Companies seem to have more rights these days or b@ll$

mikerowsopht

I recently purchased a new phone, nokia N97 mini. My GF had purchased this phone a month before I got the same one because it was such a good phone.

I don't want to give out the name of the store so I will call it "Zero 2"
hopefully you can guess what the shop name is and is based in Dundrum shopping centre.

Anyway my phone constantly crashes, have to reboot it at least twice a day and sometimes it freezes during an incoming call. The signal likes to jump from 0 signal to full signal in my house however on my old phone, 3210 I got full signal all the time so it's the phone.

So in I got to zero 2 asking for my phone to be replaced with a new one, they say they can't exchange it and I will have to bring it to a repair shop in sandyford. At this stage I begin twitching and must walk away as the only staff are women so I have decided to retrun when there is a male working behind the counter. Basically I plan on walking into the back of the shop and exchanging it myself and I will throw my phone on there counter.

I don't see a problem with this, I bought a product that doesn't do what it says on the tin and I am not happy about it. I want a refund or preferably a replacement again bcoz my gf has this phone as well so I know it works.

does anyone see a problem with this. Has it come down to companies having more rights than the consumer now. I simply don't understand.

PLease make me understand ppl

aidan_walsh

I begin twitching and must walk away as the only staff are women so I have decided to retrun when there is a male working behind the counter.

I don't get the relevance. Why would a man serve you better?

Basically I plan on walking into the back of the shop and exchanging it myself and I will throw my phone on there counter.

Yes, because acting a prat and breaking your phone will serve you so much better than being polite and talking the problem out.

mikerowsopht

I am too nice a person to shout at a female. I was polite, they informed me that I was not getting a refund and had to get it repaired.

Real simple like: you buy something, if it doesn't work you get a refund, simply consumer law or so I would have thought.

+ the phone is already not working so smashing it in the shop while I walk out with my replacement that I "stole" wouldn't matter or make a difference

what I want to know is what can I do.

tricky D

mikerowsopht wrote: »

Real simple like: you buy something, if it doesn't work you get a refund, simply consumer law or so I would have thought.

Wrong. They have to repair, replace or refund and it's their choice, not yours.

mikerowsopht

that's mad. so my title is correct. Companies have managed to get more rights than consumers these days. a 400 euro phone with no comeback.

are you saying the fact that they told me I had to bring it to a repair centre where I know they are going to give it back to me telling me there is nothing wrong with it?

PS it was the last phone in stock and had parts missing out of the box, an obvious return from the last person

I won't accept that.

matrim

mikerowsopht wrote: »

Real simple like: you buy something, if it doesn't work you get a refund, simply consumer law or so I would have thought.

You're entitled to a refund, replace or repair. They chose to try repair first which is within their rights.

the_syco

mikerowsopht wrote: »

that's mad. so my title is correct. Companies have managed to get more rights than consumers these days. a 400 euro phone with no comeback.

are you saying the fact that they told me I had to bring it to a repair centre where I know they are going to give it back to me telling me there is nothing wrong with it?

So, your title is completely untrue. You broke your phone. It'll be sent to the repair centre to see if the phone was broken due to a manufacture fault, or because you dropped it. The people in the shop most likely won't have the training to do the checks needed there and then.

mikerowsopht wrote: »

PS it was the last phone in stock and had parts missing out of the box, an obvious return from the last person

I won't accept that.

But you did accept it: you bought it.

=-=

You smash the phone, and it'll be automatically classed as customer damage. You steal a phone, and you'll be treated like a common scumbag, and charged like one.

mikerowsopht

My title is not untrue, I have never dropped my phone and it seemed ok for the first 2 weeks

after 2 weeks the problems started. I did not drop or damage it. I have even tried firmware updates but it has the latest firmware.

Since you appear to know what you are talking about perhaps you can tell me how to repair it

main problems are:

phone freezes / crashes twice a day it needs a reboot
signal all over the place

apart from that it's grand

400 euro phone

seamus

mikerowsopht wrote: »

So in I got to zero 2 asking for my phone to be replaced with a new one, they say they can't exchange it and I will have to bring it to a repair shop in sandyford. At this stage I begin twitching and must walk away as the only staff are women so I have decided to retrun when there is a male working behind the counter. Basically I plan on walking into the back of the shop and exchanging it myself and I will throw my phone on there counter.

