Phones4u goes belly up

[vernon]

Read about it here:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...ation-as-EE-is-final-operator-to-hang-up.html

The shops will not be opening tomorrow. Over 5,000 jobs at stake. Prive Waterhopuse Cooper to be appointed as administrators.

 

[Saluki]

I worked for them for about 3 weeks. Dreadful company but I feel for the people who are out of a job suddenly.

 

[classic33]

EE and Vodafone pulled out earlier this year and Currys were on the point of getting rid of them out of their stores.

 

[DCLane]

I'm not surprised - the writing's been on the wall for several months.

Mobile phone operators are moving away from re-sellers and back to direct sales as it earns them more profit.

 

[classic33]

Leaves it open for takeover by BT who are looking at re-entering the mobile phone market though.

 

[Piemaster]

EE and Phones 4U are only one store apart in the city centre, so not really much of a surprise there.
Had one contract from them and wouldn't go back - high pressure selling of expensive insurance, very much in the same way as Comet. Unfortunately for the employees the business has gone the same way.

And how many places do we actually need selling phones. The places are everywhere, with often 2-3 branches less than 10 minutes walk from each other.

 

[Learnincurve]

Oh. I bought a phone from then last Wednesday. It was a whole £17 including £10 Vodafone credit and was £3 cheaper than the vodaphone shop next door.

 

[Keith Oates]

I think that the whole mobile phone arrangement is just an easy way of getting more money out of the Punters (Us). They should sell the phones and then get a sim card without all this paying so much per month. The phone charges should be monitored by the Government authority to charge a fair price for the actual time you are talking, texting etc. As it is at the moment if you try to do that they charge high rates so that you will buy the packages they offer.

 

[classic33]

I think that the whole mobile phone arrangement is just an easy way of getting more money out of the Punters (Us). They should sell the phones and then get a sim card without all this paying so much per month. The phone charges should be monitored by the Government authority to charge a fair price for the actual time you are talking, texting etc. As it is at the moment if you try to do that they charge high rates so that you will buy the packages they offer.

You can always get the phone unlocked after getting it. It doesn't form part of the contract for any of the operators anyway. This would then allow the use of any SIM card with the handset.
The hard part will be convincing the networks of the printed "get out" clause in the contract, if you decide to cancel.

To bring it back to the human side of things. Its not nice going into a shop, knowing full well its soon going to be closed, and working alongside those who will soon be told what they can do. Where do they go, as their rights will have been simply ignored?

 

[Tommy2]

Just think Learnincurve , if you'd paid the extra £3 they may not be in this predicament, just saying

 

[screenman]

I think that the whole mobile phone arrangement is just an easy way of getting more money out of the Punters (Us). They should sell the phones and then get a sim card without all this paying so much per month. The phone charges should be monitored by the Government authority to charge a fair price for the actual time you are talking, texting etc. As it is at the moment if you try to do that they charge high rates so that you will buy the packages they offer.

I have a second hand phone and a sim that costs £9 per month inclusive, seems extremely good value to me.

 

[DCLane]

@classic33 and @User14044 - it seems they're keeping on paying staff whilst finding an alternative option. So they're not gone yet ...

 

[MrGrumpy]

if it all goes to direct sales which it certainly looks like with the big networks, then say hello to higher prices. Might be looking to upgrade by end of year but the prices are nuts! Can seem me staying sim only on current phone as anything half decent is up there at £30 month!

 

[Brandane]

if it all goes to direct sales which it certainly looks like with the big networks, then say hello to higher prices. Might be looking to upgrade by end of year but the prices are nuts! Can seem me staying sim only on current phone as anything half decent is up there at £30 month!

Me too. Current contract with Vodafone expires in 4 days. I WON'T be signing up to another 18 month contract and getting a new phone, 99% of the features of which I don't use.
Text and talk is all I need. So the 3 phones I have lying around will do fine, and a sim only contract at about £12 per month.
No insurance either, thanks. That has cost me £5 per month for the last 18 months.

 

[nickyboy]

I wouldn't fancy being part of the Carphone Warehouse set up at the moment either. Seems that all the operators have looked enviously at the margins the resellers are making and decided to squeeze them out now they have their own sales networks well established.
Ultimately bad for competition and I wouldn't be surprised if, in the future, there was some regulatory effort to force the operators to allow sales via independent channels.