Stores refusing to take Cash!!!

[meansizzler]

The I-phone comes out on friday and as far as I know the O2 stores, maybe even carphone warehouse are refusing to take cash or solo card as payment, isn't there a consumer law against this?... Luckily I order from O2 via Phone they take Solo Card..., but as for those unlucky ones....

[Stuart Kirby]

One assumes they're doing it to enforce the "two per customer" rule... can't think of a consumer law that'd this would infringe!!

[LFC_SL]

Not really

Shops are entitled to accept any (legal) currency they so wish

[WibXL]

I think that I remember reading that a store isn't legally obliged to sell you anything if they don't want to.

[LFC_SL]

Yes that is correct. Even if you offer asking price, shops can refuse to accept your custom. Long story short because you are making the offer and the merchant has to make the acceptance. Common law precedent

[Moosh]

The reason they are not taking cash is because everyone's friend, Jobs, has spoken from his golden pedestal. It's to stop anonymous purchases and the "illegal" unlocking of the phones.

Cheers
Moosh

[Miyazaki]

Originally Posted by mmahmed

The reason they are not taking cash is because everyone's friend, Jobs, has spoken from his golden pedestal. It's to stop anonymous purchases and the "illegal" unlocking of the phones.

Cheers
Moosh

I wouldn't bother with the iphone. Get a new ipod touch and wait for an iphone which has some decent features.

[Woodywizz]

Originally Posted by LFC_SL

Yes that is correct. Even if you offer asking price, shops can refuse to accept your custom. Long story short because you are making the offer and the merchant has to make the acceptance. Common law precedent

2nd Year Law Student

[Moosh]

Originally Posted by Games Guru

I wouldn't bother with the iphone. Get a new ipod touch and wait for an iphone which has some decent features.

Very good advice.

Personally, I will not be buying any version or variation of the iPhone.

Cheers
Moosh

[LFC_SL]

Originally Posted by woodywizz

2nd Year Law Student

Yeah but I learnt that first year of A Levels

[961]

Originally Posted by LFC_SL

Yeah but I learnt that first year of A Levels

If we want to get totally pedantic then

You offer to buy

The shop agrees to sell. Legal contract then exists unless shop has at that point stipulated it will not accept legal tender but requires payment by some other stipulated method

THEN (if in England) you pay in legal tender (Bank of England notes), or if they are acceptable to the seller, by other means. If shop refuses legal tender refer to Trading Standards or Bank of England (But look how they handled Northern Rock)

If in Scotland, there is no such thing as legal tender, so you are stuck

However, as said above, this is pedantic unless you are after a John Cleese type argument, in which case you can no doubt bring the store to a hilarious standstill

AND, as said elsewhere in this thread, why would you buy one anyway?

Surely the issue is that you can only get the iphone on a contract basis through O2 in the UK.

Saying stores refusing to accept cash is not really the same thing is it?

No company offering services where you can spend variable amounts would take on new customers paying by cash as history shows their overheads and bad debt provisions escalate massively.

Also O2 are known to be paying Apple a slice of the contract revenues.

You could always scoot over to France, the iphone is unlocked there and I think you can just buy one. It's apparantly illegal to sell a restricted phone in France. Bet they have them in Calais, Boulogne and all the Brits on tour hot spots by Xmas.

[Pat_C]

Originally Posted by mmahmed

The reason they are not taking cash is because everyone's friend, Jobs, has spoken from his golden pedestal.

Well that's good enough for me, and it should be good enough for anyone else too.

It's to stop anonymous purchases and the "illegal" unlocking of the phones.

How could you buy one anonymously when you need a contract and the associated ID? They're not available on PAYG are they?

[gazbarber]

Originally Posted by Bluehorse

No company offering services where you can spend variable amounts would take on new customers paying by cash as history shows their overheads and bad debt provisions escalate massively.

You mean like utility bills or a mortgage

[gavan]

Originally Posted by Pat_C

Well that's good enough for me, and it should be good enough for anyone else too.


How could you buy one anonymously when you need a contract and the associated ID? They're not available on PAYG are they?

If it's like the US system, you buy the phone and are then supposed to go home and activate it via iTunes on Apple's chosen provider (o2 in the UK, AT&T in the USA).

So you just go to the shop, buy the phone, take it home .. but run a hacking tool to unlock it instead of signing up. You then just put your existing SIM in there and ignore any mandatory, expensive, 18 month O2 contract that Apple did the deal to force you to buy.