Carephone Warehouse Customer Care ?!!!

So in July I bought a cheap and cheerful Motorola on Virgin for a
relative for £30 from Carphone Warehouse. I was enticed by the offer
of a £30 cashback cheque from Carphone Warehouse 60 days after buying
£30 of credit and then submitting the claim form within 30 days. Good
bargain I thought, an easy to use phone for my relative and £35 of
airtime (£5 on SIM and the £30 top up) for a net cost of £30.

I duly bought the pnone and £30 of credit, then sent my claim form in
by recorded delivery the next day.

70 days later - no cheque. After confirming on the Royal Mail website
that my claim form had been delivered I sent another letter by recorded
enclosing copies of all the receipts claim form etc with a very polite
letter explaining all of the above ending with 'I look forward to
receiving my cheque in the very near future'.

No response.

2 weeks after that had been received I went into the Carphone Warehouse
branch where I bought the phone, explained all of the above to the
manager who telephoned the department concerned and was told that a
cheque would be raised within 14 days. Being a patient type of person I
said OK

3 weeks after that - no cheque.

Went into the branch again - another phone call - no cheque raised,
could not see why this had not been done but promised that one would be
raised immediately.

2 weeks later no cheque. Went into branch and told manager 'this is not
personal but I am now going to start shouting loudly' I then started to
shout in the crowded shop how appalling the service was and that
Carphone Warehouse obviously didn't give a damn about their customers
once they had their money etc'. After several potential customers
turned around from the counter and walked out the manager made another
telephone call and was told that a cheque would be raised immediately,
he then explained that there was some confusion/dispute as to whether
Carphone Warehouse/Virgin were responsible for raising the cashback
cheque. To this I replied not unreasonably that that was no concern of
mine, I had performed my obligations under the contract and that I
expected Carphone Warehouse to perform theirs.

8 weeks later - no cheque, the deaths of my father and brother in law
over Christmas and New Year were somewhat of a higher priority.

Yesterday whilst making funeral arrangements for my father I was
walking past the Carphone Warehouse branch and on impulse walked in and
told the manager that after 6 months the promised cheque had not
arrived and that I would shortly issue a statutory demand followed by
proceedings in the small claims court. The manager said there was no
need to do that, not surprisingly I begged to differ. He then turned
round and said 'I'm as fed up of this as you are' he then took
£30 out of the till and almost threw it at me. He recited the squabble
with Virgin over who pays the cashback.as being the reason for all this
(not Carphone Warehouse's apparent complete indifference to their
customers) and then turned away without so much of an apology.

So after 6 months I got my £30 but only because I had kept copies of
all my receipts, produced the printouts of my letters being delivered
by recorded delivery and made myself a pain in the arse. I hasten to
add I was never nasty and only shouted after I warned the staff that I
would do so and at no time did I make my complaint personal about any
staff member.

Not surprisingly I will not be going anywhere near them again.

Regards to all

---

› See More: Carephone Warehouse Customer Care ?!!!

zacnici wrote:

