merlinmagician, I had the same experience. Mine was CPW in Canary Wharf. Let's all name and shame!
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"Carphone Warehouse misleading customers over iPhone" BBC Watchdog
- Thread starter thworple
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After my comment I have posted to Watchdog my personal experience.
CPW are stating this is an isolated case and as can be seen here that's a lie.
Name and shame boys, name and shame.
www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog
CPW are stating this is an isolated case and as can be seen here that's a lie.
Name and shame boys, name and shame.
www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog
Named and Shamed - The Carphone Warehouse, 30 Marylebone High Street, London - launch day, were telling everyone the same thing - gets stolen, buy another phone, and another contract without the insurance.
exactly, I applied for a job there once and I got told they wouldn't hire me because I didn't know enough on their pda/smart phones, so i went into a store and asked 3 different people there about their smart phones only to get "i don't really know mate"
I have just been down to the Carphone warehouse (name and shame: Hatters Way Retail Park, Luton) regarding the insurance (and cancelling it) where I was met with an appalling / rude customer service. Originally, they said that the total cost if I didnt take out the insurance was £900+ and they offered no other option but the highest at £45/quarter!! The trouble was the sales assistant was obviously friends with the branch manager and neither of them cared. After spending about an hour and half on the phone to various people, it was apparent that getting any higher than a branch manager was difficult. Finally, I managed to get a complaints address (didnt get quite high enough up the chain of command for a complaints phone number but if anyone does, please post it up) and for those who have similar problems and don't want the hassle of speaking to people up and down the country for an hour and a half, the Carphone Warehouse's official complaints address is:
1 Portal Way
London
W3 6RS.
I've been outraged by the lies and scaremongering involved to sell the insurance policy and moreso at how difficult it is to complain to anyone above the branch manager. So I'm sharing the above address even if the Carphone Warehouse doesn't want me to.
P.S The ironic thing was, on the back of the card of the rude Sales Assistant was a CPW rule number 2: "There is nothing gained by winning an argument, but losing a customer." lol
1 Portal Way
London
W3 6RS.
I've been outraged by the lies and scaremongering involved to sell the insurance policy and moreso at how difficult it is to complain to anyone above the branch manager. So I'm sharing the above address even if the Carphone Warehouse doesn't want me to.
P.S The ironic thing was, on the back of the card of the rude Sales Assistant was a CPW rule number 2: "There is nothing gained by winning an argument, but losing a customer." lol
I emailed watchdog yesterday
I emailed watchdog yesterday to tell them that it is not limited to Carphone Warehouse or the iPhone.
I just got a 8Gb N95 from Phones 4U in York (basically to sell to pay for my lovely new iPhone
). The guy in the shop tried about 10 different ways to persuade me- I kept evading the question by sayingthings like "I just like to live dangeously". He got the message eventually.
A couple of days later (monday 26th nov) I got a call from Phones 4U central call centre and had to eventually hang up on the pushiest salesman I have ever heard. He had the lamest reasons and half truths why I should take their insurance now on a 3 month trial:
"Its way more likely to break in winter because the moisture from your palm gets inside and shorts the electronics" (!)
I laughed when he said this and asked if this meant he was selling me a defective product. He then backtracked fast.
Its pathetic and also wrong. Carphone Warehouse sound especially bad but the otehrs are not much better.
I emailed watchdog yesterday to tell them that it is not limited to Carphone Warehouse or the iPhone.
I just got a 8Gb N95 from Phones 4U in York (basically to sell to pay for my lovely new iPhone
). The guy in the shop tried about 10 different ways to persuade me- I kept evading the question by sayingthings like "I just like to live dangeously". He got the message eventually.A couple of days later (monday 26th nov) I got a call from Phones 4U central call centre and had to eventually hang up on the pushiest salesman I have ever heard. He had the lamest reasons and half truths why I should take their insurance now on a 3 month trial:
"Its way more likely to break in winter because the moisture from your palm gets inside and shorts the electronics" (!)
I laughed when he said this and asked if this meant he was selling me a defective product. He then backtracked fast.
Its pathetic and also wrong. Carphone Warehouse sound especially bad but the otehrs are not much better.
Have to admit, the staff - at least the staff member that served me - at CPW Marsh Mills, Plymouth wasn't at all like some of these guys being detailed on here, told him we didn't want it but he said he had to go through the whole speal about how it would cover you blah blah blah, company policy apparently, but never once said anything like some of you are saying about having to continue paying the contract, can only buy the phone with the insurance etc, and as soon as he finished, we just said 'no thanks' and that was the end of it. Personally i had a very good experience buying from them, though due to my past experiences with them prior to the iPhone i wouldn't recommend them
i posted a thread a while ago about my friends experience in the CPW. he was just looking at the phones, mentioned to the salesguy that he was thinking about getting one, and the saleguy came out with the most blatant lies about the iphone, and what it was capable of. very, very dishonest tbh.
