i threatened i would do it on twitter the other day, so here goes, most of the details are in the formal letter of complaint already so i wont bore you with them, needless to say things have progressed since this email and i do have iphones but they still keep making blunders trying to get my existing number into the contract, here was my letter of complaint, i have yet to recieve a response or a call regarding this officially and when i do i will update here:(personal information removed) WARNING: this is a long email!

UPDATE 30/09/2010 – 11:30: Wayne called me to offer some accessories but i turned them down, i asked for a free 500 text bolt on but it was declined, i was offered a months free line rental (£45) which i accepted and asked for a note to be made that i didnt feel it was adequate and he advised me to forward the email through to the customer service department

UPDATE 02/10/2010 – 10:30: Bernard from the complaints department phoned to apologise for in his words “Appaling lack of service” as a good will gesture he credited me the cost of one of the iPhones, the costs i had accrued on the second account that was wrongly setup in the interim (around £20) and also confirmed the credit of one months line rental that Wayne offered. Credit where credit is due, O2 admitted there faults and made a good effort to resolve the situation. i am happy to finally put this issue to rest after 2 weeks of constant calling and battles with them.

To Whom It May Concern,

I wish to make a formal complaint because of a series of major and continued blunders by O2 regarding my contract, which has left me with a very sour taste and very frustrated and angry.

I shall first give you a run down of everything that has happened so far, give a summary of how you failed me and what I think you can do to resolve the situation.

A week ago last Thursday (16/09/2010) I ordered a new Business 500 Sharer Contract online, I ordered 2 iPhone 4’s (16GB and 32GB) order ref:REDACTED, at order time I was quoted 3-5 working days to receive devices after credit checks, I was called pretty soon after to confirm a few details such as delivery address, company name etc, I asked for an ETA on the credit check procedure and also an ETA on handsets, i was told the credit check would be done by the following morning and I would receive handsets within 3-5 working days of it being approved.

I phoned o2 the next day (17/09/2010) at around midday and was told that someone from the credit team should have contacted me to say I was required to pay a £300 security deposit and ask if that was phone, I informed the agent that this was ok and that the credit team hadn’t called me. He said he would make a note about my authorisation to take the deposit off the same credit card. I also asked him for an updated ETA on handsets, he said that it would take 3-5 working days to arrive and that, when i get an account number by Monday morning, I could get an updated ETA from the customer service team. 1 hour later I got a call from the credit team saying I needed to pay a £300 deposit on my account. I told the agent that I had already spoken to another agent about this and had authorised the deposit to be charged, they commented that no note had been made on their systems, I authorised the deposit to be paid.

Monday morning, I called up sales to find out my account number (REDACTED) and for an ETA on devices, I was given the account number and told to contact customer services for an ETA. I called up customer services and gave them the account number and asked for an ETA for my order. However, the agent couldn’t give an ETA because he had my account number and account name, but it had zero information on it. I was also warned that a recent internal update on iPhones had been released, stating that iPhones were out of stock and would be for about 2 weeks, and that I would get a text within the next 2 days to give an update on the status of my order. I was also told by the agent that I would be called back the following day to give me an update – this did not happen.

I called the following day (21/09/2010) asking for an ETA, but again my account was blank and was told this time not to expect a phone before October. I was also told that I should not have been allowed to make the order on the website when I did as a result. I was also told again that I should have received a text informing me of the status of my order, and I hadn’t received any texts at this point.

I called the following day (22/09/2010) and spoke to an agent – the account was still blank. I had still not received texts and was told 2 weeks again. At this point I asked about making a formal complaint and was told to write to this address or speak to a line manager. I asked to speak to a Line Manager first and, in the time I was on hold for him to get a Manager, I was put through to Wayne Bebb (an Admin Manager in Business Sales)? I explained that it was unacceptable to be quoted 3-5 days to receive devices and not have any communication to the contrary and that my credit card had already been charged for the handsets and first month’s line rental, and I hadn’t even received devices or an ETA on when they would actually arrive. I also explained that I ordered the handsets fully on the knowledge that they would arrive in 3-5 working days, and should have arrived in good time before having to hand my old handset back to my previous company, and that without a handset I can’t work or communicate with my clients and would lose business/income as a result. He apologised for all the problems faced with my order and informed me more accurately that o2 Business was out of stock of iPhones and that they were having to “go through other channels” to source iPhones and fulfil orders, and somehow my order was lost in the system. He also told me he would do what he could to get me sourced with the iPhones I ordered and sent out to me, he told me it was too late to get them out by Thursday but could have them out by Friday. He also said he would call back the following day with confirmation of this or an update.

