CarphoneWareHouse no refunds policy

[Kitiara]

Hi All,

On Saturday 24th July I took out a new contract on Vodafone on one of their "half price line rental deals" and a Nokia 610 phone, great deal I thought at the time! On getting the phone home we discovered that the bluetooth wouldn't work, that the Zune download would only let us drag and drop pictures, not music and the camera would turn itself on when you pressed the Home button (its not set up to do that!).

We returned the phone to CPW on Sunday 22nd July and asked as we had lost faith in the Nokia 610, could we cancel that contact and take out a more expensive one (£8 a month more) and swap the phone to a Nokia 800, they refused stating that it was CPW policy that on Vodaphone contracts there was a "no refund or cancellation policy" (had we gone with O2 etc we could have done so with no problem!) and that their policy overrides the usual 7 day right to cancel policy. We had to settle for a replacement Nokia 610 which when we got home was exactly the same as the first one - same problems exactly (bad batch maybe?)

We spoke to Vodafone directly who although THEY couldn't cancel the policy as it was taken out at a 3rd party store, did say that under the circumstances they should cancel the contract, especially in view of the fact that we want to take out another more expensive one and to return to the store and demand (politely) that they cancel said contract. If they still refuse, Vodafone actually said to call OFCOM whilst stood in the shop!

My query is ... what would be the best way to go about arguing our case, is there anything we can quote to them, and how do we stand legally, do we actually have the right to cancel or does a store policy override the right to the 7 day refund policy? We are planning to return to the store after work today.

Any assistance greattfully received.

Thanks,

Kitiara

[astraldream]

Re: CarphoneWareHouse no refunds policy

After having worked for these jokers (all be it a long time ago) ringing the customer care line gets you further, the manager has guidelines they have to adhere to but Customer Care can override these. Explain you were never told the policy and how both phones have been faulty and all you want to do is have a different handset and are willing to go on a different tarriff. They should leave notes on the system that allows the manager to override the store policies.

[Kitiara]

Re: CarphoneWareHouse no refunds policy

Thank you so much for your help, will ring them now and update with the result tomorrow

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: CarphoneWareHouse no refunds policy

Hi there,

I would suggest as above ringing the customer care line, and advising them that under you statuatory rights, you are allowed to exchange faulty good, or cancel an agreement with a provider, for up to 28 days. When you called Vodaphone, did they say why they cannot cancel your contract? It is a 14 day cease and a simple enough proceedure.

I suggest you all up the care line and advise you require an IMMEDIATE disconnection in line with their 14 day cease policy due to *use this exact words* Faulty equiptment in line with their no quibble policy. Also make they aware that Vodaphone are aware of your reasons to cancel and you wish to take out a direct contract with Vodaphone.

Before you take out a handset it is best to check with GSM arena (www.gsmarena.com) for a totally impartial review on the handset.

[Kitiara]

Re: CarphoneWareHouse no refunds policy

** SUCCESS**

Thank you for your help in this.

I did as you recommended and spoke to customer services who actually were not that helpful, other than to keep stating that it was CPW policy etc, and even though this was the 2nd phone we had been given that was faulty, all they would do was offer to replace it yet again, or as a "goodwill gesture" we could exchange it for a different handset, the ones they offered were of a far less quality and value than the 610 and would have been reconditioned not new, so we refused.

We went back to the store and spoke to the manager, I asked him to speak to HIS customer services to see if there was a way to resolve the issue and he said there was no point as it was CPW policy NOT to issue refunds or cancellations, when I told him that they had offered to exchange the phone for a different model, he said "I highly doubt that, and if they did, that the person I was speaking to was mistaken and that they should not have made the offer as it was against their policy to offer ANY sort of exchange etc." My partner then said that as this was the 2nd phone that "wasn't fit for purpose" we were within our rights to ask for the cancellation, at this point the manager told us that he didnt believe there was anything wrong with the phone and that we were just "looking for a way out of the contract" or a free upgrade ( we had already told him previously that we would be taking out another contract immediately this one was cancelled and for a greater value). My partner then asked him to try to connect his phone via bluetooth to the Nokia 610, the manager tried 3 times and all 3 failed, he then agreed there was a problem and called customer services (he moved away from us to do this so I have no idea what was said) he then disapeared into the back of the shop, and came out with a cancellation notice, almost threw it at us and walked away.

