Vodafone Issues

Sully · 12-08-2007 7:26pm #1

Hey,

My mother got an upgrade from Vodafone in April. The phone has not worked satisfactorily since she bought it. Texts messages sometimes need to be sent twice before the phone says its sent (even though the receipent received it, twice), delivery reports constantly remain "Waiting" even though the message delivered, phone calls outbound sometimes do not do anything while inbound goes to the mailbox the majority of the time (while in full coverage). So, she decided to approach Vodafone - four times so far!

First they told her to change a phone setting which ended up to make no difference. Cant remember what setting it was, I do recall the change myself.

Secondly, they gave her a new SIM card.

Thirdly, they told her to take it to a Nokia repair shop. They upgraded the software but said it was a network issue and not a phone issue. Vodafone denied this, saying the network was not at fault. We tested the SIM out in another phone for a while and it worked perfectly - so clearly, it was not a network issue. Still, the phone was still having the same faults.

Back again to Vodafone. This time they sent it to a specific repair place in Dublin which took a week. It came back with a report that the "crystals" needed replacing, and the phone was upgraded. Since then, it has still remained faulty.

Frustrated, we asked Vodafone for a replacement. They said that it was policy that the phone is sent three times for repair before they issue a replacement. They said that the repair in the Nokia shop "does not count" and it needs to be sent a further two more times to Dublin (which takes a week each time) for repair. After this, if its still faulty, they will replace it.

She is concerned they are just feeding her useless information and in the end, wont replace it. What exactly are the consumer rights regarding this? She is a bill paying customer and has been for a number of years. She did inform them she will move network, but they said "You cant, your in a contract" in which she informed them that she would break the contract and refuse to pay. They said something about passing it to "credit"?!

Any suggestions?

Cheers!

Sponge Bob · 12-08-2007 7:42pm

Go to shop when its really busy on a saturday and say in a LOUD voice that the phone has been faulty since you got it in April and you are not leaving the shop until they fix it.

They hate that on a saturday when they would rather be really busy selling faulty phones , insist they give you another phone there and then

Random · 13-08-2007 12:10am

Sponge Bob wrote:

Go to shop when its really busy on a saturday and say in a LOUD voice that the phone has been faulty since you got it in April and you are not leaving the shop until they fix it.

They hate that on a saturday when they would rather be really busy selling faulty phones , insist they give you another phone there and then

Fantastic idea. Why don't you piss off all the staff in one go. They'll be sure to help.

chrislad · 13-08-2007 12:39am

Sponge Bob wrote:

Go to shop when its really busy on a saturday and say in a LOUD voice that the phone has been faulty since you got it in April and you are not leaving the shop until they fix it.

They hate that on a saturday when they would rather be really busy selling faulty phones , insist they give you another phone there and then

I'm going to assume that was a joke, otherwise it's the worst advice you could have given.

Go into the store, explain that it has gone for repair twice before, the first time with the Nokia Center at the request of the in store staff, and you are willing to send it for one more repair. If that does not fix the problem, you would appreciate it if they could do their best to swap it out for you. Bear in mind that none of the in store staff have authorization to swap out phones after a 28 day period. This is a company policy, and I bet anything that all staff would just prefer to swap it out and empathize with you for the problems you're having. The key thing is to just be nice about it, explain that you know it's not their fault and tell them you'd appreciate it if they could take it to a higher level for you if a 3rd repair doesn't sort it.

Sponge Bob · 13-08-2007 10:42am

Then the company is guilty of not training their staff on the Sale Of Goods Act 1980

1. Goods must be of "Merchantable Quality", eg a phone must be able to send texts .

2. Goods must be "Fit for the Purpose" , eg a phone must be able to send texts.

3. The merchant is reposnsible for the replacement, not Nokia. Voda are the merchant and the shop is where you make contact with the merchant who sold you the Goods and who are legally liable to give you product which complies with points 1 and 2 .

