Ofcom ends Phones 4U investigation

Ofcom has closed its 6-month investigation into the activities of Phones 4U after persuading the retailer to change its handset return policy, its chequeback terms and its sales practices. It says Phones 4U had been acting in a way that breached aspects of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and the Control of Misleading Advertising Regulations 1988. [Ofcom bulletin]

Ofcom investigates Phones 4U

Telecomms regulator Ofcom has opened an investigation into Phones 4U to ascertain whether or not the company has breached any relevant consumer protection legislation, infringed any law or harmed the interests of consumers. It says it's started investigating after having received a large number of complaints via the Consumer Direct advice service and to Ofcom’s Advisory Team about a range of issues including mis-selling.

Mobile phones and contracts feature twice in consumer complaint 'top 5'

Consumer Direct, the UK government-funded advice service, has revealed the top ten complaints it had to deal with in 2007. At the top of the list of over 1.5 million calls and emails came second-hand cars bought from independent dealers - also top of the 2006 list - with mobile phone contracts moving up the list to 2nd place. TVs were in 3rd place, with mobile phone equipment in 4th place - over 50,000 complaints about mobile phones in total. [Press release]