Phone Recycle Bank
The Phone Recycle Bank is a nice looking site with great usability. When testing sites we tend to search for the popular Nokia N95 which is a mobile phone many people are selling. The search is quick and accurate, and whilst this company may not pay the highest prices (often 10% below other companies), they are apparently very reliable when it comes to accurately assessing the condition of your old mobile phone.
Unfortunately the Phone Recycle Bank don’t offer BACS payment but they have a promise to send you a cheque within 4 days or receiving your old mobile. They are compliant with EU current legislation, and have a mission to provide affordable handsets to developing countries.
All in all a nice site if you want to sell your old mobile phone.
If you’ve used the Phone Recycle Bank service then please leave a review and/or rate below.
Rating:
(235 votes, average: 2.59 out of 5)
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Sent my phone in perfect working condition did not hear back from Phone Recycle Bank for well over a month I contacted them they told me that my phone had been received but was damaged! and they were not willing to offer me anything for it!!!!!! I sent them an email saying this was not acceptable and they refuse to do anything about it. They will send the phone back to me – damaged – however this was not sent off damaged in any way whatsover and was well packaged to avoid any problem during transit. It was sent via special delivery.
Sent a phone in perfect condition. My order screen was never updated so I emailed to query. Was informed that the phone had been received and was being tested, wait a few days. Having heard anything for over a week, I called and was informed that they had never received my phone. I am being fobbed off with excuses and am getting nowhere. I would not recommend using this company as a result.
My experience was similar to, but more laughable than the two examples above. 4 phones were sent, all packaged in the same envelope, by special delivery. We have had one week of “3 of the phones have been recieved but one hasn’t!” Strange given that they were all in the same package…then it was that the one phone was still to be tested, and now they’re “chasing it up” and they always claim they’ll get back to us in 24 hours and, lo and behold, 24 hours later…NO CONTACT!
Avoid these guys like the plague…I suspect there are more tea leaves in their postroom than there are on a PG Tips plantation.
My experience like the guy before is of conflicting information and poor communication, nowhere near a 4 day turnaround already approaching 3 weeks.
There seems to be a recurring theme with this company that I have seen on chat forums in particular with the speed they take to process iPhones. I keep getting conflicting emails and messages from them regarding the progress of my phones. These were all sent in a single package, recorded delivery, and the fact that they have process 2 of the 3 indicates that they have received them all. Yet they claim they have not received one of them. It’s funny how the item with the most value appears to be lost in their system. I phoned them yesterday and was told that the phone is on the system but waiting to be processed, and that the guy would put some pressure on processing this as it has been far in excess of the claimed turnaround time. The status website gives no indication of the current progress for any of the phones and I am told that this is only updated when all three are complete. That does not reflect the progress.
My suspicion would be that with the larger cost items that are fully functional they are waiting to sell them before they pay out.
I like many others are not happy with the way this company is advertising compared to conducting its business. They also claimed a 24hr response to email and that again has been far in excess of their targets. They eventually email claiming they had not received the phone and asking for details of posting, implying I contact and claim against Post office. Again heading for the must be lost crap.
They appear to be conducting continuous stalling tactics.
DO NOT USE THEM!……………
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!! Total scam, sent in a working phone and they sent a cheque on the basis that it was not working, when I know beyond any doubt that it was working when I sent it. I contacted them and asked them to return my phone. I arrived today – not working as the battery contacts on the back have been deliberately sabotaged. I am incandescent with rage. I don’t know what I can do about it but I won’t let the matter drop out of principle. AVOID AVOID AVOID!!!!
sent in my phone on the monday, with slight cosmetic damage but still got the full amount offered in the post by the friday. Really good service, yet not the best communication as did not email me to say they had received it or sent out the cheque!
I sent two phones to this company both in the same envelope back in May (3 months ago). They confirmed receiving one of the phones but not the other (even though they were in same envelope!). I have not received payment for either phone and have sent numerous emails – some of which they reply saying I will get a full response within 24 hours but I never do. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY they are useless.
