Vodafone €100 off - have I been ripped off?

eth0_

I saw adverts Vodafone have out at the moment stating "€100 off 3G phones when you trade in your old mobile". Am interested in the Motorola V980 (stated price €149 on ready to go).

I went into one of the two Vodafone stores in my town, did the necessary, and when they handed me the credit card slip to sign, it says €161!
I queried this and they said "€12 to port your number to vodafone, and the phone is normally €249 so with your €100 off this comes to €161".

I decided to get it anyway....but today one of the girls I work with told me she bought the exact same phone on RTG from the Vodafone shop on Henry st, for €149 WITHOUT trading in any phone!

Have I been ripped off here? I'm trying to contact the vodafone shop but it's ringing engaged.

Our man in Havana

Was your number with vodafone to begin with? These 3G phones only work on Vodafone. Thats why you were charged €12 extra.

jesus_thats_gre

Vodafone Stores?? As in a Vodafone agent like Carphone Warehouse or an actuall Vodafone Retail Store?


Also:

http://www.vodafone.ie/phonestariffs/ourphones/phonedetails.jsp;jsessionid=www.vodafone.ie-4e0ad%3A42b69171%3Afa1949e55953c5b7?mysterons=MV980_black&type=all

Guy:Incognito

eth0_ wrote:

for €149 WITHOUT trading in any phone!

You dont actually have to trade in a phone. If you buy it online theres no way to trade it i. I think its just an effort to get people to recycle old phones ratehr than leave them lying around. They chuck them in the in-store recycle bins anyway.

eth0_

Bond-007 wrote:

Was your number with vodafone to begin with? These 3G phones only work on Vodafone. Thats why you were charged €12 extra.

I don't think you understood my post.
I don't have a problem with the porting fee, it's the fact they advertise that you save 100 euro if you trade in your phone, when, in fact, you don't.

I was told by the girl who sold it to me that "The phone is actually €249 on ready to go". It's not. It's not advertised at €249 anywhere.

I could have sold the phone I traded in for a hundred quid, that's why i'm so pissed off about it.

eth0_

Stekelly wrote:

You dont actually have to trade in a phone. If you buy it online theres no way to trade it i. I think its just an effort to get people to recycle old phones ratehr than leave them lying around. They chuck them in the in-store recycle bins anyway.

So why tell people you get €100 off if you trade in your phone? It's clearly a lie, as the sell it for the same price whether you trade in a phone or not!

I've made a complaint to the ASAI and to Vodafone, will see what happens.

eth0_

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

Vodafone Stores?? As in a Vodafone agent like Carphone Warehouse or an actuall Vodafone Retail Store?

A Vodafone retail store.

Also:

http://www.vodafone.ie/phonestariffs/ourphones/phonedetails.jsp;jsessionid=www.vodafone.ie-4e0ad%3A42b69171%3Afa1949e55953c5b7?mysterons=MV980_black&type=all

That's a contract phone. Your point is?

Our man in Havana

I went into an independant shop and got a Nokia 6630 for €199. There was no mention of a trade in, nor did I offer up an old phone. Just in case I had a non working motorolla circa 1997 ready to hand over.

The whole trade in offer is a scam.

eth0_

Bond-007 wrote:

I went into an independant shop and got a Nokia 6630 for €199. There was no mention of a trade in, nor did I offer up an old phone. Just in case I had a non working motorolla circa 1997 ready to hand over.

The whole trade in offer is a scam.

Exactly. I'm sure the ASAI will uphold my complaint, I can't see how they can't, it's plain as day that they're ripping people off just to get them on their 3G network.

MiCr0

as i see it, you got your phone under the deal that they had posted - which was 149+trade in - correct?

the fact that some one else got a different (better) deal doesn't change this does it?

mobileplaza

when u buy a phone with the port you should not have to pay €12 for the porting pack. you have been done!!

eth0_

MiCr0 wrote:

as i see it, you got your phone under the deal that they had posted - which was 149+trade in - correct?

the fact that some one else got a different (better) deal doesn't change this does it?

No.

Read what I posted again.

The phone is €149 on Ready to go.

THEN there is a €100 euro off any 3G phone offer.

So the phone should be €49.

Our man in Havana

The fact is that VF are wrong as they never offered the phone at €249 on Ready to go. For discounts the the item must be sold at the higher price for 30 straight days in the last 3 months.

rymus

the list price on the vodafone website is €249 before €100 discount. I dont see how you expected to get a 3G phone for €49... As far as I was aware when you buy a sim for €12 you get €12 worth of credit on your account. This could have changed since my last experience with it however.

MagicBusDriver

From looking at the vodafone.ie site it seems the V980 has a RRP of €249.
The offer is to get the phone for €149 with the trade in, which is €100 off the retail price. Apart from the girl in the shop getting mixed up, I don't see what Vodafone have done to warrant a complaint.
On the contrary, Vodafone are offering a good introductory price for 3G phones and will recycle your old phone into the bargain.
A cynic might see it as Vodafone's way of getting old phones (that might otherwise be sold on) off the market, but in my opinion it's a fair deal all round.

