Recent Upgrade

[robbbie85]

Basically my old device completely died on Sunday. I went into the O2 shop to get it all sorted, at first I thought they might repair it, but that seemed like it would be prohibitively expensive. So at that point I just wanted a new device and didn't really appreciate the position I was in and that I had more options open to me than O2.

I thought the new plan was expensive when I was in the shop, but it did seem like one of the cheapest ones available to me from O2. So I went ahead and upgraded with them. Since coming home and going online and shopping around, I can see there are many cheaper deals out there for the same device, but even shorter contracts and more data.

I'm well within my 14 days cancellation and I now have my PAC code, so I'm just going to go back to the shop and return it. I have phoned O2, but they don't seem too interested about negotiating a better price (it's half price elsewhere, even with Vodafone as service provider).

I'm just wondering if there's anything I've missed? I would probably stay with O2 if they met me halfway, but like I say they don't seem interested when I speak to them on the phone.

Thanks,

Rob

[MI5]

@robbbie85 

If you've found a better deal with good coverage in your area, go for it.

O2 aren't interested in price matching or customer retention these days as they have too many anyway.

[pgn]

O2 stopped negotiating decades ago - "if you can get it cheaper elsewhere on O2, go get it there" is what I was told by O2 shop staff - so bought phone from the Carphone Warehouse (CPW) shop one floor below, then back up the eacalator to O2 shop to move number and PAYG balance to a SIM that fitted the new handset (obvs ages ago, as CPW no longer exist as a shop-based company). Buyer power exists if you are prepared to do your homework, @robbbie85 - good luck!

[robbbie85]

Thanks for clarifying, that's fair enough if they no longer negotiate. I've never ever tried negotiating before it was just that the jump in airtime tariff this time was a lot for basically the same service. Carphone Warehouse seem to have the best deals so will probably go with them even if it takes a couple of days to sort, transfer PAC and get the new device.

[robbbie85]

Thanks for confirming, I feel a bit clearer now that I know I can't negotiate.

[MI5]

@robbbie85 

Just make sure the new network has coverage in your area and the places you go.

A cheap deal is no good without a signal.

Check with free PAYG sims first before committing to a lengthy contract.

[Oxonian]

@robbbie85 

You could consider buying a new handset direct from a manufacturer or from a retailer. You can then look for a deal - if you want to stay with O2 - via :-

SIM Only Deals: Compare our best in June 2024 - Uswitch

https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/compare/sim_only_deals/

At the time of writing, there are five O2 deals thereon :-

[robbbie85]

O2 have now issued me a bill of £131, even though I cancelled my contract within 7 days. I paid of the original device too already, but not sure if I still have the receipt. I've got no idea where they've come up with £131, I've asked for an itemisation, but not got anything through yet.

[Oxonian]

@robbbie85 

Unfortunately, this is a customer to customer community so we cannot access your account or take other direct action. 

Hence, you need to contact O2 and I suggest that you message them on social media :-

Facebook : https://o2uk.co/O2CFB

X (previously known as Twitter) : https://o2uk.co/O2CTW

Instagram : https://o2uk.co/O2CIG

The social media team are based in the UK and have a good reputation for solving problems. 👍

[robbbie85]

Sorry just as a final post and update on this in case it helps anyone in future.

So June 3rd I upgraded in store.

June 9th I cancelled my contract and returned the device in store.

June 27th I got a "final bill" for £131, thankfully I had cancelled my direct debit so hadn't been charged anything. I tried phoning O2 to resolve, they explained that £129 was for the "unreturned" device and there was £2.38 airtime balance. I told them it was returned in store and gave them a number that I was given when I returned it by the store. They said that they can't do anything themselves and it had to be logged as returned in store (this isn't accurate). After this I had a bit of back and forth with O2 on their twitter account asking why they couldn't sort it themselves and the store had to do, surely there should be an interconnect system where the phone is logged as returned in store and the balance is cleared.

Anyway I went back to the store 28th June and was seen just before they closed, the guy I dealt with took all my details again, but I didn't have some details on me (possibly my account number I forget)and my phone number had switched to another company so he was unable to fully access my details. He said though he would call me back in a couple of days to help me get it sorted. Of course there's no phone call, but they have been pretty busy the times I'm in there.

I went back when it opened on Saturday 6th July and this time I was dealt with another guy, who was possibly the store manager. He was very good actually, as he kind of picked up what was going on immediately and said that they had a device returned to them because it was still locked (I think this should have been sorted/explained when I originally returned it, I'm sure I'm not the only one ignorant about these things). He walked me through the process of unlocking it and then he wrote a note on the system to explain what happened (not sure how this is connected to the main system but there is no logging a returned device capability). Regardless, he said that they would sent it back Monday 8th July.

Wednesday 17th July I got another final demand/going to debt collection letter through the post (I already had a few emails too). The letter was dated the 10th July, so I figured maybe the device hadn't been returned by that point. I phoned customer service today 18th July and explained everything that had happened, it took about 40 minutes in total and the agent kept saying about the £129 fee being owed, so I wasn't sure I was getting anywhere with him. I had also getting given him the "tracking number" again I was given by the store on 9th June, but I wasn't entirely clear whether he could see it as returned. Anyway he kept saying about the £129 for the device and then said he needed to talk to someone, he eventually came back and said about it the £129 for the device being owed and £2.38 for the airtime. At which point I just said yes but the £129 needs to be wiped because I've returned. At which point he went away again and said he was going to try to get it processed. Eventually I started getting credit emails and SMSs sent to me for £50, £50 and £29 so I figured this was him clearing the debt. I was quite relieved that I got to this point to be honest and to be fair to the agent he did a great job in helping me, but I was just worrying things were getting lost in translation. As for the remaining £2.38 airtime balance, I paid that via bank transfer after the phone call, so hopefully I'm now showing a zero balance.

Overall I'm so relieved to be leaving O2, I find their processes frustrating and their customer service hard to deal with in the sense that their processess are designed in a way that make it hard for agents to serve customers for more complicated issues. That said the individual people I dealt with directly were good on the whole, but my overall view is considering how much more expensive O2 seems to be vs. competitor (perhaps this is because I was looking at cheapest devices/contracts), they really aren't worth the hassle and stress when things go wrong.

My point of this thread and post is just to give my view and experience as I had quite a unique set of circumstances and perhaps someone may comes across this in future and it could help them.