Stay clear of this company! Sent a phone to them, had not heard anything for 2 weeks and nothing on the order screen, sent them an email and they told me they had recieved my phone outside of the 14 days so were going to offer me a new price and if I was happy they would send me a cheque in the post. I emailed back saying I was happy with the new price, 2 weeks later no cheque in the post, they have promised to send me another cheque but i’ll believe it when I see it.
Oh and their telephone number constantly rings out. This company really is poor, avoid at all costs.
i posted 2 devices to phonerecyclebank recently. One was unused, the other was in very good working condition. I sent both in the same envelope special delivery. I received a cheque promptly for the cheape value device (£12), but nothing for the higher value device (quoted £90).
I have since attempted to telephone the company, to no avail.
I have also sent 3 emails, simply requesting an acknowledgement that they received both devices, but only paid for one.
I am yet to receive any response, 3 weeks later.
phonerecyclebank website advertises they aim to respond in 24hours.
They have my phone. I don’t have a cheque.
Shame on you phonerecyclebank
AVOID!!! Sent my phone a month ago, sent 3 emails over 2 weeks, received 3 auto replies stating they will get back to me within 24 hours yet nothing. Going to ring tomorrow but reading all the other comments i’ve resigned myself to have lost out. How can a company that scams people still be allowed to trade?? VERY dissapointed
I sent away 2 mobile phones on the 18th August and like a similar story posted on here, they received the one with most value, but ‘have not received the one higher value phone dispite the fact they were sent in the same package.
I am very disappointed with phonerecyclebank and shall no longer use them. Like others, they haven’t replied within 24 hours like promised and I have now called them several times with no answer and have had no response.
I am collecting old mobile phones from people for fundraising and feel very dissapointed with the company as they seemed to offer good prices, but now I feel they are a scam and seem to collect and keep the good mobile phones!
Can anyone please recommend a reputable phone recycling internet site that will follow up on their promises?!?
DO NOT USE!!!!!!!!!! I have had pretty much the same problem as everyone else….. Sent my phone nearly 2 months ago recorded delivery, someone has signed for it and now they have lost it….. Aparrently!!!! I have rung them about 6 times now and each time get fobbed off with different stories such as we will pass it to the manager then got told I would receive my cheque within 2 days, a week later ring them again and get told it will be passed to the manager again.
I feel totally stupid for using phone recycle bank just beacause they were offering more money and not just using mazuma who were awsome last time I used them…………..
I have had exactley the same happen to me!! Absolute scam, did any of you receive your phone or the money back?!
Absolute rubbish service, totally avoid. Sent in a Nokia N97 after saying they would give me £146. After two weeks phoned, no answer and ability to leave a message. Sent two emails just asking what had happended to my phone, no reply. Called everyday for four days and finally got someone to answer the phone, only to be told my phone had been lost in the post and to claim off Royal Mail. It comes as no suprise that all the highest priced phones go missing!! Is any one else looking into reporting this company officially or taking legal action?
Update – now more than six weeks since I sent my phones. still being fobbed off with the get back to you in 24 hours crap and still no contact or money for any of my three phones.
DO NOT USE THEM.
Gavin. I have reported Phone Recycle Bank to trading standards and have also contacted Watchdog telling them my story. I urge everyone else who has had problems with Phone Recycle Bank to do the same thing. Unless people such as watch dog and trading standards are made aware of these scams, how can the something be done about the company so we can get our money back!?!
Since e-mailed Phone Recycle Bank about me preparing to take legal action against them unless they told my where my phone and cheque are, they emailed (for the first time within the 24hours promised,) saying they had sent me the cheque for my phone. That was 13 days ago. I am now wondering when my cheque will arrive so will remind them I shall now be taking legal action.
IF YOU HAVE HAD THESE PROBLEMS, PLEASE DO THE SAME THING!
