Purchased a phone last week and didn't operate as expected. What are my rights?

vin.f

Hi,

I would like some advice concerning a phone I purchased last week.

After bringing the phone home and setting everything up I noticed an issue with the touch screen. No matter where I touched the screen there was a small degree of colour separation in the centre (similar to touching an lcd monitor lightly with your finger) touching at the edges produced this issue and touching the screen lightly also produced this issue.

I brought it back to the networks store the next day (well within 24 hours) and showed it to the sales assistant.
The sales assistant could see the issue and so could his colleague after calling her over to inspect.
I asked to see a demo unit just to check if it was an issue on all models of the handset.
Unfortunately the issue was the same however it was not as noticeable as it was on the handset I purchased.
I asked them for a replacement as I could accept the level of colour separation on the demo model but they insisted that it had to be tested by a technician before a decision could be made.
I agreed to have it sent off for testing and returned later in the week to hear the verdict.

On my return the news was that the technichian could not see the problem and that I couldn't get a replacement. I argued that the issue was clearly visible and asked the sales assistant to test this for himself. He did in fact see what was happening and said that maybe the technicians could not find the issue based on what was written in the description and that the best thing to do was to send it back and then call them to explain the issue clearly as they were testing.
I agreed to this and the phone was sent off.

During the week I was in contact with the sales assistant to see how things were going he had not heard anything back from the tech's until today.
The tech's had been in touch with the manufacturer of the phone and claimed that this issue was in "spec" and in their eyes the phone was working pefectly fine.
I asked the sales assistant what my options are and would I be entitled to a replacement, store credit or refund.
He claimed that once the technician has found no fault with the handset they cannot authorise any of the above.

As far as I'm concerned I bought a product that I was not satisfied with, It did not operate (exactly) as advertised, no mention of the screen issue was found on any of their advertising leaflets or information sheets that accompany the floor models, the sales assistants did not bring this issue to my attention (though to be fair it was a brand new model that had only arrived that week), the floor models are dummy products so testing was impossible and the working demo model behind the desk was not offered before I purchased the phone.

Surely I should be entitled to a replacement, refund or store credit considering the phone was returned well within 24 hours of purchase and in my opinion does not operate as advertised.

Would I be correct in my assumption or is it a case of just having to accept the product as is based on the findings of the network.

I would really appreciate any help or info on this guys as I have to collect the phone a little later today and want to have as much knowledge as possible to counteract the potential "fast one" most networks try to pull.

Thanks in advance.

-Vin

01902

If you feel it is faulty and they won't provide a remedy for you it will have to be a trip to the small claims court. Might be able to refer it to someone higher first. if you go in all guns blazing about small claims court they might be far less helpful.

BostonB

Have you check another one in another shop to see does it do the same thing?

vin.f

No I wouldn't go in quoting small claims....YET. I also didn't go in looking for a refund, I simply want the phone replaced but have hinted at a refund if a replacement was not offered. I have been extremely patient and polite about the whole thing and Although I haven't named the network publicly I would like to thank all the staff involved in this issue for being extremely helpful and sympathetic to the situation.

When I got in to the network store on Friday evening I raised the issue up with the manager who tested against the demo model and he agreed that the issue is far more noticeable on the handset that I purchased. I also asked him if he had to use that handset for a year would he be happy with it. He said no, so at least he sees my point (or claims to see it).
He said he has to discuss the possibility of replacing the handset with his area manager just in case the area manager sides with the engineers and claims there is no fault with the handset. But again he agreed that the issue was much more apparent on my handset than on the demo model and would argue this point with the AM.

Also, I did not test the handset in any other store after I saw that the issue was visible (albeit much less noticeable) on the demo handset. I figured that it would be noticeble on all handsets of the same model but with varying degrees of visibility. There is a level of distortion I am willing to accept and there's a level I am not. As I said to the manager I would happily walk away with the demo handset as the screen problem is much less obtrusive and that I would gladly accept a replacement (even knowing there's a screen issue) and take my chances with that.

If the AM takes the same line as the engineers and the manufacturers and says there is no fault then should I be entitled to a full refund? From what heard I am able to return any item for refund within 24 hours (cooling off period) without reason as long as it can be re-sold. Is this correct?
If not, is small claims my only option?



Thanks for your responses.

01902

If they are denying a fault and won't budge your only option is small claims court. There is no cooling off period for items bought in a shop at all. Some stores offer a policy of return in a condition that it can be re-sold within X days for exchange/refund but this is not the law and is to individual store/company policy. There are different rules for cooling off a contract (really not sure what they are) but I would assume they would want the phone returned unused (could be wrong!)