I had this experience sent in from a reader regarding Phones4U. Had a read and see if their experience sounds familiar.
I went into Phones4u and purchased the new SonyEricsson W850i from them, which was on the Orange Canary 40 Price Plan.
I was initially told that I would get 600 texts, 600 cross net minutes, 1 magic number to any network, and I was also able to change my price plan after 6months.
But after activating the phone and calling Orange customer services, I was told that I only get 400 texts instead of the 600 originally specified to me, also was told that the magic number was to Orange numbers only instead of been any network as told instore, then to top it off I was told by Orange that I had to wait 9mths to change my tariff!
I was quite upset that I had been given incorrect information to take out a contract with them, and decided to return the phone the next day, as I was advised I was able to cancel the contract within 14 days.
To my surprise I was literally hassled in the store – asking for reasons why I wanted to cancel, in which they were almost adamant I was told the correct information. After arguing with them for almost an hour, they agreed to phone it through to cancel it. I received a receipt to say everything was cancelled and I would only be billed for the 2days plus any calls I had made.
Unfortunately, I received a bill from Orange yesterday for £45, which included line rental from 12th – 14th October, and 15th – 14th November. I phoned Orange to advise them that I had already cancelled the contract with Phones4u last week only to find out that it hasn’t been cancelled with Orange.
So I am still stuck in the contract – Orange advised me to go back to Phones4u to get them to cancel it with them… I don’t understand how this has happened as they have given me a receipt to say that the contract has been cancelled, yet Orange have stated that I am still stuck in the contract with them???
Well I’m going to contact the CEO now to see what he can do as those sales people are just ridiculous!
It’s simply not good enough for Orange to wash their hands of the affair. This reader’s account is with *Orange*. Orange should be HUGELY annoyed that Phones4U caused so much trouble by allegedly dispensing inaccurate information.
The right thing to have happened here is for Orange to have solved the reader’s problems. It wouldn’t be difficult for them to knock up the texts by 200, for example, which would potentially have gone a little way to placating their customer. Obviously they can’t be doing this for everyone who phones up saying ‘wait a minute?’
Orange should also have cancelled the contract and deleted the bills. No questions asked. THEN they should have engaged the customer to say ‘ok, right, what can we do for you directly?’
Instead, they’ve referred the customer back to Phones4U… what a total arse.
And OBVIOUSLY Phones4U aren’t interested in you unless you’re wanting to buy a new contract. There’s no incentive whatsoever for a Phones4U sales person to talk to you about anything other than a new contract 😐
At all these swanky conferences I attend, I keep having to sit through fancy presentations from operators and retailers telling me how good their service levels are and how happy their customers are. And how they’ve done X or Y to really lower churn and so on. I really have to stop myself from yelling, RUBBISH, at the top of my voice. This is a super example of where it’s still not working. 20 odd years on, you think the industry could have sorted it out.
Won’t somebody plesae think about the customer?
To be honest, I’m starting to think that people who buy phones from places like Phones4u deserve what they get, at least to some extent.
If you can’t use the web to inform yourself of what deals are available, then pick up one of the mobile phone magazines and have a flick through. Decide what deal you want then go direct to the operator and get it directly.
I mean, you wouldn’t buy a car on finance from a bloke in the pub (even if he was wearing pinstripe) if you knew the forms he gave you were from the car showroom next door would you?
yes it does make you understand why people like vodafone are pulling out of 3rd party retailers (ok a slightly weird example because they actually want to stay with the culprit of this particular blog). But you get my drift.
I mean, if you were a manufacturer of widgets and you kept getting angry calls and press coverage from people who bought your widget in a retail store and had a terrrible experience, then you would probably think “right that’s it, we are going to stop stocking that particular retailer and sack him as a reseller”.
Well you think you would. But this shoddy model goes on everywhere. Who has been down tottenham court road lately. Researching and buying a PC down there is the most irritating experience I know of. I have cold sweats as I come out of the tube station and walk towards the shops. But I too do a Dan – I decide before I go what I want, then walk in, do the deal and walk out as fast as I possibly can with as little conversation as is neccessary.
However we need to remember that we are all techie-gurus (well nearly 😉 and so have a vague idea what we are looking for. Imagine your parents having to go in to some of these phone or pc shops and having to admit you are completely clueless and can they please help. Suddenly the second hand car dealer in them all appears and screws their customers into the ground.