This company should be closed down. I sent a Vertu Ascent phone to them by courier after being quoted £185 for it on their website. The phone was in as new condition. About a week later I got an email from them saying they had not received it. I had proof from the courier company that it had been delivered, so I phoned them and they still said they had not received it.
Several phone calls later, they admitted it had been signed for but had been lost.
Next phone call…..the phone had been found but had been scrapped as it was damaged. It had better not have been scrapped, I said……..it was in perfect condition when it left me.
After more phone calls……..the phone was in the warehouse but they would not be paying me as it was apparently a Chinese fake. I told them to return the phone to me.
3 more phone calls….each time they promised to return the phone. No phone arrived. Each time I call them, I am told the phone is still in the warehouse.
Finally, 10 weeks later and only after threatening them with solicitors, I receive the phone back, fortunately with only 1 small scratch. Whether on not it is a fake I do not know, but I suspect they do not want to pay out for valuable phones.
I was amazed to read that so many people here have had similar experiences. This company comes up with a different cock-and-bull story each time you phone them. They are a disgrace.
THIS COMPANY IS AWFUL – DO NOT USE!!
After reading the trail in this thread, it seems that I got off lucky, but I will never use Phone Recycle Bank again. No communication at all after the initial automated email that my order had been set up.
i asked them for a prepaid bag, which never arrived. After about 5 weeks of twice a week, still no bag. Eventually receive the bag, and send it off. Still no email from them to say they received it. After another 2 weeks of phone calls, still waiting for the cheque to arrive. When I finally got through to someone who knew what they were talking about, I was told that because it was over a month since the original request, I would be getting a reduced rate for the phone.
After several choice words and threatening legal action, I finally got a cheque for the full amount, but it really has not been worth the hassle. Next time, I’m selling on eBay.
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!
Sent my iphone off 3 months ago & STILL no cheque. Have emailed & phoned, threatened legal action & still nothing.
AVOID
A note from Phone Recycle Bank Management:
Our sincere apologies to every customer on this forum who has had a terrible experience with our customer service. We have recently been made aware of this forum and want to provide anyone who visits this page an escalation email address that goes directly to the PRB Management team. It is:
management@phonerecyclebank.com
We are working hard to correct any problems with our service department and would appreciate the opportunity to solve your probelm, which will also help us identify the issues that caused it and help us improve our services.
However, in order to do so, we do need you to please email us with your order reference number, a summary of your problem and a phone number and email address. Once you do, we will research the situation and get back to you with a resolution within 48 hours.
Kind regards,
PRB Management
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!
I was almost ripped off by this company in May this year – however luckily I had taken pictures of the phone working before sending it off.
When I got the email saying “During our verification process the handset failed testing and has been deemed to be in a non-working state” which was absolute c__p, I contacted them.
They said it had been received without a battery – also not true as I had a picture of the battery!
So….I asked them to send it back to me….
Lo and behold I got the phone and original battery back!!
After some complaints and speakin to James at Customer service they did offer to send a courier to pick the phone up and uphold the £114 offered to me, however I explained to them that I did not trust their company and would therefore be using someone else.
The moral of the story when recycling mobile phones is Please please please take a PICTURE of all the parts and phone in working order before sending them off – even if you have to go to a phone shop and ask them to take a photo and copy to your USB!!
I think this is a very clever scam in that those people who have no evidence have no choice but to accept the reduced offer.
So please please take photos before you send and again don’t use this company!!!
THIS COMPANY IS A BIG SCAM. I read the reviews here before sending my perfectly working unscratched iphone 3gs 32gb and I should have been wiser not to trust this company.
Before sending my iphone I Emailed phone recycle bank asking if I needed to unlock it before sending it as it was already out of contract. They replied that there was no need to. Three days after receiving my iphone they Emailed me saying that my iphone was non working !! and they are offering a fraction of the price they quoted!!
Stay away from this company. All I want now is that they return my handset without maliciously damaging it.
