Thread: Soon to be 4th replacement 3g Iphone in 11 months !!

I am due to visit the Genius bar at my local Apple store again tomorrow following advice from o2 who seem to be totally unwilling to help, having only been there 2 weeks ago. My visits so far following purchase on O2 on launch day last year :-

January 09 visit to Genius bar after loss of signal, phone replaced no problems with refurb (maybe).

June 09 visit to Genius Bar after case developed crack, phone replaced again no questions asked.

Will be visiting tomorrow after constant loss of Wifi even though I'm within feet of my router and had no problems of this kind with previous phone. This has been reported as an issue on other sites since 3.0

I have emailed Consumer advice etc and await reply. Does anyone have any ideas how I address this, OK they have always replaced the phone but to have 4 in 11 months is pushing things. Should I insist on a new phone rather than refurb or have I got reason to expect a better resolution as I really don't think the phones I have had are "fit for purpose" etc.

You cannot insist on a new replacement, it doesn't matter that they've repaced them previously, your warranty will only have 4 weeks left (it doesn;t auto extend) unless they have been advised that they will do so.

I have to ask tho' - which such problems, wouldn;t comon sense dictate you ditch the brand and try something a bit more reliable?

So if the phone isn't fit for its advertised and contractual purpose I cant do anything ?

Cancelling isn't an option as there are 6 months contract left, which is a bit of a downer as the phone isn't working properly and I therefore cant use the full services offered.

My warranty runs out in Sept as they gave me an extra 90 days when I changed 2 weeks ago.

Its corntractual purpose is on no consequence. Your service contract covers the SIM, NOT the handset, so this won't be an issue.

As for it not being fit for its advertised purpose - since the reliability of them can be proved (not having a 99% failure rate). It is then left to you to prove that your use of the equipment was not somehow detrimental. (I did know of someone with a nokia and he was naturally 'electric' causing the firmware to crater any time he chargd the battery. The number of times I've heard "never seen that fault before" when they are lying - is one thing, but there possible are issues with the refurb replacements that you my be issued with - it is so hard to tell.

Your time to reject the goods ONLY applies to the original that you purchased, not any subsequent replacements. When you lose this right, all that is left is to continually harass the shop in the hope you get another swap.