Currys Mobile Phone

[DebtTrodden]

Hi

Bought a mobile phone from Curry's in Dec 06. this has now gone faulty with its battery, stalk and memory card.

I tried to return it back to the branch by phoning them first in the begging of march 07. They said the phone would have to be sent away for repair. I didn't accept this as my wife requires the phone at all times due to illness and that when i purchase the phone i also purchased a 12 MONTH WARRANTY. I was told it is there policy to send all phones older than 28days away for repair. I asked why i was not told this upon purchase, nor had any paper work supplied that states this. In fact I asked why this was not worded on the bottom of there receipt? They would not budge. REPAIR ONLY.

In the end i wrote a curt and to the point letter to Curry's stating.

1. Why wasn't i told about this clause regarding repair.
2. why does it not state this on the bottom of their receipts.
3. They require the customer for business not the other way around
4. I look forward to a replacement phone
5. I bought the phone with a 12 month warranty, exchange or refund not a repair warranty as stated on their receipts.

Today i got a phone call back from Curry's head office basically telling me to jump. They were not prepared to replace the phone, they would only repair. I asked them if this was their policy why i wasn't told about this and why does it not get stated at the bottom of the receipts? Infact there receipt read as follows " PLEASE KEEP THIS RECEIPT. IT MAY BE REQUIRED FOR REFUNDS OR EXCHANGE" They had the nerve to tell me that I SHOULD HAVE ASKED!!!!

I am really peeved and angry now. Any advice would be welcome as I'm pig sick of being trodden on by so called BIG BOYS.

from a big 6ft 5 fella!!

COL

[rosiecotton]

Your statutory rights under the Sale of Goods Act would be a repair in the first instance, however if the warranty specifically states that they will exchange or refund, that's what you should be entitled to - under the warranty rather than your statutory rights.

[DebtTrodden]

No specific warranty was issued with the phone except the 12 month simple warranty. No warranty information relating to Currys, No paperwork relating to Currys except the receipt.

The only thing that i suppose you could class as the warranty was the receipt which states:

"PLEASE KEEP THIS RECEIPT. IT MAY BE REQUIRED FOR REFUNDS OR EXCHANGE"

No mention of the wording REPAIR.

Col

[rosiecotton]

Warranties are bound by any terms and conditions which are included in them, so unless they specifically say they will cover a replacement or refund you can't demand this.

Your statutory rights, which are in addition to any warranty, would allow the trader to offer a repair in the first instance.

[DebtTrodden]

SO what your saying is that the only rights I have are my statutory rights which give the trader the right to repair before replace. Even though i thought my warranty is the reciept that says exchange or replace?

[rosiecotton]

Your warranty won't be the receipt; it will be any manufacturers warranty which is provided with the item and there should be terms and conditions detailed in this. This is in addition to your statutory rights, but most warranties tend to also allow for a repair in the first instance.

[buzby]

I'm confused somewhat. You purchased a phone AND a 12 month warranty? What did this provide for over and above the warranty that automatically comes with the handset? Since Curry's would have been legally obliged under SOGA fir the first year, paying additionally for the SAME 12 months must have brought some additional benefits... like a fast replacement or a new one?

[able]

you can insist on a refund

[rosiecotton]

Originally Posted by able

you can insist on a refund

On what grounds?

[buzby]

I agree, you cannot insist on anything. The CAUSE of the fault would be the determining factor and it misuse is proved (like getting it wet), you're not even entitled to a 14-day replacement.

[BankFodder]

I understand that you have a phone which you obtained in December.
After about 2.5 months the phone failed. Curry's say that they want to repair it and you want an immediate replacement or refund to obtain another so that you do not have to suffer the inconvenience of being without a phone.

Your requirements sound reasonable enough to me. However there are few practical difficulties.
Firstly, your statutory rights - and probably your warranty rights will depend upon the extent of the failure of the phone. For instance, if it is just a duff battery then a court might well decide that a repair was in order. On the other hand if it was the failure of a piece of the circuitry then a court might feel that your contract had been breached fundamentally and that you were indeed entitled to a refund.