Its been over 4weeks, no contact from the company, have sent several emails and have had nothing back, have even mailed the Mgmt as above, No address exists.
Looks like ill have to go via the small claims court.
AVOID THIS COMPANY, SCAMMERS
I was concerned after sending my phone off as I didn’t read the reviews beforehand. Luckily I sent it recorded delivery which was well worth the couple of pounds for reassurance. The communication wasn’t great, I phoned a couple of times to see what was happening (I was worried after reading these reviews) and the assured me that they had got my phone and it was waiting to be assessed. After about 2 weeks I had an email to say it had been cleared for payment and a couple of days later I got my cheque for £82. So overall I was very pleased. Maybe a few more emails to update would have been good but I got the full amount as promised.
Worst service EVER!!!
Stay away and don’t make the mistake i did. Sent phones well over a month ago, still no payment or any further with the order or payment. Now they have my phones and my £500+ they owe me for them.
Company is a joke, new story or excuse every time you ring. I wish i had someone give me this advice before i choose to recycle with them. EVERYONE STAY AWAY AND PLEASE DON’T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AS ME.
Totally shocking.
Sent my phone off almost a month ago, no reply, nothing.
Ridiculous service. I’ve asked for a reply by thursday (48 hours), if I havent recieved a reply or they try to fob me off, I’ll be calling trading standards and watchdog.
AVOID
Well after reading some harsh reviews from here i was not to sure of sending handsets but have to say they received all 3 handsets i sent and paid in full as promised.
I also sent handsets in standard post and was 100% happy.
I dont normaly write reviews but with the experience i got this is a 1st!!!!
Well done Phone Recycle Bank.
Thanks.
I am so glad I read all these postings. I found Phonebank and agreed to send of Nokia 5800 Xpress for £79. After a week or so no freepost bag had arrived. I was about to follow it up when I received an automated email reminding me that I needed to send my phone in “within 14 days” of the agreement, or risk affecting my original quotation. Forgive the pun, but the implicit warning in their email that ‘you’re quotation might be affected unless you get the phone to us in 4 days’ rang loud in my ears. So I sent an email saying that I had not received a freepost bag; that i want them to send it again; and that I wanted confirmation that the original quoted price for the phone wouldn’t be affected due to the fact that I had not received the freepost bag. In other words, that they wouldn’t try to pay me less just because they had not sent a freepost bag. No response. So I then did a quick Google search to see if this was a common problem. And my suspicions were right: in light of all the above comments, if I don’t get a positive response within 24hrs that my original quotation will not be affected I am afraid that I’ll take my custom elsewhere.
Excellent company!
Sent my Nokia 5800 in my own bag and used recorded delivery (as I had been advised to) on the 8th December.
Next I received an email confirming they had received the phone on the 13th December, then received another email letting me know my cheque was on its way on the 16th December, and finally I received the cheque today (20th December) for the full amount stated on the website, including an extra £1 for sending it in my own bag!
Really efficient and I would definitely recommend this company!
From reading some of the other comments on here I would say that maybe send it yourself so you can track the package (by using royal mail recorded delivery)
STAY AWAY!!!!!!
I contacted these clowns on the 9th dec 2010 and awaited arrival of my pre paid envelope, after a couple of weeks and no replies to e mails I tried to phone that’s a laugh got cut off, placed on hold four times. put through to the tescos corporate section then started all over again, promised a new envelope still hasnt arrived today 30th anyway in the meantime I emailed top dollor mobile at 3.45pm Friday 17th got my envelope Saturday morning got text to say they had received it Tuesday and one today (Thursday) to say money has been paid into bank via BACS with a note to say sorry for the delay due to christmas, now thats service and they paid more, DO NOT TOUCH PHONE RECYCLE BANK WITH A BARGE POLE.
DO NOT USE!!!!!!!!
