OT: Complaints procedure

[Mike]

How do i go about resolving my problem?

Two months ago i had to buy a new contract phone due to overseas working commitments, in order to relay calls/ messages to and from the uk office. I made everything clear to the salesman at carphone warehouse, eg the phone had to be international roaming.

In order for me to keep my original number i had to get the PAC code from my previous network and transfer across to my contract network, which would take no more than 5 days, which i sorted out before leaving the uk two months ago.

Two months later, my phone still isn't receiving phone calls, or incoming outgoing text messages, i cant ring up the service help as it costs over here, however i did have a few days home 4 weeks ago to which i spent over 5 hours on hold trying to sort out why i could not use my phone etc, to no avail,

This resulting in two extortionate phone bills, to which i've only made half a dozen calls on ( as it was meant mainly for receiving calls) I cant justify paying the total of these bills considering the fact that i cannot receive phone calls or in/out going texts, basically my phone only dials out.

I am due to arrive home in the UK within the next few days, any ideas on how i should approach this situation, as i have spent many hours on hold, being passed from department to department, which i am really p155ed with now.

Any/ All constructive comments are very much welcomed.

Thanks and apologies for the long post!

Mike

 

[Bill]

If noone on here knows, you could try the citizens advice bureau? Sure they help with stuff like that

 

[carrsy]

if you wish to complain to organisations such as these generally the best method is to ask to be put through to sales rather than complaints (always more operators on sales - not surprisingly) then ask to be transferred to a person - not a queue!!

 

[Gary F]

S. 13 and 13 (1A) Sale of Goods Act 1979 as ammended 1994 - there is an implied condition in contracts for the sale of goods that the goods will correspond with their description.

i.e. if the salesman said it would work internationally then it should, if it doesn't then they have breached the contract which entitles you too a full refund. Also you can sue for damages as well, i.e. the cost of the phone calls as long as they are directly related to the breach.

However proving this will be the hardest problem, unless the salesman put his statement in writing or the advert says it works internationally then they will just deny it. If that is the case see what Trading Standards can do, they may warn them but you won't get anything back.

Hope I helped

Gaz

 

[Mike]

You are right in what you are saying Gaz, that is indeed true if the salesman mis-sold you phone, with the exception that you couldnt terminate the contract. you could still get damages though.
However from my understanding of the problems you are having, it sounds like there is an actual fault with your phone, be it incorrect settings or a hardware/software fault. This however is not the salesmans fault and is unfortunately one of these things that can happen.
I myself actually work for Phones 4 U and am studying business law at university, so im not talking out of my arse.
Unfortunately as you are now outside the 14 return policy and the 30 day exchange policy, then your only real option is to take the phone back to where you bought it from. They will then more than likely send it away for repair. If this problem is deemed to be a manufacturing fault then it will either br replaced or fixed free of charge. However if they deem the fault to have come about through mis-use then you will be obliged to pay for the repairs or a replacement, unless you insured the phone that is.

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[Gary F]

The Sale of Goods Act sections are implied conditions of all consumer to business contracts, the remedy for breach of any condition of this contract is to repudiate the contract and/or claim damages.

Terms of the contract such as delivery times etc. are known as warranties (not to be mixed up with maufacturer warranties) of the contract, these are of less importance than conditions, therefore the only remedy for a breach of a warranty is damages, the contract can not be rescinded.

For any conditions implied by law i.e. s. 13 above, the remedy is to end the contract and/or claim for damages.

Also if the phone actually has a fault then again you can rescind the contract and/or claim damages as s.14 (off the top of my head) says the goods must be of satisfactory quality, another implied condition.

This is taken from the Citizens Advice Bureau and shows the above in laymens terms:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_world/consumer_affairs/problems_with_goods.htm#Howtodealwithaproblemwithgoods


What are your legal rights when you buy goods


When you buy goods (including goods supplied as part of a service), the law gives you certain rights as a consumer. The law says that the goods must:-


be of satisfactory quality. This means that the goods should be of the quality that a reasonable person would expect given the description, price and any other relevant circumstances. You can take into account the appearance and finish of the goods, and whether there are any defects (including minor ones). You can also take into account whether publicized information about specific features of the goods is accurate, and whether the goods are safe when used properly

be fit for the purpose. This means that you must be able to use them for the purposes that you would normally expect from this type of product
match their description. This means that if there is a verbal or written description of the goods, it must be accurate. And if you choose goods after seeing a sample, your goods must match the sample.


As a consumer, you have the right to return the goods and get your money back if they are not of satisfactory quality, are not fit for their purpose, or do not match their description. Alternatively, you may have the right to compensation. You may have the right to ask the trader to repair or replace the goods, to get some of your money back, or to cancel the contract you made when you bought the goods. If the trader offers you a credit note, you do not have to accept it (see under heading Additional rights).



Therefore you do not have to accept anything from the Carphone Warehouse or any phone firm at all. Do not settle for a repair if you don't want to, nor a credit voucher, you are entitled to end the contract and get a full refund.

The satisfactory quality condition also does not end once you use it either. If you pay £300 for a phone, or sign up for a 12 month contract you expect the phone itself to work for a reasonable time i.e. a year or more at least, therefore if you have any problems during this time you can end the contract and get a full refund under s.14.

Hope I have helped, don't let them get 1 over on you, remember the consumer is always right, lol.

Gaz

And I do contract law as part of my LLB Law Degree at Uni.

 

[Mike]

Cheers all for the responses, having just landed back in sunny ol' UK, i'll just clarify a few things which i may have missed out.

1) The Salesman gave my the number to ring to arrange international roaming with my network, as it does not work internationally as standard, to which i did pretty much the second i bought the phone, which i recall should have taken 3-5 working days to go through the system,

Though this is not where i think the problem lies, I think it is to do with the PAC code i gave ( in order to retain my old number on the new sim card) which has somehow gone awol, which should have only taken 5-10 working dayd to enable my phone to receive/dial etc as my old number.

Hope this makes sense

Mike

 

[Anonymous]

Can I just ask if by any chance this is O2?

 

[mike]

BT-Mobile

 

[Alasdair-Mac]

Isnt BT the same thing as 02 now? My dads company had the same thing with their people in nepal...appalling customer service, unable to get through to anyone and nothing ever getting sorted...not what you expect really with a monthly bill of £6500!! I hope you can get it sorted, What I would do is ask to speak to a supervisor at the call centre and then threaten them with legal action if satisfactory service was not given to you immediately..If you have kept a note of times and dates where you have called them that'll help too.

Ali.

 

[Anonymous]

sorry but u should be on vodafone. mate called up once cos he got a £120 phone bill to ask if he can do 2 payments. this is the reply he got.

ur contract runs out next month. so heres wat we will do. ill swap u over to single point vodafone u get the latest mobile (at time of the samsung e710) 250 mins and 350 texts free per month for the same price. (dunno wat his was before but wasnt this good) so he took the deal at the end he went so wil u take 2 payments and the guy went ill let u have last months and the next 30 days untill contract runs out for FREE. jammy git.

any back on track :s

give them a ring and explain it isnt the tariff u asked for. ect complain as u do untill they put it right. most compnays will reduce the bill and sort it out for u if not then take legal action. u got anyway to prove wat u asked for?

Smee

 

[Alasdair-Mac]

Another way is to refuse payment until they sort it out as they havent upheld their part of the contract...then just watch em squirm as they try to sort it out as quickly as possible!