The saga continues

Oh yes, it's true. I am still fighting with Phones 4 U regarding the T68i I bought way back in February. They have finally broken me down by sheer force of shit service and ignorance and I have been forced to write a second letter. This time there will be zero tolerance from me, and a nice phone from them. Thank you.

I've written to you previously to complain about a faulty handset which had come back to me on two occasions after repair with the same fault still prevalent. Your reply was a much appreciated gesture of goodwill by means of a small refund on my contract, and the promise that if my problem wasn't resolved at the third attempt then my handset would be replaced. Unfortunately the problem has still not been resolved, and has instead developed further.

The original problem began with a fault that my handset developed a couple of months after I purchased it from your store in Salisbury (a Sony-Ericsson T68i on a 12 month T-Mobile contract). The phone began to drop it signal in mid-call on a regular occassion, and often, despite a signal bar that indicated a full strength signal, it would refuse to connect a call, instead displaying a message of 'No Access' across the screen.. I took it back to the store that I purchased it from in Salisbury to try and get it replaced, which I thought was reasonable as it was only 2 months old. At the store I was told that they could unfortunately not replace the handset as the replacement option was only valid for the first month after purchase. I was offered the alternative option of sending it in for repairs, free of charge, to which I agreed under the impression that when it came back it would be in 100% working condition. Unfortunately shortly after the handset came back from repair the same fault started up again, much to my own annoyance and inconvienience. Although slightly miffed at the prospect of having to travel to Salisbury again on a phone repair errand I chose to take it back and attempt the repair option a second time.

At this point things began to take a turn for the worse. I was told that, at the outside, the phone would be in for repair for a month, which, although it was a lengthy period of time to be without a mobile device, I agreed to. Unfortunately this month long repair window proved to be inaccurate and after 4 weeks I called the store for some news. It was still in for repair. A week later it was also still in. Finally, after six weeks of repairs I was contacted and told that the phone was ready to be picked up.

That same afternoon that I picked up the phone from store, for the second time, I discovered to my complete disbelief that the phone was behaving in exactly the same way it had before, and thus that it was still completely useless to me as a communication device. It was at this point that I wrote my first letter to you.

Now I can't remember the name of the person who dealt with my complaint at that stage but he offered me a two month refund on my contract, which I thought was a thoughtful gesture, and told me that the Phones 4 U policy was that the handset couldn't be replaced until repairs had been attempted three times. "Fair enough," I thought, and I took the phone back to the store for repairs... again. Yet again I was told that the phone could be in for repairs for anything up to a month, which I said was ok, believing that I had just been unlucky the previous time.

That brings me to today, two and a half months after I sent the phone in. Following repeated calls to your store to find out if my phone was available I finally got someone to track it down for me. The story that I got is this: the phone was sent away to the usual repair agents (I don't know who they are) where the fault couldn't be found, after which it was sent to another location for a second opinion, where the fault still couldn't be found. At no stage was I contacted and told why the phone was away for so long, or that it was being sent to another party.

Now I find, to my disgust, that I have to pay a £12 courier charge to get the phone back, or else it will be destroyed. This is the same phone that has been in for repair THREE times and is obviously still faulty. Now there is no way on earth that I am going to pay anything to get back a phone which has given me nothing but hassle since shortly after I bought it, and which the repair company admit to not being able to fix. There is a very real fault with that particular handset, and if it can't be repaired then I strongly believe that it should be replaced (to which end I really don't care if they do destroy it). I have now endured months of inconvienience and annoyance in the hope that this would be sorted out, and unfortunately I find that my treatment at the hands of your company has been nothing short of abysmal. I understand that the phones are sent away to a third party for repairs, and as such the actual repair of the handset it not your business, but the contract I entered into was with Phones 4 U and because of that it is to you that I have to come back to in order to sort this out. To make matters worse this case has become urgent. I have a car for sale and am in the middle moving home, and this, coupled with the fact that I no longer have access to the phones that I have been borrowing in order to keep my private life and my business running, means that I need this sorted out very very soon. I will be away in London from from today (the 12th of November) for business and personal reasons and I would like this all resolved by Friday when I get back.

This particular phone has been giving me problems since May, when I first sent it in for repairs, and I would like it to be replaced with a handset that is currently of the same stature as the T68i was in the Sony-Ericsson range when I bought it in February. I believe this to be a completely reasonable request as I've been paying a contract fee for the past ten months, while in fact I've actually only had hassle-free use of my phone for about 3 of those months. In this period technology has advanced and I actually haven't had the pleasure of use of a phone that I purchased largely because of it's many advanced features. I have looked at the current Sony-Ericsson range and it appears that the obvious replacement for the T68i is the newer T610, which I would be happy with. Alternatively you could offer me a choice of phones you think are suitable, and of the same technological specifications, and I will let you know if I think your offer is reasonable. I should also tell you that I don't want the phone to be replaced on the condition that I renew my contract for another year as my experience to date in this contract has been terrible and I am dubious as to whether it will improve over the next few months or not. If it does then I would be happy to renew it when it runs out in February, but if continues in the same vein then I don't need the frustration of being locked into a poor-service contract for another year. The onus is now on you to prove to me that you are capable of delivering a service which provides a reasonable measure of customer satisfaction.

If I find that my treatment is this regard is any more lacking than it has been to date I will simply cancel the direct debit on my account, and when T-Mobile, as my service provider, question me as to why it was cancelled I will point them in the direction of Phones 4 U. I understand that none of my this has anything to do with T-Mobile, but I purchased the phone as part of a contract package from Phones 4 U and I believe that it is your responsibility to ensure your side of the contract is upstanding - in other words that I have a working handset in order to use the service that I am paying for. If part of the package is not being provided then I fail to see what I have been paying for these past months.

I apologise if the tone of this e-mail is somewhat on the aggressive side, but I have now been dealing with this matter for what I (as a very VERY understanding and reasonable person, I can assure you) regard as far too long now and it needs to be resolved immediately. Your understanding and prompt action in this matter would be greatly appreciated. In order for you to track my complaint to date I have included the details of the three repair incidents at the bottom of this message.

Sincerely,
Ian Wilson

Mobile Number: 0795*******
Date of purchase: 11/02/03
Make/Model of Phone: Ericsson T68i
Original invoice number: ******
IMEI number: *****************

First repair:
Date: 03/05/03
Invoice number: 41729

Second repair:
Date: 09/07/03
Invoice number: 41755

Third repair:
Date: 05/09/03
Invoice number: 41779