What a Mess! ****Resolved****

[marianiamh]

Hi everyone

 

Below is an email I sent to the CEO's of phones4u, t-mobile &

Vodafone today! I'm at the end of my tether now, any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

I am writing to you with regard to an issue that has arisen in the past week for me.

*

Last Tuesday (7th August 2012)* I happened to be shopping in the Centre MK in Milton Keynes with my children.

*

I went into Phones4U to enquire about the iPhone 5 release.* I was approached by a very over eager store Manager who told me about all the wonderful things that Phones4U could offer me.

*

Before I knew it, he was telling me all about how he could buy me out of my current contract with T-Mobile. Pay me for my current handset (iPhone4) and save me money in the long run with a better contract through Vodafone with more minutes, data and texts.

*

I was paying T-Mobile £40.00 per month for my contract and this new contract was £41.49 per month.* When I voiced my reservations about this extra £1.49, the manager said that after 6 months I would be free to upgrade to the iPhone5.* So I thought wow what a good deal!

*

*

He told me he could give me £280 cash and told me that this would be enough to pay off my contract with T-Mobile as they would discount the VAT off the 7 months line rental remaining.

*

I am not one that normally is easily led by sales people but I ended up leaving the store with £280 cash to pay off my contract with T-Mobile.* I was told by Charlie (the male who ended up serving me after the manager had lured me in) that I needed to contact T-Mobile and be issued with a PAC code in order for me to transfer my number over.

*

When I got home, I set up the phone and quickly called T-Mobile to cancel my account.* I was informed that I would have to pay £338.00 to cancel my current contract.* I was slightly annoyed that I would have to fork out nearly £50 of my own cash but then thought it wasn’t too much to pay for such a good deal.

*

I then rang Vodafone to give them the PAC code, they informed me that my number would be transferred over by 4pm on the following day.

*

Whilst on the phone, I wanted to confirm the exact date that my Direct Debits would be taken out of the account.* I spoke to a customer service representative with Vodafone who confirmed with me that £15.50 would be debited from my account each month and he could help me change the dates to suit me.* As soon as he said £15.00 I said to him that the amount was wrong and that it should be £41.49.

*

The customer service agent again said no, that it was definitely only a £15.50 tariff that he had put me on.*

*

At that point I read over the paperwork with a fine tooth comb and realised that actually I was put on a £15.00 a month contract through Vodafone and that I would be paying out another Direct Debit to Phones4U every month for £26.49.

*

To say I was disappointed was an understatement.* At no point in the Phones4U store was this explained to me.* It also became apparent that the tariff that he put me on was no way near close to the current tariff I was on with T-Mobile!*

*

*

I immediately rang Phones4U in Milton Keynes and spoke to the manager to tell him that I would be returning the phone in the next 10 minutes and I wanted to cancel the contract.

*

I then made another phone call to the porting team at Vodafone to inform them that I would not be requiring them to transfer my number using the PAC code given.* I was told by the customer representative that it would not be used and that he had cancelled the port.

*

I returned the phone to the Phones4U store and also returned the £280.00 cash and got my handset back.* Even whilst returning the phone, the manager was very persuasive in his sales pitch telling me that he was going to phone head office and get them to pay off my entire contract for the £338.00 and that I could keep the new contract.* I politely declined his offer as I really felt like the trust I had built up earlier in the store was all based on lies.

*

I was not explained about the ‘JUMP’ contract, I was not informed of the 2 direct debits, and I did not watch the ‘JUMP’ video which is apparently mandatory when selling this contract to customers.* I also felt that I was pushed and forced into this contract.* It was so stressful with my two young children that I really feel that he honed in on my vulnerability!

*

Unfortunately my saga does not end there!

*

On Wednesday 8th August, I took my children to London Zoo.* We sat down for a quick break around lunch time and I thought I would give T-Mobile a ring as I was concerned that my request to cancel the PAC transfer would not go through.

*

I spoke to a really helpful member of staff at T-Mobile who unfortunately could not help me as she said I would need to speak to Vodafone.* She transferred me to Vodafone and I spoke to a customer service representative who told me that she could not find anything at all under my name or address so to her that would indicate that the contract was definitely cancelled and therefore would not use the PAC code.* I was pleased and just relieved that it was all over as it had taken up the best part of the whole day on Tuesday.

*

Around 3.30pm I tried to make a phone call to my Father only to my dismay I realised my phone had been disconnected.

*

Here I am in the middle of London Zoo with a 10 year old and a 3 year old with a phone that now is no use to anyone.

*

I luckily have an extra line on my T-Mobile account for my 10 year old daughter (mobile number: 07**********) so I was able to ring T-Mobile customer services.*

*

After nearly an hour on the phone I eventually spoke to a gentleman who worked at PHASE DESK 8 and he assured me that all I needed to do was contact Vodafone and get the PAC code back.* He told me that once I had the PAC code then I could call T-Mobile and they would re-instate my line and this would not cost me anything.

