Carphone Warehouse Mis Sold Contract

[Guest weegirl]

Hi, I work for a company that was sold a contract by Carhone Warehouse about 8 months ago. We did have a contract with O2, which cost us approx £112 per month plus VAT, and we received a cold call from Carphone Warehouse offering us a cheaper deal with Orange, approx £97 pe rmonth plus VAT. The contract was setup over the phone, and went okay at first.

 

Our bill in month 7 of the contract doubled, and when I contacted Orange, who sends us the bills and they said that the deal was half price for 6 months, and that I would have to deal with Carphone Warehouse as they sold me the contract, which is fair enough. I contacted Carphone Warehouse business sales, and have been messed around ever since. I explained to them that the deal I was promised would be cheaper for 1 year, not 6 months. We are a not for profit business doing charitable work and would most definitely not have taken on a more expensive contract (who the hell would?) The service from CW Business Sales has completely incompentent, between not taking down the correct information, and not returning my calls, this has been going on now 2 months. It seems that the branch that sold me the contract was in Glasgow, and has no dealings with Carphone Warehouse anymore so they cannot track down the telephone call from the representative who made the sale. I sent them a fax of complaint on Tuesday outlining my stance, saying basically that it was not my problem that they could not track down the call, I was mis-sold the contract therefore they were responsible for re-funding my extra cost, and that I would be contacting Ofcom if they did not respond by mid-day Wednesday, and surprise, they ignored it. Ofcom will not deal with anything until a lot of time has lapsed, and we are on the verge of getting our phones cut off. We run minibuses for disabled people and our drivers need phones at all times in case of medical emergencies, please help!

[davethorp]

Only thing I can suggest is dropping an e-mail to Charles Dunstone who owns carphone warehouse explaining your situation.

 

His e-mail address is [email protected] and if you don't get a response from him you will from someone in his executive office.

 

It really isn't a good idea (as you've found) buying any mobile phone from a cold call. It is much better to do your own research, find out what you want and then go into the shop, website or phone call knowing what you want to buy and how much you want to pay.

 

Just thought while typing this, was there any kind of cashback scheme with this contract as that could explain the discrepancy. If so you will need to pay the higher line rental and claim the cashback from CPW at the allotted times

[maximus0983]

It seems that the branch that sold me the contract was in Glasgow, and has no dealings with Carphone Warehouse anymore so they cannot track down the telephone call from the representative who made the sale.

 

As an ex employee of CPW i can safely say that these sorts of things happen. If infact the phone was from CPW then you should have received the standard receipt in the original box (which you would keep for you accounting if you are a charity) and on this receipt there is the surname of the person who processed the sale so you would get who sold it to you ie:: John Smith would be SmithJ on the top right hand corner of the slip. If this fails you can go to any CPW store with your mobile number and they can print out an original of your contract as long as you have your mobile number and a proof of id. with these in hand fire of an email to Charlses office and you will probably get a reply within 24 hours from one of his secretary's.

 

If you need anything else please PM me.

[buzby]

I'm not aware of CW ever offering a half-price deal lasting more than 6 months. If the contract was for 12 months, this would have set alarm bells ringing as no network would offer that level of discount for the entire length of the contract. Is there anything in writing to prove that you were entitled to anything more than the standard 6-month deal?

[Guest weegirl]

There was never anything mentioned of a discount deal in the first place, they sold me the contract by saying that they would beat the O2 contract for the year, the price I was given was the price I believed we would have for the year, I would not have went for any discount schemes anyway, they are usually a rubbish PR ploy. I will try the email address that has been given, and will not be dealing with this company again in any way! I've learnt my lesson. Thanks for the help, and I'll keep you posted if I have any further problems.

[buzby]

Ah - bearing in mind what you said, I've heard this expression before! "Beat your existing contract for the year". The IMPRESSION is that the low monthly price quoted would last for 12 months, whereas, the discount only applies for 6.... BUT, it still beats your existing tariff because of the saving of around £15 per month - almost £100 on the year.

 

I'd forgotten this was a common ploy, unfair in the impression it gives, but in itself wholly accurate!

[Guest weegirl]

I didn't take it as being accurate though as it works out that we have to pay an extra £400 approximately in the year, which we haven't got. I used the quoted figures to apply for my budget from our funder until 2008, and we do not have the extra cash to cover. Surely that cannot be legal? I did explain to the person who sold me the contract that we couldn't go above our budget, and he went on ahead and told me a pack of lies. What a ******.

