back to article Hello, Dixons Carphone? Yep, we're ringing from a 2015 handset. Profits down 60%, eh?

Dixons Carphone execs handed out their numbers to world+dog today, showing profits plummeting by more than half in the firm’s half-year results. The plunge was chalked up to UK customers skipping mobile upgrades - a move that could signal further closures across its stores. Facepalm from Shutterstock Reality strikes Dixons …

  1. AMBxx Silver badge

    Maybe they should take responsibility for something?

    1st June 2016 exchange rate USD to GBP was 1.44

    Now it's 1.34.

    Hardly an earth shattering change. Yes, I know it went down in the middle for a bit, but anyone dependent upon imports should be hedging currency.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Maybe they should take responsibility for something?

      Currency hasn't swung this year, so it looks like vendors that put up their prices following the vote and forex movement, are Brexploiting the Brits. Who'd have thunk it?

      1. Flocke Kroes Silver badge

        Re: Maybe they should take responsibility for something?

        How does vendors engaging in Brexploitation lead to vendors reporting massive loss of profits?

  2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

    Color me surprised

    I am not upgrading any more as there is no pressing need.

    Family handsets are now all on a "replace when broken" basis. As far as any purchases, a shop will be the last place to do so. The upgrade procedure is "go through specs of the likely candidates, compare prices, then order from Amazon".

    Carphone Warehouse is DEAD. It has no reason to exist any more. It is surprising it has survived for so long.

    1. ibmalone

      Re: Color me surprised

      I'm not convinced of this, the next phone I'm looking at CPW have the same price as amazon, and I don't have to rely on it being delivered to the correct building. I also think (looking into it is on my todo list) that they may sell base versions of phones on contract, i.e. I can get a new contract phone with my current operator, but not have to put up with their customised firmware they will never update.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Color me surprised

        @ ibmalone

        Fair enough, but be careful on the choices you make. I bought an appliance online from Currys, saved 10% on a £300 purchase compared to John Lewis. When it went wrong, getting it sorted was a pain in the arse, and I rued the day when I thought it worth buying from DixonsCarphoneCurryWarehouse just to save a miserable thirty quid.

        1. ibmalone

          Re: Color me surprised

          Well this comments thread has certainly made interesting reading. John Lewis do a similar price, not in the CPW exclusive colour, but I think I could live with that...

        2. Alan Brown Silver badge

          Re: Color me surprised

          "saved 10% on a £300 purchase compared to John Lewis."

          If you'd shown JL the Curry's price they'd have matched it.

      2. Voland's right hand Silver badge

        Re: Color me surprised

        I don't have to rely on it being delivered to the correct building

        Least of the possible problems. I would be worried about warranty much more than any delivery issues.

        So far, the only kit I have had issues on Amazon is from Huawei which openly and blatantly violates all Eu and UK consumer laws. It has no means of return-to-factory consumer warranty itself and it marks anything sold on Amazon as "refer to manufacturer" one month after sale - something Amazon complies with. They are now on by forever blacklist.

        Anybody else I have deal with via Amazon has been OK - everything sorted by either Amazon or seller without any issues.

        1. AMBxx Silver badge

          Re: Color me surprised

          If you're buying from Amazon, always stick to Prime (even if you're not a paid up user). That way, Amazon will handle all the problems.

          My phone developed a fault after 11 months. Instant refund, no questions asked. Try that at CPW.

      3. ad47uk

        Re: Color me surprised

        That was the only reason I got my last phone from CPW, I do not really like the company to be honest, but they had the phone I wanted for a lot less than Argos and was slightly less than Amazon. So buying from a shop on my doorstep makes it easy to go back and kick their backside if need to.

        but now I will not bother to buy another until this one goes belly up, my Nexus 4 lasted almost 5 years and to be honest i know a few people who are keeping their old phones and going for a sim only contract or even changing to something like Giff Gaff.

      4. Alan Brown Silver badge

        Re: Color me surprised

        "I don't have to rely on it being delivered to the correct building."

        DIstance selling regulations give you _far_ more protection(*) than buying anything at the Carphone Whorehouse and you don't get pressured into buying massively overpriced accessories when you're online.

        (*) Cooling off period, and _you_ don't have to worry about misdeliveries, etc.

        Warranty protection only lasts as long as the company is in business. I know various people who thought they were better off buying on the High Street and found out they're mere unsecured creditors like everyone else when things break.

  3. djstardust

    Worst company ever

    Ordered an S7 edge for my son on Black Saturday. It was in stock online for delivery to the local store on Monday. All good.