*

I immediately rang Phones4U in Milton Keynes and spoke to someone called Sally and told her that I was not happy at all about any of this and that she needed to contact Vodafone and get the PAC code as I was trying to enjoy a rare family day out with my children and that this phone fiasco had taken up enough of my time!

Sally called me back and explained that she could not get this PAC code as she wasn’t the customer.

*

I informed her that I would be coming to Phones4U first thing on the Thursday morning for her to sort it out whilst I was in the store.

*

On the Thursday morning (9th August) I made my way up to central Milton Keynes yet again and went into Phones4U.* After spending around an hour with Sally, I eventually managed to speak to someone from Vodafone who told me that she would call me back and issue me with a PAC code.

*

I left the store and around an hour later I had a phone call from Vodafone giving me the PAC code.

*

Hooray I thought, at long last!!! Unaware of what was about to unfold, I rang T-Mobile and spoke to the most unsympathetic person I have ever spoken to in my life!* After being on hold for what seemed like an eternity, She informed me that there was nothing she could do, the PAC code was useless as my line had been terminated and it could not be reinstated and to expect a final bill for around £338!!!!

*

I sat in my car with my children and sobbed! This had wasted 3 days of my life at this point!

*

I made my way to the T-Mobile store in central Milton Keynes and spoke to a lovely lady (her name I cannot remember but she was an older lady and could not have been nicer)*

*

I explained the whole situation to her and she calmed me down as I was becoming upset.*

*

She rang customer services and unfortunately she was told the same thing – there was nothing they could do to help me!

*

Eventually I realised that as I still had a contract as such with my daughter’s phone, I could take out an extra line on that contract.* So that is what I did, I took out a new 24 month contract with T-Mobile and I was able to use the PAC code from Vodafone to get my number back.

*

My issue is that now I am facing a bill of £338 from my old line being disconnected!

*

Who is to blame?* Phones4U in my opinion are the people who are ultimately to blame, I was mis-sold a contract that was not explained to me in-depth in the store, criteria was not adhered to when they sold me the contract and me giving Vodafone the PAC code was only following instructions from what I was told to do from the store.

*

On another note it could be Vodafone who are to blame as I was informed on 2 occasions that the PAC code had not been used when clearly it had!

*

I also do think that T-Mobile could have been a bit more lenient and perhaps waived some if not all of the amount considering I have signed up to another 24 month contract with them!

*

Yes I understand that when it comes to customer loyalty, I was going to terminate my contract with T-Mobile but within an hour I realised that all what glitters certainly isn’t gold and realised my mistake which I tried to rectify immediately.

*

I would appreciate it if someone could please look into this as a matter of urgency for me and finally give me some closure on this fiasco.

[Bazooka Boo]

In a nutshell please?

 

Have you entered a contract that you want to get out of?

 

If so who with? Voda? T-mobile?

 

And can you confirm, that all of this correspondence is unrecorded and done over the phone?

[2Grumpy]

to try to summarise:

 

marianiamh was mis-sold a Vodaphone contract by phones-4-u that she cancelled

 

that contract required her to terminate her t-mobile account early at a cost of £338

 

despite having cancelled the contract and vodaphone having reassured her that the pac code wouldn't be used and t-mobile being aware of her position, the pac code was used

 

when marianiamh went to t-mobile, her account had been cancelled and they wanted £338 from her. She ported her number back to t-mobile.

 

So marianiamh has a longer contract than she originally had and a £338 bill for her trouble. She wants to know who is responsible & who should give her her money back.

 

I would say that they are all at fault, but t-mobile are the ones who are profiting from this so I would try contacting t-mobile and remind them that they were aware what was happening & should put the contract back to how it was. I think that phones-4-u/vodaphone are really responsible though

[marianiamh]

Thanks 2Grumpy! That sums it up pretty well! It's just becoming a nightmare! I really hope u get a response from someone!

 

Bazooka all of my correspondence was done over the phone apart from the visits to the phones4u store which were obviously face to face x

[rebel11]

Hi mar

 

Write a Formal Letter of Complaint mark it as such, explain whats happened (Phones -4- U mis-sold you a Vodafone contract, but you had to cancel your T-Mobile contract that would cost you £338. What you want now is Phones - 4 - U to get the T-Mobile contract up and running), how they have let you down and what you want them to do. When you write your letter, try to make it concise.

 

Send it to:-

 

Tim Whiting, Chief Executive

[email protected]

 

If you think Vodafone and T-Mobile have let you down, letters to:-

 

Olaf Swantee, Chief Executive

[email protected]

 

With regards to Vodafone, we have a Rep onsite who can look into Vodafone's fault in this matter.

 

Some tips:- http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1242161/How--write-letter-complaint.html

[marianiamh]

Thanks rebel, i sent this email

To Tim whiting, guy laurence and the MD for t-mobile, I just hope someone somewhere realises that this isn't my

Fault, I have no idea how im going to pay the bill when

It comes in, I'm worried sick.

