Carphone Warehouse Reviews

2.4 /5

Company Name: Carphone Warehouse

Address: PO Box 375, Southampton, SO30 2PU

Telephone: 0370 111 6565

Visit: www.carphonewarehouse.com

Carphone Warehouse Reviews and Experiences

Customer reviews Write a review

Showing 1 - 43 of 43 reviews
Mick
Mick

4 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Purveyors of crap"

Bought a charging lead from these people after 3-weeks it broke took it back with the receipt they refused to replace it, don't buy from these people if you have any sense, they sell crap

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Raymond
Raymond

4 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Avoid at all cost"

CPW customer service is totally useless, they'll sell you a phone and after 30 days if you have a problem they just don't want to know. I will be warning everyone I know to steer well clear. I wish I could give a minus star rating...

Robin
Robin

4 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Carphone Bewarehouse"

Ordered phones online from carphone warehouse. The transaction went through and the package was on its way but then the status changed and the package was requested to be returned to carphone warehouse. Called customer service and the lady said that her department is the only one that can tell us the reason and that the only thing she can tell us is that she can't tell us the reason. Excellent.

When I made the payment online it went through immediately. I did not make carphone warehouse wait 3-5 working days before they could take the money out of my account. I now have to wait for the package to be returned to the depot before the refund can be processed and then it will take a further 3-5 days before I get the money back.

I made the purchase for the next day delivery of a phone. If they do not want to go through with the deal that's fine but I want my money back now- not when it suits them. Seen a few stories online including in the Guardian about carphone warehouse rejecting people and not giving a reason why. “Customer care” is unable to escalate the matter in any way (which the chat service said that they would be able to do). All they could do was give me a reference number for my complaint which they said would be dealt with internally. Thank you for numbering my complaint carphone warehouse, I do hope you deal with it internally - that is what I was going to suggest you do with it too. Definitely unhappy with this "service".

D
D

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Shocking"

Two weeks later and still not connected. Shocking customer service. Returning iphone and cancelling contract.

Alison
Alison

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"They lied to me to get a sale there and then"

Disgraceful sales techniques and customer service - my monthly network payment was "sold" to me at £14.99 but the reality is £15.99 - less than 2 days later what I have is now being sold for £12.99 - this was done via online chat. They did not email me a transcript as requested, they say that they don't know what the deal was being charged at on the day I bought it - con merchants.

Katrina
Katrina

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"BAD"

Very bad experience. I purchased an early upgrade device with EE though Carphone Warehouse last month. I'd already decided not to proceed with an upgrade directly though EE as they wanted me to pay quite a substantial early upgrade fee which i couldn't afford, however, Carphone Warehouse offered to cover the £115 fee by offering me £15 for the old device and £100 cashback.

I proceeded with the order and paid the upgrade fee over the phone with the understanding that £115 would be returned to my bank account in up to 14 days. I posted my old device using their pre-paid envelope three weeks ago and still haven't received a penny back! To add insult to injury when I called to chase they stated that they had no record of the £100 cashback offer despite this being offered at the point of sale. I've requested that they go back and check their call recording so they can hear the sales advisers lies first hand!

To top it off EE have now taken another £95 from my account for the early upgrade, despite me having already paid this to Carphone Warehouse. I'm currently footing a bill of £210 for an upgrade which allegedly should have been free!!

Have got nowhere with Customer Service other than they will escalate the matter and somebody will be in touch within 10 days - this does nothing to help me now as I'm overdrawn on my bank account, accruing daily charges and desperately need the money.

Nobody seems to care.

Jean
Jean

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Excellent"

Upgraded phone and took out new contract this week at Carphone Warehouse. Heather on live chat spent a huge amount of time making sure I was totally happy with everything. Would definitely recommend!

Jon
Jon

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Easy to order and collect"

Ordered a SIM-free device online, collected in store the next day. Good price and simple ordering process. Attempted to sell me insurance in store which I'm not a fan of but other than that all good.

Lily
Lily

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Horrendous customer service"

Horrendous customer service. Sent my phone back and paid 8 pounds to ensure next day delivery before 1 pm. I had confirmation they received the phone and 10 days later still no payment!! I've rang customer services twice and they have said 'there is nothing we can do as the trade in team have your phone. They don't have a number so you can't ring them'.
I've emailed the trade in team and each time it takes 48 hours to get back to me. I am extremely frustrated, to say the least, it feels like a total scam. I would not recommend using carphone warehouse for anything, always had shocking customer service. Don't waste your time.

