Chris-B Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Hi all, Don’t want to bore you with all the details but to cut it short I was due a mobile phone upgrade this month and I quite fancied the new n95, the 8 GB jobbie. So I had a search online to find the best possible deal as in the past o2 have tried to pull the wool over my eyes with offering "unbeatable deals", and a quick search generally always finds a much better deal with other service providers etc. So I explain my situation to the guy and tell him I want the n95 as an upgrade, immediately he informs me that I would have to pay £120 to be entitled to this phone due to me wanting to stay on a 12 month contract. For me 18months is far too long to keep a phone as I don’t seem to look after them very well and besides I like to have a new phone each year. So he explains that 18month contracts are the new 12month contract and that 24 month contract are going to become more popular! WTF 2 years that’s crazy. Having done my homework earlier I found I could get the n95 8 GB from dial a phone on a 12 month contract for £35 a month plus get the phone for free, good deal gives 400mins and 500texts. So I explain this to the guy and he says they are unable to help me out, immediately I say I want to cancel my contract and I am transferred to another person who asks the reasons why I want to cancel etc etc. He tells me hold for a short while and comes back to offer me the phone for free but at £40 a month and that’s the best they can do, apparently dial a phone must be losing money of the deal, yeah right! He actually advises me to take the dial a phone contract and we set the date for disconnection of the current contract. Having had confirmation that the contract is cancelled and my final bill will be with me at the end of the month I go and order the phone from dial-a-phone. Really simple and straight forward and the phone will be here the next day, great delivery times I’m impressed. About 3 hours later O2 phone me and are very apologetic that they couldn’t help me out earlier and as a good will gesture would like to offer me a better deal. Amazingly they can now match the deal that dial a phone are offering and even reduce the tariff down by £5 a month and even throw in 18months turn by turn navigation subscription. Great news and they advise me that I can cancel the contract with dial a phone due to distance selling regulations or something or other. So both phones arrive the next day and I leave the dial a phone still packaged as it going straight back. Here the problem begins apparently I should of received a returns authorisation form with the dial a phone package however its no where to be found, without it they wont accept the phone!. I try and find the contact number but can only find one on the website, upon phoning it I am told that it is a completely automated phone call. The computer introduces its self as Rachel lol WTF as if it makes more believable. Anyway this service is a complete waste of time and my problem is not even listed in the options . I can find any other contact number on the website or the details sent to me and the only other option is an email query. Its says they try to answer every query within 48 hours!, not great when I only have 7 days to return the phone. I am not worried that I’m going to end up with two contract phones . I sent an email query yesterday and still no response from them, i just feel that the whole thing is a big con and the 7 day return policy is just to entice you in and commit to a contract. Has anyone had any similar dealings with dial a phone or and even better got a contact number so I can actually speak to a real human being. Why can’t anything be simply and straight forward in life, to much bureaucracy. The most annoying thing is that O2 try and offer you a crap deal when they can obviously offer much better ones. Anyone upgrading it seems playing one company off against another can be quite beneficial. Sorry this is rather long but I just wanted to let people know, as from reading reviews on the net I am not the first with this problem. Thanks for your time Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Dial-a-Phone is a trading division of Phones 4u Limited Try ringing them and asking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlotte Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Did you sign for the phone when it got to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-B Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 i will try that thanks im not holding my breath though as i phoned the sales line and they said they didnt have the relevant details and are unable to help. Yeah i signed for the phone came via royal mail special delivery, however i have not opened the phone and the seal is still intact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdzC Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Your statutory right allows you a 14 day cooling off period. My advice would be to write a letter and send it next day recorded delivery along with everything you received from Dial A Phone. Explain in the letter that you no longer wish to accept the contract and you will be exercising you rights under the distance selling regulations. Outline that you will be cancelling your direct debit so that no further funds can be taken. Keep the Royal Mail recorded delivery slip and a copy of the letter to negate any possible civil claim. My advice prior to doing any of the above would be to contact Consumer Direct and get some advice from them, who will also log it and give you a reference number should Dial A Phone cause you any hassle. I've used them a number of times recently and found them invaluable. Good Luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Yep, I had dealing with Dial-a-Scam years ago. They offered me a