Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

For those of you that know me well, know how careful I am with money etc...

Well I have got my comeuppance :(

For my youngest son's 14th birthday in June this year he wanted a mobile phone, but the choice of phones for the price I was prepared to pay on pay as you go wasn't exactly great, so......

A friend at work had for a few years been using an online firm that you could get a phone on any network with a 12 month cash back scheme.. too good to be true you might ask.. so I decided to check it out.

After thorough checks of the company and searches online for as much info as I could get and of course the recommendation of my friend, I went for it...

All went smoothly and the claiming back seem straight forward, although very strict (make a single mistake on first claim and the whole 12mth cashback claim is made invalid) so a shiny new phone was delivered very quickly..

Few weeks later, eldest sons 2 year old phone broke so thought what the heck will get another one (treat the cashback as a kind of savings plan)

Made my first cashback claim for both phones in early November...

Received email to confirm they had received both claims and it was being processed and allow 28 days for cheque...

Goes into work this morning to be told.......

THEY'VE GONE BUST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

So over 12 month period that is £840 down the drain :(

Moral of the story, no matter how careful you are, or how many checks you do...YOU CAN STILL GET STUNG

ANYONE ELSE ON A MOBILE PHONE CASHBACK CONTRACT, CHECK THE COMPANY IS STILL TRADING AS I HAVE HEARD THERE IS QUITE A FEW THAT HAVE RECENTLY GONE UNDER

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Nope not me, they are a scam you know. :rolleyes:

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Never heard of such scheme but sorry to hear you have lost such a large amount of money HR :( Seriously annoying.

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Yeah great Neil and really helpful...thought I would share it with anyone who might have or was thinking of joining one of these schemes. This particular company had been going for a few years and all was fine, it seems that the demand outstripped their cash flow

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Thanks Misskitty :o

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

This was on the telly box a while ago. It would appear that the phone companies, Orange etc don't give the reseller anything like the cashback amounts they offer you. They then put every obstacle in your way so you fail to claim the cashback. All this you can only claim the cashback on the 1st thursday when the moon is full ballcocks is to make you fail to claim. If everyone's claim was successful the company would be unable to dish out all the dosh. That sounds like what happened to your company.

I am sorry it happened to you as well. I will but you a pint at the next meet I manage to not be working at to make you feel better :D

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

hmm sorry to hear bout this

i've been on one for a few years - there's a few out there that are linked to even bigger chains or have great reps - i guess with the research u did u wud've uncovered anything untoward.

the way they mostly do make the money is that they rely on u to forget to submit ur cashback as neil said.

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

:( What a rotten disappointment.

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Even mighty names can crash when they underestimate demand for tempting freebies -- remember Hoover and the free transatlantic flights.

I found a good cashback deal recently. Barclays contents insurance - £100 for a year - no extra charge for monthly instalments (£8.33)- paid the first instalment on October 10th- got £50 cashback cheque on Oct 29th.

It is tragic to have so much money vanish - especially at this expensive time of year. I am a fan of Martin Lewis the money saving expert and recommend him for reliable advice
Money Saving Expert: Consumer Revenge - Credit Cards, Shopping, Bank Charges, Cheap Flights and more

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Ironic isn't it that it was also recommended on his site before I took it up Margaret!! And yes it is a case of a big company failing!

Yes Mani, it has worked well for at least 4 years as my investigation before taking it up had found and also we all take notice of personal recommendation too. But as already has been said, more people than they could manage were applying for the cashback.

Lets hope this is the only thing I get stung by in my life :o

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Sorry to hear about this Lesley - wasn't Dial-A-Phone by any chance was it? Name & shame 'em I say - let's hope tonights result cheers you up a bit :)

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

sorry to hear about this red, the best laid plans? if its any solace i got done for 15K. quite recently.:eek:

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Lesley, i've just found this through an email, it may help

Phoneboxdirect and Coolnewmobile Help Guide: How to fight to get your money back...

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

I did not read about your fine in the Observer. What did they catch you doing? :rolleyes::D

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

I know how you feel cashy I have recently had 14k taken out of my pension fund...but that is a whole different story :rolleyes:

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Very unlucky HR, I think everybody has had something, I had 30k, which ultimately cost me 95k. More people get stung more locally and more subtly than this on a regular basis, if you look at the company website where I work, they have a very interesting fact sheet on the info page.

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Lesley,
I believe you 'might' be able to get out of teh 12 month contract as teh Sale of Goods act says that your contract was with the phone co not the network operator. They 'broke' their side of teh contract so you can return teh phone and get out teh deal. One other option is to drop teh contract to teh cheapest possible one.



I'd do some asking at CAB if I was you or even one of those free saturday morning legal clinincs

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Thanks Ian for your comments, unfortunately the air time 12 month contract was with the provider eg. vodaphone

I haven't had the time to contact the provider yet, but have heard that they are being reasonable so it is on my things to do tomorrow

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Mmm, still worth asking a solicitor, I believe in this country the retailer is responsible for all subcontracts and dealing with all suppliers. e.g. if your TV breaks it is the shops responsibility not the manufacturers, you 'bought' a package from whichever of the ones that went bump. The fact that that contained a contact with voda should be irrelevant.

I read on a forum that if you push voda are offering £5/month contracts. Which operator are yours with?

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

This is part of the report from the Watchdog program:

17 October 2007
Cashback is the secret weapon of the mobile phone industry. Offers of up to £1,000 cashback are used to lure customers into signing mobile phone contracts. But you know what they say about deals that sound too good to be true...

Viewers have complained that they haven't received their cash and have been left tied into high-cost contracts with the networks.

In August this year, retailer Mobile Connections/Dial a Mobile went out of business owing 60,000 customers an estimated £12m in cashback deals.

We've had complaints about other companies, too. Wayne Shepherd took out a 12-month mobile phone contract with Chatterbox.com in October 2006. The offer included cashback of £321 in three instalments. His contract has now expired, but he still hasn't received a single penny.

So why is the cash not coming back? Kevin Patel, CEO of Chatterbox.com, blames the networks. He claims 3 Mobile in particular has worked on the basis that only 40 per cent of customers bother to claim their cashback. He says the actual figure is more like 80 per cent - and that he can't afford to pay all those customers.

In August this year, the major networks agreed to a voluntary code of practice set out by Ofcom. They promised to protect consumers from the mis-selling of mobile phone contracts. Ofcom plans a review this week and will impose mandatory regulations if it's found the networks aren't protecting their customers.

3 says: "3 has never encouraged dealers to follow a 40 per cent redemption model. Cashback is an arrangement between retailers and the customers - the networks are not liable for any arrangements between the retailer and the customer. However, 3 is concerned by the cashback-related complaints it continues to receive and has an established process through which all cashback complaints are dealt with."

Orange says: "Orange does have a responsibility to ensure that its customers are supported appropriately. Any Orange customer who is unhappy with the way they have been treated by Dial a Mobile, and feels they have been signed up to a contract that does not suit their needs, should call Orange to change their package." The cheapest Orange monthly package is £20 per month.

There is also a video clip on there site


BBC - Consumer - TV and radio - Mobile Phone cashback offers

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

That is another story we have talked about before.

Why/how was the money taken out?

Re: Mobile phones cashback schemes
 

Ooo it's a long story, but it has actually been claimed back by the govt!!! but that would have to be another thread