Nick
Nick

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Carphone Warehouse owe me £300 and won’t pay it"

I have used Carphone Warehouse for my contract and upgrades for many years. In March they offered me a deal which included a bonus of a £300 cheque in exchange for a two-year contract renewal, which I was happy to take.

However, despite my having contacted them on several occasions over the last few months, they have failed to send me the cheque as agreed, leaving me with no option but to take them to court.

I strongly suspect this is not an error, but a deliberate ploy to conserve cash resources, as they are struggling financially. I wouldn't recommend them to customers or investors.

Relly
Relly

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Poor"

They do not care about anything but getting a sale and will even lie and give false information to customers just to get sales. A lot of CPW stores target ethnic minorities who cannot speak a lot of English nor understand it and trick them into taking out a contract/broadband and insurance

Nomad
Nomad

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Terrible"

Carphone warehouse allowed a fraudster to take two phone contracts out on a number that had only ever had one phone in 10 years and just been upgraded. The fraud happened instore a 100 miles from the registered address and they even supplied the direct debit information to them. Their fraud team are totally crap as are their customer service advisors who didn't seem to know what was going on. They want 21 days to return with any info on the fraud and wouldn't tell me what ID was used to do it. Absolute shite and I want all my records removed from their database as you are legally allowed to under data protection as it has been used for illegal purposes. The only saving grace is EE as the operator who have been absolutely fantastic and have reached a resolution in just 48 hours. Never use carphone warehouse again for anything

Charley
Charley

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Bad customer service! Avoid at all costs"

Ordered a phone in store and paid for it, I was told they would contact me within the next two weeks to inform me when to collect it. 2 weeks later and no phone call, I have tried calling there store multiple times on multiple numbers and been passed through to many different departments. I have been on hold for hours and then eventually been cut off and taken too a customer service system where they expect me to give them good feedback. I have also been on to an online chat where I have still received no help. Overall a horrible experience with disgusting customer service! Avoid at all costs

Anita
Anita

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Just dreadful"

Waited 10 days for SIM to be activated. They take no responsibility to try to help and will blame anyone but themselves. I will never go back. Some staff are incompetent, others just plain rude. It is a cliche but pity I can't give no stars.

Sabs
Sabs

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Not good"

I had to wait so long for my SIM to be activated which causes me to make 2 payments to two different networks.

Angelina
Angelina

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Astonishingly incompetent!"

Never use this company! Astonishingly incompetent and frauds!

Me and my husband were due for an upgrade We were phoned by carphone warehouse and we agreed on a deal for two Samsung Galaxy S10 phones and the amount for monthly payments and 20gb of data and to pay £100 upfront for each phone.

They said delivery next day as well. When the phones did not show up I checked emails there was no confirmation email, so I checked my bank and the money had been taken from my account for the phones! I phoned up and was told they could see that the money had been taken but that it had been processed incorrectly and it was an error on their part!

They then said they couldn't do anything about it because it was done by their outbound sales team, so they couldn't contact them and I would have to see if they phoned me. Why would they phone me! They obviously only phone when you are due to an upgrade!

They then transferred me to the normal sales team they then said they could only give me a more expensive deal! But I paid for that deal, you've already taken my money! A verbal agreement is legally binding, they legally have to uphold it! They should have it recorded if they wanted proof! What they are doing is fraudulent! Google it if you don't believe me people Never use this company.

Anonymous
Anonymous

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Irritating, dissatisfied, angry"

My mum decided to surprise me with a phone from Carphone Warehouse, however, because I have recently moved house, she did not know my full address. Instead, she chose to get the phone delivered to my nearest Carphone Warehouse store where I could go collect my phone once she sent me the order number. I went into the store to collect my phone, however, they required my mum's debit card to complete the transaction, this caused minor delays because my mum lives a couple of hours away from me so we were forced to call customer service to explain the situation.

I called the number provided on the customer service website and was directed to a switchboard. From here I tried to get myself directed to general inquiries since that was the option given that made the most sense to my situation. I wasn't however directed to general enquiries, instead the automated message advised me to go to their help page on their website and the call was automatically disconnected. This now angered me because I had to call several times again choosing different options to get at least one adviser from the Carphone Warehouse Team. Every option I chose still directed me to their website so I had to go online and find several different numbers that I could call. This whole process took me several hours since most of this time was wasted on me being kept on hold.

