Three Trade In - Scam?

[danxc]

Firstly, I'd like to apologise for the long post. I'm having some issues with the Three Trade In ran by Ingram Micro and I'm looking to see if anyone has any advice on here. Before I go into it, I want to clarify that I have not called Ingram Micro via phone and have only communicated via email as I want to ensure all communications are in writing. 

End of last month I upgraded my phone and decided to trade in my old model for a discount on my new contract, and was offered X amount. Received my new phone beginning of November and immediately posted my old handset to Ingram Micro in perfect condition. I received an email 24 hours later [19/11/2024] that there were no longer honouring £X and would now be offering me £Y [£100 less] due to the phone not being the same as I agreed to send [memory difference apparently??] 

I immediately emailed Ingram Micro to complain and asked for evidence where I said I was submitting a phone I'd never owned, and explained that Three set up the trade in so they'd have the phone details from my contract/IMEI number etc so it could not have been incorrect. They replied 6 days later on 25/11/2024 stating "We are sorry to hear this, this has been requoted due to you providing a different phone - please let us know if you'd like to accept or reject". As I was already frustrated I had to wait 6 days, I then responded IMMEDIATELY and asked for evidence where I was trading in a model I'd never owned - no response.

That same evening, I decided to email a formal complaint highlighting both the service I was receiving, and my concerns surrounding the trade in. It was a lengthy email and was very professional, albeit was evident I was fuming. Baring in mind this was 5 days ago, I have had no communication since, no email, no calls, no response to my complaint and I'm currently without my handset [that I could have got more for elsewhere] and I'm down £450+. 

I don't know what else to do, I am resistant to call for the reasons above. Does anyone have an email address for management at Ingram Micro or someone at Three that I can formally complain to? 

I have been with Three for over a decade, never had any issues - however this may stop further upgrades/contracts in 24 months time.

[PeteG]

Hello, Danxc.

It's disappointing to hear you're having issues with your quote and getting answers from the team. 

At the Community here, no one has access to your account, so any advice given is going to be general and based on what you share. Speaking to Ingram Micro about this kind of issue is normally best, so you did the right thing already. You can of course still register a complaint with Three directly, and it looks like you've done that too, but I think the most up to date info would come from Ingram. 

You mentioned that the device capacity was highlighted as the reason the end quote was different from the final quote. When completing the claim online, there would usually be a confirmation sent to you confirming what device was being claimed for. I think this usually confirms the make, model, and IMEI number. From that you should be able to determine if it's a match for the device you sent to the team, and if it it is, that's your evidence. 

I'm also curious about the timeline though, as the quotes are not super long term, and if I'm not mistaken you get about 2 weeks or so to complete the trade in or risk having the quote be reduced. You mentioned you ordered your phone last month, and got the new one at the beginning of November, but you also said you sent the device immediately, and got a reply within 24 hours, highlighting that it was the 19th of November, which is quite a bit later in the month. It's hard to know what happened and when, but I'm wondering if it's possible that the quote was no longer valid due to the device reaching the team after the validity period? Although this also doesn't explain why the team wouldn't just say that to you if that was the case. 

Ideally we need the team to get back to you so that you can be fully informed of what's going on and why. I think that if you still haven't had a reply from them, the best thing to do would be to reach out by phone, giving you more or a chance of getting the information you need from the team. You complaint on the Three form via the complaint page will usually be replied to within a few days. Since the information relating to your quote is with Ingram, I think it would be better to contact them directly rather than waiting on an outcome to complaint.  

Pete. 

[danxc]

Hi Pete,

Thank you for the response and the advice. Let me clear the timeline up for you, as I understand it looks more confusing than it is.

I upgraded at the end of October, however the phone wasn't delivered until 12/11/2024 [no issues there] and I then received the packaging to trade my phone in on 16/11/2024. Inside this packaging was a slip stating that my original quote would be met if I traded in within 14 days of receiving the packaging. I posted it on 17/11/2024 and then received the email with the amended quote on 19/11/2024. 

HOWEVER, I have looked back through my emails from Three on the day I received my new handset [all 6 of them] and I note that the trade in email does actually state the handset was 512GB and NOT the 128GB I agreed with Three to trade in. Of course, I should have noticed this [albeit no option to deny etc at the time] but this is poor from whoever processed this from Three. The website and the live chat both confirmed that I was trading in my 128GB model, so I am not sure where Three have got the 512GB information from? 

Whilst I still have not received a response from Ingram Micro, I feel my complaint now lays with Three as they were the ones that offered me £430 for my iPhone 14 Pro Max 128GB and Ingram Micro have adjusted that quote accordingly [more understandably now]. There must have been some miscommunication between the agent on the live chat and whoever processes the trade in with Ingram Micro - frustrating because this isn't the only administration issue I experienced when upgrading this time round.

Would appreciate some further advice from Three's side if possible, thank you.

[PeteG]

Thanks for explaining that, Danxc. 

The additional information you discovered and explained as well gives a pretty solid idea as to what's gone wrong. If the offer was processed by the support team instead of yourself, then it could have been a data entry error by the agent. 

That shifts things back to the complaint that you have logged with Three directly, as it doesn't seem like an Ingram issue. The issue will need to be investigated by the team to determine what information was discussed and shared about the phone in question, and if it is indeed a data entry error by the agent, the complaints team will be responsible for coming up with an resolution to the complaint that you're happy with. 

Fingers crossed you hear back from the team soon and the process is easier than it's been so far. If you haven't heard anything back from the team within 5 working days of logging the complaint, please come back here to provide an update on it. 

Pete. 

[danxc]

Just to add on, I have complained via the Three Complaints Form however I am cautious it'll take a long time for them to come back to me being Black Friday and the run up to Christmas. I genuinely feel I have been scammed and would have been better off selling the handset on Facebook Marketplace.