The term Rip-off Britain is alive and well!!!
steve procter
Steve, these days TCR couldn’t even be called a shadow of it’s former self.
I remember a time (the phrase “Dotcom boom” springs to mind) where we’d visit TCR every weekend and impulse buy all the shiny things, from the latest 3DFX graphics card to a Pro Logic home cinema receiver. When DVD came out it was straight off to TCR to pay 700 quid for a hacked player and a bunch of import discs. And you could play each shop owner off against each other… “that bloke down the road said he’d do it for fifty quid cheaper than that!”
Eventually enough decent online shops sprang up that the prices on TCR didn’t seem so great anymore. People would go to TCR to fondle the gadgets and then go home and order them online for the sake of 20 quid. I’m just as guilty of doing this as everyone else.
I’ve actually been asked in the past to show the guy my money before I’m allowed to fondle the latest gadgets!
Nowadays when I find myself in London I always have a stroll down TCR just on the offchance that it’s regained it’s old magic, but I’m always disappointed… although it is good if you’re impatient like me and don’t mind paying a bit extra to get things NOW.
Oops, got into a bit of a rant there… where were we, oh yes. Phone shops.
With regards to parents, this is where Supermarket MVNOs come into play, a generic “older person” can do their weekly shopping at Tesco and pick up an average quality handset for a reasonable price and know that their deal is with Tesco (even though you and I both know the actual network is O2). Although I have no first-hand experience of buying a phone from Tesco I think the concept is very sound.
ooh sorry Dan, but I just had a cold shiver run down my spine. A mobile phone from Tesco!!! ooh that is just soooooo wrong imho. Tesco’s are great at stacking shelves to the rafters and then emptying them as fast as possible. No customer support needed, you either want a tin of beans or you want a tin of beans.
The moment you want to buy something that you are legally and financially bound to for 12 months and that very often needs ongoing regular technical support, a supermarket is totally the wrong place to be going.
“Could Eileen come to checkout 17 please, customer needs roaming added and help enabling his email access”. oh it really scares me!!!
or one for Justin 😉 “security to checkout 3, we have a dozy customer who has lost his phone. please lockdown the store”.
Now maybe somewhere like John Lewis could do it. They always give 100% service and if they had a team of trianed staff at a counter that you could go to speak to in order to get the famed John Lewis service (before and after the sale), then that would be a winner with the oldies…
steve procter
this may be the wrong place so apologies Ewan, but the above blog reminds me of being in Micro Anvika today (yes I had to do it for emergency purchase of docking station for my shiny new treo 750). A guy next to me at the counter was looking to have a memory disk (as he called it – he wanted a memory stick). So the assistant said “do you want 512MB or 1GB?”. And the guy returned “sorry, what does 512 megabytes mean in english???”.
Isn’t it time us techies, in customer facing situations began speaking in English – and of course I mean in the mobile world as well as that of computers. When techie talks to techie then using jargon is important and efficient. But this poor middle-aged guy just looked blank at the assistant and was made to feel a fool as the assistant began sniggering.
steve procter
Steve, a mobile from Tesco is wrong for us because we know what we want and the best place to get it from.
I disagree with you about customer support from supermarkets, I’m assuming you have the same lack of first hand experience purchasing a phone from a supermarket that I do so we really are talking about the concept rather than any real-world service, but all supermarkets have a dedicated customer service desk who, in a worst case scenario, could act as an interface to some second-line support callcentre and in the larger stores could probably manage with one or two members of staff who have some basic training and can field questions.
The idea of in-store service is great, because you were going into the supermarket anyway it’s not another special trip you have to make.
John Lewis! now you’re talking!… their history is an inspiring read for anyone who has aspirations of starting a business! They treat their staff incredibly well (my Grandmother is a John Lewis retiree) which results in their staff treating their customers with the same respect. I love that all the TVs they sell come with a 5 year warranty while the places they price-match try to harass you into paying through the nose for them!… Imagine if they could offer the same level of service on mobiles in their Waitrose supermarkets!!
As for Micro Anvika, why on earth do they need three identical shops on the same street?! (not to mention the repair centre just off TCR). I’ve often found the Micro Anvika staff to be lacking in technical knowledge and just that little bit rude!, although some of the smaller shops are run by complete sharks so it really is a no-win situation for the average punter… Hmm I wonder if John Lewis sell memory sticks.
