75ZT Community

Just thought I'd give you the 'heads up' if you are sending a mobile phone for recycling.

You will probably find that Mobile Cash Mate offer far more than the average, and if you research them on the 'net you will see a great many comments regarding mysterious cracks, scratches and scuffs etc. which people insist weren't there and which, oddly enough, reduce their offer on the phone to much the same as the average of the other buyers was in the first place.

In view of this pre-knowledge, I had my Blackberry Storm independently examined by a colleague with access to a high power magnifier and he pronounced it "pristine", which is as it should be having been kept in the supplied case from day one.

Guess what? I had an e-mail today telling me that it had various "scuffs and scratches" which would reduce the offer value. Curiously enough, it was reduced to just about what Mazuma were offering

Not a real problem for me as I was forewarned and so expecting as much but I must admit that this is a clever way of getting the lion's share of mobiles, for who can be bothered to have it returned to send it elsewhere for the same amount of cash anyway, with the concomitant delay?

As I said, just a 'heads up'

They must have taken their business model from Webuyanycar.com.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12934140

They should all roast in hell (along with Louis Theroux) (Topical, if unconnected)

Mick wrote:They should all roast in hell (along with Louis Theroux) (Topical, if unconnected)

Quick side-topic about WeBuyAnyCar.com :-

A work colleague had his S reg Vauxhall Corsa valued at £450 on their website. When he took the car to their approved outlet just the other day the guy at the garage said that it was only worth £100 at best and of that figure my colleague was expected to only take home £45 because the other £55 were 'administration fees'.

Needless to say, my colleague said (very bluntly) where the garage owner could put his offer....

Paul

No doubt if you asked them to return it you could have then examined the scratches and scuffs on it

PaulT wrote:Paul

No doubt if you asked them to return it you could have then examined the scratches and scuffs on it

Almost certainly wouldn't have been any marks on it Paul. That seems to be the expectation having heard about a few who have demanded return. It seems they are returned in the same condition that they were sent. By far the greatest majority are sold at their 're-assessed' price though, with that price beeing spookily close to the average price offered by others.

They'd be laying themselves open to a consideration of failing in their duty of care for property in their custody and not owned by them if they did cause damage.

Well, if it sounds too good to be true, etc. etc. etc.

Indeed, even a name like 'Mobile Cash Mate' would put me off of dealing with them.

Why not send a phone in that is really trashed but declare it as pristine, see if they offer average market value for it due to scuffs and scrapes

What's a mobile phone?

SpongeBob wrote:Quick side-topic about WeBuyAnyCar.com :-

A work colleague had his S reg Vauxhall Corsa valued at £450 on their website. When he took the car to their approved outlet just the other day the guy at the garage said that it was only worth £100 at best and of that figure my colleague was expected to only take home £45 because the other £55 were 'administration fees'.

Needless to say, my colleague said (very bluntly) where the garage owner could put his offer....

From AOL News today

The car buying giant, webuyanycar.com, has been forced to make changes to its website following an investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.

The company came under scrutiny following concerns that its online valuations were misleading. The OFT discovered that 96 percent of customers received less than was originally quoted following an on-site inspection of their car.


The firm's representative would often cite 'other factors' such as market conditions, as a reason for lowering the first offer. The OFT also discovered that the vehicle inspectors were set targets for purchasing vehicles, which may have included reducing the quote by 25 percent on reappraisal.

The watchdog also decided that sellers were potentially being rushed into a decision by the impression that the online figure was only valid for seven days.

Webuyanycar.com fully complied with the OFT's investigation, and agreed to make several changes to its website.

It will make clear that the website valuation is not a price at which the company is offering to buy the consumer's car and that a range of other factors might be taken into account
It can't set targets for vehicle inspectors which have the potential to encourage them to reduce the valuation offered for inappropriate reasons
It won't deduct from the final price the amount of any refund available to the customer from the DVLA for the road tax remaining on the car
And finally it must make it clear to customers that the next working day payment service (which incurs an additional charge of £24.75) is optional.

DeuxGazoles wrote:What's a mobile phone?

It's a phone with wheels stoopid!

Tourerfogey wrote:It's a phone with wheels stoopid!

Oh how thilly of me

if it has wheels, does it need insurance then?

ooops sorry touchy subject.........

takestock wrote:if it has wheels, does it need insurance then?

ooops sorry touchy subject.........

There's been a development there but it's still not good news for my pocket

my insurance is due next month and i picked up three points last year. Having said that i no longer need business insurance and mileage is down from 12 000 to around 4 000, So, looking around as you do before the big day....Guess what, still up from £380 to £580 !!!