We are supporters of @SASM Smartphone Free Childhood, and I am a family doctor who treats children with anxiety, so we were genuinely excited to find a phone that aligned with our values.
Unfortunately, the device supplied as part of our subscription stopped working within one month of normal use. We contacted support to request a repair or replacement and were very clear that we did not want the service cancelled — the issue was with the device, not the platform.
Despite this, our service was cut off against our request, leaving our 12-year-old with a phone running an operating system we cannot easily remove — exactly what we were trying to avoid.
We were also told that taking photos at a children’s Christmas show might count as “misuse”, even though the device was never examined.
The customer service team have ghosted us since they unilaterally terminated our caregiver accounts and even when we were in contact I had to prompt all communication.
We wanted to support this company and its mission, but based on this experience, I would urge parents to be cautious. Basically I am considering referring them to Ofcom. Is this reasonable?