Vodafone absolute disgrace

sReq | uTeK

I'm very very very annoyed at the moment.

My 7 month pregnant fiancee's iphone 4 is completely knackered.
she took insurance out on the phone, she's rang vodafone insurance only to be told as it looks like a technical fault with the phone they won't replace it.

So does it not seem ****ing ridiculous to anyone else that you can throw your phone off a cliff, lose it, **** it into a puddle of water and vodafone will happily give you a replacement, yet you do nothing wrong the phone breaks and you have to pay for it.

This is the 1st time in 15 months since the phone was purchased that my fiancee has rang vodafone with ANY issues, she's paid 150 euro in that time to the insurance and they won't do a thing for her.

Sorry about this rant I'm just really really REALLY annoyed right now and I'm going to take this as far as it can possibly go.

honestly if I have to resort to the tripe that is joe duffy he will be getting a call in the PM.

Is there anything I can do about this?

There is NO way in hell im having my fiancee fork out 100+ quid to fix a fault with the phone that she did not cause (Ironically if she did cause it she wold be entitled to a new phone) when shes paid insurance for 15 months.

jimmy_t

With all due respect going as far as you can go is no good if its in the contract that the fault isn't covered. Remember this is a contract issue not a personal one, so play the game, read your contract and induce the fault that will get you the replacement phone you should be entitled to. Once you have satisfied the contract it should be the fastest way to get a replacement?

Woodie321

jimmy_t wrote: »

read your contract and induce the fault that will get you the replacement phone you should be entitled to. Once you have satisfied the contract it should be the fastest way to get a replacement?

Can I ask what this means? Apologies if im a bit thick? do you mean report the phone to vodafone and they should therefore fix it? or OP should change his story to claim from the insurance?

sReq | uTeK

Hi Jimmy.

Thanks for that, but would it not look a tad ridiculous if I ring up and tell them the phone was stolen a few hours after reporting a fault.

I know i could claim a coincidence and its my word against theirs, just weighing up my options here.

griffdaddy

If it's a technical fault with the phone and it's still under warranty, which it should be, contact Apple and they will fix/replace it.

Woodie321

griffdaddy wrote: »

If it's a technical fault with the phone and it's still under warranty, which it should be, contact Apple and they will fix/replace it.

iphones are only under warranty for 1 year with vodaphone.

stevenmu

I think you can still go directly to Apple who give 2 years warranty.

sReq | uTeK

stevenmu wrote: »

I think you can still go directly to Apple who give 2 years warranty.

Hi Thanks for that, but it seems Apple only issue a 1 year warranty.

http://www.apple.com/legal/warranty/products/iphone-english-uk.html

Reamer Fanny

Whats the problem with the iPhone?

sReq | uTeK

Back button won't work at all.

Turning itself on when it's switched off even with the SIM revmoed,

turns itself on during the night playing random music, so much so it woke us 4 times last night/

Thirdfox

Problem - they won't fix it unless you accidentally drop it in a puddle...
Solution - accidentally drop it in a puddle...

^ The above is stated partially tongue in cheek. We had this problem with some glasses I bought here - they said the paint that was chipping off after one month was cosmetic only and not covered... turned around and asked them - so if it was dropped on the floor that would be fixed? They promptly replaced the faulty good after that.

penguinbloke

A similar thing happened to me after I was caught in the rain, and my phone got practically submerged in my pocket. Throwing it in a lunchbox full of rice and putting it in a hot press for a couple of days sorted it out.

But if you're having that trouble and it's a fault get on to apple. They really are quite helpful with their customer service. Significantly better than the carriers most of the time.

At least that has been my experience in the past.

Random

thread moved to consumer issues where i think it belongs better.
thanks

P. Breathnach

Neither Vodafone nor Apple can set a one-year time limit on your consumer rights. How long you have is a question of reasonable expectations for the type of product involved. For an expensive communications device like an iPhone, you should expect it to work properly for more than a year.

You need to be sure that your fiancée did not accidentally damage the phone if you want to proceed under consumer rights.

mdebets

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Neither Vodafone nor Apple can set a one-year time limit on your consumer rights. How long you have is a question of reasonable expectations for the type of product involved. For an expensive communications device like an iPhone, you should expect it to work properly for more than a year.

