O2 or Aerial - who am I with? and why has my phone stopped working when I tried to ask O2 online?

[Anonymous]

My 02 contract was up for renewal and someone claiming to be from 02 phoned and offered me a new deal for 24 months. My contract now seems to be with Aerial but my bank Direct Debit is still with 02. Are they a bonafide company? Today they (Aerial) sent me a letter saying I'm due a monthly refund for not getting a new phone, and want my bank details including account no and sort code. Is this all OK? I tried getting help with an O2 online advisor but they couldn't help me and now my mobile phone has stopped working. Screen looks fine but I cannot send or receive calls or texts since asking for help!!!

[MI5]

Time to refer the matter to the Ombudsman. Details in perksie's link above.

[adamtemp64]

The issue lies totaly with the partner aerial as you have been advised.

I would now seek advice from your local trading standards or CAB.

O2 cannot get involved in partner disputes as the contract is directly with the partner. (been there got the teeshirt with partner azzuri) Meaning you are not an o2 customer but the partners customer.

This is why you are being told by chat etc you must deal with the partner.

If the partner is not responding to your letters etc then trading standards can get involved.

I note that aerial are also not listed on the ombudsman website as a company they can deal with and from aerials website there is no complaints procedure listed.

I am sorry this may not be what you want to hear.

P.S. as it was a while ago for me with azzuri I have just searched the forum for more info.

O2 used to be able to raise a partner dispute form not sure if they still have this option.

But as you nolonger have an o2 sim I would advise you writing to o2 (recorded delivery) putting all the facts in a timeline and asking for a partner dispute to be raised send it to the complaints review service and also to aerials regesterd address you may already have.

o2 address

O2 Complaints Review Service

PO BOX 694

Winchester

SO23 5AP

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

Also there are 2 seperate websites for aerial with different contact numbers but same address http://www.aerial-telephones.co.uk/aerial/contact/ and the aerial direct one http://www.aerial-direct.co.uk/contactus the registerd address is the same for both divisions

[perksie]

I agree with Adam, O2 must accept the responsibility of moving your account to Aerial who don't seem to be capable of running it properly.

I would be thinking of possibly taking this up legally.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for your replies MI5, Adam and Perksie, which are very helpful. I do think O2 should take some sort of responsibility for putting me in this situation, it is after all O2 who are taking the money and sending me these bills, and I had been a loyal and happy customer for many years. Aerial seem to me to be a bunch of rogues not to be trusted one bit and O2 allowed them to be able to contact me and take money from my bank account without explaning this to me.

I have been in contact with OFT who put me in touch with OFCOM who apparently deal with telecommunications, who took note of my complaint but were not much help to be honest. I have however sent them a further e-mail today telling them of my recent bill for £433.96.

I haven't tried CAB yet, their offices are always closed when I've tried to visit. I cannot afford a lawyer, as I took early retirement, but I will visit a lawyer and seek legal advice if absolutely necessary as on principle, I cannot believe what has happened to me and I don't want it to happen to others.

I have today put a complaint in writing to an address I was given earlier in this thread Telefónica UK Limited,
Correspondence Department,

PO BOX 694

Winchester

SO23 5AP

but I will also send a copy to the O2 complaints review service address you have just given me. Thanks for that.

I have also today put it in writing to the Ombudsman, so thanks for that also.

Any further suggestions are greatly appreciated and I will let you know how I get on. In the meantime, don't get involved with Aerial! I'm also very disappointed that O2 have done nothing to help me. It is after all their "retail partner" and their fault I am now in dispute with them.  I'd never have knowingly signed up to a mobile phone contract with someone I'd never heard of.

[adamtemp64]

@claudiaq the problem is the ombudsman will not help as I said they are not members of the scheme Trading standards is now your best option if o2 complaint review service cannot help you.

[Anonymous]

Ah, I did read they were not part of the scheme but I did not understand this meant the Ombudsman do not deal with them at all, and I didn't realise that Aerial do not have a complaints procedure, which makes it easy for them to continue to ignore me. They are virtually uncontactable and anytime I have managed to contact them they say they will call me back and then don't. Even the chap in O2 store tried to phone them to let me speak to them from the store, as did my bank manager and they could not get a response either, not even a recorded message or answer machine.