Finally I was advised to go into the store and cancel the order, however when I went into the store they wouldn't cancel my order because I didn't have the debit card with me used to make the purchase. I tried to explain to them that I had spoken to customer service but they still wouldn't cancel my order. This now resulted in me being on the phone for a couple of more hours listening to advisers but each adviser told me different solutions so throughout this whole process I was just confused. My options weren't made clear to me and the advisers on the other end of the line were also very rude to me, as though being an adviser wasn't part of their job role. I admit that sometimes there are people who call and make false claims to get free phones, however, I had proven that the phone that was to be collected belonged to me with the order number and I even had my mum call them and provide them with her card details and provide them with my phone number so that they could give me a call back. They didn't call me back so I had to call them again and even after every security check I had successfully passed, I was still treated as though I was a fraud trying to get a free phone. The customer advisers even had the audacity to ask me to give them good feedback after every rude phone call I had to go through with them. In the end,

I have decided to wait fourteen days for the money to automatically be refunded into my mum's account since my mum can't cancel the order from her account either. This whole experience has been the worst experience I have ever had at a well-known business branch. It also made me realise how differently Carphone Warehouse works from other stores. My mum has always ordered products for me at business branches that are more well known that Carphone Warehouse and had the product sent to the branch that is the closest to where I live and all I have ever had to do is provide the order number that my mum has sent over and vice versa. No hassle. In the future, I will not be purchasing any products from Carphone Warehouse again.

Reilay jamieson
Reilay jamieson

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Awful company it’s best to go to the network itself"

I have been trying to take a contract out with carphone warehouse for over 2 1/2 years they kept declining me and messing up my credit rating. Something told me to keep away from them for about 8 months and go directly to the network company sand I passed straight away with no hesitation.

When I look on my credit file my credit report is excellent I have no marks or nothing this company is very bold as an advertiser. Best you to go to the network and not deal with them as they are doing something to mash up peoples credit file.

Natalie
Natalie

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Appalling company"

Customer service is dreadful LACK of communication and ignoring customer requests does not keep customers. Ok if everything is straightforward. I feel this company has a lot to learn about service and should be investigated by trading standards.

David
David

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Friendly and well informed staff"

I used Carphone Warehouse as I have in the past, to upgrade my iPhone on EE. The person I dealt with on live chat could not have been more helpful or friendly - an excellent experience in every way.

Steve
Steve

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Super quick delivery"

I ordered a phone at 18:00 and received it the next day at 13:30. very impressed with the service. Device works fine. Recommended.

Steven
Steven

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Garbage"

Placed an online order on 28/1/19 for a Xiaomi Pocophone F1 64GB on the website, product appeared as in stock and a promised next day delivery.
I arrived at work the following morning and checked the e-mail confirmation which stated we will contact you when the phone is available which I assumed was a mistake so I called them, after 15 minutes I was told they did not have the phone in stock.
I decided to cancel the order at this point and was told that it would take between 24-48 hour for this to be confirmed by e-mail (how can it take this length of time to cancel an order ?)
This morning I checked my bank account and surprise surprise they have taken £279.99 from my account.
Well done Carphone Warehouse for taking money out of someones account for a phone that you cannot supply.
If it takes up to 2 days just to send someone an e-mail to confirm their order is cancelled I dread to think how long it will take to refund the money they had no right to take in the first place.
So for now no phone until they give me my money back.

John W
John W

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"My worst customer experience for many years!!!"

I ordered a new sim free phone online before Xmas after checking the website to see that I could return it up till 9th January.

I decided I didn't like the phone and telephoned to get a return label.

I wasted 40 minutes talking to a very rude woman in a call center in South Africa who insisted I only had 14 days to return it. Eventually, she became abusive and terminated the call. Two more calls and a supervisor emailed me a return label.

He said he would call me on the following Tuesday and the manager would call me on the following Thursday. Neither of them phoned.

I tracked the return delivery on their courier's website and saw that the phoned had been delivered but I heard nothing more about it until I saw on my credit card statement that my the purchase price had been refunded.

No email, no text and no call.

My worst customer experience for many years!!!

I won't deal with this company ever again.