    Then gets email that the phone was out of stock and they didn't know when they would get it back in again, but don't worry, no money has been taken from your account. I cancelled the order then 2 hours later money missing from bank account.

    Took 8 phone calls to India (very frustrating) and a week to get my money back for something they never even had in the first place.

    Either their online inventory system is a pile of shite or they are just trying to get money under false pretenses, but I won't be darkening their doorstep again.

    Good riddance to a bad company. DSG need to learn how to treat customers properly.

    P.S. If they think the iphone X will save them then they are obviously more stupid than I thought. No chance.

    1. HmmmYes

      Re: Worst company ever

      I have done one call to get back my money.

      Then, if the matter was not resolved, just ring up the credit card company fro refund.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Worst company ever

      "Then gets email that the phone was out of stock and they didn't know when they would get it back in again, but don't worry, no money has been taken from your account"

      Wow, you got an e-mail. I had an order confirmation e-mail, then they cancelled my order, didn't tell me about it, and when I chased it a couple of days later the helpdesk couldn't find the order on their system at all.

      So, they are now at the very bottom of my list of places to try and buy a phone.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Worst company ever

        So, they are now at the very bottom of my list of places to try and buy a phone.

        I am shocked. Shocked that it has taken you so long to realise that DCPW is a POS.

        They were at the bottom of my list. Now they are not on it.

        They won't sell you what you want. They will instead try to sell you what gives them the most £££ that week. probably a shite phone that wasn't shifting suddenly become the greatest device since... well forever.

        For some reason they don't sell '3' Sims or devices or contracts. I wonder why? Not enough kickbacks perhaps?

        Avoid this shower at all costs.

        1. Mark Jan

          Re: Worst company ever

          I had an online order cancelled within 24 hours.

          Rather than an immediate refund to my credit card I had to chase them up repeatedly and they responded by saying that they'd opened up an account for me and the funds were in that account! They further stated that I could purchase something else in store or online or have the funds refunded. I then had to phone up India and give my credit card details for the refund to be processed. This was over a month ago and still no refund. Fortunately my exchanges with them were by email so it'll be easy to take them to court.

          In the meantime I bought the same mobile from Hong Kong with a £150 saving, double (128GB) memory and full UK spec, plug etc. Placed the order Monday evening, phone delivered Wednesday morning. If a company in Hong Kong can offer such service, why can't a UK company do the same?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Worst company ever

            Fortunately my exchanges with them were by email so it'll be easy to take them to court.

            You don't need to.

            If it is over £100 and you paid by credit card it is subject to a credit agreement. Al you need to do is phone the customer services for your credit card provider, tell them that under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act you're holding them "jointly and severally liable" for the absence of phone and you're either not paying that element of your credit card bill, or if you've already paid it, you want them to refund it. With most providers, you'll find that they're initially a bit circumspect, but when they understand what you're saying the are mostly quick and helpful in these situations, partly because they have been trained to understand an S75 claim, probably more because they'll just dock it from the retailer's monthly settlement, and take an additional "administration" charge from them too.

            1. Mark Jan

              Re: Worst company ever

              Fortunately my exchanges with them were by email so it'll be easy to take them to court.

              You don't need to.

              If it is over £100 and you paid by credit card it is subject to a credit agreement. Al you need to do is phone the customer services for your credit card provider, tell them that under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act you're holding them "jointly and severally liable" for the absence of phone and you're either not paying that element of your credit card bill, or if you've already paid it, you want them to refund it.

              I know, but where would the fun be in that?!

              1. Alan Brown Silver badge

                Re: Worst company ever

                "where would the fun be in that?!"

                The fun is in the factor that credit card companies add large penalty fees for chargebacks and if the retailer gets too many of them in a month there's a 5-6 figure penalty fee added on top.

          2. Alan Brown Silver badge

            Re: Worst company ever

            " If a company in Hong Kong can offer such service, why can't a UK company do the same?"

            UK companies assume that UK customers are used to poor service and treat them accordingly.

            It's no better further up the chain either and a lot of resellers assume that having the UK distributorship for XYZ product means that they can prevent you from buying from suppliers elsewhere in the EU (I had one actually state as much - only to rapidly back down when I asked him if he'd like a recording of his threat to commit a criminal act played in a UK courtroom)

        2. ad47uk

          Re: Worst company ever

          You got to know what you want and stick with it, I went in, pointed to a phone and said I want that, I know you have it in stock, I do not want any insurance, no sim as I am happy with the package I have got. I just want the phone. I was in and out in 10 minutes and 5 of that was them going to get the phone out of the warehouse.