Vodafone can't, but Apple can, as the warranty by Apple is in addition to the consumer rights, the OP has with Vodafone and the OP has no contract with Apple.

What the OP needs to do, is get the fault independently verified and then get onto Vodafone again and if they still won't pay get onto the Small Claims court.

Missymoohaa

sReq | uTeK wrote: »

Back button won't work at all.

Turning itself on when it's switched off even with the SIM revmoed,

turns itself on during the night playing random music, so much so it woke us 4 times last night/

Crikey, sounds like that phone is haunted, that'd scare the bejaysus out of me :eek::eek::D

P. Breathnach

mdebets wrote: »

Vodafone can't, but Apple can, as the warranty by Apple is in addition to the consumer rights, the OP has with Vodafone and the OP has no contract with Apple...

My point is that Apple cannot interfere with OP's rights against Vodafone, and Vodafone cannot rely on Apple's position in order to resist OP's claim.

foggy_lad

There is no need for any independent engineers reports etc. The op has reported a fault and if the retailer is unable to find or fix that fault then the opsshould go down the road of the small claims court after making notes of all the times they notice the fault occurring and for how long etc. It will then be up to the retailer to show that there is no fault at all which they won't be able to do with the op's statement listing the times fault occurred.

This independent reports nonsense smacks of the underfunded tactics being tried on by unscrupulous retailers like smyths toys currys etc to try to get them out of their obligations to consumers regarding their statutory rights.

mdebets

foggy_lad wrote: »

There is no need for any independent engineers reports etc. The op has reported a fault and if the retailer is unable to find or fix that fault then the opsshould go down the road of the small claims court after making notes of all the times they notice the fault occurring and for how long etc. It will then be up to the retailer to show that there is no fault at all which they won't be able to do with the op's statement listing the times fault occurred.

But then, all the retailer has to say is, here is the report from our repair team, which clearly states, that they couldn't find any of the faults listed by the buyer, so the phone is not faulty.
So how is the buyer going to proof that the faults really happened (and weren't caused by him in the first place). A list stating which fault occurred when, won't cut it, as otherwise you could just create a list with faults and go to court, anytime you want a new phone.

foggy_lad

mdebets wrote: »

But then, all the retailer has to say is, here is the report from our repair team, which clearly states, that they couldn't find any of the faults listed by the buyer, so the phone is not faulty.
So how is the buyer going to proof that the faults really happened (and weren't caused by him in the first place). A list stating which fault occurred when, won't cut it, as otherwise you could just create a list with faults and go to court, anytime you want a new phone.

Faults are often intermittent and the small claims court deals with what is reasonable. It is reasonable to believe when a consumer has reported a fault and has spent weeks or even months trying to have the fault repaired by the retailer.

It is not reasonable to then insist on the consumer paying for an engineers report to prove a fault which they know exists and which they have documented.

mdebets

foggy_lad wrote: »

Faults are often intermittent and the small claims court deals with what is reasonable. It is reasonable to believe when a consumer has reported a fault and has spent weeks or even months trying to have the fault repaired by the retailer.

It is not reasonable to then insist on the consumer paying for an engineers report to prove a fault which they know exists and which they have documented.

But how does the court then distinguish between a genuine fault, that hasn't been found by the retailer and a bogus claim, where the buyer just pretends that the phone is faulty?
In both cases they have a report from the retailer, saying they couldn't find a fault and a list of faults (real or pretend) by the buyer.

Mansized Wreath

Lodge it with the small claims court and let them sort it out. You've done all you can do (reported it etc).

P. Breathnach

mdebets wrote: »

But how does the court then distinguish between a genuine fault, that hasn't been found by the retailer and a bogus claim, where the buyer just pretends that the phone is faulty?
In both cases they have a report from the retailer, saying they couldn't find a fault and a list of faults (real or pretend) by the buyer.