Fred
Fred

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Avoid, go to Tesco"

Took out a Vodafone monthly contract with an Apple iPhone X, could not get sim to work, returned to shop to be fobbed off with a story that we needed to go to a Vodafone shop, they told us that the order had been messed up by Carphone Warehouse. Went to nearest CW shop, they told us phone might work within 3 - 5 days (or not). Asked to cancel the contract, was told we would have to return to the original shop. Already have visited 3 separate shops and still have a non-working phone. Avoid - go to Tesco's.

Paul Lawrence Griffiths
Paul Lawrence Griffiths

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"False Advertiser"

Carphone Warehouse false advertising alert. When trying to upgrade they promote an amazing offer, then when trying to take it out they claim its for selective customers only after exchanging verification checks but can do you a similar offer for an extra £5 ... err false advertising or a total con what you reckon??

P
P

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Shocking!"

I am absolutely livid.

I bought a new iPhone 7 in the Crouch End, London branch on Thursday 22nd November. They didn’t have stock, so told me the phone would be delivered to my home in Cornwall within 24hrs. They also didn’t have a working printer, so said they would email me a copy of the receipt and new EE contract. Needless to say, the phone didn’t arrive as promised.

On the 24th, I tried to ring the shop directly, but was unable to get through and the line kept disconnecting. I then had an online chat with an operator named Fazli. He informed me that they’ve 'have had a picking problem with our warehouse’ and that it would be sorted in 24 to 48 hrs. It wasn’t.

I just rang the 0800 number and have been completely fobbed off by some arrogant, incompetent telephone operator telling me that in order to resolve the issue, I would have to travel back to London (a 5 hr trip by train) and speak to the shop in Crouch End. Again, I tried to contact the Crouch End shop and it just went to voicemail, then went dead.

I have no idea what type of scam the CarPhone Warehouse is running, but I have never experienced anything like this before (and I’ve bought all my phones from them).

Unbelievable!

Caroline
Caroline

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Very impressed"

I cannot praise more highly my experience at Carphone Warehouse West Quay Southampton. The young man who was helping me was professional and the whole experience was positive. Many thanks for not making me feel like a stupid older woman!!

Steve
Steve

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Bad delivery experience"

Bad delivery experience through DPD.

Delivery was expected next day but didn’t arrive despite waiting in all day. Decided to try and deliver on a different day when I was at work and wouldn’t accommodate any time choice from me. Had to collect from 16 miles away or wait a week for an appropriate delivery slot. Poor service and needs reviewing.

Phone all ok when finally received.

Adrian
Adrian

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Slight problem"

The only problem I had was when I asked for my Emergency Services discount to be added to my account, I was told to go directly to EE as Carphone Warehouse did not do the discount. I phoned EE and they told me that because I had got my phone through the CPW, I was not entitled to the discount. Not ideal and not made clear so I will be leaving when my contract ends.

Tim
Tim

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Good service"

The staff member that I spoke to on live chat was extremely helpful and was very professional and helped me order the specific colour phone that I wanted. Thank you. Delivery driver a little unhelpful, however!

Kayley
Kayley

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Awful customer service"

Most awful customer service ever.
We traded in a phone which was in brilliant condition. Always had a case on, less than a year old always had a screen protector.

First of all, it took us 2 weeks of constant ringing up and arguing with them about a phone they had received but were denying they had after chasing down royal mail who clarified it has been delivered and they had CCTV or us posting it they finally said they had received it.

Every time we rang up they would argue and argue, they would snigger and laugh, one man even kept putting the phone down on us. I would never recommend ever dealing with them.

After they said we could only have 110 for the phone and not 410 because it was apparently not a working phone, we asked them to send it back. When it was returned to us the screen was full of scratches, still switched on ok etc but it had deep scratches. When I rang up to complain the woman said it would have to be the trade in team who dealt with it and would call me back within 72hrs.

Still waiting over a week later. Absolutely ridiculous, they don't deserve to be in business.

Laura
Laura

5 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"No Aftercare"

They are all over you at the beginning to coax a good review from you and then no aftercare whatsoever. Staff in the store have no idea what they're doing and tell you to phone customer service, who don't hesitate to pass the buck back to staff in store (as if it's my job to keep going between the two to get it sorted). No intention of resolving the matter. Clearly disinterested. Advised I'd get an email. Three weeks later and nothing. Pathetic really.

