Proof of purchase query

Kurtosis

I had a fault occur with my phone recently and as it was purchased less than two years ago and is still under warranty I sent it to the manufacturer for repair.

They have come back to me to say the proof of purchase I included (receipt from online order for the phone which was bought SIM free) is not valid as it does not include the IMEI number of the phone. Is this a stipulation that the manufacturer can impose and so refuse to honour the warranty?

Youngblood.III

penguin88 wrote: »

I had a fault occur with my phone recently and as it was purchased less than two years ago and is still under warranty I sent it to the manufacturer for repair.

They have come back to me to say the proof of purchase I included (receipt from online order for the phone which was bought SIM free) is not valid as it does not include the IMEI number of the phone. Is this a stipulation that the manufacturer can impose and so refuse to honour the warranty?

It shows you purchased the phone, on a certain date within two years, that should be all that's required. Even a credit card statement can be used.
I'd say they're trying it on with you.

thebiglad

Youngblood.III wrote: »

It shows you purchased the phone, on a certain date within two years, that should be all that's required. Even a credit card statement can be used.
I'd say they're trying it on with you.

It proves OP purchased a phone of that model in the last 2 years not the actual phone being returned, hence the request for IMEI.

is there anyway to check from the IMEI number when the phone was connected to a network, if that (confirmed by service provider) corresponds with the purchase date that would be better evidence.

Kurtosis

Thanks for the replies. I understand they want to verify that it was this actual device that was purchased on the date on the receipt and not on some earlier date (though if I had bought multiple phones I wouldn't need to have this repair done!)

I thought under EU rules, the warranty is valid for two years if proof of purchase is provided and this can take a number of forms (e.g. receipt, card statement as Youngblood said). As I said, I can understand the reason why they would like the IMEI to be on the receipt but whether they can insist on this and refuse to honour the warranty legally is the questions.

Thanks for the suggestion thebiglad, I'm not sure if the network would have or be able to provide this kind of information but it might be worth a try if I'm having no luck. Thankfully with the same network while I've had the phone.

Youngblood.III

I think the OP only has to prove purchase of the phone, not proof of ID of phone?
If the repairer doubts the phone is the purchased one, they should prove or indicate so.

mickoneill31

Youngblood.III wrote: »

I think the OP only has to prove purchase of the phone, not proof of ID of phone?
If the repairer doubts the phone is the purchased one, they should prove or indicate so.

There are two areas here.

Warranty - between the manufacturer & the buyer. They can have whatever conditions they want. Check the warranty documentation that came with the phone or check their website support pages.

Statutory Rights - These are governed by Irish / EU laws. These are between the seller & the buyer. If the device was bought from an Irish company this can be for a "reasonable period". E.g. if you can reasonably expect the device to last 4 years you can have a case. Generally people quote the max as being 6 years.
If the device was bought from a different country it's a minimum of 2 years. I'd start reading here.
I can't post the link properly as I'm newish user.
It's
europa. eu. /youreuope /citizens /shopping /shopping-abroad /guarantees /index_en.htm

Remove the spaces.

So in the ops case if the manufacturer is messing about, go back to the seller.

slimjimmc

mickoneill31 wrote: »

So in the ops case if the manufacturer is messing about, go back to the seller.

The seller has a responsibility to honour the manufacturer's guarantee just as if they provided it. It might take a bit longer but you can go back to the seller and make your claim through them instead of dealing independently with the manufacturer. The seller should be able to confirm the IMEI if they need to.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1980/act/16/section/17/enacted/en/html#sec17

That's assuming the seller is in the EU of course.

TheDoc

penguin88 wrote: »

I had a fault occur with my phone recently and as it was purchased less than two years ago and is still under warranty I sent it to the manufacturer for repair.

They have come back to me to say the proof of purchase I included (receipt from online order for the phone which was bought SIM free) is not valid as it does not include the IMEI number of the phone. Is this a stipulation that the manufacturer can impose and so refuse to honour the warranty?

Phone manafacturers frequently request IMEI to be provided, as that number corresponds to their own Database of when the phones are shipped to retailers and activated.

When a retailer sends a repair back to manufacturer, they normally provide the IMEI as part of a repair docket.

The IMEI can be found on the phone handy enough, but they are probably asking to ensure its the phone that was actually purchased.

You can go back through the retailer who may fob you off considering the timeline, and you'll have to go through that rigmoral of convincing them its still their problem. Was the phone provided with a two year warranty or manafacturers guarantee? Or are you under this pretence of "if **** breaks within 6 years im entitled to a refund"?

i'd push the retailer that having contacted the manufacturer directly, they have informed you that the documentation provided to you on the sale is not satisfactory from the manufacturers perspective to execute the guarantee, and they need to assist you in having the repair completed.