Credit Check Charges By Mobileoutlet.co.uk

Stuart B wrote:
> On 12th April I applied to themobileoutlet.co.uk for a phone on
> T-Mobile . This was declined by the Network . A few days ago I noticed
> two chages on my bank account ...one for £2 by T-Mobile and one for
> £1.99 by Mobilematters . The T-Mobile one was refunded but not the
> other one .
> I e-mailed themobileoutlet.co.uk and asked them about it and asked
> that it be refunded .
> Here is their reply .
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you for your email
>
> The £1.99 charge is a non refundable charge.
>
> It is necessary for two reasons
>
> 1. it is used to verify the address on your credit/debit card to
> prevent fraud 2. it is an admin charge for your credit check
>
> Please let me know if you have any more queries"
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I can understand the reason for the charge but not why it shouldn't be
> refunded . Is this practice usual .
>
> I also applied to Vodaphone via buymobiles.net and also Orange via the
> same retailer but no such charges were made .
>
> Stuart .
>

A number of retailers are known to make a non-refundable charge for all
applications. Here are some examples:

Phones2U £3.00
Phonebox Direct/Cool New Mobile/3 Mobile Fones £2.50
The Mobile Outlet £1.99

However, I would prefer that retailers come clean and call it a
non-refundable admin fee for applying for a contract and advertise this
fee upfront rather than dress it up as necessary for performing the
credit check and hide the detail in their T&Cs. Afterall, as you pointed
out, T-Mobile performed their own (temporary) charge to your card for
this purpose so it's not necessary for the retailer to also do the same.

regards,
Reestit Mutton

--
The UK's only listing of 12 months free contract mobile phone packages
with a built-in price history
http://www.reestitmutton.co.uk/MOBIL...?query=12mfree

On 12th April I applied to themobileoutlet.co.uk for a phone on
T-Mobile . This was declined by the Network . A few days ago I noticed
two chages on my bank account ...one for £2 by T-Mobile and one for
£1.99 by Mobilematters . The T-Mobile one was refunded but not the
other one .
I e-mailed themobileoutlet.co.uk and asked them about it and asked
that it be refunded .
Here is their reply .
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your email

The £1.99 charge is a non refundable charge.

It is necessary for two reasons

1. it is used to verify the address on your credit/debit card to
prevent fraud 2. it is an admin charge for your credit check

Please let me know if you have any more queries"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I can understand the reason for the charge but not why it shouldn't be
refunded . Is this practice usual .

I also applied to Vodaphone via buymobiles.net and also Orange via the
same retailer but no such charges were made .

Stuart .

David Hearn wrote:

>
> Hmmm, their T&C's link take you to their Refer a friend page...
>

Actually, I find their site a little odd in that you have to click just
above the link that you want - it's almost like they have an image map
that has been badly calibrated.

Reestit Mutton
--
The UK's only listing of 12 months free contract mobile phone packages
with a built-in price history
http://www.reestitmutton.co.uk/MOBIL...?query=12mfree

Stuart B wrote:
> On 12th April I applied to themobileoutlet.co.uk for a phone on
> T-Mobile . This was declined by the Network . A few days ago I noticed
> two chages on my bank account ...one for £2 by T-Mobile and one for
> £1.99 by Mobilematters . The T-Mobile one was refunded but not the
> other one .
> I e-mailed themobileoutlet.co.uk and asked them about it and asked
> that it be refunded .
> Here is their reply .
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you for your email
>
> The £1.99 charge is a non refundable charge.
>
> It is necessary for two reasons
>
> 1. it is used to verify the address on your credit/debit card to
> prevent fraud 2. it is an admin charge for your credit check
>
> Please let me know if you have any more queries"
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I can understand the reason for the charge but not why it shouldn't be
> refunded . Is this practice usual .
>
> I also applied to Vodaphone via buymobiles.net and also Orange via the
> same retailer but no such charges were made .
>
> Stuart .

Hmmm, their T&C's link take you to their Refer a friend page...

D

Stuart B wrote:
> On 12th April I applied to themobileoutlet.co.uk for a phone on
> T-Mobile . This was declined by the Network . A few days ago I noticed
> two chages on my bank account ...one for £2 by T-Mobile and one for
> £1.99 by Mobilematters . The T-Mobile one was refunded but not the
> other one .
> I e-mailed themobileoutlet.co.uk and asked them about it and asked
> that it be refunded .
> Here is their reply .
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you for your email
>
> The £1.99 charge is a non refundable charge.
>
> It is necessary for two reasons
>
> 1. it is used to verify the address on your credit/debit card to
> prevent fraud 2. it is an admin charge for your credit check
>
> Please let me know if you have any more queries"
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I can understand the reason for the charge but not why it shouldn't be
> refunded . Is this practice usual .
>
> I also applied to Vodaphone via buymobiles.net and also Orange via the
> same retailer but no such charges were made .
>
> Stuart .

I went through adding a N95 on T-Mobile to the basket and at the page
where you have to tick all the 'I've read the terms...' bits, it says:

"We need to check that the details you have provided match the details
of the card issuer. This is why a £1.99 admin charge is charged when a
handset is free. The admin charge is only applied when handsets are
free. We manually process this amount, verifying the name and address of
the card holder. We use this procedure to help keep fraudulent use of
credit/debit cards to a minimum"

So, it's only for free phones (ie. where they don't have to use your
card details) which they make the charge for. Address checks when
processing card details are charged extra to the merchant, so this
sounds about right level to cover their costs. It's pretty obvious on
the checkout page.

D

noone@nowhere.com declared for all the world to hear...
> I can understand the reason for the charge but not why it shouldn't be
> refunded . Is this practice usual .

No, it's not normal. I would complain to your credit card company. I bet
you were not made aware of the charge before you proceeded were you?
--
Regards
Jon

On Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:55:00 +0100, Jon <spam@jonparker.plus.com>
wrote:

>noone@nowhere.com declared for all the world to hear...
>> I can understand the reason for the charge but not why it shouldn't be
>> refunded . Is this practice usual .
>
>No, it's not normal. I would complain to your credit card company. I bet
>you were not made aware of the charge before you proceeded were you?

You're *so* three hours ago.
--
-- Nick ICQ: 9235201 EMAIL & MSN: nickmooney@spamcop.net
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