Claims that Carphone Warehouse misled consumers over iPhone
By Dave Parrack
Watchdog is a BBC programme in the UK, which fights for consumers rights, and tries to get companies and organisations to treat their users more fairly. They are now claiming that the Carphone Warehouse has been guilty of misleading customers looking to buy an Apple iPhone.
The television programme sent researchers to five different Carphone Warehouse stores to buy iPhones, and monitored what they were told, and how much of that was just spin.
Three of the five stooges were erroneously informed that if their new iPhone was stolen or lost, then they’d have to pay for a whole new 18-month contract. This is absolutely wrong, with users who lose or have their iPhone stolen, only having to buy a new handset, and not a new contract.
IPhones in the UK, of course, are sold exclusively through Carphone Warehouse, and come with an obligatory 18 month long 02 contract. To replace this contract would cost £630 ($1300), a high enough price to scare most consumers in to purchasing extra insurance from the store.
With staff at the stores all receiving compensation for any extra insurance or service they manage to sell, you can see why salesmen would tell these lies, but that doesn’t excuse it at all.
The Register obtained the following statement from the Carphone Warehouse concerning the issue:
“Providing customers with expert and clear advice has always been core to The Carphone Warehouse’s principles. Because of the unique nature of the iPhone and its replacement process there could, despite detailed training, be some element of confusion among an isolated number of sales consultants.
“We will of course be investigating any further cases we receive as a priority. In the meantime we have contacted all our sales consultants to reiterate the correct advice around iPhone replacement and insurance.”
If these accusations are true, then it’s just another problem in the increasingly long list involved in the European iPhone launch. We’ve already seen France and Germany incite local laws to stop the gadgets being sold exclusively to work with one network, and a survey suggesting the iPhone is just too expensive for British consumers.
Maybe Apple should just stick to their home turf from now on.
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December 3rd, 2007
This is incorrect – the iPhone is not sold exclusively by Carphone Warehouse. It is also sold at the Apple Stores, at the Online Apple Store, and by O2 outlets.
G>
September 12th, 2008
When I worked for Carphone warehouse we where taken away on training and WHERE told by executives high up in the Carphone chain of command and Apple representatives that the customer WOULD have to take on a new 18 month contract if the customer lost, damaged their i-phone without covering it with lifeline, carphone warehouses own insurance policy. The fact that the company told us to do this shows how much they have lost their grip on the great customer service they used to offer and since Best Buy took 50% of the company at the begining of the year it has gotten worse. Now the customers needs have been completely pushed to the back burner as the company seeks to tighten up its controlable costs through better back office and procedural control, no longer is customer service looked upon as a necessity but more a luxuary that cannot be afforded a lot of the time. Best buy injected 1 billion pounds into Carphone when they purchased half of the company and I have good sources saying all of this cash has been swallowed up by debts gained over the last few years Including the failure of many badly implamented services. In my opinion :D