Router Returned, Three Claims I Didn’t!

[andreimj]

Dear Three Support Team,

I am writing to raise a complaint regarding the ongoing issue of being charged £105 for not returning the 5G router, which I have already returned. Additionally, I have now been passed to a debt collection agency, which is extremely concerning and frustrating.

To provide clarity on the situation:

1. Delayed Return Bag Delivery

I waited for over a month to receive the return bag for the router. Despite multiple follow-ups, it never arrived.

I finally received the return bag after requesting a new one and promptly sent the router back via the post office on 20th November 2024.

2. Failure to Confirm Return

Since returning the router, I have been receiving emails and calls stating that the item has not been received. It has now been over two months, and I am still being told the item is missing, despite following your process.

When I spoke to your customer service team today, I was informed that there is no way for them to check with the logistics team to confirm receipt of the router, which I find unacceptable.

3. Tracking Number Issue

The customer service representative mentioned that I was required to provide the tracking number immediately after posting the item, but I was never informed of this requirement.

Since no one advised me to retain the tracking number, I did not think to save it or take a photo. By the time I was asked for it (a month later, in December), I was unable to locate it.

4. Unfair Treatment

I find it unreasonable and unfair to be charged £105 and have my account passed to a debt collection agency for a router I returned following your instructions. The situation is causing unnecessary stress, and I am deeply dissatisfied with how this has been handled.

This entire process has been frustrating and unacceptable. I request an immediate review of my case to confirm the return of the router. If no resolution is reached, I will escalate this matter by filing a complaint with the Communications Ombudsman, as I strongly believe I am being unfairly charged for an item I returned in good faith.

I trust that you will resolve this matter promptly to avoid further escalation.

Thank you for your attention to this issue.

[Brosi]

I’ve also been hit with an £87.50 charge with Three stating that my router has not been returned. (It was sent in the middle of May)
The pre-labeled parcel was delivered to my old billing address, which by a stroke of luck I happened to be staying at when it arrived. I then took the parcel back with me to my current address and within 4 days of it arriving (at the wrong address) had sent the router through a Royal Mail depot. 

The cherry on the cake is that the ONLY reason I had to get a new router and return the old one was due to major issues with my internet, that Three kept repeating to me must be a router based issue, that could only be resolved with taking out a new contract to replace the router… it then turned out that once I’d replaced the router (and the issue continued) that a simple change of my IPV resolved the issue, which could only be done by Three as the option was locked on my IP settings when I logged into it.

And now, after taking out a MORE expensive contract, for the SAME theoretical quality of internet, I’m being charged nearly £100 due to some issue with postage/Three’s internal returns tracking.

I’ve had over 10 phone calls with three support over the last three months regarding issue resolution or financial compensation, all which get dragged out to take between 30minutes and 2hours only occasionally getting support which actually helps. 

[Brosi]

After calling the complaints team and then doing a lot of searching, I was able to find my receipt which gave me the Royal Mail tracking number. My parcel was sent on the 13th May, was then sent to Norwich MC, and has been sat there with no evidence of movement since - I've now had the charge nullified on my account as I have evidence and sent it, however, a system definitely needs to be put in place so that the tracking details are able to be recieved by Three via Royal Mail once the parcel has been sent, as they do create the postage sticker and a system could be put in place to have that register with Royal Mail when it's sent. I imagine returning routers is a very common thing for Three to be insisting on (even when they claim it's broken, they still want it back)... Unnecessary stress!

[nickseven123]

Hi, this exact problem has happened to me also! Having spoken to customer support, it seems the only way they can check is via postage reference number which I can no longer find (it was a tiny receipt!!). I thought maybe they could check my device's IMEI number against those in the warehouse, but apparently that's simply not possible? Either way, I'm very confused and £105 down despite sending everything back as soon as I could. I've been told to wait longer to see if anything shows up, but looks like I'll file an official complaint if nothing happens in the next month. Anyone found any other solutions to this yet? 

[PeteG]

Hello, Nick. 

The support team have another way of tracking the return of your hub. If you head through to the Complaints Team the team will be able to check this and verify the return for you. Once that's done, they can sort the issue out for you. 

Pete. 

[BeePee]

I am having the same issue, I returned the router as requested and have been threatened with a debt collector. The label had been pre- printed by three with a reference number and my name and address printed on the label as the sender. Why would I have to do the leg work of tracking the device when it should already be in the system. The Three advisor said that it being scanned is no proof of receipt by what I guess is a third party.

Totally unacceptable that this happening to multiple people.

[Brianboitano]

Plenty of people having this issue.  I have a working theory that Three has outsourced it's router returns to some dodgy company who are probably committing mail fraud to make more money.  Anybody from Three care to refute and confirm returns are handled in house? Far too many of these stories on here for this to be a coincidence.

[Brianboitano]

These guys are fraudsters essentially.  Holding your credit rating to ransom... should be on Watchdog or similar.  Clearly a lot of us are having very similar experiences.

[JonathanB]

Hi @Brianboitano,

I'm really sorry to hear about your experiences and how this has affected your perception of Three. My understanding is that Maxine has been in touch and is working to resolve this for you. I'm sure we'll be able to help get this all sorted out.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[Brianboitano]

She has thanks, which is appreciated. 

I'm afraid that hasn't changed my opinion that is an entirely unacceptable way for a large company to treat it's customers, honest people should not be being held to ransom and threatened due the endless ineptitude of your front line support. 

There is clearly a systemic issue here and I suspect large numbers of less tech savvy (possibly older) customers have been hit with charges they should never have paid, which is tantamount to fraud.   Equally, we also shouldn't have to waste hours and hours trawling the internet to find an acceptable response by the small number of competent people three employ on these forums, such as yourself. 

As a result my current contract with Three will be my final one.