Taking CPW to court to get my money back

sprevett

New Member
Jul 24, 2009
3
0
0
I bought a LG Cookie from CPW and within a month it stopped charging. CPW store sent it off for repair - it came back with a note to say 'beyond economical repair' and 'internal damage' i.e they refused to repair it on the grounds that I may have damaged it myself in some way (which I havent). Consumer Direct helped and eventually Trading Standards wrote to CPW on my behalf with no result. I should add that I rang / wrote to CPW on at least 15 occasions and they were rude, obstinate and dismissive, refusing any form of escalation up their management ladder. I even wrote to the CEO / Owner (his email address is on their website) but of course it just goes to same person every time - yes the one who told me to go away the first time!!
I have now used the Money Claim Online service (i.e small claims service) to get my money back + costs. They are defending it and have a few days left to file their defence. I am incredulous - the lengths they have now gone to instead of replacing a phone which cant cost them more than 50 pounds, and I have been a long term customer of CPW (and still am with TalkTalk). Under the Sale of Goods Act I cannot possibly see how they can wriggle out of what is a very straightforward case of a faulty goods which went wrong within a month of purchase. Anyone else experienced this with CPW?
 

happywriter

New Member
Apr 25, 2009
299
0
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Sounds like you are doing the correct thing. Companies like that don't really deserve to stay in business - or be allowed to do so.
 

sprevett

New Member
Jul 24, 2009
3
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0
The good news is that they have settled my claim in full before going to court. But not before filing a defence 6 pages long which was a nonsense. Unbelievable - so much for customer care.....
 

Tony

What Consumer Founder
Apr 7, 2008
18,307
3
38
Bolton
Thanks for the update it is always good to hear the outcome of complaints. It probably took someone a day to fill that form in - it would have been cheaper to just to replace it.
 

Dorigen

New Member
Sep 3, 2009
2
0
0
I am seriously considering taking the CPW to court myself. I'll try and give you a brief synopsis of the story (though it is very long and complicated and I'm now totally confused as to what my rights could be as they keep changing their minds regarding what I owe them and why.........)
In Feb 2007 I agreed to upgrade my contract and handset as my previous contract was expiring. No handset/contract arrived, and no help when I chased. They continued to bill me at the new tariff. In May 2007, my old phone stopped working so I asked for the new phone again. After many hours of calls etc, they finally told me that they could not give me a new handset as the contract was returned and I'd need to apply for a new tariff in order to get a handset. They continued to bill me. In June 2007 I wrote them an email stating I wanted to cancel my contract with them and was stopping my direct debit. According to their terms and conditions, an email counts as written notice, but not in reality. They continued to bill me and then sent my debt to a collection agency. I paid up to the end of sept. Still more charges. In November 2007, I finally managed to get them to tell me the disconnection procedure and wrote to inform then i wanted to disconnect. They wrote back and said I had to pay a penalty as there was still 12 months remaining on my contract. I called them and eventually they agreed to disconnect me. However, they continued to puesue the disconnection penalty fee. I got no further bills and continued to dispute the penalty charge. It went to a collection agency and then to a solicitor. I told then my story and they took it no further. In Oct 2008 I got a letter from another debt collection agency stating that I owed them even more money. I had no idea what for. I told the agency that I was refusing to pay and the CPW should take me to court. Last month they called again, so i contacted the CPW asking for a breakdown of the charges they are chasing for. It would appear they are trying to bill me for line rental and call charges up to Jan 2008 claiming there was activity on my account. They claim I am liable for this as they did not receive my disconnection notice and I did not request a bar on the account or inform them my phone was lost/stolen. I have never seen a breakdown of these charges as they sent no bills from Nov 2007. They have said they didn't need to send me bills as my account was in default. I am sick of their rudeness, inability to help and constant harrassment and lies. Cannot get OTELO to help, watchdog have ignored me 3 times, OFCOM likewise. I have wasted HOURS of my life battling this and wonder if I should give in, but I can't bring myself to let them get away with this. I am at their mercy and think it's about time someone stood up to them - to my mind this is daylight robbery!