A concerned father from Basildon has waged a one-man war on a mobile phone shop after they refused to give his daughter a refund on a phone.
Livid - Peter Dawson protesting outside the Link shop Picture: MAXINE CLARKE
Peter Dawson, 47, of the Hatherley, staged his protest outside the Link store in Basildon's town centre by holding up a banner, telling shoppers he had a bad experience.
He plans to protest every single day until the company back down and agree to give the money back.
Mr Dawson said: "If I had bought a petition down, I would have got hundreds of names. Everyone has been stopping to talk to me and been agreeing with me."
His daughter Leanne bought an O2 mobile phone in December last year but had to return it as it was faulty.
The replacement phone she was given also turned out to be faulty, but when she then asked for her money back instead of another phone, the company refused.
Mr Dawson got onto the case and decided to be a bit more vocal with his complaint.
He added: "This is such a trivial matter, but it's the principal. My daughter has lost £194 because of that phone. She is only 15 and can't afford that sort of money.
The police spoke to Mr Dawson and agreed to let him carry on as last Thursday's protest was a peaceful one.
A spokesman for the shop, who refused to give the Evening Echo his surname, has tried to smooth the situation over by giving Mr Dawson a new phone.
He said: "We have made him an offer to make sure he is not left without a phone."
Published Monday August 16, 2004
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