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is cashback a ripoff (merged)
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James Clayton
14-07-2006
I got mine ok, the networks also know a lot of people don't upgrade for a few months or longer past the 12 / 18 months... after your contract is up they are making a fortune from you because they are not subsidising a handset.
hob-goblin
15-07-2006
Carphone Warehouse is bad with cashback.
dawson
15-07-2006
Originally Posted by hob-goblin:
“Carphone Warehouse is bad with cashback.”

Would you care to expand on that?

The point that was made was that all these schemes are marketing schemes designed to entice you to take out a contract. They also hope you will fail to abide by their terms and conditions. However, respectable established companies such as the cpw will have no choice but to comply with the terms of the cash-back offer providing you keep to your side of the terms & conditions. If they don't you know where to find them and a summons issued by a local county court will soon make them comply.

As others have said, such safeguards do not apply to 'here today - gone tomorrow' unknown companies, or scam artists. I'm sure most people would agree cpw falls into neither of these categories.

Other established companies such as 'The Link' or direct with the networks (if they offer any cash-back deals) would also be quite safe to deal with.

A word of caution about P4U - although they would be relatively 'safe', I have heard that their terms & conditions on their cash back deals are quite complex and give very small time-windows in which to comply, so I would suggest anyone thinking of using them pay particular attention to my advice given in post#15 above.
Last edited by dawson : 15-07-2006 at 12:41
dodgygeeza
15-07-2006
Originally Posted by hob-goblin:
“Carphone Warehouse is bad with cashback.”

On the contrary, I have now had two cheques by redemption and an initial cheque that came automatically from the Carphone Warehouse cashback deal on my 6630. All came promptly, and I have no doubt that the final one due in another six months will also arrive as expected
forumuser
17-07-2006
I looked into this offer a bit more found out they are owned by Caudwell Communications that run Phones 4U.

I called their phone number and pressed 5 for cashback enquires and after sales and was connected immediatly.

I have applied for the Nokia 6233 so hopefully it will all go to plan.
dawson
17-07-2006
Oh dear, I was about to tell you that too and to remind you of what I earlier posted about P4U and their cashback deals
DBC
17-07-2006
One company that listeners to the Three Counties consumer programme have been complaining about is themobs.com .
hob-goblin
18-07-2006
Well i have had problems with Carphone Warehouse. Personally, I would not go for a cashback deal ever again, it's just more hassle that it's worth, far better finding a company that just gives you a straight deal where you arent paying them any extra that you have to claim back.
DBC
24-07-2006
Originally Posted by ryanwilliams479:
“I haven't heard of them. Has anyone else?”

Correction, The actual company that people were complaining about is Mobiles4free. According to Three Counties Radio, ,the company has disappeared off the face of the earth. their website is down and no-one is answering the phone.
RYPW
24-07-2006
Originally Posted by DBC:
“Correction, The actual company that people were complaining about is Mobiles4free. According to Three Counties Radio, ,the company has disappeared off the face of the earth. their website is down and no-one is answering the phone.”

Why are you correcting me and what about? I simply said I haven't heard of them and asked if anyone has so I don't see what your correcting
DBC
24-07-2006
Originally Posted by ryanwilliams479:
“Why are you correcting me and what about? I simply said I haven't heard of them and asked if anyone has so I don't see what your correcting ”

Sorry, I was correcting myself. I had previously said that the company was "Free Phones For Life"
DBC
27-07-2006
This Daily Mirror article gives the latest news about Mobiles4free and other companies where people have been having trouble getting cash-backs.
Kariii
29-07-2006
mobileshop.com now have a fully automated Banking system in place. So it pays your cashback directly into your bank account on the date given. You can also now fax through your bill or, as previously advised, send it by recorded delivery so you get your proof of postage should it go missing! Unless you are late with the claim they DO pay up and you also get a reasonable period in which to send off your claim too.
Its the same with all these things, some people will find it a breeze and some, well, they just find life itself difficult, its not rocket science...
DBC
29-07-2006
Originally Posted by Kariii:
“mobileshop.com now have a fully automated Banking system in place. So it pays your cashback directly into your bank account on the date given. You can also now fax through your bill or, as previously advised, send it by recorded delivery so you get your proof of postage should it go missing! Unless you are late with the claim they DO pay up and you also get a reasonable period in which to send off your claim too.
Its the same with all these things, some people will find it a breeze and some, well, they just find life itself difficult, its not rocket science... ”

It's not always the fault of the person taking out the contract. To quote Consumer Direct ( who have had 10,000 complaints about mobile phone agreements this year:-

"Don't choose your mobile phone contract based on cashback offers," he advises. "Sometimes the terms of the contract are difficult to meet, sometimes the company goes bust and you are tied into a contract without the promised benefits."

