No phone in parcel upon delivery - only case & screen protector! EE useless!

[kadie2]

I have always been so happy with their services UNTIL NOW!

I upgraded 2 lines with EE (OCT 24)  and took out insurance which came with a free minute one bundle (phone case and screen protector) with each phone. When DPD delivered the two parcels, one parcel had the Google pixel 9 and the minute one bundle in, the other just had the minute one bundle in NO PHONE OR PHONE BOX, for reference I was expecting a google pixel 9 PRO in this one!  packaging had no 'obvious' signs of tampering upon receiving, but weight difference was obvious, before opening I presumed the phones were in one and the minute one bundles was in the other, but that was clearly not the case once I opened and discovered I was missing a phone.

Despite numerous disputes to the supply chain and emailing the CEO of EE, speaking with EE executive complaints the cases just keep being closed and now I am paying for a phone I haven't got! I have spoken to numerous agents that have been awful, unhelpful, lack of knowledge about processes, generally unprofessional and rude, and to top it off one even called me a liar and said he could tell from the DPD delivery photo the phone was in the bag?!

Iv reported it to the police but they said there isn't much they can do to help me unless further evidence comes to light, which EE will not provide! I offered to pay the insurance excess of £100 to claim it as lost/stolen in the interim of me generating an ombudsman case so at least I'm paying for a phone I have ACTUALLY got, but they won't allow me to do that either, so I'm also paying for insurance I am being blocked from using too!

I have no idea if it's a DPD or EE warehouse issue as I haven't been provided any evidence from either companies just 'told over the phone' the weight checks were right so apparently that's sufficient for them to close the case and mark it as received.

I keep being told to go to the financial ombudsman, and have had a final response letter from EE stating this, which I am doing but they have a 4+ week back log right now and I'm just finding the whole situation is seriously affecting me mentally and financially and I'm desperate for a speedy resolution rather than a long winded dispute via a third party with no guarantees of a resolution.

I have been with EE for over 10 years, never missed a payment had multiple lines and remained loyal, however this has absolutely smashed my trust and going forward I am terrified to sign up for any contracts over the phone in fear of this situation repeating, which is leaving me stranded as I have since cancelled everything else I have with EE now due to this ongoing nightmare.

I am aware posting on here will not resolve my personal dispute, however I am wondering if anyone else in the Manchester area or elsewhere has experienced this? I think it would be helpful if we can form an alliance and prove there is an issue within the EE/DPD order processing system, as EE have discarded me and are consecutively saying 'this never happens'. which I now know is untrue as I have been contacted by @Tendai_G on another post stating they are in the same situation!

[Tendai_G]

could this be a coincidence or someone/something is responsible for this?. its not easy losing your hard earned minimum wage paying for something you will never receive 

[kadie2]

I agree, initially on receipt I thought it was a genuine error in the packing department and EE would quickly resolve however as time passed I quickly realised there's more to it, and it appears to me someone is playing a very good game with a personal financial gain outcome whilst leaving the likes of us suffering the difficult consequences, and EE despite being a large reputable company don't seem to care or want to help thier loyal customers 

[Kangeret]

The worst thing is when you report they put you on a guilt trip to make it look as if you are lying and nothing like that has ever happened before. They are so quick to refer you to the ombudsman amd how it can never happen since their system is very accurate. At this point as a service provider it would be wise to look into your system and at least be courteous because obviously not more than 2 people can experience the same thing on deliveries and you would want to turn a blind eye on this. 

Very disappointed indeed

[Christopher_G]

Hi @kadie2 

Welcome to the community.

It sounds like this is being/has been investigated by our Executive Complaints team. I understand the purpose of your post was to discuss this with other users, but if you wanted to discuss this with EE further, I'd suggest doing so with the complaint handler who would have contacted you regarding the complaint.

If they have issued you with a 'deadlock' letter, which I suspect they may have, the best course of action is to follow the advice on that letter to contact the ombudsman.

Chris

[Dmcnab]

It’s as if I have written this myself! This exact thing has happened to me!!! I upgraded to an iPhone 16 pro max last Monday and paid £6.95 for next day delivery, come the Wednesday I still haven’t received a thing so called up, was told there was a back log waiting on the handsets and if I hadn’t received by today 13/11 to call back. I got a text on Saturday to say the SIM had been dispatched and also a notification from DPD saying they had received my parcel. DPD attempted delivery and said i wasn’t home however the picture they uploaded was not my property as I was home! They then redelivered on Sunday and I opened the parcel to find a screen protector and SIM card in it. Because I hadn’t had notifications to say the handset was dispatched I thought nothing of it until I called today as per advised to check the status of my order, I has horrified to find out that the phone was marked as delivered and should have been in my parcel with my SIM! I have now had to open a “lost in transit” investigation with them and won’t have any resolution until Tuesday 😫😫😫 the weight on my parcel would seem the phone was in the parcel at some point however the packaging doesn’t look like it has been tampered with at all. 

[kadie2]

Omg I can't believe this, they have told me repeatedly this never happens
and your the second person today to state they are in the same position,
seems like there is clearly something going on in either EEs warehouse or
with DPD! I really hope your investigation with EE comes back with a better
outcome then mine did! After the first case was closed by the supply chain
I had a further 2 disputes opened and both times it was shut down by EE
complaints team in less then 24 hours as though they were just fobbing me
off and was refusing to investigate further, I spoke with 2 seperate agents
in the executive complaints team, both of which were extremely patronising
and unhelpful and made it very clear they didn't believe what I was saying.
So now I'm left with no options but to proceed with the ombudsman which I
am doing but still this could take unnecessary time all whilst causing me a
great deal of stress. Do you mind me asking what area you are based in?

[Kangeret]

I think it would be courteous to look into these issues and also approach them with caution. If I am to explain to you what I have gone through, the damage that this whole ordeal has caused in my life and only to get off from a call from EE feeling like this whole situation is your fault. I asked if  EE realised that this fault was from their part and I was told that there is nothing they can do about it. I felt so horrible. Referred to security and they told me to look closely at the delivery photo and honestly how can a photo show the contents. They even went on to say you should ask your partner what he did with the phone since he was the one who received it. Imagine the fight and accusationthat has happened at my home. Only for a big company to display ignorance and want to shift blame on customers. This is really bad to be honest. Extremely bad.

[Kangeret]

Now it's more than 3 people coming with the same story and still you deny to have anything to do with this. To be honest I'm just using your services but my heart is not there anymore. It's as good as being in an agreement where you have no option because you are tied with documents and terms and conditions simply because I agreed but it's not supposed to be like this

[kadie2]

I totally agree, I was told the exact same thing! The agent in executive complaints stated he could tell the phone was in my parcel from the DPD delivery photo of the parcel, which is absurd as it's just a grey plastic bag on my doorstep! Once again making me feel unheard and disbelieved, they have no compassion and clearly are too arrogant to accept there is an issue in house or with the carriers they are choosing to deliver high cost goods with! I'm so sorry it's caused your family the same stress and upset it has mine. 😞