We’re slowly working our way through the many UK mobile phone recycling companies to see how they work, how quickly they pay, and what they have to offer. Today, we’re looking at Fonebank

Returning a phone to Fonebank

For this review, we’re returning an old Nokia 6600. The phone is working and undamaged. Fonebank offered us just £4.00 for the phone. At the time of writing, our phone comparison tool told us that we could have got £6.65 from Top Dollar Mobile, but we settled for the £4 to allow us to test Fonebank’s service.

Our Nokia 6600, tested and working OK

From the Fonebank website, we entered the model of phone, and added the phone’s IMEI number (optional). We then had to create an account, which took less than a minute.

Entering our Nokia 6600 details into the FoneBank site

We were next asked how we wanted to be paid – cheque or BACS bank transfer. We opted for Cheque.

Next, we’re prompted to print an order sheet. This sheet of A4 goes inside the envelope.

Sending the Phone

Once the order sheet is printed, you need to pop it in a padded envelope. There are three options for returning it:

• Send it Special Delivery to an address in London
• Send it Freepost with a certificate of posting, which offers up to £41 of cover
• If you have ten or more phones, Fonebank will arrange for a courier to collect them

Packing our Nokia 6600 for FoneBank

We’ve opted for the Freepost option, and our phone was posted on the 14th of July.

Next, we got an email on the 18th of July, confirming receipt, followed next day, by first class post, a cheque for £4, as promised. And here it is:

The cheque arrives from Fonebank

To date, this is the fastest turnaround we’ve seen. Freepost is normally 2nd class post, so the cheque was dispatched the day the phone made it to Fonebank.

Off to the bank, to cash the massive £4 cheque, but on the strength of our test, we’re happy to recommend Fonebank, for their fast turnaround.

FoneBank’s website: www.fonebank.com