About a year ago I bought a shiny new LG Chocolate phone from the Carephone Warehouse in Meadowhall, Sheffield. I looks a really nice sleek phone, and being a phone geek I had to have it, and the only place you could buy it then was at CW. I’ve never used them before, but the only thing I had heard bad about them was Talk Talk, but I thought ‘what the hell, its mobile not fixed line’. This has most definatly changed now.
It all started about a month after I bought it. I read on the internet that all of the LG phones were being recalled because of a battery problem and that I should take my phone into the shop and they would replace it. An easy task? I took my phone down and told the assistant this and he looked blankly at me, saying he had no knowledge of this and that they wouldn’t replace it. So I went back home. Another few weeks go by and the battery dies on me. So I take it back and see a different assistant. He tells me that I should have brought it back ages ago as there was a recall on them. Hello!!! I did.. He appologised and replaced the battery.
On the same day, my girlfriend bought a new phone from the 02 store. This is important because I’ve never had a very good signal on my LG on 02 in my house, and again by an assistant in CW was told that it must be a signal problem in my area. But, strangly my girlfriend has a full and complete signal all around the house. Another trip to CW. Their response
The phone is fine, the signal must be bad at your house. There is nothing I can do
I tried with no luck to explain that the signal was fine and it was the phone, but again they didn’t want to know. I was stuck with a useless phone.
I thought, oh well, I’ll see out the 12 month contract and switch. At least I bought it on a cheque back offer for 9 months of it. Yeah, right.. I should have known that wouldn’t be easy either. As stated when I signed the contract, I had to provide them with a copy of my 4th, 8th and 12th monthly statement. Why they can’t just send me a cheque rather than having to send them back a bit of paper they sent me in the first place I don’t know. If I was cynical I would say its because they only have to give back the monty to the people who can be bothered to jump through hoops.
So, month 4 comes and I send the statement back. about 3 weeks later my cheque comes. Great, thats easy.
Month 8 comes around and my statement arrives in the post with ‘Month 9′ written on it. Have I got my dates mixed up? I’m not sure, so i wait for the next statement to come to make sure. Month 9 comes around and the statement says ‘Month 9′ So they have not sent me a statement that I can send back to recieve my cheque? Again, if I was cynical I would be thinking this was done on purpose. But I’ll give them the benefit. I call their Customer Services and hold… and hold… and hold.. Finally after 40 minutes paying to wait on the phone I get through to a human voice. I explain the problem and the voice at the other end tells me that it must have been an ‘error’ and to send in the statement with the date on it which should have been month 8. She didn’t sound suprised though when I told her about my issue. So like a normal person I do as i’m asked and send it in.
I wait for 3 weeks and no cheque. OK they do say it would be 30 days before it arrives but my first one came in 15 days. I get back onto customer waiting, and after 30 mins (they are getting quicker) I get through to another voice. I explain that they haven’t sent me a cheque yet. She says she’ll cancel the one in I should have had and get a new one raised and sent out to me, but its 30 days before it will come. My mind starts working then.. If it takes 30 days to be sent out, I shouldn’t have recieved the cheque yet anyway. Why is she ‘cancelling it and sending a new one’. So at this point Carephone Warehouse seem inept to me.
Now fast forward to today. This is my 12th month. I open my statement ready to send it back to get my final cheque. It says ‘Month 11′. I’ve already got one of those. Where is the statement showing ‘Month 12′ I can send back to them. This leads to two possible conclusions.
- They are totally inept and can’t do their job properly
- They in intentionally making errors in the hope that people will forget about the money they are owed.
If I go through the Customer Service again, it will have cost me as much in total as the final cheque is worth. But I am cancelling my contract with them TODAY and stopping my direct debit with them. I will NEVER set foot in Carephone Warehouse again. I believe that a company that size should take better care if its customers before they realise that it will be easier to actually buy the phones straight from Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and 02 than go to them.
