Big fall in mobile contract complaints

There has been a big fall in the number of consumers complaining about problems with their mobile phone contract, a new report reveals today.

The consumer advice service Consumer Direct says the amount of complaints it received about contract issues fell by almost 30% in 2009.

The last few years has seen sustained Ofcom action to tackle consumer problems like mobile phone mis-selling.

This culminated last  September in tough new rules which mean mobile service providers  engaging in dishonest, misleading or deceptive conduct can now be fined up to 10% of their turnover.

Mobile mis-selling

The new rules state that providers must:

• not mis-sell mobile phone services;
• make sure the customer intends and is authorised to enter into a contract;
• make sure consumers get the information they need at the point of sale;
• make sure that the terms and conditions of cash back deals offered by their retailers are not unduly restrictive; and
• carry out certain due diligence checks in respect of their retailers.

If you believe you have been mis-sold a service by a mobile service provider, you should first complain to it directly.

If you became a customer of the company due to it mis-selling to you directly, you should follow its complaints procedure.

ADR schemes

If your dispute is still unresolved, and you are a residential or small business customer, you can raise the matter with the relevant Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme.

Learn more about ADR schemes and how to make a complaint

If the mis-selling was performed by a retailer/reseller and you have been unable to resolve the issue with them, you may wish to contact Consumer Direct to see if they can advise or assist you.

Consumer Direct is funded by the Office of Fair Trading and it provides information and advice on certain consumer issues.

Its telephone number is: 0845 4040506 and its web address is: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk. You may also want to let the mobile service provider know about your experience with the retailer/reseller selling their services.

If you are a business customer of over 10 employees then you will need to seek your own independent legal advice.

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