Hi there

Last week I managed to wash my iPhone. It went through about 45 minutes in washing machine and understandably is completely broken - both waterlogged and smashed screen.

O2 have said they wont repair it under their insurance I have with them. The reason they give is that the IMEI doesn’t match what they have on record.

They are reading the IMEI off the back case , which is a non-genuine Apple back fitted after the 1 year Apple warranty had expired.

They claim in their T and C's that the handset must be maintained as per manufacturers instructions. But can fitting a non-genuine back out of warranty be sufficient grounds for denying my claim? Especially given that the phone has worked fine in the period between the back being fitted and then me washing it

Any thoughts gratefully received!

Martin

Suggest that you make a formal complaint in writing and explain why the back cover was replaced

I don't think replacing the back cover is enough for them to deny the claim. As long as the rest of the phone was as you were supplied with, then I cannot see why the FOS would not uphold any complaint if you went to them. But you have to complain to the phone Insurers first.

Thanks for the advice.

I have just got of the phone to them, I was going to ask where to send a formal letter of complaint. - I mentioned legal action a couple of times too...

Miraculously they are now considering whether the denial is actually correct and will be consulting their underwriters. The whole claim has been escalated to a ”manager”. I was promised a decision within 48 hours. But I said that’s too long as I have now been without a phone for over a week. I asked to speak to the manager. At first they were busy, but when I said I wouldn’t wait 48 hours and would begin legal action, that got things moving and I spoke to a very nice person.

So they will update me on the progress tomorrow.

Sounds more promising, but I wont hold my breath!

Remove the SIM.

The SIM carrier will have the correct serial no. on it.

Use this to help convince O2 that the phone is the one that is insured.

(since you won't be able to use *#06# on the keypad to display it on the screen).

They have come back and decided that the original denial was in fact invalid. Based on the fact that the IMEI number although doesn't match as it's a non genuine part, that isn't now enough to deny claim

They have now got to pick up the handset again as it was returned to me. Then they will send a replacement by return post

Thanks everyone for your advice, and a good resolution albeit an annoying long one

Thanks for the update