Tesco Mobile

Hi

I posted this under the 14 day cooling off period article but not sure if the thread there is still running.

I upgraded my Tesco Mobile contract over the phone (originally signed up in-store in the Tesco Mobile shop) but the new mobile arrived faulty – battery drains straight down so have to recharge it several times a day and can’t rely on it outside the house. Tesco say they will replace it but I have to send it off and be without a mobile for 10 days. It's my wife's only phone and she can't do without it for that long. Tesco Mobile have a replacement procedure over the counter in-store, but just because I did the upgrade by phone they refuse to let me use it. My contract is with the same company whether you upgrade by phone or in-store so I don’t see why I’m being treated differently – they just say stock rotations which seems like a poor excuse! Now they won’t let me cancel as 25 days have passed since the contract started (I raised this issue on the 2nd day but it's taken 3 weeks of dealing with Customer Care to no avail). I believe the 14 day cooling off period hasn’t commenced as the phone was faulty on arrival so they haven’t started performing their full contractual obligations. I also informed them earlier that I deem the cost of the invonvenience and electricity charges to be £5 per day and have started invoicing them but they won’t accept my charges. Very grateful for your thoughts. All we'd really like is for them to replace it in-store.

Many thanks

Thanks for the reply. The contract doesn't say anything about replacement time and doesn't provide for a loan phone during repair/replacement - worth a a go on the loan phone though thanks. My argument is they have the means to replace it at their shop with no inconvenience and just because I upgraded by phone doesn't stop them doing that and shouldn't mean I have to use a postal service. Unfortunately it's falling on deaf ears so I'm now composing a complaint to Otelo. In the mean time my £5 daily charges to them are continuing to accrue - probably not much chance of them paying them but at least it allows me to send them invoices and reminders!

What do you think about whether the cooling off period has started if it was faulty on arrival?

Great that makes sense. Only problem with cancelling is it says in the contract they can charge us for all the calls and internet use at their standard charges ie way more than the £35 per month contract. Really we just want them to replace it in the store but if they won't do it all I can do is cancel I guess. As a side point, on looking closely at the contract it say they can vary it including the charges at any time. This seems like a grossly unfair term as theoretically they could double the charges and you're still locked in for 12 months. Tesco Mobile are a bunch of cowboys in my view.

Just had another reply from Tesco Mobile that Tesco Online Phone Shops have a totally separate process to Tesco Retail Phone Shops which is why I can't use the over the counter replacement service. My issue with this is my contract is still with Tesco Mobile Limited either way and I wasn't made aware of these different internal departments and the implications of them when I upgraded.