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Scam by EE shop in Crouch End
Please note: I know this is long, but this is a real scam happening and I'm sure many have been affected. I'm not just complaining about the ordinary logistical frustrations of life.
Late last year, I went into the EE shop in Crouch End for an upgrade. As part of my upgrade, in a promotional offer, I was given two “free” mobile broadband devices. I said I didn’t want them, that I had no use for them and they would just add to the clutter in my house. The sales associate then said that they each had £5 worth of data on them, and that I ought to just take them anyway. I asked if I would ever be charged anything for them, and he assured me I would not. So they went in the bag.
In reality, without my knowledge, he had signed my up for the creation of TWO additional phone lines, in 24-month contracts each, for a charge of £11.40 per month. This was not at all clear on my monthly bills. I had assumed that was my insurance charge, which in actuality was not separately itemised.
This week, I went into the shop to replace a lost phone. In the process, I asked the sales associate (likely a different person, but I don’t remember) why my bill was always higher than expected. He looked at my account and asked some diversionary questions about my usage abroad. Then he tried to sell me a bundled package of home internet, cable and landline to lower my monthly payments. This plan didn’t work for me.
Today I called EE Customer Services about a separate issue. The rep mentioned me having multiple phone lines. I said, “What? No, I don’t. Why would I have multiple phone lines?” We ended up figuring out what happened. He said that anyone looking at my account would immediately be able to see that this is why my charges were more than expected.
To his credit, the Customer Services rep was duly outraged, and escalated my case to his managers. He confirmed that he believed that I had been deceptively mis-sold services, and that the issue would be investigated. He explained that the sales staff were likely motivated by increasing their own commissions. He said I will be hearing from the person in charge of investigating, and that I should expect to be refunded. He said that it was clear that I never wanted these services. He confirmed that the charges were not made clear on my bill, and that it would be easy to misunderstand them. He confirmed that it was unlikely that anyone would need TWO of these devices on two additional phone lines. To his credit, he was wonderful and believed me. He said my story was very credible and the issue would be resolved.
While that’s great for me, what about everyone else who has and will be scammed by that EE shop? I was in there one time and heard someone else complaining about being scammed, but she was being told by staff that it was a misunderstanding. At the time, I thought that a misunderstanding seemed likely, but she was very upset. I now assume that she was absolutely right. I’m sorry I didn’t assume so then.
If this has happened to you, I would appreciate it if you said so. We might have some legal recourse if there are enough of us. At the very least, please review your bills and call Customer Services with questions instead of going into the shop!!
This is an absolute outrage.
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