Lost trade in

[Stringy2010]

I did an early upgrade via the upgrade anytime on my iPhone 15 pro contract and have had nothing but issues with the whole upgrade process.

I upgraded my 15 pro to the 15 pro max as the battery life on the 15 pro was not the best.  I sent my 15 pro back via EE's supplied trade in pack on the 19th Feb, this was done in person at my local post office.  The tracking was updated the following day on the 20th Feb to say it had been received at the RM Warrington MC.

That was the last time it was updated so I emailed Likewise who did a warehouse search for the handset and confirmed they had not received it.  I was told by Likewise that I would have to contact EE regarding this as they would need some details from them regarding my account so they can process a claim for the lost handset.  A claim for £100 against a phone that I'll be charged £810 for.

I called EE today and was told that the issue is between me and Royal Mail and that I'd have to put the claim in myself, this is wrong as the postage was paid for via EE's business account with RM and I can't claim myself according to Royal Mail.

As far as I'm concerned I've done everything that was requested of me by sending it back in the supplied returns pack and kept the post office posting receipt and also tried to sort it out with Likewise directly.  If you think for one minute I'm paying £810 for a phone I no longer have because it's been lost by the company that EE have entrusted this process too then I think this is completely unfair.

[Dan21211]

I am currently going through the same situation as I had delivery confirmation on the 10th of April and likewize apparently can’t find the device.

currently dealing with ee’s complaints team as I’ve had the £495 charge added to my bill for this month which has now been put into dispute.

every time I have contacted likewize I have been given the same please wait 3-5 days for us to find the device. And the one time they asked for the imei number which they couldn’t locate either which I had checked with ee and it’s the correct number. 
After this is dealt with I won’t be using the early upgrade/ trade in service again.

[MrsBClark27]

Hi Dan,

Using EE, Likewize and Royal Mail have become a nightmare. There are few concerning things about the whole process. 

First, EE through it's partner Likewize used a post label that Royal Mail can only cover £150 if the parcel gets lost. It's up to the person to pay more insurance on top of it. 

Second, EE and Likewize will ask you to disable "find my phone" option on your phone putting the customer in vulnerable situation of not being able to locate the movement of the phone until it reach it's destination. It also means thieves can easily snatch the phone without any trace. Likewize engineers have the option to reset the phone to factory setting once it reach them but they prefer to make it hard for their customers. Total scam. 

Royal mail will only investigate of the last scanning of the parcel that got lost. If it's within their jurisdiction, they will only pay for the minimum. They will not take responsibility for the full amount of the parcel. They won't even investigate further to find your parcel. They will only tell you.."THEY WON'T INVESTIGATE A SINGLE MISSING PARCEL." Given a fact that there's LOADS of missing parcel in Warrington Depot where trade in phones to Likewize accumulate before being delivered to Likewize! 

Thirdly, DON'T TRUST EE that they'll help their customer. EE suspended my service now without any help. They promised a call to "give a resolution" but believe me, they will point all the blame to the customer. 

I have contacted EE to ask them to disable the IMEI number of the phone to mark it as stolen. 

I have been a very good customer to them but they've ruined it massively. They can't be trusted anymore and let me just ask that they've ruined my credit score. They've messed up BIG TIME! People shouldn't trust this company ever again! 

[Chris_B]

@MrsBClark27

You can’t  have the phone linked to your Google/Apple account because that means it’s still linked to your account. So if this was enabled they can’t do anything with the device even factory reset it as it’ll ask for your account password to activate the device.    Plus the fact it’ll need a working cellular connection for any tracking feature to work.   How do you track a none connected device?     Some phone will report their last known location but that’s where you switched it off.    

[Dan21211]

Latest from likewize. 

The parcel did not arrive empty. But the imei number I have sent over that matches my old device that ee confirmed, apparently doesn’t match the device they have received. I’m finding this strange as that phone was the only one I’d had from ee since moving over from o2. From everyone’s issues with them I’m starting to think it will never be resolved. 

[MrsBClark27]

Hi Chris. Clause 3.6 of EE Trade-in terms and regulations indicate that Likewize have the option to process a manufacture reset if customer haven't done it. If this is an option, it's not impossible for EE to acquire verification check to successfully disable the phone when it safely reached it's destination. People are enticed to accept EE trade-in promotion hoping they're getting a deal but ended up being in debt for lack of protection from EE. 

[MrsBClark27]

There's obviously something fishy going on with trade-in process. Unfortunately for the customer's expense. And because Likewize is claiming that you have provided a different device, means they're not accepting the phone. A long nightmare for you I'm afraid. I won't hold my breath that EE will be on your side. They want me to pay over £600, suspended my service and ruined my credit score. A horrible experience for someone who's actually selling my stuff just to pay my rent! 

[rkelly1]

In a similar position to a lot of people here.

Returned the device to Likewize via Royal Mail. Confirmation on the tracking website to show it had been received by Likewize.

Still receiving reminder emails to return it so contacted Likewize who eventually advised that the packaging was empty. In the meantime a charge for not returning the device has been added to the account, despite EE & Likewize being aware of the issue, phone calls and emails providing the device information and to confirm that it had been blacklisted. Easily over 10 phone calls to both parties. Both parties keep referring me back to each other.

My main concern here is the fact that if it indeed was taken/lost in transit, then it's because the returns packing is easily opened (a simple bubble wrapped envelope) which make it susceptible to be opened either in transit or at the warehouse. Realistically it could have been taken at the warehouse as much as it could have been taken in transit.  To then have both parties referring me back to each other and nobody handling the situation is incredibly stressful and worrying that the customer is being put in this position.  

[Peter_W]

Good morning @rkelly1.
Thanks for taking the time to share the experience you've had here. 

When you posted this back to us, did you select the option for insurance on the delivery? 

If you did, you could claim for this through Royal Mail and it should cover the cost of the non-return fee. 

Alternatively, how were things left with you when you last spoke with our team?
Peter

[rkelly1]

Thank you for replying @Peter_W .

I wasn't offered insurance with the delivery. I assumed as it was a tracked delivery that it should arrive at its destination.

The last call I made was earlier today to EE. I have already provided confirmation of blackisting and the device information during my previous calls with them however it transpires that they've not yet submitted a loss claim to Royal Mail as they've not received the information from EE. This is despite 3 agents assuring me that they'd sent a webform for this to be done. 

The last we left it is that the agent is going to contact Likewize today at their request and I'm waiting for a callback from the agent to update me. Hopefully this is enough for Likewize to go ahead but it has taken me over a month to get to this point and I've now received a text from EE to advise me my bill is late, even though I've paid it, because they charge for failing to return the device has been added.   

[Peter_W]

I'm glad to hear that you've managed to get this raised now @rkelly1.

I'm confident you should hear something soon, but if you don't get the outcome you're looking for there is the option to ask to escalate this when you contact us too. 

You can find out the full details of our complaints process in our complaints code of practice too.

Peter