AdviceCentre™ Article

Get Smarter: Plebble's guide to mobile phone providers

At Plebble we are looking at some of the sectors we all have problems with to see what are the most common issues and whether there are any lessons we can learn to become smarter consumers. Today we are looking at mobile phone providers.

Plebble-Raters' top five gripes with mobile phone providers (based on your ratings):

1. Your most common complaint was inconsistent and unhelpful customer service. When you needed help, you found that advisors, both in store and on the telephone, were either unable to deal with your problem or gave you inconsistent advice, causing inconvenience and sometimes money. Typical examples included being told you could get a certain upgrade, only to find when you went to the store, this wasn't the case, or being told that you could use your phone overseas for a certain price, only to find after the event that you couldn't.

Plebble tip:

i. If inaccurate advice has cost you money, you may be entitled to some redress. Take a look at Plebble's Guide to How to complain about your mobile phone provider for more information on how to go about this.

2. Your second most common complaint was rudeness of staff. This ranged from staff being offhand and disinterested to offensiveness. One Plebble-rater called one provider's customer services and was answered by an advisor making strange noises who went on to ask her: “what are you wearing?” In some of the other sectors we all love to hate, such as energy or broadband providers, rudeness of staff was down at your 8th or 10th most common complaint, which suggests that this is a particular issue for the mobile industry.

Plebble tip:

i. Don't put up with rudeness. If you can, take your business elsewhere and use independent review sites like Plebble to help you chose a new company with a better track record.

3. Your third most common gripe was failing to take responsibility for problems, particularly faulty stock and inappropriate contracts. Too many of you found providers hiding behind “company procedure,” warranty periods and/or contract terms and refusing to address real issues. Typical examples included one provider refusing to help a customer who discovered their new phone had no reception at home and charging £15 to repair a repeatedly faulty handset even though it was under a year old and covered by the company's insurance.

Plebble tips:

i. To mitigate against being tied into an inappropriate contract, ask for as much information as possible: check what kind of reception you can expect for all the places you need to be most frequently (click here to check coverage), obtain overseas charging rates, find out exactly what is included in your package, ask what isn't included, ask about cancellation procedures etc... . Then, if anything they've claimed turns out to be untrue, you may be in a stronger position to get them to rescind the contract. But you need to ask the questions - don't rely on them to ask you. If you think you have been a victim of contract misselling, you will need to make a formal complaint (see Plebble's guide to How to Complain about your mobile phone provider).

ii. If your new mobile costs more than £100, then, where possible, pay with your credit card. Then, if the handset turns out to be faulty and/or you are receiving an inadequate service, you may be able to claim against your credit card company. Go to the government-funded advice centre, Consumer Direct, if you need advice on whether this could apply to you.

iii. If the handset or other mobile products become faulty, try to contact your retailer within 6 months, because, if within 6 months you will be in a stronger position. Check out trading standards guides to your consumer rights (Guide for England, Wales & Northern Ireland, Guide for Scotland).

iv. Ultimately, if a company decides to hide behind the detail, rather than the spirit of consumer law, then there may be nothing practical you can do. But the more you talk about the way they treated you on places like Plebble, the more pressure we, as consumers, can put on companies to think less about simply doing enough to fulfil their legal obligations and more about being 'fair.'

4. Your forth most common gripe was companies ignoring your complaints. When you tried to resolve issues, far too often you found your efforts ignored. On one occasion, one provider even refused to provide information on their complaints procedure, something they are obliged to do by the industry regulator, Ofcom.

Plebble tip:

i. If you are not getting anywhere with your complaint, you may need to escalate it. Take a look at Plebble's Guide to How to Complain about your mobile phone provider for advice and links to the main providers' complaints procedures.

5. Your fifth most common gripe was extra charges – companies either adding charges without proper explanation or including items in contracts, which were never asked for. A common example was automatically adding internet packages at approx £5 a month without checking whether they were required.

Plebble tip:

i. Check your bills regularly and make sure you know what each item is. If in doubt, query it.

Your gripes from 6-10 were:

6. Automated call handling systems

7. Lack of stock

8. Failing to cancel contracts when requested or within a reasonable time frame

9. Prematurely aggressive payment recovery

10. Poor quality of stock

Some places to go for advice & information:

Plebble's guide to How to Complain about your mobile phone provider

Ofcom

Consumer Direct

Trading Standards

Plebble's guide to 'How to switch your mobile or broadband'

Rate these businesses/organisations:

• O2 (0.06)
• Vodafone (-1.54)
• 3 Mobile (-1.52 -)
• T Mobile (-0.73)
• The Carphone Warehouse (-0.83)
• Orange (-1.66)
• Mobile Phones on Plebble.com

Posted by Plebble Admin at 18:51 on 06-Jan-2009