Our man in Havana

The fact is that you can get the new phones for the discounted price without trade in, which suggests the phones were never sold for €249 in the first place.

Why is it in VF's interest to get old phones off the market?

optiplexgx270

Call the shop you bought it in, ask for the manager and explain it to him and demand an explaination.

I recon its cos its a RTG phone the trade in's etc are usually non existant with those phones.

MagicBusDriver

Bond-007 wrote:

The fact is that you can get the new phones for the discounted price without trade in, which suggests the phones were never sold for €249 in the first place.

Yes, well they mightn't have been sold for €249 but Vodafone only quote €249 as the RRP not the price they charged at some time in the past. The €100 saving, is just a saving off the RRP.

Bond-007 wrote:

Why is it in VF's interest to get old phones off the market?

I think a lot of people would be willing to buy an old working 3310 for a tenner off their mate who would as soon throw it in the bin, rather than buy a new phone from Vodafone.
There's also the "keep up with the Jones's" factor. Some people might feel their old brick is inadequate when they see all their mates with shiny new V980's.

optiplexgx270

just looked at the site sorry.

Price: €149.00
RRP: €249.00
Savings: €100.00

drdre

i bought a 6680 and they didnot even ask for a trade in of a fone.
they did rip u off. keep at them and get ur money back.they are scammers

eth0_

It might say RRP 249 on the website, but it doesn't say that in the shop.

I'm awaiting feedback from Vodafone on my complaint.

Guy:Incognito

Bond-007 wrote:

The fact is that you can get the new phones for the discounted price without trade in, which suggests the phones were never sold for €249 in the first place.

Why is it in VF's interest to get old phones off the market?

It might not be in VF's best interest but its in the best interest of the environment that the phones are recycled rather than dumped.

Only 1 of 3 things can come of complaining.

1) vodafone will stop selling them for €149 altogether.

2) they will enforce the requirment to hand in a old phone

3) they will continue selling them at €149 with no mention of a trade in.

At the end of the day its best for people to recycle and this is encouraging them to do so. The fact that old phones are not being demanded at point of sale is most likely down to staff laziness as there is no way of vodafone checking seeing as the phones are just chucked in the recycle bins that were already in place.

Random

My email with Vodafone over this:

the email wrote:

Dear Ciaran

Thank you for contacting us with your query.

The full cost of a Nokia 6630 is €299. You can make the saving of
€100 and trade in your old handset. Your old handset can be any
phone. The price of the handset will then be €199. This includes
the saving of €100 and trading in your old phone. If you purchase
the handset online you can call into any Vodafone agent with your old
handset.

If you have any further queries, please call us on CallSave 1850 20
87 87 between 08:00hrs to 22:00hrs and we will be happy to assist you.

Yours sincerely


_________________________
Anita Fitzgerald
Vodafone Customer Care Team

For information on self service options and on Vodafone's Products
and Services visit our website at http://www.vodafone.ie

---

Original Message

---

From: READY TO GO <******>
Sent: 19/06/2005 21:15:36
To: care@vodafone.ie
Subject: Other: Online Store

Hi

I'm just looking at your online store.

The Nokia 6630 3G RTG is listed as E199. It mentions a saving of E100
from the usual price of E299.

At the top of the page there is mention of a E100 trade-in for old
phones. This trade-in value is on top of the E199 and so the 6630
with trade-in would cost E99 ?

As for the trade-in itself. It says any mobile - does this really
mean ANY mobile at all? i.e. a Nokia 5110 or Siemens C25 would be
allowed?


Thanks
- Ciaran











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Random

They make out that you can save E100 buying online and E100 trading in. Complete bs.

eth0_

Are Vodafone complete idiots? The whole notion of a 'trade in' means you SAVE money by part exchanging something!

This isn't a 'trade in'!

Guy:Incognito

eth0_ wrote:

Are Vodafone complete idiots? The whole notion of a 'trade in' means you SAVE money by part exchanging something!

This isn't a 'trade in'!

Well if they stop the offer all the prices will rise by €100. I'm happy the way it is thanks.

Plus I think everyone here is clever enough to know what the offer is about, people are complaining for the sake of it now. I had no problem working it out, and was happy not have to pay the €100, whatever way they worded it.

jesus_thats_gre

drdre wrote:

i bought a 6680 and they didnot even ask for a trade in of a fone.
they did rip u off. keep at them and get ur money back.they are scammers

Rip Off you say... How much did you pay for that 6680?

digitally-yours

i got nokia 6630 for 199 euros
with 80 euros credit
no phone given to them

i dont think its a bad deal

i will be more than happy if i can unlock it
coz one of me friends have settings for o2 where u can browse free gprs

Random

my followup email wrote:

---

Original Message

---

From: Ciaran <*********>
Sent: 21/06/2005 03:18:40
To: readytogo@vodafone.ie
Subject: Re: Other: Online Store

Hi

THe discount is already stated as E100 online though. Are you saying
that the E100 is unrelated to "trading in" your old phone ?