You've got some anger issues there mate. They offered a very simple recourse for getting your phone sorted, and you've lost your temper and decided that getting violent and breaking the law is the only way to sort this?

Why do you think it's acceptable to shout at anyone behind a shop counter, male or female? If you act petulant and angry, staff will only react defensively in response and you can wave goodbye to any hope of them expediting your problem.

Learn some tact and learn to deal with customer services in a civil way, and you'll find that things get sorted much easier.

mikerowsopht wrote: »

that's mad. so my title is correct. Companies have managed to get more rights than consumers these days. a 400 euro phone with no comeback.

The relevant laws came into power in 1980 - before you even started buying anything I'd wager. So as far as you're concerned, this is the way it's always been. Companies don't have "more rights", they simply have the right to be given a fair chance to sort a problem.

You have a 400 euro phone with plenty of come back. Return it to the store and let them send it back to the repair facility. If it does constantly crash and lose power, they will likely diagnose a hardware fault and give you a new phone. Especially if it is a refurb/fixer as you suspect, then they will write it off if it has come back a second time.

Before handing it in, find a way of recreating the fault you describe. If you can show someone what's wrong with it, then most likely you will not have any difficulties.

Note that O2 cannot insist that you take the phone to a repair facility; the shop you bought it from are contract-bound to take the phone from you and deal with the repair facility. However, in many cases it can be simpler for the customer to deal directly with the repair facility, especially in cases like yours where the errors are transient.

One thing you can try is a software update, if such a thing is available for your phone.

And try dealing with staff on a one-to-one level when you talk to them next, don't assume everyone is out to screw you over.

mikerowsopht

thank you Seamus for the 1st reply I was kind of looking for. You are correct that I have anger issues ( only with companies ) that try to screw me over.

I always try to be polite first and if that fails unfortunately my anger kicks in and there is nothing I can do but walk away unless there's a bloke behind the counter.

I found the female I was speaking with very rude there and not helpful

Perhaps I should give them a chance and send the phone to zero 2 for repair although I don't want to be without a phone.

I think recreating the problem would be difficult as I could get 30 calls a day and it will crash on 2 of the calls.

the phone is already fully up to date both software OS and firmware so I am at a loss.

things have changed, back in the day if it didn't do what it said on the tin
there would be a refund, no questons asked.

**sigh*

the_syco

mikerowsopht wrote: »

So in I got to zero 2 asking for my phone to be replaced with a new one, they say they can't exchange it and I will have to bring it to a repair shop in sandyford.

You'd be surprised at how many peoples phones stop working after they have dropped it into a pint glass. If they were to exchange it for you, and not someone else, the other person could rightfully sue for discrimination.

mikerowsopht wrote: »

At this stage I begin twitching and must walk away as the only staff are women so I have decided to retrun when there is a male working behind the counter. Basically I plan on walking into the back of the shop and exchanging it myself and I will throw my phone on there counter.

Two things. Firstly, if you are nice to the rep, they'll often go out on a limb to try to help you. You go mental to anyone, and no-one will go out on a limb for you. You'll be labeled as a nutcase, and will be treated with gloves, with the rep going by the book. Heck, the shop may ban you from entering any of their shops, if they feel you pose a threat to their staff. Finally, there'll be a post about you on some forum.

Secondly, if you throw your phone at the counter, they'll put it in the report that you threw the phone on the counter. That they witnessed you damaging the phone. Thus, if they find something wrong with the phone, that could be a manufacturing fault, or possibly customer damage, well, they'll pick the latter, as it'll be noted you threw the phone on the counter. Act nicely, and there's a good chance the person fixing the phone will blame it on a manufacturing fault.

I've worked on the receiving end of a lot of abuse, and if someone gives me hassle, I ensure I do things by the book.

So yes, tact is important, and yelling is a big no-no.

Finally, if there's one guy in the entire shop, and you yell at him, you better hope it's not the manager, as then you'll be asked to leave, and you'll find just how "angry/difficult people" are treated.