Double charged for calls when buying a new phone from shop

[Anonymous]

Hi

My daughter has a contract with O2.  She wanted a better phone so she went to the shop and bought one.  The new phone would be used with the existing contract.  She was told that as the phone was PAYG, she would have to buy a PAYG sim with £10.00 credit.  Reluctantly she paid up.

I spoke to customer services on chat and they told me she should have been given a blank sim for free.  I then rang the manager of the shop who confirmed it is company policy to charge the extra £10.00.

So the upshot is I'm paying twice for the same phone.  Once on the contract and then again for a PAYG sim I'm never going to use.

So which is correct?  Do O2 shops always charge a tenner more?  This looks like a perfect way to kill the high street shops.

Chat suggested I went back and returned the sim for a refund.  It's 26 miles return for me so not very good value.  Will O2 pay my petrol for a mistake made b y them?

I'm pretty peeved at this and will look at other providers to see if I can get a better deal.  In the meantime can I have my tenner back please?

I look forward to your reply.

Steve

[Bambino]

This is a customer forum. We can't give you your tenner back. Call customer service on 202 from your contract phone, and see if they can resolve this for you.

[Anonymous]

Hi thanks for your reply.  Isn't this forum moderated by O2?  Can someone tell me if I was incorrectly charged?

I tried customer services by phone.  Waited 40 mins in a queue and gave up.  I looked for a complaint email but I don't think there is one.

I'm probably going to email BBC watchdog as it'll be quicker and easier than trying to get hold of O2.

Cheers

Steve

[jonsie]

I don't work for O2 but I can assure you you were incorrectly charged. It is definitely not company policy. This forum is moderated by an outsourced company. There are three admin staff who work for O2.  However they are not connected to customer service.

You have a genuine complaint. Email them explaining you were mislead into buying a top up.

It is possible that one of the admin may try to help but it's not for me say they will. I believe the £10 should be refunded or transferred onto the contract and I'm fairly sure that this will be done. Supply a contact number but it can take 7 working days for someone to deal with your complaint. It is also possible that the actual store you went to could be a franchise. Many stores are these days.

However, I wish you good luck and I'm sure of a positive outcome for you.

http://www.o2.co.uk/how-to-complain

[Bambino]

This forum is not monitored by O2. Trying to call CS on a Saturday is always going to be difficult. Use the complaints link that @jonsie has provided, or try to call CS early morning on a weekday if you have the time to do that.

[MI5]

I would expect cs will refund the £10 if you give them a call and explain.
I don't think there is any need to contact watchdog but that's entirely your choice of course.

[jonsie]

Watchdog will do exactly nothing to help, the complaint process has to be followed.  O2 will credit the monthly account without question but they need to be made aware what the store has done before this happens.

[MI5]

They are only interested in sensational stories, not a £10 top up

[Anonymous]

Hi all

Thanks very much for all your replies.  I did speak to the manager of the shop, who assured me it was company policy.  I also looked at the complaint link but you can only complain by phone which is irritating when an email takes a few minutes and a phone call takes ages if you're stuck in a queue.

I'll take your advice and call them on Monday morning early and hopefully I can get through.

I'll also report back here on the outcome so everyone can benefit from what I find out.

Thanks again.

Steve

[Cleoriff]

Best of luck Steve. I have no doubt you will have a positive outcome