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!

[Kangeret]

The sales team and security team is horrible. To imagine I'm watching them
take money from my hard earned salary for something I do not have. It
breaks my heart

[ThandoNqo]

I ordered an iPhone pro max on the 10th of February and received an empty box instead today . Delivered by DPD. Reading other people’s stories is making me more depressed.  Have been given 72 hours while the investigate. Now I feel hopeless, confused and depressed. This experience is traumatic.

[QandeelR]

@Peter_W   How is EE DOING THIS TO SO MANY PEOPLE??

This is a different level of FRAUD. EE need to re-investigate everyone’s case as more people are coming forward!!!

[Kangeret]

I wonder what is really going on
I case is reasonable, now we are more than 10 and they still turn a blind
eye on this issue. I wish there was a way we could put a word out there so
that people stop buying online and go to a shop physically to purchase a
handset. That way no losses will incur. This is bad. Honestly I am hurting
everyday for having to pay for something I did not receive.

[Sid24GG]

I  moved from BT to EE  on the 25 Jan 25 after 25 years with BT and i was  looking to enjoy  all the promises of a better service .  I moved my broadband and mobile accounts and decided to treat myself to a new phone . After a couple of failed delivery attempts     ( amazing as I was sitting in my house with the TV off waiting to catch the delivery) . I eventually managed to stop the parcel being put back into the van following another attempted DPD delivery . I was photographed with a grey parcel in my hand, on opening the parcel there was a Phone Case and Screen Protector not the Iphone 16 I was expecting. I called EE within 30 minutes of the  being placed in my hand. after 2 weeks of going backwards and forwards on the phone to EE and the executive complaints team, I was told that the investigation was complete and I should go to the Financial Ombudsman.

Some of the highlights of my discussion and results of the investigation being.

1 .The photograph of a grey parcel in my hand was proof that it had been delivered.

2. They said it had been weighed but could not give the weight , I told them the parcel had a weight of 1kg printed on it they said it could weigh that with packaging .  I told the 1kg was equivalent to 2 bags of sugar and would anyone be interested in carrying a phone around in their pocket that weighed a  KG . ( an Iphone 16 Pro weighs 540 grams)

3. I asked if they had a photograph of the phone within the parcel , or some sort of quality check paperwork that had been signed off by someone taking responsibility for the phone being inside the parcel.  A familiar reply came back that they had spoken to someone within the supply department and that they knew it was in the parcel and the proof was they had a photograph of me receiving an intact parcel.

I only stumbled on this forum 2 days ago had I known about all the other people with similar issues I would have approached my complaint differently.

As yet I have not made a complaint to the Ombudsman as I wanted to give EE one more chance and have filled out a complaint form  for still waiting for a response..

[kadie2]

Hi Sid, I'm saddened to see these coming in daily now, and to hear we are
all receiving the same, poor and unhelpful outcome! I too allowed EE many
chances to resolve this with me, as I was a long standing loyal customer
with faith in EE and I was reluctant to involve a third party that would
drag this on, sadly I was told after 2 weeks of calling EE daily that once
you are told to go to the ombudsman a final letter response is generated
and that then means no one in EE can do anything with your case, regardless
of how many representatives you speak with or how high up the chain you
climb!

I have finally been assigned a case handler at the financial ombudsman
today so I will keep you all updated on the progress, I have everything
crossed that this gets taken seriously and someone starts to trust and
believe that we are the innocent parties here!

[mitchs93]

Hopefully you get a better outcome than we did @kadie2. The ombudsman found in EE's favor and now my wife is left device less and paying for a contract for the full term. It's absolutely criminal. The only option we have left is to take it to small claims, but it'll only be EE's words against ours. Genuinely cannot believe this is happening to several people country wide, and EE can't seem to see they clearly have an internal distribution problem, all the while someone internally is making a small stolen fortune of us all.

[Minkey1]

Weird how this seems to involve mainly iPhones and DPD. We buy our phones and I know Apple supply their stuff in tamper proof boxes. There’s no sign of any tampering with the boxes? Then again, their phones don’t come with covers and screen protectors as standard so for them to be included there’d have to be some intervention.

Do EE use a fulfilment warehouse do we know?

I don’t think BBC’s Rip Off Britain is currently broadcasting. Shame. Seems like a story for them  or one of the consumer journalists 🧐

[kadie2]

Mine was a Google pixel but it was the highest/newest spec with the top
storage so it does seem that high end phones are targeted.

If you take out insurance with EE you get a 'FREE' phone case and screen
protector but this is of course how someone is able to send a parcel
without a phone as it still appears to have something inside, without the
free bundle this couldn't happen as they can't send an empty postal bag!

I could kick myself, as I have never taken the insurance before but the
salesman talked highly of the offer as the case and protector is worth £40
and you get it free, he also said you can get this and cancel the insurance
after a month as it's not tied into the contract!

Seems we all fell victim to the same scam and got a £40 case and protector
instead of our ££££ phones!

What is odd too is that EE told me my label saying 0.5kg was heavy enough
to proove the phone was in there but two of you have a label that says 1kg!
I too wasn't given an accurate weight just this rounded up weight and I
said how easy would it be for someone to weigh a parcel with the phone in
then take it out, seal it and put a sticker on it! I asked for CCTV or a
accurate weight but EE said that's not possible.

I'm devastated that you still haven't got an outcome in your favour from
the ombudsman it's made me so upset and worried that i will end up having
the same response now and I have been hoping and praying the ombudsman
would help us all get justice in this really difficult situation we have
been placed in.

[mitchs93]

My wife's wasn't an expensive high end device, but still a £500 tablet. It did however come with a "free" case, which is why she accepted it assuming that it contain the tablet. I really hope you have some success. My wife has accepted that there's nothing more we can do about it. All we can do is advise others to boycott EE and everyone in our household and families will be leaving EE once our contracts are up.