I agree about micro anvika, but to me they are the best of the bad!! At least their stores use full 90 watt bulbs so you can see what you are after, unlike the rest of TCR.
The common theme here is clearly customer service. I would pay double for a phone/contract if I knew that I had a dedicated line straight through to a human who had FULL training, not “basic training” and also knows how to talk to fellow humans in a helpful non-techie manner without sounding like a used car salesman who doesn’t even know his product. And it just aint out there.
So if anyone has got a few million to invest then I will open you a phone store (just one for now in central london, we can work on the chain later – in fact we’ll just get Tesco’s to take us in as a franchise throughout their empire) that will demonstrate true customer service both before and after sale. Any takers… 😉
steve procter
Deja vu time – I had exactly the same experience with P4U and Orange several months ago.
I often wonder if customer service is any worse in the mobile industry compared to other service industries? My own experience is mixed.
I’m with 3 at the moment and I have to say that their customer service has been exceptional the past 18 months. The only reason I will probably change networks is to take advantage of T-Mobiles Web’n’Walk.
So…..
I’ve decided on the Vario II, and have been in a T-Mobile store, called a store and called their telesales in the past two days. There I am, a customer with credit card poised and the sales staff can’t even be bothered to ask me for a contact number. Ok so the V II is in short supply, but I can’t figure out the apparent lack of interest.
about micro anvika, im sorry i visit them all the time and i think they have a good knowledge base, and provide the best service, with every staff approaching you, not to get sales but for assistant. yes i mean not for sales. those guys in there are not on commision so it dont bother them. but what i think for you guys is….. get a life, your all just a bunch of geeks, who think you know more about IT. if thats the case, then why dont you just order it online, instead of going into the stores and accusing staff of being rude coz u think you know more. im sorry but give them a break, they might be studying IT and its a part time job, or they studied IT but obviously you geeks think you know more. get a life buy online and leave the poor assistants alone…… you guys are very cold, id love for you to open a business and get the staff and see what people say about your company. all i can say is micro anvika is alot better then pc world, and other IT retailers
@ MA Staff — How do you expect to learn more “IT” if geeks don’t come into your shops to ask you awkward questions or take the piss?
😀
I bought a motorola v3 pink for my girlfriend from phones 4u on 02:01:07. 3months & 3weeks later the phone keypad will not work, so i took it back to my local phones 4u store to ask about the 12 month warranty. Were they told me the phone would have to be sent off for repair, we would have to wait upto 28 days.
I told them i was not happy, about the length of time i have to wait. they told me to borrow another phone from a family member.
I replied that i might aswell buy another phone, if that was the case then i would not want the v3 back.
The CHEEK of the SALES STAFF, as that is exactly what they are. They dont CARE about the inconvenience this is putting my girlfriend through, or the cost of replacing the phone for upto 28 days…
Why would i want to pay-out more money, as i will be charged for the repair of the phone also.
That means 1: the cost of a replacement phone £’s
2: the cost of repair £’s
The Total will be more than the v3 cost in the first place. What a BIG SCAM.!!!
Andrew, the only way you would have to pay anything for the repair would be if the fault was classed as “out of warranty”.
this means that things like mechanical/electrical breakdown are covered but things like sitting/standing on your phone and dropping it in the sink/bath/toilet are not.
As with any business, customers can have a faulty product exchanged if it is returned within 28 days of purchase.
Surely you have an old phone lying around or know someone who can lend you one for a few weeks. Almost everyone in the developed world has an old phone in the kitchen drawer.
Your 1st mistake was buying a V3(the worst phone on the market)
I accept that there are too many P4U sales guys out there who’s customer service leaves a lot to be desired and who will sell you whatever makes them the most money but there’s a good chance that you’ll get fleeced whatever you buy and wherever you go these days unfortunately.
P.S I have brought my old phones in to lend to customers in your situation many times (but to be fair, they never gave me grief and I was happy to lend them my personal phones to help them out).
Returning to the original theme, I have had exactly the same problem with Orange and P4U.
I returned an N95 after three days because it hadn’t been activated. I decided that if customer service was as bad as that at the start of a contract where else could it go other than get worse.
I took the phone back, ignored their pleas and inducements, got a full refund and a receipt.
Now three months on and I’m still getting demands from Orange for three months rental, and now they’re threatening me with adverse credit reports and other dark hints, this is in spite of already writing to them once, phoning them twice, and telephoning the p4u shop and getting a promise from the manager that the contract would be properly cancelled and notified to Orange.