Sent in my phone 6 weeks ago, and today finally got round to ringing them after they failed to reply to my email about 3 weeks ago. Previously, they had rang me to say my handset was working and worth £200 so I was waiting for my cheque for nearly 3 weeks… NOTHING.
Rang them, they claimed my set was damaged and was now only worth £90. I have requested it back, as it was not damaged when I sent it. If they send me back a faulty set I will be seeking via small claims court also.
DO NOT USE, I THINK THIS COMPANY IS A SCAM!!!!
Just an update for everyone on my situation – sent my Nokia N97 phone in for recycling in early August 2010 and ‘never arrived’ at PRB. Now been trying to claim from Royal Mail every since, but they are now saying they wil not pay out, as PRB will not respond to their forms asking them to state that the phone never arrived. Tried calling PRB today to ask why they are not responding and the phone rang for over 5 minutes unanswered. Avoid at all cost, nothing but hassle and now £146 out of pocket.
Do not use this company. They are totally useless. I sent my phone to them in November (recorded delivery) and I have still not received payment. I have called them on 3 seperate occassions and been fobbed off. They told me they had received my phone in perfect condition and that a cheque had been sent to me (still not received). USELESS!!
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY AT ANY COSTS!
Sent my unmarked, working perfectly, White 3GS Iphone to them by recorded delivery on 30 November 2010. Received email to tell me my phone was not working on 6th December 2011, phoned them and asked them to return the phone to me as it was working fine when I sent it to them. Sent an e-mail on the 20th December to ask where my phone was and it was in the wharehouse waiting to be sent. After various e-mails I recieved a battered Black 3G Iphone in the this week. WHERE IS MY IPHONE. I have tried phoning, just rings out, emailing, I dont get a reply now. I just want my original White Iphone returning. Will now look into legal action.
PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY
Much the same story as all the people before. The phone was working and was sent to them on the 4th Jan 2011. heard nothing for over a week then received a email saying the were only going to offer the non-working price. The phone was working perfect when sent in a well padded envelope which included being wrapped in bubble wrap.
I would avoid this company at all costs and go to Mazuma Mobile or someone else who advertises on TV as these people will steal your phone.
OK, this place is a con do not use!! I am in the middle of a county court case with these over unpaid phones!!!
They do not list their address on their website or their mobile numer becuase they are a con!!!
DO NOT USE!!!!
They run under the company name 20:20 mobile and their address is:
20:20 MOBILE (UK) LIMITED, WESTON ROAD, CREWE, CHESHIRE, CW1 6BU
their telephone number is 01270 755000, I knwo this because they keep ringing me and not saying anything… HARASSMENT!! When I ring back they put the phone down on me!!!
DO NOT USE!!!!
DO—-NOT—-USE
Just received my email back from them after sending the phone special delivery and it recorded arriving to them last tuesday. The email says the phone is not working! and they can dispose of it for free or send it back for free! i have asked for the phone back and hope it is working. still doesnt get me my 8pounds back for postage, and thy better not dare charge me the £5 ‘administration fee’ which they havev in the terms!!! SO ANGRY! DOT NOT USE!
I sent off a phone to them, and took out a certificate of posting as they advised. Even though it’s well over a week they claim they haven’t received it. I wish I had heard of this website before I trusted them to sell my phone. They’ve told me it’s not their responsibility and I have to chase it up with the post office, which I will. I’ll let you know what the outcome is in due course.
just read the bad reviews ,WON’T be sending them my phone !!! thankseveryone x
i have a htc sensation and really dont like it so thought i would trade it in for some cash and put it towards another phone, so typed into google”phone recycling comparison site” then put my phone in and saw £180.05 off phonebankrecycling. as i had never heard of them before i thouhgt before i send off for a freepost bag all try and fetch up some reviews on the website, lone behold i found these reviews and was abolutely shocked, glad i read some reviews before i sent my phone off to these bunch of scammers, actually really shocked at why some people think this is acceptable, think these guys need reporting for been such tools.