OFT is also who my bank manager told me to contact, but when I did they said it was OFCOM who deal with mobile phones. I've e-mailed OFCOM again today but their last response to me was confusing and unhelpful, though they assured me they have taken note of my complaint and if they get enough complaints about the same company they will follow it up. This was their reply and they also told me to contact the Ombudsman.

"Firstly I should explain that a mobile provider relates to the network operator i.e. O2, Orange, Vodafone etc. A mobile retailer is a company that sells services on behalf of the network and normally supplies the mobile handset. From looking at Aerials website it would appear that the network bills you directly for your services.

If O2 have cut off your handset it would seem that they are billing you but Aerial agreed the deal. Unfortunately, if you cannot resolve this with Aerial you will need to speak to the Citizens Advice helpline. I appreciate when you have visited it is not open, but they do have a dedicated line you can call for advice: 0845 404 0506."
 

I will try citizens advice again on Monday morning though I'm not too hopeful about their expertise and ability to help me though. Last time I went to CAB about a different matter they just advised me to contact the financial ombudsman!

[perksie]

Unfortunately Ofcom don't handle individual complaints, I feel you need to contact a solicitor who can write a letter to Aerial insisting that they respond.

If they refuse then court action may be the only solution available and it's only about £35 or so to start a Small Claims Court procedure.

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/law_e/law_legal_system_e/law_taking_legal_action_e/small_claim...

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that Perksie, I have sent 2 further e-mails to Aerial today, I'll try CAB on Monday and my next step will be finding a good solicitor. Everything Aerial has done regarding this contract has been highly suspicious and down right criminal in my opinion, yet it seems there is very little I can do about it, whilst they continue to bill me for a service they are not providing. I cannot believe the position I now find myself in, all through having a mobile phone contract with O2. I have spent days on end for almost 3 months now trying to sort this out and countless sleepless nights

[MI5]

I really can't see why O2 cannot sort this out for you... After all, it is they that are still billing you for a disconnected service.
I know it's not their fault (in the first instance) but I would expect them to be more proactive in resolving this mess.

[Anonymous]

I totally agree MI5. They could have sorted this out months ago. I am shocked and stunned at the way O2 have behaved towards me, telling me I must deal directly with Aerial after me being a loyal customer to O2 on a Contract for the past 6+ years and a decade before that as a Pay as You Go customer. They jumped through hoops to get me on a contract with them, as I was determined not to have a mobile phone contract, and then once they had won my trust and loyalty, they handed me over to Aerial without consulting me (a company I'd never heard of and would never have signed up with knowingly). Aerial did phone me once, on 22nd October, and said I could cancel my contract if I paid them £75. I refused to do this, as I did not want them to have my bank details and they have totally conned me into this contract, plus I cannot afford £75, and they said a manager would call me back within 2 or 3 days, which never happened. I told O2 and I said if they paid Aerial the £75 or wrote it off, I would go back to being a lifetime customer with O2 and they would make this money back from me in no time. O2 never responded. They are totally ignoring me, refusing to respond to my complaints (although I get automated responses that they have received them) and are refusing to call me back, even though I have been promised by O2 chat online twice that someone will call me back within 72 hours, after listening to my situation.

I would never deal with O2 again after this though, what they have put me through has been unbearable and I cannot understand how I have just received a bill for £433.96 when my phone is disconnected. How can they justify this? I was supposed to be on a contract since end July 2013 for £21.83 per month for unlimited texts and calls. I've paid for the months I used my phone. I owe them nothing, and as part of the deal I did not receive my new phone I was due with O2, I was told to purchase my own phone to receive the £21.83 deal (which I never got - they charged me far more than this which they cannot explain). I never use my phone to make calls, I use it only for sending texts. If I do make calls I only use it for a few minutes at a time very occasionally, but when I asked Aerial what they were charging me for they said - and I quote from their e-mail

"The bills you have been receiving are from O2 and these have been for the mobile service you have been receiving, for example since moving to the unlimited plan between 22/7/2013 and 13/11/2013 you have made 2526 calls in total and of course you have pay for this service hence the monthly O2 bills you have been receiving."

Noone else uses my phone but me. I have no faith in this company whatsoever. They just tell me a pack of lies. My phone was cut off on 7th November, there is no way I've made more than 10 calls during that time from 22 July to 7th November.