Meteor selling wrong sim for iphone 4s

wildflower

Hi, i am very annoyed at the moment, i signed up with meteor billpay 2 weeks ago and got an iphone 4s. since i got it i have no coverage inside my house. the phone works perfect so not unhappy with the phone, its the coverage. so i toddled back to the shop after 3 days thinking i had a 7-14 day cooloing off period but i was sent packing cos the shop doesnt take returns of iphones...grrrr...how on earth is that legal? well anyway i rang customer service and after an hr on the phone i was told a big fat NO that they wudnt take back the fone.
i rang comreg and explained the situation, they said to email them and make formal complaint which i am just about to do, they have 10 days back phone. meteor still said no.
so then i started to research the problem, and found im one of 100s of peope having the exact same problem- its not coverage issue- its a sim issue. meteor are selling a 32k sim and iphone 4s needs a 128k sim or higher. so i mailed meteor and tols them that i wanted a 128k sim or terminate contract. they deny there is anything wrong with sim. there is a forum on meteor going back to last nov when the phones came out with people have same issues.
rang conreg again and explained new problem, they say i may need legal advice but they will contact meteor.
how are meteor getting away with this? does anyone what i should do now? i have contacted conor pope- the consumer guy on today fm. should i get solicitor- im wary of throwing good money after bad though. shouls i cancel direct debit?
i just think its very unfair that i bought the fone in good faith and it doesnt work- surely its not unreasonable to expect a refund.

drunkmonkey

If what you say is correct then everybody on Meteor would have this problem., they don't.
Your problem seems to relate to coverage in your house. You need to keep to the point with comreg and not waffle about things you read on the internet.

Email them explaining you joined meteor and since then you have no coverage in your home. You want them to fix the problem and you have tried to fix it by working with their technical support but they were unable to resolve it. Seen as they can't fix the problem you would like to give back the phone and move to another network that you know works in your house. Keep it simple and to the point and before you email them you have went as far as you can with meteor technical support and have troubleshooted all possibilities with them.

ZENER

Give the store back the iPhone and cancel the DD ? If they can't uphold their end of the contract - a usable phone service - then there is no contract. They can't simply say we don't take back Brand Xs phone can they ?

Ken

drunkmonkey

ZENER wrote: »

Give the store back the iPhone and cancel the DD ? If they can't uphold their end of the contract - a usable phone service - then there is no contract. They can't simply say we don't take back Brand Xs phone can they ?

Ken

That's not how it works Ken the store is under no obligation to take back the phone until the fault is proven. They are entitled to send it away to be checked.
Merely handing it back and cancel the DD could end OP in trouble through the courts as she is in breach of contract. There's a right way an wrong way to do things to make sure your ass is covered. Comreg is the only way forward if things fail with meteor technical support.

No where in any phone contract is universal service in every area promised. Usually though if a customers trouble shoots the problem from home with the network and gives them a chance to fix the issue if they fail they will nearly always let the customer out of contract. I think OP has a little more to do on here side and needs to stop jumping to conclusions based on what she's read on the internet.

The Store should be of more help and will take back the phone once tech support say it's ok there is a problem at her address.

dub45

Remember cancelling a dd does not remove the obligation to pay for services under your contract.

The dd is a method of paying a bill thats all.

ZENER

Apologies . . . was just having a rant. Reading all the posts in this forum can make one somewhat militant . . . carry on !

Ken

AlmightyCushion

I may be wrong here but last I checked the only difference between a 32K sim and a 128K sim is the storage space (the number relates to the amount of memory it can hold). A 128K sim will let you store more messages and contacts on it which doesn't matter for an iPhone as it's all stored on the phone any ways. So the sim isn't what's causing this.

wildflower

i understan d that it seemed like a coverage issue at first but i was only at home that weekend, but after that it was dropping calls everywhere so its not a coverage issue anymore.
i dont want to send back fone cos i have to send direct to apple and they are notorious for sending back refurb ished fones instead of ur new one.
i just dont get how this is legal? surely there has to be a cooling off period- contract or not?

ted1

If you bought the phone from meteor then you do not have to send it to Apple, your contract is with Meteor.

rameire

i thought a cooling off period is only if something is bought on the tinternet or in your home through a door 2 door salesman.

if there is a fault with the phone, only deal with the phone shop you purchased the phone with, advise them of all the problems with the phone and that you would like them to take the phone away and resolve the error.
if the error or other errors appear after being returned, we will work from there.....