Once again I find myself in disagreement with Rosie as I don't think that one can make sweeping generalisations as to the nature of your rights without fully understanding the problem

The practical problem is that you have no way of knowing what is the fault with the phone without allowing Curry's to investigate it.
If you have prevented them from inspecting the phone then you have actually obstructed your own interests - even though that might be frustrating to accept.
The practical problem then deepens because once they have the phone for inspection then they may as well repair it. So at the end of the day you will have the phone returned to you in good order but you will have suffered the inconvenience which you so badly wanted to avoid.
If you so far have not allowed Curry's to inspect the phone then you are doing yourself a disservice.
You have a duty under law to mitigate your losses. this means that you are required to cooperate with a supplier to try and progress the problem. If you have an uncooperative supplier then you can take matters into your own hands.
Do I understand that because you refused to allow Curry's to have the phone that you have had to suffer nearly a 2 month period without the use of your phone? If tis is the case, then I am afraid that you will not be able to make any claim for this as it is you who have prevented the matter from being sorted out.
I would suggest that you let have Curry's have the phone for repair.

If you really do need a phone during the period of repair then I would suggest that you ask Curry's for a temporary replacement. If they are unwilling to give you one then I would put them on written notice that you need a replacement and that in view of their failure to provide you with one while they are remedying their breach of contract, you intend to take reasonable steps to hire or buy (a cheap) one and that you will be looking for reimbursement. They won't be happy about that and you would probably have to sue them but you would win.
However, it seems to me that the matter of a replacement phone isn't that important to you as you have been prepared to wait this long. A judge may well form the same view and at the end of the day I expect that the hassle of suing for this kind of thing is more hassle than it is worth.
However, if you decided to go down that road, act quickly. Don't be diverted by senseless exchanges of merely point-scoring correspondence.

What are your rights as a consumer?

It's easy.
If you pay 100% of the price then you expect 100% of the value for which you have paid.
Whether it is always worth enforcing it is a different matter.

Consumer empowerment is not always about squeezing the last drop from a supplier.
It is about making decisions which you deliberately make for your own benefit and not merely because you are overwhelmed by a more powerful bargaining partner.
There is no problem about being pragmatic and backing down - as long as you back down on equal terms.

[rosiecotton]

Originally Posted by BankFodder

Your requirements sound reasonable enough to me. However there are few practical difficulties.
Firstly, your statutory rights - and probably your warranty rights will depend upon the extent of the failure of the phone. For instance, if it is just a duff battery then a court might well decide that a repair was in order. On the other hand if it was the failure of a piece of the circuitry then a court might feel that your contract had been breached fundamentally and that you were indeed entitled to a refund.

Once again I find myself in disagreement with Rosie as I don't think that one can make sweeping generalisations as to the nature of your rights without fully understanding the problem

With respect, no matter what the fault, Currys are entitled to offer a repair once a "reasonable time" has passed. Case law and precedents in standard faulty goods cases would show that in this case, the reasonable time would almost certainly have passed. I would be 99.9% sure that a court would agree with this. The seriousness of fault itself does not make a difference to your rights.

For example, if someone bought a brand new car and two months later the engine blew up, it is a major fault yet the trader would still be entitled to offer a repair in the first instance.

If the fault is uneconomical to repair, the trader can offer a replacement. Only if this is not possible can the consumer then rescind the contract, which is basically obtaining a partial refund allowing for any use they have had (obviously if it's only been purchased a couple of months ago there is an argument for a full refund). But it would be down to the trader to decide whether a repair/replacement was a suitable remedy.

I am sorry that you disagree, but in my considerable experience this is how the law is interpreted and enforced in the civil courts.

If you really do need a phone during the period of repair then I would suggest that you ask Curry's for a temporary replacement. If they are unwilling to give you one then I would put them on written notice that you need a replacement and that in view of their failure to provide you with one while they are remedying their breach of contract, you intend to take reasonable steps to hire or buy (a cheap) one and that you will be looking for reimbursement. They won't be happy about that and you would probably have to sue them but you would win.

Not necessarily. Currys have a reasonable time in law to repair the phone. Unless it was made a term of the contract at the time of sale that he needed to have uninterrupted service, I would only see a claim such as this succeeding if they took an unreasonable length of time to carry out the repairs.