4. The merchant may make 3 attempts to fix the issue after which they are liable to refund the customer IN FULL. This is also in the sale of goods act 1980.

a) attempt 1 was a setting change
b) attempt 2 was a sim swap
c) attempt 3 was sending it off only to hear about Crystals..but no repair of course.

Voda is now liable for a full refund . Thats the law. A straight swap of the faulty phone for one that is not faulty would be clever but teh law does not require Voda be clever. It requires obedience.

If the staff do not know about those statutory requirements then you should invoice Vodafone for training them in basic Irish consumer law, after you get the new phone that is or the refund.

Ignorance and chronic training is no defence, a weak excuse it surely is but not a defence.

I always personally find it easy to get what I should have gotten by clogging up the counter on a saturday. Its far less stressful for me and I don't care much for shops that try to BS me and try to weasel me out of my legal entitlements .

Enough time wasted by Voda . Swap the faulty phone like the law says you should or refund in full.......and I don't want to hear any more widdle water excuses from Voda staff who remain in blissful ignorance of the Sale of Goods act either. Its in the sticky on top so feck off and read it

chrislad · 13-08-2007 9:41pm

Sales of Goods Act quotes repairs, not attempts to fix. Changing a setting on a phone is not a repair. A sim replacement is not a repair. It has only gone for one repair with Vodafone. The other things were network related tests, not handset.

Sully · 13-08-2007 11:27pm

Two really;

Nokia Center,
Dublin Center (for Nokias).

Changing setting and SIM replacement she would agree are attempts, but not fixes.

chrislad · 14-08-2007 12:24am

Technically, it's still only one repair that they have a record for. Again, as I said earlier, I'd stress that a member of staff advised you to go there and that you'll accept one more repair attempt.

Sponge Bob · 14-08-2007 10:50am

chrislad wrote:

Technically, it's still only one repair that they have a record for. Again, as I said earlier, I'd stress that a member of staff advised you to go there and that you'll accept one more repair attempt.

A setting change is a repair ( in software)
A sim change is a repair ( in software and hardware)
A nokia centre return is a repair (in software and hardware)

When dealing with a possibly misconfigured phone a modification to software SETTINGS counts as a repair.

Technically its 3 repair attempts. Now they should replace it.

The small claims court only costs €9 and will sort Voda out fairly sharpish

You are furthermore entitled to a full refund on the contract since april and the phone + expenses incurred in these pointless visits to the merchant who would not supply fit for the purose product and of merchantable quality.

A misconfigured phone is neither "fit for the purpose" nor is it of "merchantable quality"

Sam Vimes · 14-08-2007 2:13pm

Sponge Bob wrote:

Go to shop when its really busy on a saturday and say in a LOUD voice that the phone has been faulty since you got it in April and you are not leaving the shop until they fix it.

They hate that on a saturday when they would rather be really busy selling faulty phones , insist they give you another phone there and then

someone working for just above minimum wage in a part time job doesn't give a sh*te how loud you shout. they are not mr. vodafone. they don't lose anything by telling you vodafone's policy and having you throw a tantrum.

in fact, the only way they could lose out in that situation is if they give you something that they're not authorised to give you. then they could lose their job.

OP, i'm sure you've heard the phrase you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. annoying the staff will only make them less inclined to help you.

Sponge Bob wrote:

A setting change is a repair ( in software)
A sim change is a repair ( in software and hardware)
A nokia centre return is a repair (in software and hardware)

a setting change is not a repair in any way whatsoever. even if it was, it would have been carried out by an unqualified person.

a sim change is not a repair. its a replacement. and its a replacement of the sim, not the phone.

the only one that might count is bringing it to the nokia centre but the OP would have to prove that this was done and what was done

Sponge Bob wrote:

You are furthermore entitled to a full refund on the contract since april and the phone + expenses incurred in these pointless visits to the merchant who would not supply fit for the purose product and of merchantable quality.

where are you getting this information? its not right

Sponge Bob · 14-08-2007 3:44pm

Commander Vimes wrote:

someone working for just above minimum wage in a part time job doesn't give a sh*te how loud you shout. they are not mr. vodafone. they don't lose anything by telling you vodafone's policy and having you throw a tantrum.