    3. abedarts

      Re: Worst company ever

      We had a couple of phones on contract with them a long time ago and they were without doubt the worst company I've ever dealt with. I'm astonished that they have lasted as long as they have and the sooner they go bust the better.

  4. IneptAdept

    Are people still blaming Brexit for management stupidity

    As the title states.....

    Are shit management / media still making the case that this is all to do with Brexit....

    Or maybe the fact that online shopping / ecommerce is what most people use now?

    The only interaction I have with normal shops is either to buy a drink or lunch but never tech

    1. Joe Harrison

      Re: Are people still blaming Brexit for management stupidity

      The CEO has previously said that the decline in the pound since Brexit also means mobile handsets have become more expensive.

      So what is your point of disagreement here? That the pound has not declined since Brexit[ referendum] or that the decline has not affected mobile handset retail prices? Surely a bit difficult to argue against two facts which are each 100% demonstrably true.

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        Re: Are people still blaming Brexit for management stupidity

        "Surely a bit difficult to argue against two facts which are each 100% demonstrably true."

        Brexiteers find no difficulty at all arguing against anything that can be laid at their door. It's very simple: Brexit is good for everything so your problem must be due to something else.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Are people still blaming Brexit for management stupidity

        I think the point is. If I'm going to splash a few hundred quid on an new phone, a few quid more or less because of the exchange rate won't affect the decision to buy or not to buy that much.

        In this context I think that the Brexit thing is a red herron.

    2. gv

      Re: Are people still blaming Brexit for management stupidity

      "The only interaction I have with normal shops is either to buy a drink or lunch but never tech"

      Are they still selling £30 HDMI cables?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Are people still blaming Brexit for management stupidity

        Are they still selling £30 HDMI cables?

        Unfortunately Brexit has seen the happy days of £30 HDMI cables recede into the rose-tinted past. But there's this bargain. Snap it up, limited stocks, selling out fast!

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Are people still blaming Brexit for management stupidity

        yup, all the way up to a couple of hundred.

        I think £80 for a cable is excessive unless it's specialist fibre!

  5. TechnicianJack

    I think that the price of phones now is partially to blame. With the average decent handset now costing £500+ and more if you want anything from Apple, people are no longer changing their phones every year, rather running them until they're worn out. That and a combination of online shopping. Once you know what you want, you can easily go and find the cheapest price for the product online.

    1. Charlie Clark Silver badge

      Yet, it's strange to read that many people (not me or you) seem to think the Apple Galaxy X is going to be good for business because it's so expensive.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      With the average decent handset now costing £500+

      Only for those too timid or lazy to investigate much better value alternatives. A UK official Moto G5, or G5S or G5 plus are all decent phones. Here at Ledswinger Towers, the last two phones have been grey import Xiaomi devices (through a UK importer - higher spec than the UK Motos, and a lower price).

      Fair enough if you value a mix of brand, fast charging, waterproofing and wireless charging at £300+, but IMHO most people are simply hooked on their current brand. For years I bought top of the range Samsung, but with the S6 they lost the plot on value for money (and the sealed battery pissed me off at that price). Having been encouraged to delve in the world of low cost Chinese brands (by the cleverest bloke I've ever met) there's no looking back. I don't laugh in their faces, or even comment, but inwardly I smile to myself whenever I see somebody flash out a Sammy S8, a Pixel or just about any iPhone.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Totally agree, bought a Moto G4 plus from the official Moto site for much less than a comparable HTC or Samsung, and never looked back. Powerful phone, good camera, no vendor bloatware, and it gets the Google Android updates.

  6. Big_Boomer Silver badge

    Recent upgrade

    I just recently upgrade my phone. Looked at the phones available through my provider and the choices were limited. Checked the other providers including the re-sellers like Carphone and nothing grabbed me. So, decided to just buy what I wanted and go with a SIM only contract. SIM free Samsung/Apple devices are overpriced at every level of the market and none of the other mainstream phones took my fancy. Ended up buying an Honor 9 for £300 and 2 weeks in it suits me just fine. If I decide I just have to have the "next best thing" in 9 months time I can just buy that rather than having to wait 2+ years for a contract to end. I suspect many others are doing likewise.

    1. werdsmith Silver badge

      Re: Recent upgrade

      Yep, I just buy used phones or get into a deal like nearly new O2 refresh.

  7. Fihart

    Never paid more than £10 for a phone.

