[5] In July 2010, Phones 4u partnered with electrical chain Dixons to place 49 concessions inside Currys and PC World stores.

The deal, estimated to be worth in the region of £700 million, was agreed several months after talks with a United States private equity owner ended.

[16] The 4u Group consisted of the following entities: Before 2008, complaints surfaced about shoppers feeling pressured by hard sell tactics for phone insurance, negative service perceptions and high staff turnover.

[17][18] In November 2008, Ofcom found Phones 4u guilty of misleading customers over network coverage, failing to swiftly provide refunds for faulty handsets and offering unfair terms on chequeback schemes.

[23] In November 2011 it was reported that despite the company's turnover having increased, the rising cost of providing insurance with smartphones had contributed to a 25% loss of earnings.

[27] In 2004, the comedy duo Flight of the Conchords featured in a television advert driving up and down Britain singing about the latest offers.

The adverts were often set at the British seaside and featured the Phones 4u hand gesture[clarification needed] for the first time, which would be revived for later campaigns.

The ASA said "although the ads were intended to be light hearted and humorous, their depiction of Jesus winking and holding a thumbs up sign, with the text 'miraculous' deals during Easter, the Christian Holy Week which celebrated Christ's resurrection, gave the impression that they were mocking and belittling core Christian beliefs.

"[31] Later in October 2011, Phones 4u switched its advertising focus to a broader demographic, spending £5.2m on a horror themed price led promotion called "Missing Our Deals Will Haunt You".

The campaign included two television advertisements: one taking inspiration from horror movies, featuring a young girl; with the other making a play on the classic zombie genre.

"[26][33] Phones 4u backed its advertising campaigns with television programme sponsorships, including Hollyoaks and Harry Hill's TV Burp.