contract is purchased because of an incentive they have to deliver on that incentive, but from what i can tell, you were told about the bottle of bubbly once you had taken out the contract so it wasnt dependant of why you took that contract

also the fact the offer finished a couple of weeks before you took out your agreement would also have a bearing!

I can understand your frustration in not getting your champagne but if CS are going to credit your account with amount worth more in value than the bubbly, whats the issue! i personally would take the money and be done with it.

as for 'threatening, disgusting' treatment from staff and "I am actually physically and mentally feeling shocked an sickened" ? nobody could comment on that as they were not party to the conversations and your post doesnt detail any of that either, maybe a little over reaction (sorry if that upsets further, but only my opinion!).
but if you feel strongly enough about it, then a letter ref the staff may make you feel better, but free cancellation of contract? think you may be asking for a little too much there!

[gryffen]

Hi Orange

The point of the letter to them was to show how appalling the treatment i received from them was, i didnt put a lot of info into what i wrote as i was warned by them that any negative reports about them are viewed as deflemation and can be looked into.
(and recieved written confirmation of it too)

Now, ive worked in 3 call centres and im now employed for NTL/Virgin Business as a co-ordinator, so im very aware of how they work behind the scenes, but to verbally threaten a customer, constantly lie and deny any wrongdoing when i have evidence to the contrary is completly unacceptable in any manner.

The champagne had to be accepted as they said they would keep the phone another week at most and then it would be disposed off.

Trust me, im not upset but i am seriously disturbed that a company like this can try and get away with this. Ive sent a Subject Access Request to them with a legal letter for access into my account with them so i can see what they have written on the notes...let see how that goes.

I think its the same with anyone who has had a seriously bad experience with a company and that i cant explain how i was treated, but only explain how horrified i was...as for the cancellation of the contract....you dont get if you dont ask...and intend to demand.

As for the contract - the woman sold it to me 1 month clear out of the offer date and it was not live on the system - so i can claim a miss=sell
(thanks to legal aid for that one!)

Will keep you updated and thanks for your input....i dont mean to sound patronising and imsorry if i do....but they crossed the line threatning me over the phone and to date, still no cheque for any money raised.

Kind regards

[buzby]

Mis-selling is used as a description as well as a legal term, but they don't mean the same in every case. The champagne was an offer that you used as the inducement to purchase, the offer had ended and they did not tell you - so because of this they are still liable to you for the equivalent value of a bottle of Champagne - I've seen genuine bottles at £14.99 do £20 was reasonable.

As orange primate notes, none of this is a reason to walk away from the contract. Just because the BB doesn't work and has been returned, there is no requirement for them to provide a loaner, not is there an automatic replacement guaranteed - especially if the fault is deemed to be abuse (water or physical damage). This is where insurance will pay out.

[gryffen]

Hi Buzby

CPW does supply loan phones...very basic but it lets me txt and call when i need - it is subject to stock but i did eventually get one until my phone arrrived back.

As for the champagne...as ive said...its dealt with now...no going back....but im complaining about the service etc of the staff and as a company as a whole.

Surely you guys can at least agree that CPW has a god-awful rep (even with the suppliers of their stock) and im right to complain.

I wouldnt be doing this just over champagne, i got them in deep crap for that already...but the service (or there lack of) was truely appaling and thats what im complaining about.

(as for the phone - it was a system error in the chips...not abuse).

So, as a consumer, do i have a right to complain about the service i did not recieve or am i better just moaning to everyone and anyone and hopefully they will lose a few customers that way?

Oh, just spoke to the customer services manager.....no money for credit has been raised....suspicious but getting looked into. (2 weeks on)

[buzby]

The loan phones scheme is an additional 'service' (not a 'right'!) and from memory they also charge a deposit for it - it doesn't matter that they've got your own one woth 10 times the price.

As for whether I'd purchase from CPW, the answer is I wouldn't, but that's my personal choice. I've been to some stores where the staff and managers have benn truly superb, and others, well... with so many branches, the chances of them all being the same are slim!

[gryffen]

OMG...ok...enough nitpicking here please!

I was only asking a simple question and i seem to be getting nowhere fast with a honest answer.

Please close topic and thanks for the minor help but i feel im getting nowhere with the main question in hand.

[fredbassett]

If you start your query with the words LONG SAGA then you can hardly be asking a simple questions. People on here are trying to offer their help and experience, but if you don't like the answers you are getting that's your problem and not theirs

[buzby]

So the answer wasn't honest?

The question was do you have aright to complain? Yes you do. Will you receive satisfaction from complaining? Most likely not.