Does anyone in Orange or p4u have a clue?
It looks like it will have to be lawyers letters or the court next.
What a bunch of losers!
Dave, you should not have let this go on for so long. The first question P4u will ask is “why are you coming to us after 3/4 months”?
A phone call to the store manager is not worth the paper it’s written on.
I have (sadly) seen a few similar cases where the root problem is an “I’ll do it later” attitude from managers.
The main thing is-you’ve got a receipt stating that you returned the handset and cancelled the contract within 14 days of purchase.
Your beef here is not with Orange but P4u and you should call the store and ask for the customer service number at head office.
When you call head office, the guy should put you on hold, call the offending store and ask them to explain the situation.
The most likely outcome is that P4u will generate a gesture of goodwill cheque for the value of your contract.
If you’ve already sorted this out- then I’m glad for you.
If not- good luck.
I work for phones4u , and i find it a bit annoying with some of the comments posted here. YES , some of the sales people in the business DO mis-sell, but so do people at the network stores themselves, i myself got ripped off in an O2 store. Ive had the EXACT same thing above with a customer from my store. What happens is the contract shows as returned on our systems and then our head office contact orange to cancel the contract, Orange have had a back-log of cancellations to deal with so some arent getting cancelled until a month later than originally cancelled. The customers are refunded for any direct debits taken.
Its amazing how many of you stereo-type ALL people who work for phones4u just because of a few people who want to give people wrong information. BROADEN YOUR EYES A LITTLE
Just re-reading this whole ‘thread’ for some reason and this made me laugh:
“Your 1st mistake was buying a V3(the worst phone on the market)”
Yep. Your ‘first’ mistake (assuming you made many more?) was actually buying a phone.
If it’s the worst phone on the market why not be advised away from it?
Ah well.
I agree – P4U does get a bad rap. But the experiences speak for themselves.
It should come from the top down – a complete overhaul of Customer Service Training & Re-Training.
I spent a good few years in the service industry and customer happiness comes first… Get that right and the sales figures will follow.
Well said phones4u consultant. They do get a bad rap as do all other mobile phone chains.
some people dont read terms and conditions and then thats the companies fault.
Yes mistakes do happen like this orange issue. The great things is the network always always pass the buck. Orange and 3 are the two worst for doing this and after bad experiences with both companies I would never go back.
On this instanc, get in contact with head office as they do deal with issues on a daily basis. If they cant get the contract cancelled they will pay off hte balance in fulll for you and claim it back from orange at a later date
phones4u (rename jokes on you) sent my 3 month old phone in for repair, promised 7 day turn around after 3 weeks i managed to get through to repair centre, to be told it had just come off enfgineers bench, and beyond economical repair because of liquid damage!! ! not bad seeing as it had never been near liquid, the problem was battery not charging and on off button not workink properly! then they said if i wanted to get a second opinion i would have to pay £17.95 to get my phone back! ( probably now droped in a bucket of water to prove they where right) what a rip off!!! i going to stand outside there stores on a saturday handing out flyers warning people off them!!! lets see how they like that i will lose them money like they stole money off me!!!
Having the same trouble with Phones4u. Liquid damage!! It was no where near any water, but how can you prove it? They have you over a barrel and there is nothing you can do.. it’s terrible. I’ve never had liquid damage with any other phones that were a lot older and more basic than the Motorola K1 that I only had for a few months.
Never will I go to Phones4u again.
I’m disgusted!
I have been asking them for a beyond economical repair report to send to the insurance company (their insurance company), and they still haven’t sent it to me after telling me that they would send it off first class that was two weeks ago.. many phone calls later still haven’t got it!
Steer clear of them, it isn’t worth the hassle.
i work for phones4u, and only stumbled across this forum by accident. right to set the record straight, it is actually orange who are not picking up our emails from head office. we are recieveing hundreds of calls a day from unhappy customers who are being billed for a contract both them and phones4u were aware of being cancelled! it is only orange and 3 we have these problems with, any vodafone or tmobile cancellationsgo through with no problem caused. orange are recieveing a really high volume of disconnections at the moment, and are taking over 30 days to disconnect a handset, although the customer may have cancelled the day after purchasing.
in regards to the MPRC issue i just read about, our qualified engineers wont deem a handset beyond economical repair for nothing. if they can fix it they actually get comission from the manufacturer.
every miss sell does go as a black mark against a store, but i can assure you if you know your job, whether it being selling phones, customer service or anything else, all issues can be ressolved. but due to oranges problem, it has actually cost p4u hundreds of thousands in early termination fees, because ORANGE cant do their job properly, and p4u cant risk their customers recieving a black mark on their credit rating
Phones4U – what a shower.
