Please excuse the typos. I am typing this on a touch screen phone.
My partner and I have just come back from Egypt. A few days before we left we dropped into an 02 shop and asked about charges we may incur if I called home (England) while in Egypt. He asked where we were going and checked my account. He said that I had a bolt on which would mean I would only be charged 4.99 per day for the first call and then receive 120 mins and 120 txts that could be used on that same day to call England. This would be the case for each separate day we called or text home. We left feeling confident that we had been given the correct information. Half way through our Holiday i logged onto my account to see I have been charged 15 pounds for a 4-5 min call back to England, plus extra charges for a few other calls and sms's made within the specified time for the 4.99 charge. We had to try and find alternative means of communicating with our family without being able to actually speak to them which was very important at this time ( I don't really wish to go into too much detail on this public forum but the reason will be listed in my account notes and in my chat history)
On arriving home I contacted 02 online chat help to ask why we had been charged in this way when one of their store advisors had assured us that we would not face this type of bill when returning. We were then told that Egypt isn't covered by the bolt on and the advisor had given us incorrect information. The online representative apologised, said they'd put notes on my account and said that we were entitled to a refund for all charges we incurred which came to around £30. We were happy with this until we were then told that we would have to get a refund from the store that gave us the incorrect information. While this store is somewhat local, I work away from home and I'm currently 300 miles away from the store and will be for the 3-4 weeks. I called this store to see if it was possible to get a refund done over the phone. I was not only told it would be impossible to carry out the refund over the phone but also that the refund wasn't guaranteed and I'd need to come into the store and talk about it when I return home. I decided to pop into a local branch near where I am currently working and speak to one of their advisors. I was told, off the record, that the chances of me getting a refund were pretty slim. She also suggested that I should not pay my air time bill until this problem has been solved. However, today I received a text saying I need to pay my bill in the next 5 days. If I do not pay it I am once again in the same position of not being able to contact home which is of the utmost important at this time.
When I return home on the 24th (ish) I have one day at home and then I am away again for 3 weeks working again. So not only have I now got to spend my only day home driving to the store which I was told this information trying, It's not a guarantee that i am going to even receive one even I've been told I am entitled to one. Normally when a customer is given incorrect information and faces a bill due to it, then are informed they're entitled to a refund they are not normally required to jump through hoops to get it, which I feel I am being asked to do so.
I have been a customer of yours for 8-9 years (7 contract and 2 Pay-as-you-go). I can honestly say this is the first time I have had any trouble and I feel extremely let down by you. While I have had 9 years of happy service it doesn't allow me to ignore the trouble, stress and extra cost it caused while trying to find an alternative way to contact home due to incorrect information given to us by one of your in store advisors. Nor does it wipe away the time and trouble I am now having to go through to get the refund. Time which would be better spent at home with my family, at this time.
I am therefore kindly requesting and would appreciate the refund be carried out online. This would help save a lot of time and stress but also the added cost of getting back to the store where I was given this information. The two advisors I have spoken to have both said that there are notes on my account which back up the above information. I await your reply.
Yours Adam Warren.