They gain nothing either, certainly not sales , and clog up the shop. Let them escalate to their call centre.

in fact, the only way they could lose out in that situation is if they give you something that they're not authorised to give you. then they could lose their job.

which explains why 'the manager' is never available in Vodafone shops, eh.
Let them make a phone call to back office where there are plenty of managers.

OP, i'm sure you've heard the phrase you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. annoying the staff will only make them less inclined to help you.

4 months of being nice to Voda and the phone does not work. Yeah

. Leg pull the other Commander .

[quotee]a setting change is not a repair in any way whatsoever. even if it was, it would have been carried out by an unqualified person. [/quote]
on the instruction of Voda in order to fix the phone , are you saying Voda support are not qualified to direct a setting change ???

a sim change is not a repair. its a replacement. and its a replacement of the sim, not the phone.

LOL . To fix the phone again .

the only one that might count is bringing it to the nokia centre but the OP would have to prove that this was done and what was done

What ??? No receipts when you hand a Nokia into a Voda shop for repair , are there ?

In the SCC the OP will ask to be released in full from the whole contract and will get their request granted . The Phone and 12 month contract are interlinked. The phone was faulty and Voda did not therefore deliver on contract from day 1

Their crap ever since proves they never really intended to.

Therefore he will be released form contract from April not from today . The non performance goes back to then.

Thats the law so thats what you ask for by means of remedy .

The SCC knows the mobile phone companies and their antics soooooooo well by now .

Sully · 14-08-2007 7:31pm

Setting change was done by Vodafone Staff, as was the SIM Card change. I have proof the Nokia Repair Centre done work on it.

Also, in this store the manager / ass manager is often present.

Sam Vimes · 16-08-2007 5:35pm

Sponge Bob wrote:

They gain nothing either, certainly not sales , and clog up the shop. Let them escalate to their call centre.

what's your point? every person that throws a tantrum thinks their's is the only phone that's ever broken. little do they know they're the fifth person that week to throw a tantrum over exactly the same issue. random staff CAN'T give you a new phone so shouting at them will not help.

i have gone way beyond the call of duty for loads of customers because they were polite to me. i even handed out my own (secondary) phone once or twice as a loan phone because the people really needed them. do you think i'd do that for someone who shouted at me?

Sponge Bob wrote:

which explains why 'the manager' is never available in Vodafone shops, eh.
Let them make a phone call to back office where there are plenty of managers.

the mananger is often there

Sponge Bob wrote:

4 months of being nice to Voda and the phone does not work. Yeah . Leg pull the other Commander .

you don't have to be nice as you put it. polite but firm will win over jumping up and down screaming about rights you don't in fact have.

Sponge Bob wrote:

on the instruction of Voda in order to fix the phone , are you saying Voda support are not qualified to direct a setting change ???

i would assume it was done by someone in a shop. having worked in a shop i can tell you we received no instruction in how to repair phones and most definitely have no qualification

Sponge Bob wrote:

LOL . To fix the phone again .

no, to fix the sim. the sim is not the phone. replacing the sim does not repair the phone, it replaces the sim. a sim replacement cannot solve phone related problems, it can only solve sim related problems. what's the confusion here?

Sponge Bob wrote:

What ??? No receipts when you hand a Nokia into a Voda shop for repair , are there ?

i don't know about the nokia shop but there are most definitely receipts when its handed into a vodafone shop. if nothing is printed its still noted on the computer and can be printed on request

Sponge Bob wrote:

In the SCC the OP will ask to be released in full from the whole contract and will get their request granted . The Phone and 12 month contract are interlinked. The phone was faulty and Voda did not therefore deliver on contract from day 1

so you think that everybody who's ever had their phone break has been entitled to cancel their contract with no penalty? for only the second time since i joined boards i feel the need to use this smiley: :rolleyes:

Vodafone Issues

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