February 27, 2001 9:39: ANGRY Katharine Bangs has complained to Trading Standards after claiming she received "appalling" service from a phone shop.

Katharine, 28, of Carrington Road, High Wycombe, received a mobile phone from her mother as a Christmas present so she could keep in touch at all times.

But after three weeks, the phone stopped working properly, and Katharine returned it to Phoneland Ltd, White Hart Street, High Wycombe, on January 20.

Katharine, a customer support consultant, said: "I was informed when I returned the phone that as I had not had the good fortune to experience the fault in the first 14 days of ownership of the phone, an on-the-spot replacement was not possible."

She added: "They had plenty of phones in the shop but whenever I asked staff, they said it was company policy not to give me a replacement."

The phone was sent back to the repair centre with assurances that it would be out of her hands for no longer than three weeks, according to Katharine.

However it was finally returned to her on February 24, five weeks later.

She has called it an "appalling standard of service".

Katharine believes that, under the 1979 Sales of Goods Act, she should have been entitled to a full refund or replacement when she first reported the problem.

But Phoneland Ltd's operations director Mark Giddy said that Katharine could have only received a full refund or replacement at the time if the phone had broken down before the end of 14-day period.

He added that other people who had problems with their phones had taken them back to Phoneland and were satisfied with their treatment.