 

I just think that between the 3 of them, they will just pass the buck and not help

[rebel11]

O.K. lets see what they say.

 

Thanks rebel, i sent this email

To Tim whiting, guy laurence and the MD for t-mobile, I just hope someone somewhere realises that this isn't my

Fault, I have no idea how im going to pay the bill when

It comes in, I'm worried sick.

 

I just think that between the 3 of them, they will just pass the buck and not help

[citizenB]

http://www.which.co.uk/news/2012/08/customers-misled-over-mobile-phone-contracts-293108/?cmp=RSS-NEWS_293108

 

Seems as though these companies have been subject to an undercover exercise by WHICH magazine

[marianiamh]

Thanks citizen - an interesting viewing.

 

My problem isn't really the price increase though.

 

I was mis sold a contract by phones4u,

 

I have received what I assume an automated response from phones4u to which I had to reply with my phone number and suitable time to call even though this was included in my original email!

 

I'm just so frustrated and actually worrying about how I'm going to pay the bill

[Bazooka Boo]

Don't worry about paying anything for the time being, as far as you're concerned this is disputed and until it is sorted out to your satisfaction, no-one will be paid anything.

 

If they ring you and attempt to discuss this over the phone, then tell them that you wish this all to be put in writing.

[2Grumpy]

I'm having a Victor Meldrew moment about this

 

You have been treated appallingly

 

All that you did wrong was to dream of an iphone and believe a salesman who took advantage of that.

 

T-Mobile (aka nothing nowhere in this case) ignored your request to cancel the pac code then fleeced you to return to them. Their response to your letter when you ask them to itemise their losses and justify their demand is going to make interesting reading. Most likely they won't respond directly. Did the person you talked to remind you of Vicky Pollard in "Little Britain" when her computer said no?

 

Some important questions:

• Did you get your new contract from one of their shops or via the phone?
  
• Did they sell you a new phone or a sim-only contract?
  

 

Phones-4-U are a different matter. They saw you coming and mis-sold you a contract that was unsuitable for you, withholding and concealing the full details along the way.

 

Do you still have all of the paperwork? At least one of the documents should be a personal loan agreement (the salesman gave you cash to break your contract and set up a direct debit to repay it. that is an unsecured personal loan. Without loan documentation and a consumer credit licence, Phones-4-U have been very naughty, as well as sharks.

 

 

Vodaphone were the dupes in this. They didn't have your details when you phoned and had no account number to record your cancellation on. I don't think that they could have done any more, except that they deal with the sharks at Phones-4-U. They might assist you in sorting this out to avoid any bad publicity landing on them.

 

In calculating your losses, I would add the cost of the day at the zoo that was ruined by all of this and your time and something for the stress that they have put you under.

 

In your next letters to these wonderful organisations, you should tell them what you want them to do to resolve the situation - i.e. where you had a T-Mobile contract with x months to run.

 

At the moment, TMobile have profited by £338 plus extending your contract by being unhelpful, unimaginative and greedy. You should try to get most from T-Mobile and the remainder from Phones-4-U, but I think that's for another post when we have the answers to the questions above.

 

 

Grumpy

[marianiamh]

2Grumpy - I literally choked on my coffee with laughter reading your vicky pollard comment haha!!

 

All good news for me now!

 

T-Mobile offered to take £130 off the amount

Vodafone have been speaking with t-mobile and they have agreed to pay £208 so it cancels the amount out thank god!

 

I got this news this morning and although I'm still peed off with it all, I ultimately do agree and think that phones4u are sharks!

 

I had no response from them whatsoever and was in the middle of writing another complaint when I had a phone call offering me £190. I took their offer (they don't know that Vodafone and t-mobile have paid the £338)

 

I still complained and said I wasn't very happy but I just managed to sell my old iPhone for £230 so all in all I'm now £420 up!

 

Still doesn't take away the fact of the appalling way I've been treated! I've definately learnt my lesson and will never go through phones4u for anything!

 

I also won't be keeping my customer loyalty with t-mobile at the end of my contract.

 

Thanks for all your responses xxx

[rebel11]

Well Done Marian.

[Bazooka Boo]

Excellent news, well done. Typical phones4u attitude, actually typical moby phone attitude, hence why I only use PAYG.

[citizenB]

Brilliant news, marianh.. perhaps you can take the youngsters back to the Zoo and have a proper stress free visit

[2Grumpy]

Good news - apart from the choking bit

 

I would still be inclined to thank T-Mobile accepting their offer of compensation for their actions, but you still dispute the validity of the £330 bill and require a full breakdown and an explanation of how they believe that they have suffered any loss ...

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi marianiamh,

 

Whilst this matter had become increasingly complicated it's good to see that it's now been concluded.

 

In the event that you require any further assistance from me please let me know.

 

Thanks,

 

Lee

 

Web Relations Team

 

Vodafone UK