Buyer beware!

From mails we've received, messages on our forum, and a quick search around Google, there seem to be two common complaints with this online phone reseller:

• One Stop Phone Shop make it as hard as possible for their customers to get their promised cashback
  
  
• One Stop Phone Shop's site may give you the impression that they have phones available and ready for immediate dispatch when you place an order - but that doesn't mean you'll necessarily get the phone you're after.

Don't get caught out... take care when ordering from One Stop Phone Shop... check their small print! The worrying line "each order will be treated as an offer and will not be deemed to be accepted until dispatched or confirmed by a member of staff at One Stop Phone Shop" is the one that might just catch you out.

In one of the cases brought to our attention, after an order was placed, a delivery date given, and money was debited from the customer's account, the order was mysteriously cancelled. The customer was not informed that the order had been cancelled, and when the customer complained of non-delivery, onestopphoneshop refused to honour the agreement, offer an alternative, or explain why the order was cancelled. After some pressure was applied, onestopphoneshop blamed the network operator for refusing connection and for stock shortages. The customer has since been approved by the network, Three, who blame onestopphoneshop for providing them with the wrong address details.

The response from OSPS... "at no time have you entered into a legally binding contract with one stop phone shop". Not great customer service. This was followed by the comment "This is the conclusion to the matter, this matter will not be taken any further by One Stop Phone Shop"

Comments from customers:

• "I am still waiting for my 2 phones after many phone calls and getting fobbed off with the usual load of tripe from the sales staff"
• "Cant ever seem to get a straight answer from OSPS every time I phone, the story always changes depending on who you speak to"
• "One Stop Phone Shop kept changing their prices without warning"
• "OSPS are so damned arrogant and they took money despite not having the phones in their possession. They wont give a straight answer and depending who you talk to depends what degree of truth you get"
• "...the consignment number given by them was bogus"
• "i think one stop phone shop are the pits and i certainly will never buy a phone off them ever"

Here are some other links to comments from unhappy customers:

Making a complaint...

• If you wish to make a complaint, in the first place, contact their Customer Services Manager, Mark Earlam
  
  
• If your complaint isn't resolved, OneStopPhoneShop are a member of ShopSafe, who welcome complaints from unhappy customers. You can complain online at www.shopsafe.co.uk/complaints.htm
  
  
• We're also suggesting that if you have a complaint that's not resolved, you contact BBC Watchdog - click here to make a complaint
  
  
• You may also want to pass on details of your complaint via our forum
  
  
• For more suggestions on making a complaint against a retailer, see our complaints page.

Contact details

Registered address: One Stop Phone Shop Ltd, Datum House, Electra Way, Crewe Business Park, Crewe CW1 6ZT
Also registered at: Communications House, Marshfield Bank, CreweCW2 8UY

Main numbers: 0870 066 0001 (national rate) or 01270 211999
Customer Services: 0845-456 7878
Fax: 01270 504433

The following information may be useful when making a complaint:

• General enquiries: info@onestopphoneshop.co.uk
• Customer Services: cust.serv@onestopphoneshop.co.uk
• Customer Service Director: James Edgeware james.edgeware@onestopphoneshop.co.uk
• Managing Director: Nick Edwards nick.edwards@onestopphoneshop.co.uk
• Operations Manager: Adam Boulton adam.boulton@onestopphoneshop.co.uk
• Sales Manager: Mark Earlam mark.earlam@onestopphoneshop.co.uk

One Stop Phone Flop?

This section outlines the story of the OneStopPhoneShop £19.99 Three deal back in 2003, which gave us our first taste of the way that OSPS operates:

On 7th August 2003, the OneStopPhoneShop offered a special deal - An NEC 808 3g handset on 3's Pay As You Go tariff for just £19.99 - no contract, no ties, no catch - see a copy of their advert to the right. As well as the £19.99 Internet deal, the handset was offered for free to telephone callers on the 7th of August

From comments in newsgroups, and from mails we received from customers at the time, many customers have had problems with OneStopPhoneShop not fulfilling the order. The problems include:

• Sale of Goods. OSPS seem quite happy to take a customer's money, even though they have no stock, and no estimated stock dates. We don't believe that it's fair to debit customer's accounts and supply dispatch dates when there's no stock on the horizon.
  
  
• Stock problems. These are being blamed on Three. Regardless of who's to blame, OneStopPhoneShop seem to have made offers that they're not capable of fulfilling. By not supplying customers with accurate information, we believe that customers have now lost the opportunity to take their business elsewhere, and have to fight for answers and refunds.
  
• Problems keeping customers updated. Customers using phrases like "fobbed off" and "unable to get a straight answer to a straight question" don't look good!
• Dubious credit checks? We've seen three complaints that orders have been declined due to bad credit ratings. After investigating, one customer tells us that onestopphoneshop passed incorrect address information to the network, then denied this when challenged. If you're allegedly declined, don't take their word for it - check with the network operator yourself.

Looking for an alternative to OSPS? If you're looking for an alternative to OneStop - our site visitors have recommended the following: Phones4U , Dial-a-phone and MobileShop

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