> So in July I bought a cheap and cheerful Motorola on Virgin for a
> relative for £30 from Carphone Warehouse. I was enticed by the offer
> of a £30 cashback cheque from Carphone Warehouse 60 days after buying
> £30 of credit and then submitting the claim form within 30 days. Good
> bargain I thought, an easy to use phone for my relative and £35 of
> airtime (£5 on SIM and the £30 top up) for a net cost of £30.
>
> I duly bought the pnone and £30 of credit, then sent my claim form in
> by recorded delivery the next day.
>
> 70 days later - no cheque. After confirming on the Royal Mail website
> that my claim form had been delivered I sent another letter by recorded
> enclosing copies of all the receipts claim form etc with a very polite
> letter explaining all of the above ending with 'I look forward to
> receiving my cheque in the very near future'.
>
> No response.
>
> 2 weeks after that had been received I went into the Carphone Warehouse
> branch where I bought the phone, explained all of the above to the
> manager who telephoned the department concerned and was told that a
> cheque would be raised within 14 days. Being a patient type of person I
> said OK
>
> 3 weeks after that - no cheque.
>
> Went into the branch again - another phone call - no cheque raised,
> could not see why this had not been done but promised that one would be
> raised immediately.
>
> 2 weeks later no cheque. Went into branch and told manager 'this is not
> personal but I am now going to start shouting loudly' I then started to
> shout in the crowded shop how appalling the service was and that
> Carphone Warehouse obviously didn't give a damn about their customers
> once they had their money etc'. After several potential customers
> turned around from the counter and walked out the manager made another
> telephone call and was told that a cheque would be raised immediately,
> he then explained that there was some confusion/dispute as to whether
> Carphone Warehouse/Virgin were responsible for raising the cashback
> cheque. To this I replied not unreasonably that that was no concern of
> mine, I had performed my obligations under the contract and that I
> expected Carphone Warehouse to perform theirs.
>
> 8 weeks later - no cheque, the deaths of my father and brother in law
> over Christmas and New Year were somewhat of a higher priority.
>
> Yesterday whilst making funeral arrangements for my father I was
> walking past the Carphone Warehouse branch and on impulse walked in and
> told the manager that after 6 months the promised cheque had not
> arrived and that I would shortly issue a statutory demand followed by
> proceedings in the small claims court. The manager said there was no
> need to do that, not surprisingly I begged to differ. He then turned
> round and said 'I'm as fed up of this as you are' he then took
> £30 out of the till and almost threw it at me. He recited the squabble
> with Virgin over who pays the cashback.as being the reason for all this
> (not Carphone Warehouse's apparent complete indifference to their
> customers) and then turned away without so much of an apology.
>
> So after 6 months I got my £30 but only because I had kept copies of
> all my receipts, produced the printouts of my letters being delivered
> by recorded delivery and made myself a pain in the arse. I hasten to
> add I was never nasty and only shouted after I warned the staff that I
> would do so and at no time did I make my complaint personal about any
> staff member.
>
> Not surprisingly I will not be going anywhere near them again.
>
> Regards to all

I don't trust any of these cash-back deals, they all tend to be more
hassle than its worth and rely on the customer to chase the claim.

As for the CarCack Warehouse, what they know about good customer
service and moby's could be written on the back of postage stamp. The
obligation to pay you was with the Warehouse as they claim it back from
Virgin. However, regardless of whether or not Virgin renege on the
deal, the Cacksters should still have paid you in full.

Regards,

Vic

"zacnici" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
So in July I bought a cheap and cheerful Motorola on Virgin for a
relative for £30 from Carphone Warehouse. I was enticed by the offer

You sound like an attention seeker with that sort of behaviour. It would be
good to hear the other side of the story as it sounds like there is a lot
more to it.

Brian wrote:
> "zacnici" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> So in July I bought a cheap and cheerful Motorola on Virgin for a
> relative for £30 from Carphone Warehouse. I was enticed by the offer
>
> You sound like an attention seeker with that sort of behaviour. It would be
> good to hear the other side of the story as it sounds like there is a lot
> more to it.

6 months repeated hassle to get £30 back, and apparently, only let off
steam in the store once, and not personally against staff members, and
with prior warning.

To me he sounds rather patient - I'm sure most people would have kicked
up a fuss/moaned to other customers before that.

D

On Wed, 04 Jan 2006 10:55:21 GMT, "Brian" <[email protected]> wrote:

>You sound like an attention seeker with that sort of behaviour. It would be
>good to hear the other side of the story as it sounds like there is a lot
>more to it.


Like what exactly???

The OP has stated that he fulfilled all of his contractual obligations and
has paperwork to prove it!

Pray tell what could possibly explain the actions of the Carphone
Warehouse???
--

Regards

John [Essex, UK]
Remove the obvious spamtrap to reply

Brian wrote:

> You sound like an attention seeker with that sort of behaviour. It would be
> good to hear the other side of the story as it sounds like there is a lot
> more to it.

