Mobile Phone Xchange - probs?

[chesham]

I've started legal action against the above retailer, in addition to assisting with an investigation with Trading Standards with regards to their conduct and honesty when mobile phones are sent to them for exchange of cash. It would appear that the vast majority of phones (approx 60%) arrive "damaged" and a smaller payment is offered, but refuse to return the phone - instead, a counter offer is made, which has tweaked the interest of a few people, namely Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading, as it would appear that one of their terms and conditions may be deemed as unfair (i.e. the return of the phone if you do not agree with the price) and also the phone may have been sold on prior to your acceptance of the offer, which is (obviously) illegal as they have no right to assume ownership until a contract is formed (i.e. agreement and consideration).

 

I was wondering if anyone else here has or is having problems with this customer? All information greatly received surrounding this retailer who I feel may be preying on those who desperately need some cash and who send their mobile phone off for one price, onlyto get far less money or who will never see that phone again.

 

I really appreciate any info, so thanks in advance!

Edited November 8, 2009 by chesham

[chesham]

This is true, and I could let it go but as a matter of principle, I do believe they are doing wrong, therefore I will continue to fight. CAG is invaluable in providing support, confidence and access to services to those who have been wronged, and those who are in no position to fight but provides the resources, the information and the know how to say enough is enough, I must give up.

[chesham]

Their customer service rates amongst the worst I have ever experienced. It does seem like it's one woman who is only doing it as a favour but she really is not bothered about what she says.

 

I perservered and involved Trading Standards, which resulted in me getting the full amount I was owed and a written apology. I'm now happy to end my involvement with them FOREVER, but will not be using them again ever. Their reviews on various web sites are rubbish, and they are currently 0.84 out of 5 stars.

[chesham]

It doesn't surprise me, they seem to try and take the proverbial when they can.

 

The TS contact I have is for Buckinghamshire, as you need to get in touch with the office in the county where you live.

 

I will PM you with some more details.

[chesham]

Please please please report to Trading Standards (via Consumer Direct if possible) so your case is logged with them - the more complaints they receive, the more likely they are to take action. I was the first person who had complained officially about these people, so the more that do, the more likely, something will happen.

 

The Police will, to be honest, do nothing at the moment, there is no hard evidence of fraud or deception, but TS did say that they could look into the possibility of any crimes which have taken place. But we need to report these cases first before anything happens!!

 

I have a template letter if you want to write to them - please PM me your e-mail address and I will send across to you. As long as you told them that you did not accept the offer before they put it in your bank, they are still in breach of contract with no acceptance of the offer.

[chesham]

Click on my name "Chesham" and then go to the tab which says "contact info" and click on "Send a private message" - you can then send me a private message with your information and I shall respond to you

[chesham]

I too have had issues it's been 34 days now since they recieved my new mobile that i sent to them.

 

I was quoted £67 it was sent by special delivery and arrived the day after i sent.

After what seems to be approx 30 emails to them still nothing back apart from what appear to be standard emails.

 

The brunt of which still keep saying they have never recieved the phone, since then i have given them proof from royal mail it was deliverd.

 

But still i get nothing back from them, their customer service is a joke as it's their attitude toward people.

 

Where do you go when you have this kind of grievance with a company like this????????

 

You need to report this to Consumer Direct, they now have a record set up for this customer, as well as 4 complaints (yours will be the fifth) - if you need a letter to send them, PM me your e-mail address with some details on communciations between you and them and I will send you a template letter to send to the,.

[chesham]

Unfortunately, you may find that the price you are offered is less than originally quoted - possibly only £10-£20 knocked off due to a some damage etc - but you need to wait and see what they offer you.

 

The phones are sent to an external processing centre. MPX use an independant company (probably commision based) to inspect and provide reports on the phone.

 

Wait and see what they say, and if the amount is less than quoted, then please post back as there are a few options.