    I have enough friends and wasteful neighbours that I've been able to progress from a base model LG (£10 Sainsbury's) to a Samsung Galaxy S4, within 8 years via top of the range Nokia and Blackberry and iPhones 4 and 4S.

    Two of the phones have been salvaged from the rubbish and others were gifts from a friend when she upgraded. Galaxy was the only one that seemed to need a new battery (£7) but, like the Apple S4 before it, was unlocked. So I could switch my PAYG from EE to Three and actually afford to make phone calls !

    I suspect that like Car/Dix I will find the gravy train has left the station as more people buy unlocked phones and switch away from providers who bribed them with new models every 24 months.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Never paid more than £10 for a phone.

      I've had sim only with unlimited data for about a tenner a month for the last 9 years. Currently using a 16GB S4 which I got free from a friend. Yes I could do with 32GB but it runs all the apps I want and has a reasonable camera so no need to upgrade until I get offered a 32GB phone.

    2. PerlyKing

      Re: Never paid more than £10 for a phone.

      "providers who bribed them with new models every 24 months."

      s/bribed/ripped them off/

      1. Jabber 44

        Re: Never paid more than £10 for a phone.

        It hurts to know I'm this pedantic - but I can't stop myself...

        s/bribed/ripped\ them\ off/

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Never paid more than £10 for a phone.

          s/bribed/ripped\ them\ off/g

          Every last fucking one of them....

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Part of the problem is manufacturers.

    Until the manufacturers are forced to write security patches & updates to their devices for $X# years after the devices end of life, they hope we'll just buy the newest shiny in order to get a newer, more secure, & supported version of the OS.

    Fuck that. Stop buying the newest shiny, get one that does what you need at the best price you're comfortable paying, & only replace the device once it dies entirely.

    Since we can't count on OS updates for more than perhaps a month or two past the device launch, & they want to charge exorbitant prices for dubious "improvements" (oh lookie! This one has a front camera with half a megapixel more than the last one!), then buying from some grey market generic not only makes sense (if the "big boys" won't update either then why bother using the OS version as a selling point?) it makes Cents (as in saving a metric fucktonne of them over buying the new overpriced shiny).

    Dear manufacturers. Either start supporting your devices for far longer than you've been doing now, lower the prices to something not a sick joke, & stop "improving" the models with shite like removing the headphone jack, and maybe, *MAYBE* we'll start buying your stuff again. If you refuse to support them, refuse to price them reasonably, & insist on stripping much needed functionality out of the devices & calling it "progress", then we'll vote with our wallets.

    You've just seen what such voting can do, so shape up & fly right or we'll *bury* your worthless arses.

    1. Gary Lloyd 1
      Thumb Up

      Re: Part of the problem is manufacturers.

      why would anyone downvote this? aside from being offended by some fruity language maybe, but even then, we're all adults. Arent we?

  9. Teiwaz

    Bought my first phone from them in mid nineties.

    A Good, expert sort of vibe to the store. Like one of those car parts places with shelves all over, filled with bits of car and staff are walking encyclopedias.

    Popped in almost fifteen years later looking to replace a different phone, the place was shallow and ignorant of anything that wasn't the latest model from the big sellers...

    Should have changed the name to buzzphone slab showhouse years ago.

    Sorry, early lunch, What's the discussion about again?

    1. Fihart

      "Should have changed the name to buzzphone slab showhouse years ago".

      Personally, I always referred to them as Carphone Whorehouse, though -- to be fair -- their staff seemed more knowledgeable and helpful than most of the others.

      Of course, on returning to the store found it had closed and was now another coffee shop/estate agent or whatever

  10. ForthIsNotDead

    Phone shops? I've heard of them.

    I bought my Moto 5GS or whatever it's called from John Lewis, unlocked. Since I have Sky TV I get my mobile access, including internet, for £7.50 a month. 1GB internet a month (un-used data is put in a piggy bank - I have 3GB in my bank) and unlimited called and texts. Not that I bother.

    Done.

    'er indoors is paying £37.00 a month on EE for what amounts to the same thing. She has more internet allowance, but doesn't it anyway.

    Come contract renewal they are fucking binned.

  11. AndyMulhearn
    WTF?

    Call charges

    I bought a Nokia 6 from them a month ago. Nice phone and if you enable developer mode and turn off all of the animations madness the performance problems people have mentioned is way less of an issue.

    The phone wasn't in stock but delivery was next day so they took my mobile number to call me when it was ready for collection. When I got no call, I called the shop on the number on the receipt to check. I got through three times but never got an answer so Ient to the shop anyway and got the phone, along with leaving a bit of a rant about calling an getting no response.

