More on the crap quality of service from Phones 4 U

I've recently come to the conclusion that I don't label my articles in a way that describes them appropriately. Obviously this effects the way search engines link to my site. For instance, my second post in this ongoing struggle with Phones 4 U was labelled "The Saga Continues". So really, if anyone were looking for reviews on quality of service amongst mobile phone providers in the UK the chances of them finding a link to my post are negligible. So hence forth I will attempt to use words in my posts and headers that actually indicate what they're about... thus making Foolstop.za.net a more 'out there' site. Or something. Here's my reply to their reply to my second letter of complaint that stemmed from their reply to my first letter of complaint in which I was offered a replacement handset if mine couldn't be repaired at the third (THIRD!) attempt.

Spot poll. Am I the only one that thinks I'm being reasonable here? Do you agree with my complaint or disagree with it? And try be serious... for once in your mangy mongrel lives : P

Hi *****.
Look, I'm quite ready to try and work something out here where we're both happy. I believe that I've been mistreated after chasing this phone problem around for 7 months only to have you refuse me a replacement - ESPECIALLY when I've been told at a previous stage that if the phone couldn't be repaired at the third attempt then it WOULD be replaced. If your department keeps a log of the e-mail that it sends then the date that I was sent the mail promising a replacement was the 5th of September 2003. I must admit to being stunned into disbelief that your company has reneged on a previous agreement with me.

Still, maybe there is another way to work this out. I can accept the offer that you have made in the attached e-mail under the condition that you cancel my T-Mobile subscription immediately and without me incurring any negative consequences or charges. That will then free me up to open another contract (through a different mobile provider unfortunately) and get a replacement phone that way. I refuse to have to buy a new phone while still in this contract when I've already paid for a working one. If the fault with the handset was through something I had done then I could accept that, but it isn't. The phone has never been dropped or banged, never gotten wet, and has always been kept in a Body Glove neoprene pouch. The very nature of the error indicates that it's probably more a problem with the phones software or it's flash bios, especially as the antenna, speaker, and microphone have all already been replaced.

If for whatever reason you are unable to cancel my contract on the above terms, thus meaning I have to continue paying T-Mobile for the contracted period, then I have one other idea. You could add to the refund you have already offered me the sum of £40, which covers the cost of travelling 160 miles to get my phone repaired. This would be the three attempts to have the phone repaired and the final trip to pay the courier charge so that the handset wasn't destroyed (from Shaftesbury to Salisbury is 40 miles, and multiplied by 4 makes that 160 miles). The AA website (www.theaa.com) works the actual cost out at 32p a mile, which amounts to £51. However, If I work it out at 25p a mile it comes to the amount of £40. I can then use this money, plus the amount already offered, to pay off the rest of the contracted period to T-Mobile in a lump sum, which will then allow me to take out a new contract with a different service provider.

Neither of these are ideal options for me, but if you can't replace my broken handset then I find them acceptable. Really they're all just a means to the same end... a working mobile phone to replace the faulty one I currently have.
Sincerely,
Ian Wilson