 

FIRST THOUGH!! Please report the problem to Consumer Direct to get a reference! All the info given to them is passed to Trading Standards, who already have 5 cases for this company and the more who complain, the more interest gets raised for them.

[chesham]

To all who have had problems!!!

 

Please please please contact Consumer Direct and log a complaint. They will help you to resolve it, but more importantly they forward all of the complaints and information to Trading Standards, who WILL look into this, and the more complaints they receive, the more likely it is they will take some action. My problem was resolved thanks to TS, they are on your side. But nothing will ever be done if we don't complain!!

[chesham]

Hmm, I'm afraid there are many people who disagree with you. A common theme here is that the phones are NOT damaged when they are sent and then somehow have damage when they arrive. This seems to happen regardless of how the phone was shipped to it's destination. In my case, I shipped the phone using newspaper, bubble wrap, Air-lok packaging, and then placed in small box. This was then marked fragile and a courier picked the phone up. There was no way the damage described in the e-mail sent when the phone was received could have happened before it was delivered. Yet it took arguments, a phone call to a contact in Trading Standards and 4 letters for an apology to be issued and the amount originally requested to be deposited in my bank. Well, in fact, the first transfer was wrong and the difference then followed.

 

The main issue with MPX is that once the phone is received, you lose all of your rights to ever see that phone again and have to trust a company whose reputation precedes them - in a negative way. Whilst the quotation is not guaranteed, the state in which the phone arrives is questionable.

 

In the end, these practices will be looked at. Removing the rights of a consumer in a transaction to the favour of another is unlawful, regardless of whether you are a nice trader or a incompetent rip-off merchant.

 

Unfortunately, MPX is thought of many people here as the second.

[chesham]

If you have 5 minutes, please can you call Consumer Direct and log the call with them - they will open a case and note that you are dealing with this, but the information will be passed on to Trading Standards to monitor and deal, as have the previous complaints made to them.

[chesham]

I originally started this post this in the hope that search engines would pick up this thread and people would see it!

 

However, if you have had a problem with them, then follow the above steps - get in touch with Consumer Direct, make a complaint and follow it through!! Grrr!

 

Here is a template letter that worked for me and feel free to edit and do whatever needs doing.

 

 

Mobile Phone Exchange

Mountcliff House

154 Brent Street

London

NW4 2DR

Re: Order Number XXXXXX

 

To Whom It May Concern,

 

I write to you with regards to my mobile phone, which was sent to you on [date]

 

Prior to sending my phone, I registered my details with you and requested a freepost envelope to send you my phone. I received a quotation for [£xxx], to which I responded and duly packaged and sent my phone as instructed by Recorded Delivery to you.

 

 

After receiving the phone, I have received an e-mail from you advising that the phone was damaged and that you were offering a reduced price of [£xxx] - EDIT - change this part to suit your circumstances (i.e. reduced price, worthless, it's a fake etc).

 

On receiving this e-mail, I followed your instructions on e-mailing you if I did not agree with the prices, and requested that my phone be sent back to me. I received an e-mail advising that you would not return my phone to me, and that you would consider re-negotiating a price for my phone.

 

However, I rejected this and asked for my phone to be sent back to me. My reasons for requesting this are as follows:

 

 

• The phone was packaged securely in bubble wrap and thick padding to ensure that no damage could be done whilst in transit.
  
• You claim the phone was damaged in transit, therefore I need evidence for Royal Mail for them to investigate this issue, as it was they who packed the phone.
  
• The damage to my phone will not cost the difference of £xxx to repair.
  
• One internet forum suggest that more than 50% of persons who send their phone in receive lower offers due to “damage” to their phones (these details have been sent to the Office of Fair Trading)
  

 

Therefore, I request again that my phone is sent back to me at my home address within 14 days of this letter. No contract has been entered into as I have NOT accepted payment nor have I accepted any other mount which you have offered. Consequently, the phone is still legally my property and I will now take steps to recover it.