    When I got my next phone bill I found a £5.45 charge on it for three calls. Calls to the shop I'd made to check if the phone was available. While I should have spotted this from the number it was on a receipt so a direct number for a paying customer and it does seem a but scummy to charge someone to do business with you.

    It will be a cold day etc.

  12. ChrisPW

    take three terrible stores, mix them together and ....

    Dixons/Currys was always a terrible place to buy white goods, tech, etc from.

    PC World was always a terrible place to buy PCs and tech from

    Carphone Warehouse was a terrible place to buy a phone from (I made that mistake once ... wow was that a bad idea).

    Why did anybody, including their own CEO, expect combining the three to produce anything other than a terrible shopping experience?

    1. tiggity Silver badge

      Re: take three terrible stores, mix them together and ....

      Indeed, all are last resort emergency purchase places (when something dies and it needs emergency replacing ASAP) and even then there are lots of other stores way ahead of them on the list (and they get my cash if they have what I need in stock).

      Although I must add that last time I got anything from them was A3 printer and extra inks via PCW, bizarrely not an emergency purchase but they actually had a great online deal (collected in local stored) that made them cheaper than other online sites by a large amount: Although they like to advertise how cheap they are, it is extremely rare they are anything even remotely near the cheapest option for anything of decent quality

  13. truetalk

    Go to a shop?? Are you kidding

    Just did a quick check and of my colleagues and close family, all bought their phones either from Amazon or direct from the manufacturers website (HTC). Does anybody still go to a shop when it's far more efficient to do your research online and order online.

  14. Sherminator
    Mushroom

    Darwinian selection

    Those businesses that are unable to adapt will find themselves coming unstuck and potentially folding.

    Shopping has changed universally across the globe and big organisations need to work out how to adapt to that.

    Adapt to change or die... simples....

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Collection point

    I'd prefer it if they just converted all the stores to click and collect warehouses with no sales staff. At the moment it's a pain in the arse having to deal with staff trying to up-sell warranty, cables, offer alternative products etc... Argos is better in this respect.

  16. Jove Bronze badge

    Let's also not forget that CPWH benefited from a merger premium in the previous period which will distort the profits fall if not taken into account.

  17. depicus

    Best Christmas News Ever

    The best news I've heard all year - cannot wait to dance on their grave when they go bust. I'm currently in a small claims court for a defective iPhone that in the first month they would not replace or refund under warranty.

    Such poor customer service it's mind boggling but at least I'm now banned from their local shop :)

  18. davenewman

    I got a software update on a Chinese phone

    I ordered a 4G Android 7.0 phone from a Chinese company on eBay for £80 (a THL). After turning it on, I found they had a software bug fix available to download, only 8 months after the phone was made.

    Now that Chinese suppliers have warehouses in the UK, I order everything from them.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Have they thought, maybe just maybe 3 into 1 doesn't go....it might save money on rental...but do the in-house stores get the same real footfall - a lot of the the small Carphone Warehouse stores, were noiseless, highly focussed, and you could be dealt with quickly.

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I think, as usual, a lot of Reg readers are missing the point of what DCPWPCW stores exist for.

    They're not for _us_. They're not for people who research and make an informed decision. They're for people who "just want a phone" (/cooker/TV/laptop/vacuum cleaner) and want to park outside a shop and take it home that day. The sales force are trained with phrases that enforce the immediacy of purchase, emphasising what's in stock because what sort of cretin would want to wait ONE WHOLE DAY for something to be delivered (for cheaper).

    Phones4U were widely (and rightly) critisised for their pressure selling. Go in on a Friday and if they weren't on target for the week you could probably walk away with a new contract, free phone, and £300 quid in your pocket. I speak from experience. Now since P4U guys were absorbed into Dixons (something like 80% of store-in-store staff remained, just with a different shirt on) the culture continues and it's toxic.

    Weirdly, if you walk in and show a bit of knowledge, you get left alone. Try asking "So does this device does USB-OTG, and which 4G bands can I use it on if I take it abroad?" and watch as they scamper off to serve someone a Moto G5 with case, screen protector, insurance, memory card, selfie stick and a cuddly toy. I'll say it again - we are not target market.

    Plus points of Carphone - they sell open market, unlocked devices. That's it. So unless you get a decent deal on a SIM-free device, there's no sense in signing up to a contract with them. The hipster MVNOs like Smarty and giffgaff offer better value, and network stores like O2 offer better support and range of tariffs.

    Anonymous because my insights might just have been gained from working in store until very recently.

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