Former Phones 4u CCO launches new online mobile retailer

Unshackled.com, which is led by John Whittle, offers SIMs from 15 networks, with devices sold separately on credit deal

Former Phones 4u chief commercial officer John Whittle has launched a new mobile retail platform, called Unshackled.com.

The online retailer offers SIMs from 15 different networks, while handsets are sold separately, with credit deals available from personal loan provider Zopa.

According to a recent report by Which?, consumers are overpaying by an estimated £159 each per year, a figure that amounts to almost £5.4 billion.

UNSHACKLED.com estimates that the average consumer will save £330 buying from its site, compared to the comparable market deal today.

Whittle, who spent more than a decade at Phones 4u in various roles prior to its collapse in September 2014, claimed the new retailer would “readdress the injustice” found in the mobile channel.

“Many people don’t trust the mobile phone industry, mainly because the interest of the consumer is not at the heart of everything it does – that’s where UNSHACKLED.com is different,” he added.

“The business is truly independent and therefore our only interest is helping our customers save money and time when buying a new mobile phone.”

Partnerships

Unshackled.com claims it will be able to offer every major handset available on the market, though exact details were unavailable at the time of writing.

Customers can fund the purchase of these handsets by taking out a finance deal with Zopa. The APRs on launch will range from 9.7 per cent to 24.9 per cent. Customers will also be able to pay off early at no extra cost or make additional payments.

The partnership is Zopa’s first online retail agreement, with its service integrated in to Unshackled.com sales platform.

Jaidev Janardana, Zopa CEO added: “With the majority of consumers getting a bad deal on their mobile phone, partnering with UNSHACKLED.com means we can offer consumers better, fairer and more transparent deal in financing their phone.”

Unshackled.com went live today (May 23). Networks it offers include:

· Freedom Pop

· Life Mobile

· ID

· The People’s Operator

· Virgin Mobile

· BT Mobile

· Talk Talk

· Asda

· Giff Gaff

· O2

· Talk Mobile

· Tesco Mobile

· Three

· Vodafone

· EE