 

The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 require a supplier of a service to carry out that service with reasonable care and skill and, unless agreed to the contrary, within a reasonable time and make no more than a reasonable charge. Under this act, any term which seeks to impose terms or conditions which restricts or excludes a consumer’s rights in regards to a supply of goods and/or services may be deemed as reasonable or unfair.

 

You have informed me that under your terms and conditions, I am not entitled to receive my property back. However, as no money has been exchanged and no offer has been accepted, you have no legal right to exclude my right to the request of my property to be returned.

 

Therefore, I would request that if you maintain the phone arrived damaged, you provide evidence that the phone was damaged prior to it’s delivery to the address on the label. I have evidence to show that the phone was in perfect condition prior to it being sent, and that sufficient packaging was used to send the phone to you.

 

At this present time, you are in breach of contract of the service you purported to provide due to this breach, I am not confident that you will execute your responsibilities under contract. Therefore, I now wish for the phone to be returned to me. As previously advised, I am happy to make arrangements and pay for the costs of its return to myself. Should you ignore my rejection and send payment to me, this will be immediately returned to you, but will not negate the 14 days from this letter in which I am requesting my phone to be returned to me.

 

Should this not happen within 14 days, I will have no further choice but to issue legal proceedings for the recovery of my property and other associated costs.

 

Please note that this letter has been drafted following advice from the Office of Fair Trading who has allocated this case a reference number of XXXXXXXXXX.

 

I await your prompt reply.

 

 

Yours Faithfully,

 

 

 

JO BLOGGS

[chesham]

NOTE: Until their offer is accepted, there is no formation of a contract - this includes a cheque received, and formation is not until you have banked it. In the case of bank transfers, there is a grey area as they will argue that the transfer of money indicates the formation of a contract and the transfer of property under a sales contract has been completed - WRONG! Contracts form after consideration (i.e. money has been transferred) AND offer and acceptance completed; they may have offered, but they will not be able to prove that you have accepted AS LONG as you respond to the initial estimate in a negative way.

[chesham]

And the letter which got my result:

 

Mobile Phone Exchange

Mountcliff House

154 Brent Street

London

NW4 2DR

FINAL NOTICE BEFORE LEGAL ACTION

Re: Order Number XXXXXX

 

To Whom It May Concern,

 

I write to you with regards to my previous letter dated [date], a copy of which is enclosed.

 

In this letter, I made it perfectly clear that I was not happy with this situation, and gave you a reasonable amount of time in which to rectify the situation and by which means. You have failed to respond, and have failed to rectify this situation.

 

In order to rectify the situation, I request that you address the following points: [edit where necessary]

 

 

· The mobile phone is to be returned to myself. I will absorb the costs incurred for it to be delivered back to me. If this is not possible, you must explain why the phone cannot be returned.

· Your reason why you have transferred the sum of £XXXX into my bank account/cheque made payable to myself for £XXXX, after I made it perfectly clear in my e-mail to you (which you have acknowledged by reply) that I was not happy with this amount. This amount has now been frozen, and will remain so until this matter is dealt with.

· Should the phone not be returned to myself, then I request that you send the sum of £XXX to me by way of a cheque (made payable to myself) or by BACS transfer (with a remittance advice posted immediately to my home address) for the outstanding amount based on the original quotation.

 

 

I have been left with no other option but to look into seeking legal redress through the courts. This letter hereby gives you notice that, unless this matter is resolved within 10 days, I will instigate legal proceedings without further notice. The cost of this will be added to my claim, in addition to any incidental costs and interest (where appropriate).

 

Yours Faithfully,

 

 

 

JOE BLOGGS

[chesham]

I hope you have all reported them to Consumer Direct? The file must be spilling over by now...

 

Out of interest, I recently sent the same (make and model) phone to Mazuma mobile, and got the money the next day - exactly what was quoted. And they even promise to send it back free if you disagree with their price. Hopefully, someone will read this thread before sending their phone!