- Wednesday, 25 November 2009
- INQ Mobile
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The only newspapers that can be bought are the ones not worth buying - Lord Liverpool
Ofcom acts over cash back abuse
UK TELECOMS watchdog, Ofcom, has finally decided to do something about mobile phone mis-selling in Britain. It intends to give itself the power to fine network operators for abuses.
One of the biggest complaints from the public is over 'cash back' promotions whereby a sales agent fails to reimburse the consumer as promised.
Under Ofcom's proposed new 'general condition', it will be the network operator's duty "to ensure that the terms and conditions of cash back deals offered by their retailers are fair."
It will also be their duty to carry out due diligence and a number of checks in respect of their retailers. If they fail in this duty the operators will be liable to a fine of up to a maximum of 10 per cent of relevant turnover.
Back in July 2007, the five UK operators signed up to a voluntary code against mis-selling but Ofcom reveals that instead of stamping abuses out, complaints have gone up from 460 per month to around 700.
And, as this Inq hack found out to his cost, refusing to pay a phone contract because the cash back wasn't forthcoming isn't legal and doesn't work.
"We warned the industry last year that unless it cleaned up its act we would consider introducing new rules," says Ofcom CEO, Ed Richards. "The UK has one of the more competitive mobile phone sectors in the world. But strong competition is no excuse for marketing malpractice. µ
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Try this mind twister. Is Ofcom a :
1. Paper Tiger;
2. Pretentious Quango;
3. Pimp To The Inland Revenue;
4. Pimp To Commerce & Industry;
5. Pimp To Their Pension Building Employees;
6. Patron To The Society For Lecturing The Naïve.

Give up so soon or think you’ve got it pegged… Wrong, wrong and wrong. They are ALL of the above because they are that rare creature, the Blighty Rainbow Chameleon, who is everything to everyone … in reverse. How so? Because they dare to say, “No”, in front of Devolution and the cameras and when eveyone’s gone, they then say, “Yes”, to tea-breaks, coffee-breaks, lunch-breaks, holiday-breaks and “Give-Us-A-Break”. The more the merrier. A better servant to “The Chosen Few” cannot not be unearthed. Only a trusting idiot or lunatic will believe that Ofcom is for straight-forwardness whilst not forgetting that when the colonisation of faraway sojurns ended, the colonisation of Blighty’s quaint horde began. 
This rules comes very late.. just as in movies, police arrives at scene when some one is already dead 'N' disturbed for lifetime.

How many times should people like me say we didnt get a cheque for O2, .. they say its carphone warehouse who is responsible... 

its like OEMs and hard disk manufacturers....

you cannot return your hard disk directly to any authorized dealer / service point of that company. but... cry run behind the OEM.. hopefully if its stil alive.....
bcos when I was buying a PC i tried saving.. 20 quids...

about cheque backs.. its cheating... 
just that you cannot catch them...

hope..... HM... comes to our resque..