[buzby]

It's a classic case of you saying and hearing what the other agrees, but the outcome is totally different. If you got him to agree that you had a half-price contract for 12 months, then your tariff would reflect this. But he only promised to 'beat' you existing contract for the year. He could have done this by offering just one month free... and he wouldn't have mis-sold.

 

I think the treasurer would agree it's a shoddy way to work - but at least you are still getting all the benefits and inclusive calls promised, just make sure you use every one of them, and don't incur fees for non-inclusive services.

[Guest weegirl]

I really don't understand how this cannot be mis-selling when he can said he would sign me up for a cheaper deal for the year when it is clearly not cheaper for the year? I informed him of our budgets, and counted up how much we paid yearly with O2, and he agreed that he could beat that total price. When someone offers me a cheaper price for 1 year, then it is for 1 year, not 1 month or 6 months. A discount deal that lasts for 6 months is still not a saving over 1 year, it is a saving over 6 months. Are these people not subject to the same guidelines that insurance companies etc are subject to, to impart information that is not vague and inconsistent? I was blatantly lied to and tricked, and now they cannot trace the call, which I find suspicious in itself.

[buzby]

I really cannot make it plainer - it IS a saving over 1 year. The total cost is discounted only on the 1st 6 months, but this still does not alter the fact that there is a discount over the year of 50% of the full tariff, it just only applies to months 1 through 6. So, if effect with a discount of 50% for those months, would be the equivalent of 25% over 12... you still receive the promised discount averaged 'over the year'.

[Guest weegirl]

It still is not what we were promised though, discounts were not discussed at all setting up this contract, I just give him our total yearly spend at that time and he said that he could do better than that.

[buzby]

How is that different from British Gas or Powergen promising the same and not delivering? Everything hinges on consumption - if you use more, it'll cost more!

[PKea]

To Clarify can you confirm the following figures

a) Original monthly fee

b) Initial CPW monthly Fee

c) New CPW Fee

 

I think what Buzby is trying to say is that

6 x b added to 6 x c will be less than 12 x a

Does that make it clearer, or at least should give you a correct comparison

 

Paul

[Layla_ck]

Yes, but if you both look at what Weegirl is saying, 6b + 6c = MORE than 12a, therefore they mis sold the contract as it is not cheaper than the original 02 contract?

[buzby]

But the cost of the O2 contract was dynamic anyway - the average cost depended on usage not the agreed tariff. Any sales patter would only look at the tariff monthly cost alone, not the 'out of basket' fees that may apply. A comparison could only be based on the standard tariff with no extras.

[Layla_ck]

Yes, that is true, we need line rental figures from Weegirl to be sure.

 

My o/h is having trouble with a car phone warehouse contract also, they really are a bunch of numpties!

[buzby]

You just canot go wrong with Pay As you Go!

[Guest weegirl]

We very rarely use anything other than our allocated minutes, in fact, we don't use anywhere near what we are allowed for free. If we were running up larger bills for using their chargable services,I wouldn't be bitching about it, the problem is with the line rental charges. We were told that the total rental for the phones per month would be £78 plus VAT, very occasionally we would have a driver calling from the ROI, but the extra charges are never more than approx £2 per month, I am not worried about these are these charges would apply to any contract, but it is the rental that doubled to £156 in the 7th month. The figures that I originally discussed with the sales rep were for line rental only, I knew that we would rarely need anything extra.

[PKea]

What does your initial invoice state the line rental as?

Does it says it is a promotional line rental or anything

IT should state what monthly package your on

 

Paul

[Guest weegirl]

It does state the line rental as discounted, but there is absolutely no mention of a temporary promotional rates. As we never received a written contract from Carphone Warehouse, there was nothing to raise suspicions that this discount would not be for the duration of the contract. I do not know the in's and out's of the telecom world, but I was told by the sales person that Carphone Warehouse had the buying power to offer better deals and going to Orange direct would not get us anything cheaper, which is why I didn't question the initial bills further.

 

Another thing that Carphone Warehouse has done is sold the contract to a company employee, not a director. We are a company limited by guarantee, and directors really should be asked for in these situations, but at no time did they do so which seems very lax. With our O2 contract they checked with Company Registry and our bills were sent to our Chairperson. This proved to be a pain as O2 would not discuss the account with staff, and our directors are all unpaid volunteers who don't take any role in the day to day work, so to be honest, we didn't argue that the phones were sent directly to the office but it still isn't the correct procedure. Just shows how little they cared to make the sale. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing?!!

