mobilefun.co.uk > Reviews (455)

If stress = stroke-risk & buying from mobilefun.co.uk = stress ... well, you don't have to be a logician to work out the equation!

Oh, okay, I happily admit that in isolation that's just a tad strong ... but hey, maybe if you were already really stressed this lot would be the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back???? Anyway, why subject yourself to a lousy experience if you don't need to: on that note, here's why you should avoid buying from mobilefun.co.uk.

Just to provide a background that will help put my review in context - i.e. I'm not a novice at online or 'phone purchasing: I do most of my purchasing by one or other method, even the groceries these days; and in almost every case I've found online retailers to be really helpful, knowledgable, and quick & efficient at sending out my goods.

e.g. Recently when I had a problem buying a horse rug online the retailer gave me a super-courteous and totally satisfactory solution to my complaint, with the result that I'll happily try them again in the future despite initial disappointment and a fair amount of hassle.

Now in contrast, I'd rather eat gravel than EVER make a purchase from mobilefun.co.uk again. What a bloomin' misnomer their name is: so far from having fun I've been disappointed, seriously inconvenienced, misled, and spoken to by each of the two reps I've dealt with in tones that suggested the totally unprofessional, inefficient service provided by mobilefun.co.uk was somehow my fault! Grrrrrr!!

Perhaps I should have paid closer attention to the first intimation that maybe the company isn't all it might be by the fact that the two times I attempted to buy via their website, I couldn't progress from Basket to Checkout: I got error messages instead. I'm not techie enough to know for sure if the problem was with my browser or their website: but I've never had the problem elsewhere, so guess which my money's on?

So, instead of placing the order online, Little Miss Optimism here 'phones the company next day and ..... now here's another warning signal I'll take heed of next time ....... sits "on hold" for 8 minutes listening to the ubiquitous "your call IS important to us" message.

(Does it occur to me that maybe these people aren't savvy enough to have a workable web site nor enough staff to deal efficiently with their call volume? No. Duh. I won't be quite so ready to give the benefit of the doubt to another company in the future, though, which is a bit of a depressing thought.)

Finally getting through to talk to someone, I ordered a leather case for my partner's Siemens mobile; a polish to remove scratches from screens and lenses, and - most important because, as I told the guy I was dealing with, I urgently needed to be able to use my mobile again - a Samsung Mains Charger. No problem, I'm assured: pay £3.95 and they'll be delivered within 3 days.

Fine. Three days later I wait expectantly for the Postie to deliver them. Nope. Nothing. But the following day, a parcel from mobilefun does indeed arrive.

What a pity it contains a Car Charger, Earpieces and the Siemens case. I can't even sing Meat Loaf's "two out of three ain't bad".

Now at this point, I'm not the least bit pissed-off: things go wrong, we all make mistakes, it's not like the surgeon removed the wrong leg or summat.

However by the time I've finished talking to the guy at mobilefun whom I get through to after a 7 minute wait this time (ok, I'm anal about "holding-on-the-'phone" times!) I'm starting to believe that I'm dealing with a shower of people whose Mummies probably told them they'd go blind if they kept doing that ...

He told me, in a tone of voice which suggested that the nuisance value of customers with complaints was particularly high today, that he'd send out the correct two items, and that I should hold on to the wrong ones for another day or so because I'd be receiving a 2nd Siemens case which had already been seperately despatched and I could send all 3 "mistakes" back in one parcel.

"That's fine", said I, "and of course you'll send a prepayment slip with the correct items, wont you, since there's no way I'm prepared to pay a couple of quid for your mistake ... " To which he agreed in the manner of one sorely disappointed by the venality of the human race. Grrrr again! Why the heck should I be expected to be out of pocket? Not on your nelly, there're far better causes if I want to throw cash away!

After another 4 days wait, I receive ... nothing, actually. Not even the 2nd Siemens case that I neither want nor need. So I telephone once more to mobilefun.co.uk: this time I explain the-story-so-far to a woman who tells me, in tones of high dudgeon mixed with suspicion - presumably that I'm trying to cheat her company of the earpieces and car charger which I'VE told THEM were sent in error - that she'll send me the Mains Charger which I have paid for ... and for which, you recall, I also paid that 3 day delivery charge ... when she receives back the goods HER COMPANY sent out in error!

To add insult to injury she informs me that "we're not set-up to pay return postage, you'll have to pay for it and we'll refund you."

(I have news for you honey; as far as I understand consumer law, if you send out unsolicited goods you can get 'em back within a 6 month period IF you provide postage or a courier pickup. Otherwise you can kiss 'em goodbye.)

By this stage I'm spitting better than an irate tiger cub, and entertaining some distressingly violent fantasies starring snotty-nosed females and companies who couldn't run the old p-up in a brewery.

The saga is about to continue into its 8th day with me contacting whoever I can track down who holds any authority at mobilefun.co.uk, but whether or not he/she manages to get it together long enough to send me the Mains Charger and do something to soothe my fevered brow into the bargain, my advice based on The Story So Far is - if you want to buy anything mobile phone related, buy it anywhere ELSE but from mobilefun.co.uk.
They suck.