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Broken HTC wildfire phone bought in Meteor shop

  • 11-05-2011 11:10PM
    #1
    argentum
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 547 ✭✭✭


    Got a phone for my daughter in a meteor shop in Dec for a Santa present.She was sitting beside me last month as she was texting and the screen just broke.Brought it back to the shop and they sent it to the HTC repair agent in Ireland.They said it would take about a month and that they would ring me when its ready for collection.They never rang and i called in late last week to be told that the repair agent says it would cost €170.00 to fix as it was damaged by the customer and not covered by warranty
    I informed the shop that as it was not fit for purpose when i bought it and that it was only 3 months old I wanted my money back and that under the sale of goods act i had this right.
    They said no that HTC say it was broken by my daughter and that I hadn't a leg to stand on.
    I told them my contract was with them and not HTC but no joy.
    I presume that the only option is the small claims court .I did put the above story on the meteor facebook page twice and they removed it.They did ask me to send an email to their customer care team and they will look at it.I told i would once i got the non repaired phone back and picked it up tonight from the shop.
    The guy actually said to me that as the screen was broken on the inside and not the outside it looks as if the repair shop is wrong and my daughter didn't drop it or bang it off anything.
    Any ideas as to how I should proceed and thanks for reading


Comments

  • #2
    foggy_lad
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20,373 ✭✭✭✭foggy_lad


    argentum wrote: »
    Got a phone for my daughter in a meteor shop in Dec for a Santa present.She was sitting beside me last month as she was texting and the screen just broke.Brought it back to the shop and they sent it to the HTC repair agent in Ireland.They said it would take about a month and that they would ring me when its ready for collection.They never rang and i called in late last week to be told that the repair agent says it would cost €170.00 to fix as it was damaged by the customer and not covered by warranty
    I informed the shop that as it was not fit for purpose when i bought it and that it was only 3 months old I wanted my money back and that under the sale of goods act i had this right.
    They said no that HTC say it was broken by my daughter and that I hadn't a leg to stand on.
    I told them my contract was with them and not HTC but no joy.
    I presume that the only option is the small claims court .I did put the above story on the meteor facebook page twice and they removed it.They did ask me to send an email to their customer care team and they will look at it.I told i would once i got the non repaired phone back and picked it up tonight from the shop.
    The guy actually said to me that as the screen was broken on the inside and not the outside it looks as if the repair shop is wrong and my daughter didn't drop it or bang it off anything.
    Any ideas as to how I should proceed and thanks for reading
    Get yourself off to the small claims court and get the form for your case. It only costs €15.

    Before you send off the forms write a formal complaint to meteor, dont ring or email but write an old fashioned letter and put "Formal Complaint" as the heading.

    In the letter you should outline what you have posted about the screen just breaking while in use, this I would think usually happens in pockets etc. Then tell about how their own experienced store staff felt the phone was faulty and not customer damaged considering there is NO visible external damage but the inner screen is cracked! You can be sure the court will take this into account.

    Let them know you intend taking the case to court if they do not provide a repair replace or refund and give them 10days to provide the remedy.


  • #3
    jor el
    Closed Accounts Posts: 16,713 ✭✭✭✭jor el


    argentum wrote: »
    The guy actually said to me that as the screen was broken on the inside and not the outside it looks as if the repair shop is wrong and my daughter didn't drop it or bang it off anything.

    Not that you know of anyway. A screen doesn't just crack of it's own accord. Also, the outside screen on the phone is plastic, where as the LCD is glass. It is possible to crack the LCD without cracking the plastic covering it, by bending or pressing on the phone. If the glass had been weakened from sustained pressure, then it could break at a later time.
    argentum wrote: »
    Any ideas as to how I should proceed and thanks for reading

    When there is physical damage to the product, you are not going to get anywhere with the retailer or manufacturer, because it looks like (and is most likely to be) misuse by the user. Small Claims is by no means a guarantee of refund either, and they will also weigh up what is the most likely cause of the damage. The most likely cause is misuse.

    You can replace the screen yourself easily enough. I've done it on an LG.
    http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEw-HTC-Wildfire-G8-Lcd-Screen-Display-TESTED-UK-/190527282144?pt=UK_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item2c5c4f9be0


  • #4
    Antigone05
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 513 ✭✭✭Antigone05


    agreed.

    if you can prove that the screen broke of its own accord and not through misuse or physical damage then you might have a chance, but from experience, these things NEVER happen by themselves.


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