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Phones4u has told customers who have already put money down toward an iPhone 6 that they won’t be receiving a refund.
The company went into administration earlier this month and has now gone back on a previous promise to refund the 136 people who had pre-ordered one of Apple’s new smartphones.
How do we know that it’s 136 people? Because as Business Insider reports, the email sent out by the company included all of them in the ‘To’ field, meaning all of their email addresses were revealed.
Compounding the error, Phones4u then sent out a second email attempting to retract the first – and that also included everyone in the ‘To’ field.
It was earlier this week confirmed that Vodafone is to acquire 140 Phones4u stores and EE a further 58. This means, however, that 1,700 of the company’s 5,600 staff are still going to lose their jobs, with 362 stores not being re-opened.
Those 1,700 have already been told that they are unlikely to receive their full wages, too.
The entire process has come in for criticism from a number of parties, with ExpertReviews stating that the retailer’s demise stinks”, adding that the chain looks to have been forced out of business by a combination of private equity mismanagement and predatory mobile phone networks”.
The accusation is that networks have deliberately forced the closure of Phones4u as a method to acquiring additional High Street locations at a cut-down price. Furthermore, it will reap greater profits from and handset sales made directly to customers as the previous occupier – the middle man – has been evicted.
Added the site: The facts are clear: mobile phone networks knew Phones 4u was vulnerable, they knew it depended on their contracts and when it collapsed they were perfectly placed to negotiate with administrators.”
