|
|
 |
Your Questions and AnswersAbout the phones How do you offer mobile phones so cheaply
? About the tariffs How can you offer deals with
no minimum contracts ? Delivery & Insurance How long does it take to get my
mobile delivered ? About us and our suppliers Tell me more about your company and
suppliers Guarantees and warranties How can you offer a 90 day money back
guarantee when the phones are so cheap?
How do you offer mobile phones so cheaply ? Basically we have looked long and hard for a good supplier of second hand mobile phones. We knew there was a demand for good quality second hand mobile phones, but generally most mobile phone companies are only interested in pushing the latest new deals in order to keep the market "alive". We found a company based in London that sells new mobile phones but requires the phone to be returned when the customer upgrades to a newer model. This means they have a large supply of surplus near new phones that they are keen to sell (the average mobile phone owner changes their phone every 18 months). They are more than happy to sell the surplus phones at a discount - simply because it is better to sell their stock of second hand phones cheaply than to not sell them at all. What network do the phones work on ? We have partnered a "big player" within the mobile phone market who own their own "virtual network". Other examples of companies operating their own "virtual network" are Virgin Mobile and Carphone Warehouse. As with the above two examples, all our phones use the One2One (now T Mobile) network technology - but that is where the similarity ends. All the tariffs offered are exclusive to our suppliers (you will not find the deals in the High street). The tariffs have been awarded many "best buy" ratings in the press, the most recent being a sparkling write up in the January edition of "Which?" magazine. You can check the coverage in your area here - 99% of the UK population is covered. Don't forget - you are not tied in for 12 months on any of our tariffs. That is how confident we are about the quality of our deals! Since our prices are so good, people understandably start looking for "the catch". Well, there is no catch. There are no hidden costs - delivery is free and the price you pay for the phone is the price shown. Don't forget - we also offer a no quibble 90 day money back guarantee - so you really do have nothing to lose by giving us a try. Do I have to buy top up cards ? No - you never run out of credit with our phones. You are given a free itemised bill every month showing exactly what your call costs have been in the preceding month. Money is then automatically paid direct from your bank account without you having to remember to pay your bills. Do I have to pay my call charges by direct debit ? Yes. Our suppliers can only offer these fantastic tariffs by keeping their costs low and having automated direct debit collection of your monthly call charges. Basically that means if you do not have a bank account with direct debit facility we cannot supply you with one of our phones. It is far fairer that the majority of our customers do not end up paying higher prices due to a minority of people who do not like to pay their monthly bills by direct debit. Yes. If you are worried about overspending on your mobile phone (or you have bought a mobile for your children and want to make sure they don't go wild on their spending) our suppliers operate a unique "call cost control" system which allows you to set a monthly call spend limit. Can I buy your deals in the shops ? We do not have any retail outlets. To keep prices low we have chosen to only sell online - there is no need to pay the salaries of expensive sales staff, no shop rent to pay and we are accessible to anyone in the UK. The benefits of selling over the internet are enormous and we have no intention of opening any High Street outlets. Whilst this means we are not as visible and hence do not have a "brand" to promote - we believe that people on the internet know what a good deal is, and that is what we offer. Can I use my mobile phone overseas ? Yes you can. The phones we sell work in over 5 continents. By default, all phones are set up for UK use only - so if you want to take your phone overseas, please call customer services on 0208 9 555 555. If you want to call overseas, because our supplier also operates a low cost international calling business (not just for mobiles) then you can make cheaper calls to overseas numbers by dialing as access number first. For example, a call to France from your mobile during the daytime would normally cost 28p per minute, but through the special access number, the same call only costs 16p per minute. (Price correct as of 9-8-02) To find out about the special access number, again, please call customer services on 0208 9 555 555. How can your offer deals with no minimum contracts ? This is a very common question. Unfortunately people have be "programmed" to think there are only two options in the mobile phone market - 12 month contract phones and expensive pay as you go phones. Well, in an ideal world why not offer a tariff that has no tie in period ? That's exactly what we offer. None of our phones tie you in for 12 months. How do we do it ? By simply offering the UK's best tariff! If you can't find a better deal elsewhere - you won't go elsewhere, and we don't need to tie you in! How do we keep our prices so low ? Simply by not spending £millions on advertising. We prefer people to get to know about us from their friends and relatives - a recommendation is worth far more than a paid for advertisement. How do your charges compare to "Pay as you go" deals ? We have taken the best features of "monthly contracts" and "pay as you go" and come up with two great deals - called Plus and Xtra tariffs. With our tariffs you never have to worry about running out of credit and having to find a garage or post office to buy top up cards. You only pay for the calls once you have made them, rather than putting "credit" on your phone. You get free fully itemised billing so you can see where you call costs are going. All your calls are far cheaper than "Pay as you go" and there is no minimum contract - so you are not locked in! We believe we offer fantastic tariffs - and one that blows "Contracts" and "Pay as you go" deals right out of the water. Whilst most people are unaware there is a company offering such good deals, word is rapidly spreading. How can you offer such good tariffs when I have never seen your adverts? In a way, this question answers itself. It is precisely because we do not advertise that we save money and hence can offer much better deals than those companies spending millions trying to find customers. All our customers come by word of mouth or through links on the internet. There are no so many channels on television it is almost impossible to get effective coverage with advertising and so most companies are starting to follow our lead and are looking at considerably reducing the amount they spend on advertising. At the end of the day - the customer has to pay for the adverts through higher prices. How long does it take to get my mobile delivered ? As part of our security procedure, all orders are confirmed in writing via the post. You will also be required to send two forms of identification to prove you are who you say you are. Whilst this slows the process down slightly, it helps us eliminate fraudulent applications which in turn means our customers pay less. Typically therefore, you can expect to receive your mobile phone around 5-7 working days after you have ordered it. Do I have to cover my phone with insurance ? No. But you need to seriously consider our Mobile Phone Insurance which costs just £3 per month and covers your phone against, loss, theft and accidental damage. A replacement phone will be sent within 24 hours of you notifying customer services. It is a sad fact, a recent report showed in London, 8% of all mobile phones are stolen - and this figure is rising. The rest of the country doesn't far much better. What do I do if I change my mind and want to cancel ? You have a full 90 day no quibble money back guarantee - if you don't like your phone or the tariff, just return your phone to the address detailed when you receive delivery. Even mobile phone companies selling new mobile phones only generally offer 14 day money back options (the legal minimum for mobile phones). I guess we are a bit more confident in our offerings! Tell me more about your company and suppliers We are a family run business based in Bedfordshire. Our founder is always keen on bargains and when he came across the great deals that could be offered by the partner company in London (Telecom plus plc) he knew other people would be attracted to these deals too and hence we became official independent distributors. Telecom plus plc is one of the fastest growing companies in the UK. The company is profitable and is listed on the London Stock Exchange with a current valuation of over £60 million. Our suppliers head office in London:
How many other customers do you have ? Between ourselves and our suppliers we have around 100,000 satisfied customers in the UK. How can you offer a 90 day money back guarantee when the phones are so cheap? Again, this question more or less answers itself - because our deals are genuinely so good, very few customers ever want their money back. It makes good sense to allow people to have a proper try of the service though. It benefits us if customers can have a no risk 3 month trial and it benefits our customers to experience for themselves the savings to be had without just taking our word for it. It is a win-win situation. How can you give all handsets a free 12 month warranty ? All our handsets are fully tested and reconditioned and because we only sell handsets that we know are reliable - very few people need to claim under the 12 month warranty. If we weren't so confident with our handsets - we wouldn't offer the warranty. Perhaps that is a good indicator of some of our competitors short fallings ? |
 |