ComplaintsHub.co.uk » Electronics and household app. » Review / complaint: Phones4U - April - August 08 still no refund | News #2652

Phones4U
April - August 08 still no refund

Phones4U

What goes on behind the scenes at your shops, offices and head office when you deal with customers?

If I said to you that I walked in to Phones4U store in very early April 08, purchased a product with cash, took it home and it failed to work. I took it back to the store the following day and asked for a refund which was refused. It's now nearly August and I still have not had my refund. What would you say or think? Is it right, is it funny, would you run your business that way?

In the store the assistants openly admitted they were scared to ring their own call center about my refund request and they also refused my refund in store and promptly attempted to ignore my problem, then they got their 'procedures guy' from out back who looked like he wanted to kick my head in but luckily I can look after myself so I stood my ground so he got someone else to show me the procedure 'bible' which did not agree with the Brand of the company who's product they were selling.

I was told that the product companies terms may be their policy but it isn't ours!

I refused to budge and was given a phone number to call customer services but was refused permission to call from the store so I went home and called them from there. Spoke to customer services and they told me the store was wrong and I could quite happily go to the store and get a refund in cash (as I had paid cash the previous day) from the till.

I go back to the store, tell them what I was told and they are surprised and don't believe me.

I demand the use of a phone in the store to call customer services, I get through to customer services and ask for the person I had spoken to. It turned out that only two people in that center could possibly have spoken to me denied they had actually spoken to them and it casued a big upset as they even had to do a call trace to prove I was telling the truth because at first they made me out to be a liar.

I then spend an hour on the phone in the Phones4u store with a girl in customer services running back and forth trying to sort things out and at the end her attitude cganged dramatically and she tells me all is in hand and she needed to speak to the store manager where I was making the call. Store manager takes the phone and I have no choice but to agree to a cheque sent to me which would take 28 days to reach me. I tell them I am not happy but accepted it.

28 days later I get my cheque and I put the cheque into my bank account.

The Phones4U checked BOUNCED! Becasue they cancelled it!

On the check that was sent back to me from my bank it had stamped on the front 'CANCELLED' and a letter from my bank informed me I had to contact the cheque sender for the details.

I call my bank to tell them a cheque has bounced to avoid any charges and the girl at my bank call center told me I must be making a mistake and that I must have sent a cheque and that bounced as she could not believe that Phones4u would bounce a cheque.

I am then put through to India to deal with any possible charges and the girl on the phone could not understand me and eventually it sounded like they were having a party at my expense and the call ended with them laughing and the phone going dead.

I call my bank and tell them what happenned - the guy at the bank call center tells me I must be mistaken that it must have been a language thing that confused me! lol - I have been around a fair old bit and there was no confusion believe me.

I call Phones4u, tell them what happenned and they laughed on the phone and told me I had to prove the cheque had bounced, they wanted bank statements etc. - why do I have to prove that their cheque has bounced?

I E-mail head office with my complaint.

A week later they call me and tell me that they will cancel the cheque! and send me a new one.!

No need to wait 28 days this time, and the girl from head office tells me that my 'new refund cheque' will be with me in ten working days and I just about get a verbal apology.

3 weeks later I still had not received a cheque and no replies to my emails about it.

I call phone4u again (and each time I call it costs me money) and I get the usual pleasant girls on the other end who talk in the most patronising manner but they do it with style I give them that.

I am informed that these things happen and its even happenned to the girls in the office, that a cheque will definately be sent out 'quaranteed' and I will will receive it in three days time, no problem. Of course I don't believe them but what can I do at this stage on the phone?

Three days later and Guess what? - you got it, no cheque on my doormat.

I call phones4u and ask for the girl I had spoken to who incidently promised me she would sort it out if any problems arise. The girl who answered the phone asks me for my security details etc and then says oh 'girls name' is on the phone can I help? I tell her my problem. Oh she says, as we speak 'girls name' is on the phone to finance about your cheque.

I ask for 'girls name' to call me back as it's an 0845 number.

She calls me back but pretends to be someone else and tells me that there is no-one in the office called 'girls name', I must be mistaken she says and giggles! lol - urggg!

Anyway I tell her the problem, that the cheque has still not arrived and she says that it must be the postal service.

Of course I don't believe her so I keep her talking and manage to get her to slip out that the cheque is 'due to be sent', she gets confused and realises her mistake and then says it must have been sent yesterday and then she gets the giggles, again!

I tell her I have a very good friend who works as a reporter for the national press (thats very true and another works on the picture desk of another national press office), she then gets serious and offended and says it wasn't her fault and the post office are to blame so I giggle this time - lol

That was today.

I have been told my cheque from a product that I purchased in April 08 - yes you got it April 08 and now its nearly August 08 - will arrive tomorrow 'Friday'

I affiliate only with decent companies. If a company messes me around or they mess my players and their own customers around then I stop affiliating with them and I find out a lot about customer service because I 'test buy products' via mysel and family and friends. The Phones4u purchase was just a one off high street jobbie that was urgently needed and so non affiliated .. ultimately I ended up nearly £100 out of pocket, no product, a bounced cheque and giggly, lying service staff.

So what's the point of this post?

To tell you that I would be a mug to even contemplate affiliating with Phones4U and that it's not just Phones4 u who are doing it, it's across the board.

2 years ago our phone line was held between 2 high branded phone companies. One we were with was giving us the lowest broadband package but charging us for the best package, the other when we tried to change over messed up big time and ultimately led to us having dial up connection for three weeks. Final moment of truth was the nice call centre girl passing me through to get the line released to a gorilla at the end of the phone who spoke like Frank Bruno but with the attitude of Eminem on a bad day ans literally asked me if I was sure I wanted to leve before I had even started business with them!

My own bank treats me like an idiot and I have a business account with personal banking which is a joke, their Indian call centers are a joke and these are just few things I (and of course other people are fighting) am fighting at the moment when I shoulds be trying to make a living. I can say if I treated my clients (outside of affiliating) the way these companies treat us, I would have no business.

My bottom line in line with this forum is - I would be a mug to even contemplate affiliating with Phones 4 U - my own abbreviation is Phonies 4 U.

Trust me it takes a hell of a lot to get me wound up and especially so to make a complaint as I understand that life is difficult across the board, even more so if you are relying on people to be honest with you in business or just on the highstreet.

So.. bottom line is Phones 4 U have shown me their true colours across the board - from highstreet shop to customer service and then head office, without even trying, they have taken over Dial a Phone who had problems with customer service and they have no idea I work as an affiliate nor did they know I have contacts in the media world and they squirmed when I mentioned the papers and it was so easy for them to blame the directors - I wonder why girls? :-) Problem with you big companies is you think all consumers are stupid - Guess what we aint and guess something else - one day you will wake up and realise that you have only helped mess this country up.


Company: Phones4U

Country: United Kingdom   Region: England   City: Birmingham

Category: Electronics and household app.

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