Mr Blackman
Mr Blackman

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Good ordering process, expensive accessories"

I ordered my Pay Monthly phone contract via the Carphone Warehouse website. easy enough to collect from my local store, the staff who served me were brilliant, however. Other than that the service was great. Great prices on the phones but the accessories I found were quite over priced.

Sheila
Sheila

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Important information not given to me"

Very personable and knowledgeable young lady who dealt with me on live chat. Unfortunately, she omitted to tell me I would have to pay over £98 to leave my current contract with O2. The bill came as a very nasty surprise.

Gecko
Gecko

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Good choice of sim only deals"

As someone who buys their phones outright, I was just looking for a SIM only contract. There are so many options in terms of deals, so you can find one that really suits you very easily on the website. It is very easy to browse and compare the contracts and happy with the deal I got with plenty data on O2.

Sonia
Sonia

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Horrendous!"

By far the worst company I have ever come across. Don’t go anywhere near them. The most deplorable customer service I have ever encountered. I have spent hours on the phone to them yet nothing ever seems to get recorded on their system and you have to keep going over the same thing repeatedly - that’s if you manage to speak to them and they don’t hang up on you. Everyone gives conflicting advice and you spend an eternity on hold. One serious word of warning - DO NOT trade in your phone by post. Regardless of how immaculate the condition and how safe the packaging they will tell you it’s damaged. NEVER EVER AGAIN!!!!

S Markham
S Markham

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Happy with my recent purchase from Carphone Warehouse"

I recently made an online purchase of a Samsung Galaxy S9 with a pay monthly tariff through Carphone Warehouse. I found the process very easy, all of the available deals were very simply laid out and I felt that I could compare different options with ease. Checking out was simple and I was able to take advantage of a one-hour delivery window, which was surprisingly accurate! All in all, I'm very satisfied with the service and can't wait to use my new phone.

Rose
Rose

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Lies rubbish"

I am disgusted with they customer service. I have been waiting on a cheque since 11th April and all I get is being fobbed off. They modern day crooks. Hate the day I did business with them.

Colin
Colin

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Great company!"

I live in a small village in rural England, and the nearest mobile phone shop is over an hour away. So when I needed to purchase a new mobile phone, buying online was my only real option. I decided to shop online through Carphone Warehouse's website and was delighted at the experience. Their website has plenty of information about all available mobile phones and their plans. I was surprised to find that they offer next-day delivery, even to my village which is quite out of the way! By buying online, I saved a significant amount of time and petrol.

J Fisher
J Fisher

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Excellent Service"

Just purchased the latest Google Nexus phone on contract.

The experience couldn't have been any better. The live chat person was very helpful, told her I was looking for a high-end phone with a great camera with an affordable monthly rate. Straight away she knew what phones would work for my budget.

I wanted to transfer my existing number to a new network and she was able to take me step by step through the process and explained how long I could expect the transfer to take.

I was there online for about 30 minutes altogether, including placing my order, which got delivered to me exactly when the sales rep said it would. Phone arrived in mint condition, looked to be well packaged and protected.

Overall I had a great experience, Would use them again.

Sylvie Dwyer
Sylvie Dwyer

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Helpful Live Chat"

I ordered a new mobile deal via CPW last week. Customer service was excellent throughout on live chat which popped up during browsing, great advice and help to get the best possible phone for me. The ordering itself was easy, and the customer service rep kept me up-to-date. Delivery was quick and had no problems.

Salah88
Salah88

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"Exceptional Customer Service"

There are several things about my experience with Carphone Warehouse that made it an excellent one.

I found a cheaper deal and informed them and they not only matched the deal as promised, but did it quickly after I provided proof.

The customer service was exceptional. I called with a query about billing and a lovely representative of the company guided me through the process, even though I was transferred twice, I never had to repeat myself.

The website is easy to use and helpful, I've only had to call them up once, every other query I've had has been answered using the FAQ.

Dean
Dean

6 years ago

Customer satisfaction
Customer service
Delivery

"iPhone 7 Purchase"

I recently purchased a iPhone 7 from Carphone Warehouse and found the whole process really easy. Their website has clear instructions and there is a plethora of information on both the handsets and the various contracts available. There is also an option to speak to their customer service team if necessary, and I found this particularly useful when I queried the terms of the contract I was interested in.

Delivery was super quick too and my phone arrived much faster than I expected. I've not even mentioned the phone I purchased yet, but that everything I expected and more. Overall a fantastic service and my new favourite online experience!