That evening of 22/09/2010 the second number I had ordered, which was a transfer from 3 with a PAC code, stopped working with my other user. It was too late to call o2 that night, so I called the following morning (23/09/2010) to see what had happened. I was told that the number was on a different account to the one I had quoted (new account: REDACTED) and that it had transferred in the previous evening with the PAC code – this was not even communicated prior to happening and also we still had not received SIM’s or handsets. I had to go through a long-winded process of finding a spare o2 SIM, getting the phone unlocked and getting her number transferred onto the SIM – this took several calls and several hours to get going. I called customer service to get an update on the ETA and was again quoted the 2 weeks stock response and that I should wait for Wayne to call me back. I called back at 16:45 and got put through to Wayne Bebb and he told me that he had no update and would chase it through dispatch. He also apologised about the PAC code issue and informed me that he had received an influx of complaints relating to PAC codes being migrated early. He told me he would call me back the next day by 5pm (24/09/2010). If I hadn’t have called him on 23/09/2010 he would likely not have returned my call that day and today, 24/09/2010, he did not call me back despite saying that he would, and I have not received iPhones or any update of when I will receive them. I am now currently without a reliable working handset that I can continue to do business with. I am also unsure of which account number I now have either.

So to summarise the failures:

• I should not have been allowed to place an order online for iPhones when I did, which caused this whole issue.
• At no point in time did o2 communicate TO me about a change in status of my order due to stock (either via text, email or call) even though I was told you would.
• When asking for an ETA, I was given different conflicting answers every time.
• When I did get through to a Manager who said he would get me sorted by Friday, it didn’t happen.
• When the same Manager said he would call me back the following day, it didn’t happen.
• o2 transferred a number with a PAC code EARLY and WITHOUT us having received our new SIM cards or handsets.
• o2 took payments from my credit card on Monday, but still did not give me info about when I would receive my devices and have still not yet sent them.
• repeatedly yet correcting my account address several times it still was wrong – it should be REDACTED
• I still have no devices, despite it now being past the 3-5 days quoted at order time, and after going through the credit checks.
• As a result of all the failures, I have lost earnings through being unable to provide my normal service for clients or otherwise having to phone up o2.
• Nobody seemed to make notes on the system, and as such I had to explain myself every time I called.

How o2 can resolve this issue:

• Communicate with me properly and when you say you will, giving me a full update on when I will receive my iPhones.
• Deliver to me my iPhones that I have paid for ASAP – and I mean before the end of this week 1st October.
• Provide me with a discount on the handset charges or line rental.
• Compensate me a nominal amount on my bill for the inconvenience and lost earnings as a result (see below).

Over the last week I have spent probably somewhere in the region of around 8 hours on the phone to o2 or on hold to o2, this is 8 hours of work that I could not do as a result. This, if charged at my standard freelance rate, is about £200 worth of work that I was unable to do and thus unable to earn in this time. Also, I am now having to stay tied to my desk to work, as my old handset can not perform the functions that an iPhone does, which allows me to work while travelling or whilst away from my desk. I estimate that I am losing at least 1 hours work per day as a result of this and, by assuming a Monday to Friday working week, I have already lost 3 hours worth of work as a result so far (£75). So far loss of earnings is sitting at £275 and rising each day.

If you do not resolve this issue promptly and respond with an update, I will look at reporting the o2 charges to my credit card providers fraud department and look to take my business elsewhere, because I am shocked and appalled by the lack of service and even poorer communication. If this issue is not referred to promptly and fully, I will also not hesitate to refer this to Otello or other relevant bodies.

Yours sincerely,

—
Anthony Somerset