Phones 4 u (Phones 4U)

Member Name: joannabelle88

Product:	Phones 4U
Date:	26/09/09 (114 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good deals, good range

Disadvantages: underhand sales tactics, a lot of pressure to buy

Having used phones 4 u on 4 separate occasions for upgrading/taking out a new contract, I have found the service provided to be very variable depending on where you go.

Phones 4 u are essentially a phone shop which offer mobile phones on pay as you go and on contract for most of the main contract companies- certainly orange, vodafone and o2 are included. When you first step into one of their stores you'll see one side of the shop dedicated to pay as you go phones with the price of the phone on each network, and the other will be exactly the same, but for contract. Towards the back are lots of desks with a couple of chairs at each where they take you to discuss contracts.

Chances are that within 2 minutes of stepping into one of their stores you will be approached by a member of staff asking if you'd like any help. The reaction you get if you say you're just browsing varies, in a couple I have been pestered, but most are happy enough to accept no for an answer. If you say yes, you're taken to a desk, and one of the sales assistants will run through the different contract options with you.

Like all other phone retailers they will bring out several phones for you to look at, and the sale will be hard- once you've sat at one of those desks they won't let you go without a fight. Once you've decided on a phone they'll then go through the paperwork. Be aware that at this point they will push insurance very hard.

The insurance offered seems to me to be pretty useless, but each to their own. Generally it's £9.95 a month, which supposedly covers your phone in loss, damage etc. It's worth noting that even if you say no to the insurance, chack all the paperwork for the contract before you sign it, a couple of stores have slipped it in anyway, hoping you won't notice. Another common trick is to say sign up for it, and we'll give you first 2 months back in cash, in the hope that you'll forget to cancel it after 2 months. Personally I like these stores as they give you £20 in cash, and there's nothing to stop you cancelling the insurance straight away, thus making £20 profit. Either way, you get 14days to cancel the insurance payment free.

The offers by phones 4 u do seem to be competitive, as they lure you with freebies such as playstations, auto cash back and so on. If you're taking out a new contract these deals will probably be better than what you can get going elsewhere, but for an upgrade I'd personally try your service provider first as they tend to be me competitve to keep customers.

Overall, the choice of products in these stores is good, the service isn't always. Not being a fan of underhand sales tactics, such as those with the insurance, or lying about phone specs, there are a few of these stores I will never step in again, however, if you find a good store, then they are certainly well worth a visit.

Summary: good if you know exactly what you want, and are strong willed enough to walk away. Also read the sma