better contract than I was on at the time and assured me that I would be able to carry the same mobile number over. The phone turned up with a new number and when I eventually get to speak to someone I find out that the only way to transfer the new number is to go into one of their branches in person to sort it out. Great, but their nearest branch was summat like 40 miles away. I think I just cancelled my direct debit and ignored any mail from them. Probably still a debt out there with my name on it somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-B Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Your statutory right allows you a 14 day cooling off period. My advice would be to write a letter and send it next day recorded delivery along with everything you received from Dial A Phone. Explain in the letter that you no longer wish to accept the contract and you will be exercising you rights under the distance selling regulations. Outline that you will be cancelling your direct debit so that no further funds can be taken. Keep the Royal Mail recorded delivery slip and a copy of the letter to negate any possible civil claim. My advice prior to doing any of the above would be to contact Consumer Direct and get some advice from them, who will also log it and give you a reference number should Dial A Phone cause you any hassle. I've used them a number of times recently and found them invaluable. Good Luck Great advice thanks a lot, so the whiole thing with dial a phone saying you only have 7days is complete bull? Ill log a query with consumer direct immediatly. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesmark Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 That is not all the detail. Used dial a phone in the past and they were useless for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdzC Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Great advice thanks a lot, so the whiole thing with dial a phone saying you only have 7days is complete bull? Ill log a query with consumer direct immediatly. Regards I would that they are trying to twirl you there mate. I'm not 100%on distant sales regulations but i'm almost certain it is a standard 14 day cooling off period with anything bought via the phone, internet etc. This is because the sale of goods act does not cover goods/services paid for via phone. Consumer Direct should definitely be able to help and guide yuo through everything until the matter is resolved. Let me know how you get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-B Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 I would that they are trying to twirl you there mate. I'm not 100%on distant sales regulations but i'm almost certain it is a standard 14 day cooling off period with anything bought via the phone, internet etc. This is because the sale of goods act does not cover goods/services paid for via phone. Consumer Direct should definitely be able to help and guide yuo through everything until the matter is resolved. Let me know how you get on. cheers for this mate i appreciate your help and advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henk Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I just phoned o2, to upgrade my phone before seeing this thread. The lady was really helpful, very well informed. Within 4 mins I had the phone upgrade I wanted for new 35 quid a month tarrif as you quoted with the minutes and texts and phone for free instead of 120 again as you quoted. I guess it depends who you call & speak to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris-B Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 I just phoned o2, to upgrade my phone before seeing this thread. The lady was really helpful, very well informed. Within 4 mins I had the phone upgrade I wanted for new 35 quid a month tarrif as you quoted with the minutes and texts and phone for free instead of 120 again as you quoted. I guess it depends who you call & speak to. On a 12 or 18 month contract? if you pushed it i bet you could of got it a bit lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve W Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 My 18 month contract has just finished with Orange so I visited their store in Chelmsford to discuss an upgrade and to renew my contract....... easy you would think?? I wanted the new N95 8gb only to be told that if I wanted that phone I would have to pay £250 for it???? The sales person said it was because my last tariff was only £35 per month I wasn't a high user?? The same thing happened when Steve went to upgrade his at Christmas .... in the end he cancelled his contract with them, lost his number and took out a new contract??? how silly is that!!!! You get no reward for being a loyal customer??? I have now cancelled my contract with Orange and took out a new one with O2 .... I am really cross about this as I have had my old number for the last 10+ years and I use it for work so I have to now inform all my colleagues of my new number!!! When I was choosing my new phone .... N95 8gb, the sales person mentioned that they were having a special offer on the old N95, it came with 18 months free Sat Nav ... brilliant I think!!! Brought it home and it was useless..... it takes an age to find any satellites and keeps losing the signal as you are driving along.... not good really. Again we have the 14 days cool off period, I am going to take it back at the weekend and get the N95 8gb as originally planned!!! What is it all about???? You get better deals for new customers and theres no loyalty at all!!!!! cheers Steve W's Carole xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 I thought you could transfer your number to a new phone/contract. Is this not possible anymore? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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