Actually NO !

The '... lot more to it..' to it bit was that Carphone Warehouse were
involved in a dispute with Virgin ... but how is that my concern? My
contract for the cashback deal was with Carphone Warehouse and they
quite simply failed to live up to their part of the contract. I am not
moaning about a one man band who made a bad deal with Richard Branson
but a multi-million pound organisation.

As stated I sent my claim form and receipts by recorded delivery the
day after fulfilling my contractual obligation. I am not unreasonable
in thinking that should really have been the end of the matter but as I
am quite a reasonable person I sent a polite follow up letter over a
week after when I should have received my cheque as Carphone Warehouse
were obliged to do.When this failed to even drawn an acknowledgement I
then visited the shop several times, on each occassion producing copies
of the receipts, recorded delivery slips and confirmations of delivery
and putting over the facts in a polite manner. It was only after weeks
of inactivity and fobbing off that I resorted to the subsequent
shouting (after warning and apologising).

I rather think that I was pretty tolerant and patient to have waited 6
months, if you think that is attention seeking what would you have
done?

Regards

"Stephen (Sausagefans.com)" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>> by recorded delivery and made myself a pain in the arse. I hasten to
>> add I was never nasty and only shouted after I warned the staff that I
>> would do so and at no time did I make my complaint personal about any
>> staff member.
>
> This might not have availed you much. Shouting in the store directly
> affects the earnings of staff members for something which they are
> relatively powerless to sort out.

I'm sorry, but anyone who becomes a staff member for any organisation
becomes their 'front line'.

They are then directly responsible IMHO for sorting out any customer
dissatisfaction.

Si.

[email protected] declared for all the world to hear...
> They are then directly responsible IMHO for sorting out any customer
> dissatisfaction.

Indeed, but in reality this is vary rarely possible.
--
Regards
Jon

In message <[email protected]>, Stephen
<[email protected]> writes
>In article <[email protected]>,
>[email protected] says...
>> I'm sorry, but anyone who becomes a staff member for any organisation
>> becomes their 'front line'.
>>
>> They are then directly responsible IMHO for sorting out any customer
>> dissatisfaction.
>
>Sure, I understand that but do you think you get more out of them by
>spoiling the rest of their day?

He seems to have tried everything else, and got nothing. He resorted to
this in obvious frustration, and it worked.

The short answer is yes?

--
Richard Faulkner

Stephen (Sausagefans.com) wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
> > I'm sorry, but anyone who becomes a staff member for any organisation
> > becomes their 'front line'.
> >
> > They are then directly responsible IMHO for sorting out any customer
> > dissatisfaction.
>
> Sure, I understand that but do you think you get more out of them by
> spoiling the rest of their day?

As I said in my posting I had been into the shop on several occasions,
was always polite, explained the facts clearly and presented them with
written proof of what I had been saying. I 'shouted' once and that was
after I had told them I was going to shout, I was not nasty or personal
to the staff but intended to put across to potential customers that I
was dissatisfied by Carphone Warehouse.

For goodness sake read my initial posting. What part of that does not
put across that Carphone Warehouse did not give a stuff about me and
that I had to jump through hoops over a 6 month period to get anything
done!