- Ciaran

their reply wrote:

Dear Ciaran

Thank you for contacting us with your query.

When you purchase the nokia 6630 you pay &#128;199 instead of &#128;299 as you
are saving &#128;100. You do not obtain a further &#128;100 discount when you
trade in your handset in the agents.

If you have any further queries, please call us on CallSave 1850 20
87 87 between 08:00hrs to 22:00hrs and we will be happy to assist you.

Yours sincerely


_________________________
Margaret Cannon
Vodafone Customer Care Team

This has to be the most misleading advertising ever

Drapper

ciaranfo wrote:

This has to be the most misleading advertising ever

Get on to Advertising standard agency ! 01 804 9600 lodge a complaint

Guy:Incognito

Power city used to do the same years ago. They offered a discount if you traded in your old tv. I never complained when they didnt ask me for my old tv as I meant I had an extra one to stick in another room.

eth0_

Drapper wrote:

Get on to Advertising standard agency ! 01 804 9600 lodge a complaint

I have done. Got a postcard from ASAI today to say they're looking into my complaint.

Vodafone emailed me today asking for a contact number so they can call me to discuss the matter.

Our man in Havana

eth0_ wrote:

I have done. Got a postcard from ASAI today to say they're looking into my complaint.

Vodafone emailed me today asking for a contact number so they can call me to discuss the matter.

I would keep all dealing in writing. Them calling you weakens your position.

jesus_thats_gre

Bond-007 wrote:

I would keep all dealing in writing. Them calling you weakens your position.

Weaken what position exactly?

Eth0 feels like she has been hard done by and that is fair enough but you lot are taking it a little too seriously...

Drapper

jesus_thats_gre wrote:

Weaken what position exactly?

Eth0 feels like she has been hard done by and that is fair enough but you lot are taking it a little too seriously...

Dude he is entitled too ! 100 yoyos is alot of money! I'd push it as hard as I can !

jor el

I bought one of the V980 phones in the Vodafone store in Limerick two weeks ago. When I was in I was told that the price was €149 but you needed to trade in an old phone to get that price. I just brought in an old Ericsson 688 that I had from 1998 (my first phone, ahh) and put it in the recycle bin. Actually, when I did that the girl at the desk didn't seem all that bothered if I had a "trade in" phone or not.

The advert is definitely misleading or even a blatant lie. You don't actually need to trade in an old phone, especially if you buy online as it's up to you to bring in the old phone to one of the stores. Saying this is a €100 discount for trade in is just wrong. If your old phone is worth something (I had a 3200 which I gave to my mother but is probably worth maybe €50) then you were basically robbed of that amount as you needn't have traded it in at all.

Let us know how you get on with ASAI and Vodafone eth0_ anyway. I'm interested to know how this pans out. Maybe I should demand my 688 back

themessiah

I marched into Vodafone Store on a very well know street with 4 crisp 50 notes in my hand and said I presume I dont need to bring in my phone to purchase the 6630 and with a shake of the head he sold it to me . They all have sales targets to meet so they couldn't care less.

Anyway if you want to really piss vodafone off and really stick it to them register an ISO9002 complaint in writing and that will really make them stand up .

eth0_

Just got this reply from Vodafone:

We have investigated the issues raised with our Retail Manager who advised
that customers porting in to a network when purchasing
a handset do not incur a porting pack charge €12. She has raised this
matter with the Store Manager who has apologised and he will act to prevent
any similiar ocurrance of this in the future. She has credited the €12.00
to your mobile account in this regard.

With regard the handset advertisement you refer to - Vodafone advertise the
3G Motorola V980 handset as now only €149* *trade in any phone and get
€100 off.
Terms and Conditions apply - this handset was €249 however Vodafone have
reduced the price by €100 with trade in of any phone.

We regret that you feel "ripped off" as Vodafone have reduced the price of
this handset substantially so that all our Ready to Go customers can avail
of a handset with 3G services we currently
offer also offering customers pre-loaded credit with the handset. We have
on this occasion credited your mobile account with a further €50 as a
gesture of goodwill in view of your representations.

Yours sincerely,

Mitch Connor

jeez - i'm gonna start complaing bout stuff - vodafone don't think they have done anything wrong and gave you €50 to make up for it!

eth0_

Tauren wrote:

jeez - i'm gonna start complaing bout stuff - vodafone don't think they have done anything wrong and gave you €50 to make up for it!

Well they admitted I should not have been charged for porting my number, it's just a goodwill gesture.

optiplexgx270

Well you didnt deserve it and fair play to them if it gets rid of you.

Our man in Havana

I hope this is not on condition of dropping the asai complaint.

eth0_

Bond-007 wrote:

I hope this is not on condition of dropping the asai complaint.

I never mentioned the ASAI complaint to vodafone actually, and the credit has already been applied to my account.