wildflower

the shop wont even talk to me about the phone, they say ring customer care and they are telling me to send it directly to apple as meteor do not ever take iphones back- they go straight to apple always.
will meteor take me to court if i cancel direct debit- iv never actually heard of them doing that and i know a few people who cancelled dd and owed 100s- it was all eventually sorted without paying anything to them. i told the man on the fone i was willing ti pay full price for the fone to get out of contract as i could use it with vodafone and he said no. i am so sick of talking to them at this stage cos they arent willing to back down at all.

slimjimmc

If the shop sends the iPhone back to Apple that's their business but legally they must deal with you, they are the retailer and you are their consumer, they can't relinquish their legal responsibilities to you. I wouldn't simply cancel the dd because that could look like you breaching the contract you entered unless you advised them that you are cancelling because they haven't done their part of the contract.

Try to avoid dealing over the phone anymore, put your complaint in writing (registered post). That way there's a paper trail, no misunderstanding and very little wriggling room, and it's harder to ignore your complaint.

dub45

wildflower wrote: »

the shop wont even talk to me about the phone, they say ring customer care and they are telling me to send it directly to apple as meteor do not ever take iphones back- they go straight to apple always.
will meteor take me to court if i cancel direct debit- iv never actually heard of them doing that and i know a few people who cancelled dd and owed 100s- it was all eventually sorted without paying anything to them.

Firsly can we get the direct debit thing out of the way once and for all?

As I wrote above the dd is simply a method of paying a bill and thats all.

People and unfortunately many company employees appear to think that it is more than that and that companies can access a customer's account as they wish. A company can only legitimately access a bill payers account if they give the minimum advance notice and if the amount involved has not been disputed by the customer.

But as I also mentioned above cancelling a dd does not in any way affect your obligations under the contract you have signed.

Have a look here for more about your rights under the dd system:


http://www.ipso.ie/section/section/YourRightsasaPayer

wildflower wrote: »

i told the man on the fone i was willing ti pay full price for the fone to get out of contract as i could use it with vodafone and he said no. i am so sick of talking to them at this stage cos they arent willing to back down at all.

The important thing I think for you now is to establish what your rights as a consumer are in respect of this transaction. We all fall into the trap from time to time of casting around until we find someone who will tell us what we want to hear whereas the important thing is to find out what exactly the legal position is. Have a look here:

http://www.nca.ie/nca/faulty-goods

Also why not ring the NCA 1890 432 432 - I also think that it is important that you clarify in your own mind what exactly the issue is. You say the phone is working perfectly in one post but now say that you are not getting good performance anywhere? Be sensible too - there is little point about complaining about lousy service if Meteor's records show lots of calls completed. Do you have any records of dropped calls? Have you been having poor service in areas where others seemed to be able to make calls without any problems? Its good to keep notes of this type of evidence if you can.

When you have spoken to NCA and clarified your consumer rights and clarified in your own mind what the issue actually is then as slimjimmc recommends you should write to Meteor and state clearly what you want from them in terms of service etc etc. In all of these issues it is important to have a paper trail in the event of a third party becoming involved. Writing to them and stating your grievance also puts the onus on them to respond.

Again as slimjimmc recommends I would register the letter - it is costly but worth it in the long run. (keep a copy of course)

Meteor can be an appalling company to deal with - I wrote to them a good while ago now and have yet to get an acknowledgement let alone a reply. But no matter how bad a company maybe it is important in a dispute to do the right thing.

Tech Guy Sligo

Hi wildflower,
I am on meteor and the last week in sligo I saw my coverage cut out constantly.
There are two network setting on your phone. 3G and GPRS.
The 3G meteor mast was faulty or overloaded.
When I turned off 3G the coverage was perfect.

Maybe your having a similar issue

matt-dublin

This actually just sounds like a signal issue in your house with meteor, not the phone or sim card.

if there was a problem with the sim card or phone you would be experiencing problems everywhere.

i think you might be able to have a pop at them about coverage and them being in breach of contract for not being able to provide the service you signed up for but that will be about it.

looks like you posted here about it too and they're working on it?
http://forums.meteor.ie/t5/Bill-Pay-Plans/no-cooling-off-period-for-iphone-4s/td-p/43157

Also following your posts on the meteor site, it looks like by you not paying you become in breach of contract and they can seek full payment.

RangeR

OP, Cooling off period is only available to you if you purchase online or over the phone. This is law and nothing to do with Meteor, Voda, O2, other. If you walk into a retail shop and purchase something, you can touch a feel it before you purchase. This is the main reason why the cooling off exists for online and phone.

