Finished contract and returning the router.

[DarrenS]

My 5g contract finished in January but I kept paying for the service until the 18th of April when I decided to move over to Fibre.

My bag has just arrived and in it is a letter asking for the router back in new condition.  Also, when I spoke to an advisor he went on about it having no marks or damage.

The router is in mint condition because I never actually used it for more than a few minutes because it would only pick up a 4g signal, and because I already had a working 5g router, I simply continued to use that.

I am just wondering why someone who has had a contract for over 2 years would be expected to return a router in new condition, and what can I expect if they deem it to be lacking in some way?

I find this behaviour very intimidating and not the sort of attitude I'd expect after fulfilling all obligations on my end.

Is this how you usually treat customers who dare to leave your company?

The router box was not new when it arrived and is slightly dirty.  Does this mean I'm going to get charged?

And, from other posts in this forum some people have been chased by debt companies for routers that they sent back and had proof of delivery.

Why do you treat customers in such a way?  It's not a winning formula and will encourage people to post very negative reviews about your service.  Surely, that is the last thing you want.

I suppose you are going to tell me that it's just a bit of a mix-up, but the telephone advisor seemed keen to emphasize the point that the router must be in good condition otherwise I would be charged.

What exactly do you expect from a router return that has potentially been in use for over 2 years?  Should I have kept it in cling-film?

It's a shame that you don't seem to care about reputation damage to your company.

[JonathanB]

Hi @DarrenS,

Thanks for your feedback, it sounds like this messaging intended for customers returning a device within a cooling off period. In terms of when completing a 2 year contract we would definitely want the device back in a usable condition, but cosmetic marks shouldn't be a concern.

I'll certainly highlight this feedback, but if you send the router back to us in working condition, then I wouldn't expect there to be any fees, and if this doesn't go as expected for any reason, please let me know.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[DarrenS]

Hello JonathanB,

I sent the router back using the bag supplied, which had a royal mail postal label on.  I have a receipt to prove it.  Yet today I get an email saying that they haven't received it yet and they will try to charge me 105 pound if it doesn't arrive.

Many people have had this issue on this forum.  

Can you help?

Thanks.

[PeteG]

Hello, Darren. 

It seems like something went wrong during the return process. As this is a forum for customers, no one in this space can access your account to check what's going on. 

Since you used the return packaging that was provided by Three, the return should be tracked all the way back to the warehouse. If the team are having issues locating the item, the tracking should let them see that it was indeed returned. What date was the parcel received by Three at the warehouse? 

Pete.

[DarrenS]

Hello Pete.

As I pointed out earlier, I received a Horizon Certificate of Posting which doesn't contain a tracking number for the sender to track but so I assume the provider can and should have done so before sending me a warning email.  I would need to go to the post office to query it, and it is valid proof of posting according to the receipt.

One of the reasons that I posted here is because other users of these forums have clearly been private messaged by the support team to help them rectify account and billing issues.

[PeteG]

There's no need to do that, I'm not asking you to do it, the support team should be able to do it internally. I was wondering when it was posted/received as this might give some insight into it's status. 

Pete.