Where do I start?

Well, at the beginning, I suppose.

I have to say categorically that I didn't start to have any trouble at all with Sainsbury's Mobile UNTIL THEY GOT TAKEN OVER BY CARPHONE WAREHOUSE!!! Until that point everything was mostly hunky-dory.

Then they were taken over.

Since then I've had trouble with my Direct Debits (of which I can't alter the date, unlike a standing order) - did you know that if you're originally a Sainsbury's Mobile customer and you have a problem that necessitates you paying your bill by some other method than DD that you won't be able to pay it in your local Carphone Warehouse shop? That's right! The reason being that the computer systems between the companies are not aligned. Or at least that's what they told me! I've also been overbilled and to say that trying to get the cash back was farcical would be an understatement of the first degree! It took me going on for a month to get back the £84-odd back that they'd overbilled me for December-January and because I don't have a bank debit card they said the only way I could have it back was as a credit to my phone account or my credit card, or as a cheque! How daft is that then? Especially as they were so quick in taking the DD of just over £133.00 out of my account on the date it was due. To add insult to injury they also told me that if I'd not noticed the error then nothing would have been done about it! They wouldn't have given it me back without my prompting, in other words!

I even queried the possibility of cancelling my contract which expires in July of this year because I was so fed up with them mucking up. They told me that I'd have to pay a fee the equal of my line rental from now to the end of the contract and that things like customer service aren't covered by your contract! I was flabbergasted to say the least!

Another thing I noticed after the takeover is that the bills are a hell of alot more expensive than they used to be. Where I paid on average about £45.00 a month before the takeover, I've not had one that's been under £60 since! Yes, I sometimes use the thing a fair bit and it's handy to have from a safety point of view if I'm out by myself, but it's quite a jump. Especially when the majority of them have been above the £100 mark!

The 'Best Price Healthcheck' also seems a bit of a none-starter too. If I'd not had all the credits they owed me from the last bill I'd have had another bill for over £70.00 this month. My line rental is £45.00 a month (as a result of the Healthcheck thingy - they're supposed to trawl the tariffs among O2 in comparison to what you're spending on bills each month and give you the best deal. That's a laugh! AND you can't get out of it for three months once you've altered your tariff!). For my hard-earned quids (and having the privilege of having a crap phone company take it back off me!) I'm supposed to get 50 free texts and 400 inclusive any time-any network minutes (landlines included). But they've stopped itemising my bills and I now have to pay extra if I want this service, plus each bill says I've used none of my free texts OR minutes - where the hell is my money going???

Their 'customer service' centre is absolutely pants as well. You speak to a different person each time, you're lucky if you get put through to the right department and when you're there it's difficult to make yourself understood by alot of the operatives due to their seemingly low command of the English language - let me add to this - the last comment was in NO WAY meant to be a racist observation. I'm not a racist person, but this does appear to be another case of a customer service centre being outsourced to a Thrid World country whos staff do not have English as their first language and therefore find it difficult to understand the callers and also to make themselves understood by these came callers. I actually felt sorry for the people I spoke to - I know full well that it wasn't their fault personally and I did say this on many occasions during the almost continual fortnight to three weeks of calls I made to try and get back what was rightfully mine in the first place!

So, if you're thnking of getting a mobile phone contract - think again where Sainsbury's Mobile is concerned (or Carphone Warehouse, or whatever they want to call themselves today - Mickey Mouses Brother, for all I know!).

Sainsbury's really SHOULD have just stuck to supermarkets - at least they appeared to know what was going on there!

UPDATE 28.02.04 - I got the 80-odd quid back eventually, but now they're saying there's another 60-odd quid that I've not paid them outstanding! Needless to say, I phoned them straight away as I'd not even had a bill for it. They are, apparently 'trying to sort it out' and I'm waiting for an updated bill.

This company just goes from crap to totally abysmal! Does anyone have a good word to say for them, because I sure as hell don't!

Oh, I also got a voucher thingy through to upgrade my phone with my Nectar points statement. When I phoned and asked they said I couldn't do it until July when my current contract expires. Come July, though, I'm going to go to another provider... Bye-bye Sainsburys Mobile and ESPECIALLY to Carphone Warehouse! I'm told that The Link are very good and I'll be looking into them...(unless I hear of a better offer!)