A can of worms opened in mobile after-sales service protest
Mobile phone retailer M-Viron is giving away tins of baked beans with handsets, in protest at supermarkets encroaching on its market. The beans are being dealt out at 16 stores across the UK to customers who purchase phone upgrades.

The stunt is an attempt to highlight deficiencies the retailer has identified in Tesco's Pay As You Talk after-sales customer service. James Lunnon, owner of M-Viron's Royston and Baldock stores in Hertfordshire, said: 'Tesco is selling Pay As You Talk phones, but it doesn't do anything for people after it sells them. People who buy these handsets are coming to us and asking us to fix them. We do it, but we aren't making any money for the effort.'

Six of M-Viron's outlets are run by Mainline Digital Communications. The other 10 stores are run as franchises.

Tins of beans are available while stocks last.