They use the same method that courts always use when dealing with a conflict of evidence: they assess the believability of the submissions. If I go into court with a log of incidents where a phone malfunctioned and I come across as an honest person, there is a good chance that I will be believed.

foggy_lad

mdebets wrote: »

But how does the court then distinguish between a genuine fault, that hasn't been found by the retailer and a bogus claim, where the buyer just pretends that the phone is faulty?
In both cases they have a report from the retailer, saying they couldn't find a fault and a list of faults (real or pretend) by the buyer.

Why would anyone submit such a bogus claim when the best they will achieve is a replacement or their money back?

It is reasonable to expect people in business to be stung by customers "pulling a fast one" from time to time but the majority of consumers will be genuine and will have products which are faulty, the main issue for those consumers is not that their phone etc is faulty because it will be fixed or replaced, it is where a shops policy does not allow for a consumers statutory rights.

RangeR

mdebets wrote: »

Vodafone can't, but Apple can, as the warranty by Apple is in addition to the consumer rights, the OP has with Vodafone and the OP has no contract with Apple.

What the OP needs to do, is get the fault independently verified and then get onto Vodafone again and if they still won't pay get onto the Small Claims court.

I'm not so sure, in this situation.

I learned something on Friday. [I work in Mobile Fulfillment]. I was speaking to our Returns Manager, while I was fixing one of his computers. I was looking around the room, admiring all the "broken" phones in for "repair".

The topic of consumer rights came up and that of contract terms for iPhones. Now, I didn't know this [and can't confirm] that when a person purchases an iPhone, they sign a special iPhone contract that the user agrees to deal with Apple in EVERY respect to the unit. This includes returns. Consumers agree to bypass the retailer and enter into a consumer contract with Apple.

So.... Can anyone disprove? When you sign up for an Apple contract, is there a clause like this in it?

P. Breathnach

RangeR wrote: »

... Now, I didn't know this [and can't confirm] that when a person purchases an iPhone, they sign a special iPhone contract that the user agrees to deal with Apple in EVERY respect to the unit. This includes returns. Consumers agree to bypass the retailer and enter into a consumer contract with Apple.

So.... Can anyone disprove? When you sign up for an Apple contract, is there a clause like this in it?

Such a condition (if it exists) would probably fall foul of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (SI 27/1995). It's difficult for a retailer to offload his or her obligations to the consumer.

RangeR

P. Breathnach wrote: »

Such a condition (if it exists) would probably fall foul of the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (SI 27/1995). It's difficult for a retailer to offload his or her obligations to the consumer.

I'll see if I can dig up a contract. Not sure if we have them.



Edit : I've gone through a few network contracts. I guess I'll have to re-educate our Returns Manager...

Procrastastudy

It, possibly, falls foul of the SOGASOS Act itself.

18.—(1) Rights under a guarantee shall not in any way exclude or limit the rights of the buyer at common law or pursuant to statute and every provision in a guarantee which imposes obligations on the buyer which are additional to his obligations under the contract shall be void.

(2) A provision in a guarantee which purports to make the guarantor or any person acting on his behalf the sole authority to decide whether goods are defective or whether the buyer is otherwise entitled to present a claim shall be void.

foggy_lad

RangeR wrote: »

I'm not so sure, in this situation.

I learned something on Friday. [I work in Mobile Fulfillment]. I was speaking to our Returns Manager, while I was fixing one of his computers. I was looking around the room, admiring all the "broken" phones in for "repair".

The topic of consumer rights came up and that of contract terms for iPhones. Now, I didn't know this [and can't confirm] that when a person purchases an iPhone, they sign a special iPhone contract that the user agrees to deal with Apple in EVERY respect to the unit. This includes returns. Consumers agree to bypass the retailer and enter into a consumer contract with Apple.

So.... Can anyone disprove? When you sign up for an Apple contract, is there a clause like this in it?

Afaik it is illegal to have such a condition in any contract in the state.

Why was the returns manager "sitting on" so many broken phones??

RangeR

foggy_lad wrote: »

Afaik it is illegal to have such a condition in any contract in the state.

Why was the returns manager "sitting on" so many broken phones??

A lot of phones aren't actually broken. Some consumers take advantage of retail stores non due diligence.