As in the case of Mobiles 4 Free (which has gone bust), there are now thousands of people stuck with high price phone contracts with no chance of getting their money back. As the Mirror article points out, there seems to be many of these dodgy "cashback" companies out there.
Kariii
29-07-2006
I am not suggesting they are all bonafide companies, I dread to think the amount that ARE ripping people off on a daily basis! I was merely suggesting 1 company that doesn't! Its the same with anything out there, if in doubt, ask around, do a bit of research on the company, ring them up and ask questions, and READ THE T&C's. It saves on the tears later...
saintalan
30-07-2006
Anybody have experience or knowledge of any of the following;

http://www.phoneboxdirect.co.uk/index.asp
http://www.themobileoutlet.co.uk/
http://www.mobileclub7.com/
http://www.coolnewmobile.co.uk
http://www.phones2udirect.com/

Many thanks
Alan
fossman
31-07-2006
Hi

Regarding e2save, I have had 4 cashback contracts through them, my girlfriend has had 2 and my brother has had 1.

E2save can be slow to pay out but each time we have all received our cashback, as long as you follow the cashback rules then you shouldn't have any problems.

The best company I have used is Dial-a-phone, I sent a cashback claim to them in May 2006 and had the cheque within 6 days.

If you want to know about any mobile phone websites do a search in Google and you can always find reviews on there.
forumuser
10-08-2006
I have a Nokia 6233 from Phoneboxdirect.co.uk on a 12 month £315 cashback deal at £30 a month on Vodafone. All has been really go so far customer service from Phoneboxdirect has been excellent and the mobile has arrived.

The only question I have is that the cashback has to be claimed in 5 equal instalments but the deal I have is Half price line rental for 3 months 3x15 = 45 9x30 = £270 the total cashback is £315.

It looks like the first cashback after 4 months should be £75

Then after 6 months £60
Then after 8 months £60
Then after 10 months £60
Then after 12 months £60

Does this seem right??
dawson
10-08-2006
Originally Posted by forumuser:
“I have a Nokia 6233 from Phoneboxdirect.co.uk on a 12 month £315 cashback deal at £30 a month on Vodafone. All has been really go so far customer service from Phoneboxdirect has been excellent and the mobile has arrived.

The only question I have is that the cashback has to be claimed in 5 equal instalments but the deal I have is Half price line rental for 3 months 3x15 = 45 9x30 = £270 the total cashback is £315.

It looks like the first cashback after 4 months should be £75

Then after 6 months £60
Then after 8 months £60
Then after 10 months £60
Then after 12 months £60

Does this seem right??”

If it's 5 equal installments then £63 cashback each time would be what I would expect.
Last edited by dawson : 10-08-2006 at 11:57
dawson
10-08-2006
I just negotiated a cashback deal with o2 - an upfront credit applied to my account covering the entire next 12 months line rental in return for agreeing to another 12 months contract period...yeah I think I can live with that. Thank you o2!
Last edited by dawson : 10-08-2006 at 11:57
forumuser
10-08-2006
I have to send the bills though the first cashback is after 4 months then all the others are after 2. Thats what makes me think the first cashback will be £75.

I might just give them a call to confirm.
hob-goblin
11-08-2006
Screw cashback - dont go for cashback deals they're a pain in the butt, seriously.
DBC
11-08-2006
Originally Posted by hob-goblin:
“Screw cashback - dont go for cashback deals they're a pain in the butt, seriously.”

I agree. All that messing around with having to send your bills in on time. As I said above, it's all designed to make it as complicated as possible in the hope that you will get it wrong and you will lose the cashback.

Also, as has happened to some people, if the firm goes bust, then you are stuck with a high-price deal which the service provider will not renegotiate. This is because your contract was with the cashback firm, not the telephone company.
D'Ohnut
13-08-2006
You have to look carefully at the terms of the cashback deal.

I bought through mobileshop with £90 cashback about 18 months ago, on a 12 month contract @ £30/m - good xnet mins and texts bundle. Had to stay on the same tarrif to get the cashback, 1st payment on 5th month, then second on the 11th. The tarrif suited me for the first 5-6 months anyway, but I got a job with a work mobile, and it was common for everyone to use the work phone loads, so I had no need to be on a high tarrif, so I checked the terms and worked it out. I could stay on the tarrif for 7 months x £30 and get £45 cashback, but when I worked out how much a cheaper tarrif was, I got put onto a £14 tarrif forefeiting the cashback, but instead of getting £45 back, I saved £112 in line rental!!!

You have to be really careful and work out if it is worth the hassle, and with most you only have cerain periods to claim in and if you miss it, you won't get the cashback. Id treat it as a bonus rather than a deciding factor to taking out a contract.

D
markey75
15-08-2006
If anyone is interested I sent off a cashback bill last thursday(to Dial-a-Phone), and to my amazament the cheque was here on Monday morning. I know some companies are quite dodgy about their cashback deals, but this was a breath of fresh air.

My wife sent off hers to carphone warehouse a few weeks ago and still no cheque. (I know it will arrive eventually though, we received the first one in a few weeks)


Mark.....
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