Sales staff are exactly that wherever you go so the best you can expect is that they will, well, sell you something. Some of course will care more than others, hence there will be exceptions but overall it is the companies responsibility to ensure that problems/complaints are properly addressed by adequately trained and managed staff. The morons running the Phones4U customer relations team are beyond belief and admirably demonstrate the way big retailers treat customers these days – if you can’t baffle them with BS just keep trotting out the same misinformed tripe until the customer gives up in despair and goes away. Not this time fellas. My Sony Ericsson handset packed up within 3 months and after failing to get an exchange or refund I took the phone back to the store. They sent it away to the repairers (MPRC) who said I’d bent the printed circuit board and cracked it. No way Jose. They are now refusing to give the phone back unless I pay £17 and say they will dispose of it in 60 days if I don’t cough up. We have statutory rights that their terms and conditions do not affect and we are entitled to expect any item we buy to be of satisfactory quality. Simply put, it should do what you expect it to do and should last a reasonable time – if it doesn’t, I suggest you sue them as I am. when they realise that to argue through the Courts will cost 50 times what they pay for the handsets they might get the message. Just because the cost of things has come down, there’s no reason why we should be treated like mugs by big companies so please don’t roll over and let them get away with it.
This story re mobiles goes back to Oct.07 when our Vodaphone mast was vandalised. But recently I bought a phone: didn't like it, went to P 4 U, bought a Samsung C300 with an Orange sim card. The shop verified that I would have a perfect signal at my ad. But there was no signal: we're in a blind spot for Orange. Rang them up, was told to bring “the thing” back and a new sim would supplied. As the old Orange sim was out of warranty by about 14 days no refund on pay-as-you-go: £6 lost : no big deal. So paid for a new 02. But the C300 was an Orange Phone and it ain't compatable with an 02 sim card unless you get it “subsidary coded” in which case you lose your guarantee!!! Not told this in the shop when I bought the 02 card!! So, up till now P 4 U are refusing to replace or refund. OK the warrrant had expired for the PHONE by 8 days, but what about the customer? And according to what's on the net as far as P 4 U is concerned, this attitude is obviously nothing new. There's a lot more to this story than I've put here.
This story re mobiles goes back to Oct.07 when our Vodaphone mast was vandalised. But recently I bought a phone: didn't like it, went to P 4 U, bought a Samsung C300 with an Orange sim card. The shop verified that I would have a perfect signal at my ad. But there was no signal: we're in a blind spot for Orange. Rang them up, was told to bring “the thing” back and a new sim would supplied. As the old Orange sim was out of warranty by about 14 days no refund on pay-as-you-go: £6 lost : no big deal. So paid for a new 02. But the C300 was an Orange Phone and it ain't compatable with an 02 sim card unless you get it “subsidary coded” in which case you lose your guarantee!!! Not told this in the shop when I bought the 02 card!! So, up till now P 4 U are refusing to replace or refund. OK the warrrant had expired for the PHONE by 8 days, but what about the customer? And according to what's on the net as far as P 4 U is concerned, this attitude is obviously nothing new. There's a lot more to this story than I've put here.
This story re mobiles goes back to Oct.07 when our Vodaphone mast was vandalised. But recently I bought a phone: didn't like it, went to P 4 U, bought a Samsung C300 with an Orange sim card. The shop verified that I would have a perfect signal at my ad. But there was no signal: we're in a blind spot for Orange. Rang them up, was told to bring “the thing” back and a new sim would supplied. As the old Orange sim was out of warranty by about 14 days no refund on pay-as-you-go: £6 lost : no big deal. So paid for a new 02. But the C300 was an Orange Phone and it ain't compatable with an 02 sim card unless you get it “subsidary coded” in which case you lose your guarantee!!! Not told this in the shop when I bought the 02 card!! So, up till now P 4 U are refusing to replace or refund. OK the warrrant had expired for the PHONE by 8 days, but what about the customer? And according to what's on the net as far as P 4 U is concerned, this attitude is obviously nothing new. There's a lot more to this story than I've put here.