Phones4U issue

[City fan @ Aston Uni]

Good evening all,

I have a query regarding a phone contract that i purchased from Phones 4 U.co.uk earlier this year. The contract was as below:

Samsung Tocco Phone

100 Free Minutes p/month

Unlimited texts p/month

Free Internet Evenings and Weekends

My problems began when my first bill arrived from Orange stating that the free internet i had been promised for the duration of the contract was infact only valid for 2months. I then proceeded to call Phones4u to discuss this issue. The first customer service advisor that i spoke to stated that she had recently spoken to another consumer who had the same problem as myself, she then transferred me to the accounts manager who said that he would not be able to do anything for me. I then asked to be transferred to his manager because of the situation. He then told me that he would also be able to do nothing regarding my situation because the offer was so good.

It seemed like there had been an advertising error on the Phones4u.co.uk webpage and this particular contract had not advertised the fact the mobile internet on the phone was for 2 months only. I contested this with the Senior customer satisfaction manager who then fobbed me off. I then informed him that i would be speaking to ofcom regarding the situation.

I then quickly called Ofcom who asked whether i had a print screen shot of the deal, which unfortunately i did not think of at the time, she said that this may well damage my chances of seeing this issue resolved.

After speaking to Ofcom i proceeded to call back the Accounts manager, informing him that i had spoken to Ofcom and that i would be willing to accept half price internet for the remainder of the 24 month contract (£2.50 p/month totalling £55) with a £55 cheque sent to my address. He then stated that he would speak to Orange to resolve the issue.

I have just recently checked my phone bill for July (the first month of paying for mobile internet) to find that it has gone through the roof and i have a £33 data charge, despite not being anywhere near the 500mb monthly limit. On Tuesday i then called Orange customer services to query the cost of my bill, they then informed me that there was no notes regarding an internet bolt on added to my account information and that i would need to talk to Phones4U.

So again i phoned phones4u, explained the situation, only to be told that i would receive a call back within 48 hours after they had searched their phone call archive to find the record of my phone call with them from a few months ago. 48 hours later i am still yet to receive my phone call back.

Have i a leg to stand on? Surely Phones4U didnt expect me to speak to Orange and demand half price internet for the remainder of my contract - Orange would just laugh at me because on what authority would i have?

Thank you for any advice,

City Fan

[Soar Fox]

Had the same problem with Vodafone and phones4u. They said I had free internet and free phone insurance because I was a valued customer.

My price plan was £25 per month 2nd phone bill came through £55!! Rang Vodafone explained, they didn't do anything.

In the end I got a new contract with o2 with them buying out the remainder of my Vodafone contract.

[CKB]

In the end I got a new contract with o2 with them buying out the remainder of my Vodafone contract.

They do that???????????

[danny.]

any stuff like this, I always find is pointless doing over the phone. Write a letter (CCed to ofcom), you will probably get much better results.

[DJ Barry Hammond]

When you said Orange I though - hand on, I've heard they recently changed terms on a load of their contracts that brought in a loop hole didn't they, which meant loads of people cancelled their contracts with them?

Orange Contracts

Well it seems I could be right!

I would look up a few more news stories about this on google, and contact Orange again. What you may want to do beforehand is check your own contract and get a copy from orange (the one they think you're on) to make sure it's the same - if the terms are different that could be very handy indeed.