[OrangePrimate]

Hi

I am a little confused!! we dont have tariffs of the amount you mention weegirl!

can i assume from your post that you are on a talkshare? If so, only the lead line rental would increase, the sharer fees remain the same. so the total wont double exactly.

ie. if on £80 lead tariff (half price 1st 6 mnths) with 4 sharers at 17.50 ea = 1st 6mnths charge would be £40 + £70 = £110. per month

2nd half of contract = £80 + £70 = £150 per month.

If you want to PM me with a mobile number I can call you when in work, confirm ID with you and take a look to see what is going on. Like i say, the intro offer will not lead to a direct double up on the bill unless they all on set tariffs, but again your post suggest more phones than is possible for that scenario!

edit - just had a thought, did Carphone mention at all you dropping down a package at mnth 7? that could explain how they expected you to keep at the same monthly rate all way through contract, as lowering price plan would effectively cut price back to the 'offer' price.

[complete]

Orange were offering a half price deal for the first half of the contract on TalkShare Packages.

 

i.e; 6 months half price on a 12 mth contract, 12 months on an 24 month contract.

 

This offer ended a few months ago.

 

I now have a customer whom had been approached by CPW Business last September. They offered 3 lines with a lowish monthly line rental cost.

 

Luckily as i know the Directors mother, she came to me to ask what i thought of the deal. Hidden away in the quotation, and not mentioned in the original sales call, was the fact that she would be entering into a 24 month contract on Orange, and the line rental would double from about £140 per month to £280 per month after 12 months, making this deal very poor. She called CPW Business, and kept being fobbed off.

 

I ended up connecting her 3 phones to Panther 55 on an 18 month contract, which worked out if you account for VAT, No more than it would have with the Talkshare package in the first year and £140 + VAt per month cheaper after that. The customer also gets free calls between the numbers using Magic Number, and more minutes than on the talkshare package.

 

They also received from me,3 phones and 2 installed Bluetooth CarKits.

 

CPW are very selective with the info given out, and you have to look at the small print with a fine tooth comb.

 

I speak to TMobile Loyalty department on a regular basis and they are constantly saying that CPW employees give misleading info.

 

Would like to ask them what there definition of "Unbiased advice" is.

 

When you received your paperwork with your phones you should have included with the paperwork details of the package. You had 7 days to examine the paperwork and if not happy, you could have cancelled the deal. Also only an authorised employee of the company should have been able to agree to the package, but i dont know how it stands if the Directors never checked and have been using the phones/lines for the last 6 months. Need to be more cautious in the future.

[Guest weegirl]

Hi, thanks for the response. The thing is, I didn't get any paperwork outlinining the contract at all, all I got was a 1 page delivery slip telling me what phones were in the box, sim cards and that we were on "Orange Bus 200", but there are definitely no references as to discounts, promotional items etc. No prices at all are mentioned and now I am contacting Carphone Warehouse twice a day but they are refusing to talk to me at all. I am getting no-where, I'm going to send them invoices for the overcharge and see if that gets their attention.

[buzby]

I'm going to send them invoices for the overcharge and see if that gets their attention.

 

As a negotiating ploy, this might be of limited use, as it's not going to be paid (without quoting a Purchase Order) and in any event, would have to have been agreed by CW in advance of you issuing it. Legal action for recovery cannot be done on the back of a spurious invoice (if you see what I mean).

[Guest weegirl]

I've just had an interesting conversation with the Carphone Warehouse Customer Service Manager. I finally managed to get speaking to him after ringing up in a rage and refusing to get off the phone until I got someone. After relaying (again) what had happened, he assured me it was being dealt with, I replied that in all due respect, I had been hearing that for 2 months. He then informed me that "you got the contract you agreed to" I challenged him on this, and he said that “It didn’t specify details in the call recording” when in fact I was informed by Carphone Warehouse previously that they couldn’t trace the call recording! When I challenged him about this fact, he went silent for as he realised he was caught out on a blatant lie. I also questioned him as to why he was trying to tell me what was said in telephone conversations when he wasn’t involved and didn’t know what was said. What a plonker! The fact that I have caught out the Customer Care Manager like that just proves how I have been fobbed off for the past 2 months about this matter. Lets face it, if he can lie, I think this is proof of the general attitude of the staff. I have taken the time of the telephone conversation and will be reporting this to the owner to try and track down.