1. Carphone Warehouse had a poster stuck outside their shop saying 'Buy
this phone for £30, add £30 top up credit within 30 days and we will
send you a cashback cheque for £30'. Would anyone please like to
explain what difficulty they have in understanding that.
2. I enquired about the offer, the assistant confirmed the offer as
stated and that within 60 days of receiving my claim Carphone Warehouse
(not Virgin or anyone else) would send a cashback cheque for £30. I
accordingly bought the advertised phone for £30, immediately put £30
of credit on in the same transaction and sent my claim off the next day
in the prescribed manner using the claim form provided by Carphone
Warehouse, all of which was sent by recorded delivery. Hands up anyone
who thinks that it would be thoroughly unreasonable for me to expect a
cheque within the next 60 days!
3. Approximately 70 days AFTER my claim form had been received by
Carphone Warehouse I sent a polite letter (again by recorded delivery)
explaining all of the above and enclosing copies of all the above
including the recorded delivery receipt and confirmation of the date
and time that my claim had been delivered. Hands up all those who think
that it would be thoroughly unreasonable of me to expect that this
would have prompted some reaction from any reasonably competent
organisation, even if it was only an acknowledgement!
4. 2 weeks after this letter had been received and without any form of
acknowledgement from Carphone Warehouse I went into the shop and
explained all of the above and provided copies of all of the above. A
telephone call was made to the appropriate department and I was
PROMISED that a cheque would be raised within 14 days and that Customer
Services would telephone me (in my follow up letter at item 2 I had
provided my office number, mobile number, home address, email and fax).
This was recorded on my customer details file on their computer system.
Hands up all those who think that I was unreasonable to expect that
Carphone Warehouse would send my cheque! (Naïve possibly)
5. 3 weeks after that and having had neither a cheque nor any form of
acknowledgement I went into the shop again and explained all of the
above and provided copies of all of the above. Another telephone call
was made and I was PROMISED that a cheque would be raised immediately.
This was again recorded on my customer details file and a copy given to
me. Hands up all those who think that I was unreasonable to expect that
Carphone Warehouse would send my cheque!
6. 2 weeks after that went into the shop again. Told manager 'this is
not personal but I am now going to start shouting loudly' I then
started to shout in the crowded shop how appalling the service was and
that Carphone Warehouse obviously didn't give a damn about their
customers once they had their money etc'. After several potential
customers turned around from the counter and walked out the manager
made another telephone call and was told that a cheque would be raised
immediately, he then explained that there was some confusion/dispute as
to whether Carphone Warehouse/Virgin were responsible for raising the
cashback cheque. To this I replied not unreasonably that that was no
concern of mine, I had performed my obligations under the contract and
that I expected Carphone Warehouse to perform theirs.

I am sorry if some posters think that at this point I was being
unreasonable. I would suggest that up to this point I had been
remarkably restrained.

After 15 weeks Carphone Warehouse had IGNORED me. NOBODY had contacted
me to explain what the delay was. My 'shouting' was not directed at
the staff, read my post! I told them that I was about to start
'shouting'. My 'shouted' comments were not personal to any
member of staff.

Far from being traumatised by the event a couple of them were smirking,
the manager was completely indifferent. He didn't apologise for the
fact that I had to write and come into the shop on several occasions to
try and get this matter resolved. He didn't apologise for Carphone
Warehouse's broken promise All he did was say that there was a
dispute with Virgin over the payments. That may have been the reason
for Carphone Warehouse's appalling attitude and failure to comply
with their contractual obligations but it is not an excuse.

The manager was the same person who 8 weeks later refused to make eye
contact with me and said 'I'm as fed up of this as you are' before
almost throwing the £30 out of the till at me. Not once did he
apologise for the length of time that it took to get the matter
resolved, for failing to follow up on the actions promised on previous
occasions and for the incovenience.

With regards to my actions impacting on the sales staff earnings,
Customer Service is not some 'black art' that is done in a back
office or a call centre, it starts at the front line. The staff and the
manager in particular seemed to think that their obligation towards
customer service ended in making a telephone call. By not bothering to
follow through my complaint until its resolution they merely 'fobbed
me off'. If my 'shouting' on one of the four occasions that I
went into the shop to get the issue resolved affected their earnings
then tough. If they haven't learnt from the experience then they will
get more people shouting at them although I rather suspect that not
many people would have been as restrained as me.

Regards

In message <[email protected]>,
zacnici <[email protected]> writes
>With regards to my actions impacting on the sales staff earnings,
>Customer Service is not some 'black art' that is done in a back office
>or a call centre, it starts at the front line. The staff and the
>manager in particular seemed to think that their obligation towards
>customer service ended in making a telephone call. By not bothering to
>follow through my complaint until its resolution they merely 'fobbed me
>off'. If my 'shouting' on one of the four occasions that I went into
>the shop to get the issue resolved affected their earnings then tough.
>If they haven't learnt from the experience then they will get more
>people shouting at them although I rather suspect that not many people
>would have been as restrained as me.

Your experience is not dissimilar to that received from many large
organisations, and the perception is that they do not give a monkeys
about the customer.

In your situation, like many, I would probably have made one or two
attempts to get the money, and given up - but would never use CW again,
and would tell anyone I could.

I admire your persistence, and the fact that you had the bottle to kick
up a fuss in the shop. If that's what it takes to get some action after
many months and polite communication, so be it.

What I cant understand is why mobile phone companies use cashback with a
claims procedure to make things appear cheaper. The fact is that they
will know damned well that you have paid your bills and used your phone
after months x, y & z, so it would be extremely simple to automate the
cashback, or a few free months line rental, or whatever.

IMHO, The only reason that they use these claims procedures is because
they know that many customers wont bother, will forget, or will get the
convoluted procedure wrong, and they wont have to cough up.

So it's a scam of the highest order, and probably worth millions.

In your case, I do not see why they could not just give you £30 of
credit with the phone, and claim it from Virgin. Same result, no hassle,
and a happy customer who would tell all his/her friends.........

--
Richard Faulkner

>

So did you get £30 cashback, or was that just a peace offering, or a
gift, from the manager of the store? £30 yet to come maybe???

On Fri, 6 Jan 2006 07:16:24 -0000, Stephen (Sausagefans.com)
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Of course you were nasty. You shouted at the staff. This showed a lack
>of other options on your part and was nasty to the staff as if customers
>walked out they will earn less money.
>
Serves them right for being useless. If one of them had taken ownership of
the situation, it may not have developed that far!

>I understand that. What you do not understand is how tied up the person
>in the store is when it comes to try and help you, shouting does not
>help you.

Clearly, it did!!

>Don't be daft, no one misunderstands the situation but some people are
>suggesting that shouting at the staff might not be helpful.

But he got his £30...so it was!!

>Depends on your skills and manners doesn't it. I wouldn't have shouted
>in the store, I wouldn't have shouted at anyone. I would have dropped
>an email to the MD or one of the several Area managers I know by name
>and had the matter sorted out.

Yeah right...and I suppose all CPW customers know Area Managers by name!!
Are you a CPW (ex) employee??

>Yes they were. They lost the staff customers / commission, that is
>personal. Your shouting may have been threatening. Would you like
>someone to come to your work and shout at you? No one has the right to
>shout at anyone else.

Cobblers. Anyone doing a sub-standard job should expect to be shouted at!

>Smirking at you making a twit of yourself???

He got his £30..so not a twit then!

>If he didn't make eye contact how did he know he was giving the money to
>the right person?

What???? You anal twat! Perhaps he was looking at the OP's forehead, nose,
mouth, torso...take your pick

>Like in every company I'm sure CPW has good and bad stores and good and
>bad people but I can never imagine a need to shout (ever) and problems
>I've had with things have been very rapidly resolved by a quiet word
>with the MD or a quick called to an Area manager or a chat with the
>manager in a quiet peaceful way.

What a load od crap. I'm sure the MD of CPW would just *love* to have quiet
chats with the hundreds of dissatisfied customers from his stores. Just
because *you* as an apparent (ex) employee have access to Managers personal
details, in no way makes the same information available to the general
public!!

--

Regards

John [Essex, UK]
Remove the obvious spamtrap to reply

Sausagefans.com Stephen wrote:
> Of course you were nasty. You shouted at the staff. This showed a lack
> of other options on your part and was nasty to the staff as if customers
> walked out they will earn less money.

What options are available when the 'Customer Service' department and
the staff obviously don't give a flying f##k about their customers. I
did warn them that I would pursue them through the Small Claims Court
but that would have taken up even more time on my part. All I wanted
was a stupid £30 cheque that on 2 previous occasions a named person
had accepted responsibility for raising. So they were either lying or
were for some reason unable to raise the cheque. If they were unable to
raise the cheque why did they not contact me and /or the shop manager?

> I understand that. What you do not understand is how tied up the person
> in the store is when it comes to try and help you...

Each time I went into the shop, the manager would telephone the
cashback claim department, explain what had happened and a named person
would assume responsibility for sending me my cheque. So what you are
saying is that it is entirely beyond the capability of the manager or
any other staff member to telephone that named person, say after a
couple of days, to see if they had actually done it? They obviously
didn't give a damn and thought that by making a telephone call they
could fob me off.

> Don't be daft, no one misunderstands the situation but some people are
> suggesting that shouting at the staff might not be helpful.

I got my money!

> Depends on your skills and manners doesn't it.

I think I have shown a fair degree of tolerance. I had sent of my claim
in the prescribed manner that should have been the end of the matter. I
followed that up with a polite follow up letter, that really should
have been the end of the matter. When that failed, I made two visits to
the shop, both times putting over my complaint in a polite assertive
manner that should have CERTAINLY been the end of the matter. I have
found being polite and assertive resolves most problems, for Carphone
Warehouse it apparently just means that you can be ignored or fobbed
off.

> I wouldn't have shouted
> in the store, I wouldn't have shouted at anyone. I would have dropped
> an email to the MD or one of the several Area managers I know by name
> and had the matter sorted out.

Perhaps you would like to publish their names, email addressses,
telephone numbers, home addresses, car reg no's, clubs, inside leg
measurement etc etc on this newsgroup, I am sure they would appreciate
that! Or perhaps in future if anyone has a problem with Carphone
Warehouse they sould contact you to sort it out.

> > 'shouting'. My 'shouted' comments were not personal to any
> > member of staff.
> Yes they were. They lost the staff customers / commission, that is
> personal. Your shouting may have been threatening. Would you like
> someone to come to your work and shout at you? No one has the right to
> shout at anyone else.

If on my first visit to the shop I had walked in and started shouting I
agree. Having worked in a Benefits office I have been shouted at a lot
of times, in many cases people kick off straightaway when all they
needed to was explain their problem. On that point I agree entirely.

If someone had come to me and set out their problem I would do my best
to sort it out, I would follow it up and if I could not resolve it I
would contact the person, explain why I could not resolve it and offer
other avenues etc etc. If I had not followed it up for some reason and
a person came in a second time I would act on it IMMEDIATELY and make
damned sure that I progressed the matter. If on the other hand I just
sat on my arse and did nothing then I would not at all have been
surprised if after five weeks and 3 visits the person started shouting
at me because I would have deserved it!

> > Far from being traumatised by the event a couple of them were smirking,
> > Smirking at you making a twit of yourself???

Smirking because they obviously didn't give a stuff, and yes I was
being made to look a twit and I am bloody angry about that.

> > The manager was the same person who 8 weeks later refused to make eye
> > contact with me ...
> If he didn't make eye contact how did he know he was giving the money to
> the right person?

Because I was stood right in front of him! You can look at someone
without making eye contact you know, try it, it's called peripheral
vision

> Like in every company I'm sure CPW has good and bad stores and good and
> bad people but I can never imagine a need to shout (ever) and problems
> I've had with things have been very rapidly resolved by a quiet word
> with the MD or a quick called to an Area manager or a chat with the
> manager in a quiet peaceful way.

So I'm supposed to know the MD, Area Managers and shop managers on a
personal basis. Does that mean that if I have a problem with say a
flight on Virgin Atlantic I should invite Richard Branson round for a
barbecue before I can register a complaint?

In message <[email protected]>, Stephen
<[email protected]> writes
>In article <[email protected]>,
>[email protected] says...
>> He seems to have tried everything else, and got nothing. He resorted to
>> this in obvious frustration, and it worked.
>>
>> The short answer is yes?
>
>Your perception of "everything else" must be terribly different from
>mine.

What else would you suggest??


--
Richard Faulkner