I also read your forum posting on the Meteor forums. You really should educate yourself on your rights and the law, IF you are going to quote from them.

wildflower

thats the reason i came on here ranger, i wanted to find out what the story is with contract, i cancelled dd and will wait and see what happens- no judge in his right mind is gonna agree i should pay for a seevice that doesnt work.

matt-dublin

wildflower wrote: »

thats the reason i came on here ranger, i wanted to find out what the story is with contract, i cancelled dd and will wait and see what happens- no judge in his right mind is gonna agree i should pay for a seevice that doesnt work.

But the thing is wildflower, is that the service does work and is proven to work. Meteor cannot provide a service that specifically will work inside your house. I bet you've issues with other providers as well.

Meteor can provide equipment at a cost to improve service in your house but that's all they have to do

You've agreed to a contract and likely will get a bill for the remainder of the contract which meteor are fully entitled to do

drunkmonkey

You cancelled the DD, bad move unless you have properly troubleshooted the problem. Which you dont seem to have done. If your going down the legal route call meteor and arrange for the phone to be returned. Make sure you register it back to them. Also be fully aware you can be held liable for legal costs if you loose in court. You'll also destroy your credit rateing if theres a judgement made against you.
Talk to someone in customer care, follow the instructions and after all that if its still not working they should release you. I think you've went ott on the internet, if you put the same effort into talking to apple or meteor your problem would be sorted one way or abother by now. Cancelling the DD does not cancel the contract.

wildflower

i know what people are saying about cancelling dd not being right but i cannot deal with them on phone anymore- the guy on the forum hasnt got back to me for weeks now, and the customer care say they will ring me back with updates- hear nothing for a week until i ring back and its the same story again, i agreed to let someone in to check coverage in hse- heard nothing back again.
i dont want to ruin my credit rating but they arent being very forthcoming fixing or even tryiong to fix the problem other than telling me to send phone direct to apple- i dont think this is legal- my contract isnt with apple. i told them id be willing to buy phone for rrp, even switch to a different phone. but if i send to apple il get a refurbished fone and even if i dont their is obviously an issue with the phone so shouldnt meteor take it back and give me a new one.
i give up- and this is what meteor wants everyone to do just suck it up and they are happy out taking my 80e a mth and provide no service. i cant believe they are gettiong away wit this and ppl are saying they are rught and im wrong. so frustrated!

RangeR

wildflower wrote: »

i know what people are saying about cancelling dd not being right but i cannot deal with them on phone anymore- the guy on the forum hasnt got back to me for weeks now, and the customer care say they will ring me back with updates- hear nothing for a week until i ring back and its the same story again, i agreed to let someone in to check coverage in hse- heard nothing back again.
i dont want to ruin my credit rating but they arent being very forthcoming fixing or even tryiong to fix the problem other than telling me to send phone direct to apple- i dont think this is legal- my contract isnt with apple. i told them id be willing to buy phone for rrp, even switch to a different phone. but if i send to apple il get a refurbished fone and even if i dont their is obviously an issue with the phone so shouldnt meteor take it back and give me a new one.
i give up- and this is what meteor wants everyone to do just suck it up and they are happy out taking my 80e a mth and provide no service. i cant believe they are gettiong away wit this and ppl are saying they are rught and im wrong. so frustrated!

It's not a case of you being right and them being wrong. You are quoting laws that either don't exist or don't apply. It's not doing your credibility any good, to us OR Meteor.

Meteor CAN NOT affect your credit rating. Only a financial institution can.

There is a way to handle this situation and you aren't. Sorry if this seems harsh.

matt-dublin

Its because you are wrong. service is fine everywhere except for your house. To me, your house is the problem so i fully feel that meteor should knock it down to resolve the problem.

Jev/N

wildflower wrote: »

if i send to apple il get a refurbished fone and even if i dont their is obviously an issue with the phone so shouldnt meteor take it back and give me a new one.

So what? They're just as good if not better than standard phones (in terms of statistical probability of failure) as they've been through more QC testing

the_syco

I have a iPhone, and I sometimes also don't get signal in my house. Heck, I sometimes didn't get signal in my house with a Nokia 3310.

Was it the phone? No. It was the fact that I was in a structure with four concrete walls which, as well as blocking the wind and the rain, also blocked signal depending on where in the house I stood.

As for the judge, he'll see this; you bought the phone, complained about the problem, didn't allow Meteor or Apple help fix it (replacement phone) and you then stopped paying for the phone. Be prepared to pay a rather large fine.