Made the mistake of going into the Carphone Warehouse for my iPhone, told me all about the signing up for a new contract and buying another phone if mine got nicked and I hadn't taken the insurance.
The funny part was when they said I would get a replacement iPhone for nothing........to which I pointed out that the insurance would cost me around £250 thus I was paying for the phone twice anyway.
I told them to shove the insurance and was on my way home
The funny part was when they said I would get a replacement iPhone for nothing........to which I pointed out that the insurance would cost me around £250 thus I was paying for the phone twice anyway.
I told them to shove the insurance and was on my way home
Just telephoned CPW Lifeline insurance on complaint line (number posted above) and before I even asked the lady asked if I wanted to cancel. She was very apologetic. CPW are refunding any payments made and cancelling direct debits. All iPhone customers signed up to Lifeline will receive a letter of apology.
When I checked with her that she had the details of the branch where I bought the iPhone (name & shame: City Link, Newport Road, Cardiff) she said that this was an issue across almost all branches she had come in contact with over last couple of days.
I had to laugh when she apologised that I had been misadvised! Blatent lies I said.
I got mine from a CPW in sheffield - they looked at me like I was an alien when I said I didn't want insurance, he said tell you what - I'll put you on it for a week then you can cancel if you like in ten days. I said "no you won't" and he seemed to realise that it wasn't going to work.
I wasn't happy with the display, so went to a CPW in Rotherham, and they swapped it without any bother, but then tried the insurance bit again, how I'd have to pay for the whole cost of the 18 month contract if lost etc. I said it didn't sound believable, I'd check myself, so he said OK.
so for me it's 2 branches out of 2 trying to sell the scam.
I wasn't happy with the display, so went to a CPW in Rotherham, and they swapped it without any bother, but then tried the insurance bit again, how I'd have to pay for the whole cost of the 18 month contract if lost etc. I said it didn't sound believable, I'd check myself, so he said OK.
so for me it's 2 branches out of 2 trying to sell the scam.
I had the same experience when I bought mine at CPW in Mansfield. Was told I'd have to buy a new contract.
Was quite funny when I swapped the phone on THREE seperate occasions and my contract just moved over in iTunes with no problems. The final time I went into CPW I just asked: "Explain how that just works then?"
They couldn't.
Was quite funny when I swapped the phone on THREE seperate occasions and my contract just moved over in iTunes with no problems. The final time I went into CPW I just asked: "Explain how that just works then?"
They couldn't.
Named and shamed.
I was the ONLY one at the North Finchley store that walked away without insurance and this is because, like others that post on here, we are know more about computers and electronics than others. They almost didn't even sell me my iPhone because I didn't want the insurance. These guys are garbage and they screwed over a lot of people!
T
I was the ONLY one at the North Finchley store that walked away without insurance and this is because, like others that post on here, we are know more about computers and electronics than others. They almost didn't even sell me my iPhone because I didn't want the insurance. These guys are garbage and they screwed over a lot of people!
T
It's wasn't just the pressure to go with their (expensive) insurance that ticked me off, they also ran a credit check (using my credit card) and then asked me to sign a legal document that basically stated that i know I have to have broadband / iTunes etc to activate the phone blah blah.. the entire buying "experience" took in excess of 30 minutes. I will never use CPW again
Whilst it is utterly unacceptable for CPW HQ to be sending out incorrect facts to their staff, the Sales Consultants really aren't the innocent lambs they are now portraying themselves to be.
CPW Sales Consultants have always aggressively sold their Lifeline product. This is not the first time that I, personally, have heard Sales Consultants tell lies or half-truths to sell the product.
Why? Because the average lifeline sale is worth 2-4 times the amount of commission that they get for selling a phone.
On the other hand, I am disappointed with some of the bashing that the Lifeline product has got. They mainly fall into (i) I had to pay an excess - erm, yes, it's clearly in the T&C's and not a novel concept in the insurance world and (ii) they refused my claim - again, this happens, usually with good reason.
Lifeline is one of the most expensive insurance products out there, but they do approve a very large percentage of their claims and most quite quickly in store.
With the iPhone being in their top insurance bracket however, I think they have genuinely priced themselves out of the market on this occasion.
CPW Sales Consultants have always aggressively sold their Lifeline product. This is not the first time that I, personally, have heard Sales Consultants tell lies or half-truths to sell the product.
Why? Because the average lifeline sale is worth 2-4 times the amount of commission that they get for selling a phone.
On the other hand, I am disappointed with some of the bashing that the Lifeline product has got. They mainly fall into (i) I had to pay an excess - erm, yes, it's clearly in the T&C's and not a novel concept in the insurance world and (ii) they refused my claim - again, this happens, usually with good reason.
Lifeline is one of the most expensive insurance products out there, but they do approve a very large percentage of their claims and most quite quickly in store.
With the iPhone being in their top insurance bracket however, I think they have genuinely priced themselves out of the market on this occasion.