We walked 100 yards down the road to the Vodafone store and took out another contract with a different phone and the service could not have been more different, the staff were helpful and courteous and my faith in High Street phone stores has been restored.

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: CarphoneWareHouse no refunds policy

Nice going!

They do not like being proved wrong at all, but perseverance pays off!

A little handy hint, atm there is a satisfaction war going on with mobile phone companies, started by 02, they are all aiming for Very Satisfied. As a go between, CPW aren't as bothered, but if you have a good experience and really want to thank the individual/ operator/store, when asked about service say Very Satisfied. It's the proverbial golden goose.

[TUTTSI]

Re: CarphoneWareHouse no refunds policy

I had an incident at work whereCarphone warehouse was taking money from our bank account whichj I did not know what it was for. It turned out to be for insurance on a phone which someone left the company 10 years earlier, because I did not know whose phone it was for they were unable to help me - I eventually got back 9 years worth of insurance premiums which with the help of our legal advisors helped me to recover it was a good £2k.

It went up to the CEO's office evenually and we did get paid back. You have to be very persistent they are a nightmare company to get anywhere with.

[bluebottle]

Re: CarphoneWareHouse no refunds policy

Tell me about it, Tuttsi. Their Talk Talk division is terrible. Their Customer Services staff lie to you and so does their Executive Level Complaints team. I had one of their Executive Level Complaints Team shouting down the phone at me because I caught him and Customer Services telling lies about the UCTA 1977 and UTCR 1999. They were trying to kid me that I wasn't entitled to a refund or to cancel the contract because they charged for a service they had not provided. Their favourite is "We can only credit your account," which is a blatant lie. Even Trading Standards told them to cut it out. They even tried to tell OTELO, the Telecoms Ombudsman, what to do. Eventually, Talk Talk did relent, paid back what they had taken and were not entitled to take and cancelled the contract without penalty. OFCOM, I know, are not happy with the way Talk Talk treats its customers and, to my mind, licensing of telecoms providers has to be introduced, regardless of what EU rules say. The sanction of withdrawal of licence would keep the likes of CPW in line.

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: CarphoneWareHouse no refunds policy

When I worked for 02, the problems we had.

They retain a percentage of the accounts for their own billing systems, systems 02 cannot see, and when the customer calls to disconnect, they gave out the main 02 number.. of course we would have to deal with the fall out when we said that we couldnt access their account.

Or they would put free bolt-ons as charged.. that sort of bloody nightmare, the only real positive is, if you break your phone and aren't insured you can pop in, but the cheapest available handset and pop your SIM card in.. all their phones are unlocked.

[Kitiara]

Re: CarphoneWareHouse no refunds policy

** Another update**

Ok .... 4 phones in 5 days - not good!

The new phone (Nokia Lumia 800) from Vodafone didn't work properly either, we had to take the new phone back to Vodafone (not the store we purchased it from) on Wednesday as the MMS and bluetooth wouldn't work, expecting them to press a few buttons and download a few thingywotsits and it all work .... NO there was a fault on the MMS, but apparently blue tooth on many "smart phones" will only connect with accessories i.e. car kits and hands free head sets (so be warned if your thinking of purchasing one!) The store failed to explain this to us, if they had we would have gone for something different so asked if we could again cancel the contract .. They couldn't as we didn't have the box with us (we had only called in while we were passing on the off chance that is was something simple) We had to return the following day with the box and accessories and they did cancel the contract but I think they cancelled their manners too ... the assistant remembered us from the day before (admittedly my partner was a tad vocal in his disgust at not being told something quite pertinant when choosing a phone - the blue tooth issue) he very begrudgingly cancelled the contract, having never made eye contact with me and there were no "please and thank you's", even when he had completed the cancellation and I thanked him he just walked away. We went to another store and took out yet another contract (3rd one in 5 days!). My fella is now the proud owner of a Samsung S3 and fingers crossed no problems and it does what it says on the tin.

I'm just waiting to see how much I am going to be charged when the bills come in for the first 2 contracts - should be interesting as we never made a call etc ... can see another battle looming when they try to charge me for a service that didn't work properly - all I can say is "bring it on" :tinysmile_hmm_t2: