Phones4U - Gone in administration

[dezt]

Bit gutted about this, when I got my current phone they paid me out of my contract with 3 and waived the handset price to get me to take out the deal, even threw in a free HTC case as well. Never really liked carphone warehouse much in the past, never offered any decent deals.

[newpersn]

Carphone Warehouse have just merged with Dixons (Currys/PC-World). Part of Phone-4U's problem was all the major telcos signing agreements with Dixons Carphone - as they are now known.

 

i think (if i just read this right)

 

Dixons Carphone are trying to save 1500 jobs at phones4u

 

Carphone Offers Lifeline As Phones 4u Crashes

 

 

Dixons Carphone is poised to offer a lifeline to hundreds of employees of Phones 4u after the UK's second-largest mobile phone chain collapsed into administration.

 

Sky News has learnt that Dixons Carphone is preparing to issue a statement later on Monday in which it will highlight at least 1,500 employment vacancies at Carphone Warehouse stores, for which affected Phones 4u staff will be eligible to apply.

[tmcd35]

i think (if i just read this right)

 

Dixons Carphone are trying to save 1500 jobs at phones4u

 

Carphone Offers Lifeline As Phones 4u Crashes

 

Interesting development! I know when the story broke about the merger news analyst were surprised it was Carephone Warehouse and not Phone4U that Dixons were merging with. Even more interesting when you consider a large number of Phones4U outlets operate from within Currys/PCWorld stores. It's also interesting when you think the group used to have their own Mobile stores, The Link, which they sold to O2 in 2006.

[Gatt]

That’ll be the Nynex Manchester Evening News Phones 4 U Arena being renamed again….

Edited September 15, 2014 by Gatt

[Arthur]

Another rumour: EE to buy 80 Phones 4u stores and retain staff

 

It's also interesting when you think the group used to have their own mobile stores, The Link, which they sold to O2 in 2006.

Apparently BT are going to re-enter the mobile phone market. Perhaps they could use their old name: BT CellNet (which later became mmO2 and then O2)?

 

Row between Phones 4U and Vodafone over cause of collapse « The Telegraph

 

Telecoms companies including EE and Vodafone are interested in acquiring some Phones 4U stores, sources said. There was also speculation that BT, which is planning to re-enter the consumer mobile market next year, could also bid.

 

There were more glimmers of hope for staff as Dixons Carphone said it would seek to employ 800 staff who work on Phones 4U concessions in Currys and PC World Stores. Tesco also invited applications for 250 jobs in its Phone Shop chain.

 

I don't see much point in Tesco buying some (or all) of the stores since they are just an MVNO.

[Arthur]

How the do you do strikethrough?

Using the tags.

 

How the [s][/s] do you do strikethrough?

[Arthur]

Phones 4u won't be refunding anyone who pre-ordered the iPhone 6

 

This is why I always use a credit card when ordering anything over £100.

Edited September 26, 2014 by Arthur

[sonofsanta]

Er, what? I'd expect to hear that if they'd gone bankrupt - "we've got no money, lots of debt, and other debtors are more important than you, tiny peon" - but I thought Phones4U had lots of money in the bank and were an otherwise successful business?

[featured_spectre]

Its easier to keep the money than to refund everyone as the administration company doesn't have to honour the contracts made by the company they've taken over.

[localzuk]

Er, what? I'd expect to hear that if they'd gone bankrupt - "we've got no money, lots of debt, and other debtors are more important than you, tiny peon" - but I thought Phones4U had lots of money in the bank and were an otherwise successful business?

 

I don't think they declared that they were bankrupt though, just that they were winding up the business basically. As far as I'm aware, they were a profitable business (30% profit margin has been mentioned in several news articles). Not repaying pre-orders is somewhat of a legalised scam.

 

The contract for EE wasn't even being ended quickly - it was going to run for another year. So realistically, they could very easily have carried on running as a business for a year, and could have found themselves an alternative business model in that time.

 

Seems like a legalised smash and grab by the company's new owners - drive the business into the ground, sell off the assets and make a very nice return on their investment.

Edited September 29, 2014 by localzuk

[sonofsanta]

I don't think they declared that they were bankrupt though, just that they were winding up the business basically. As far as I'm aware, they were a profitable business. Not repaying pre-orders is somewhat of a legalised scam.

 

Exactly - bankruptcy involves a very long list of debtors, and "customers wot pre-ordered something for a few hundred quid" is a long way below "bank wot loaned millions" in the priorities. But that's not happened here: they have the money, they could do it, but because they're not legally obliged to (as @nephilim says) they're going to take the opportunity to keep the cash because they're greedy bar stewards (PwC, that is, as administrators).