@vodafoneuk Samsung Galaxy Ace

[Jonhubb]

I purchased a Samsung Galaxy Ace on 14/04/2012 on PAYG from a Vodafone store in Norwich. On the 19/10/2012 my phone, for the first time since i've owned it, started to play up. I will now try to explain the events which unfolded.

 

On the morning of 19/10/2012 i tried to charge my phone but there was no response to the phone being plugged into external power trying to charge it up,after numerous attempts taking charger out and putting it back in phone, the phone still wouldn't charge. I then switched the phone off, then when trying to turn it back on it wouldn't. I then took battery out for a while then put it back and finally after doing this on numerous occassion's over a 2 hour period it did finally switch on. When the phone turned on it displayed the word 'charging' and kept displaying 100% battery life. Obviously there was a fault with the phone so on the same day i took phone into Vodafone, 47 Castle Mall, Norwich store and explained the above faults to a member of the stores technical support team. I explained to him that i wanted it repaired under the manufacturers one year warranty and i was advised that it would be covered. When I described the fault to him he immediately stated that it was a common fault with these phones to display these symptoms and it would more than likely need a software update. I was advised this would take 30mins to complete. When this failed to rectify the fault, he said it was probably a faulty battery. So he changed the battery to a new one, which didn’t make any difference whatsoever. I was then advised the phone would need to be sent to a repair centre to be fixed, which i was happy with.

 

At approx 9.15am on Friday 26/10/2012 the repair centre called me and stated that they had found water/moisture damage inside the phone which must have been caused by moisture or rain water getting inside the phone. When i clearly stated that the phone had been nowhere near any type of water i was told i would need to pay £100 to get the phone repaired. After hearing this I was not prepared to pay this sum as I was advised by the store that whatever the fault was it would be covered under warranty. I then called the Castle Mall store and spoke to the manager Jay, and he stated that a fault with my mobile phone would not be covered under the one years warranty, i then went onto say there must have been something wrong with the phone as there is no way i caused this water damage as i keep it in a leather case and it has never been anywhere near water. I then went on to advise Jay to contact the repair centre to get the phone returned to the store with no work being carried out on the phone.

 

On 31/10/2012 i received a call from Jay at the Castle Mall store saying my phone had been returned from the repair centre and that he had also received my formal letter of complaint against Vodafone and he then explained that he had escalated my complaint to higher departments of Vodafone and i agreed to leave my phone in store and await a call back from him either that day or the next day when he had hoped to have got a response from the complaints depatment, which actually i am still waiting for this call.

 

This weekend i have been searching on the internet it seems there are quite a few suspect water damage claims made by Vodafone. From purchase i have had my phone in a leather case and it has never been subject to water or being used outside in the rain. On researching i have found out a phone can become 'water damaged' from being kept in a pocket or a handbag. It can also become damaged from speaking into it with hot breath on a cold morning. If this phone does have moisture damage, then these are the only ways i can think it could have attracted this moisture, which to me makes me question why these warnings are not on the box or instructions or it is my opinion, the phones are not fit for purpose.

 

I want to make myself clear now, the reason i am going to continue with this complaint is i know 100% that i have not neglected this phone in any way whatsoever. Under the Sale Of Goods Act 1979 this mobile phone is not of a satisfactory quality, therefore I am seeking a repair or replacement at no cost to myself. If that is unsuccessful, i will be seeking a full or partial refund of the amount i paid on 14/04/2012 when I purchased the phone.

 

I am really disappointed with Vodafone that i have had to write this as i have been a customer of Vodafone for a vast amount of years and never had any problem whatsoever in the past.

 

Is there a Vodafone rep on this site?? Any help with this post would be much appreciated.

Edited November 4, 2012 by Jonhubb

[locutus]

I think your points are well written and 100% correct.

 

Vodafone have a web relations that are members of CAG. If you would like them to look into your issues, follow this advice:

Hi CAG members,

We thought it would be nice to introduce ourselves and to assure you all that our presence on CAG is with the very best of intentions.

vodafone UK has recently introduced a dedicated Web Relations Team which is keen to seek out customers who’re having difficulties with their accounts and feel that they have no other place to turn to than CAG and other consumer forums and blogs.

Naturally, it’s not possible for us to help directly with account specific queries on CAG and as such we would encourage those members who feel we can help them to contact us privately at [email protected] quoting ‘WRT135 – CAG Forum’ in the subject line to ensure that it reaches the Web Relations Team.

When emailing us we would also ask that you either provide us with a link to your post or thread – if you’ve posted in another member’s thread please also provide your CAG username so that we can check what your query is.

 

Vodafone do have a good track record on this forum, so I expect they'd be able to speed your case up and provide a positive outcome if you follow my advice above.

[Jonhubb]

Ok thank you for your help i will do that now.

[labrat]

the detector they are relying on is a small square (ussually inside the battery compartment) that turns red or gets red dots if moisture is detected

 

ask for more definate proof, if its enough water damage to stop the phone working it should leave marks on circuit boards

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi Jonhubb,

 

It's a shame to hear of your recent dissatisfaction but thanks for following the guidance provided by locutus.

 

I can confirm that I've received your email and will get in touch with you as soon as I can.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Web Relations Team

 

Vodafone UK

[westfield]

I had a similar thing about water damage. My personal view is that if it is caused by breath or normal conditions that this would make the phone unfit for the purpose you bought it.

[Jonhubb]

I forgot to mention when i origionally got the call from the repair centre (26/10/2012) saying the phone was water/moisture damaged and it would cost £100 to repair it i couldn't beleive my ears! After refusing to pay this sum as i knew i had not neglected this phone i decided to browse the Vodafone website that day i could actually purchase the same phone brand new for £100! Absolutely ridiculous!

[Jonhubb]

Thanks Lee. Nice to know someone is looking into my troubles with Vodafone.

[Jonhubb]

These so called 'Water Indicators' are they visible when you take the back of this phone off?? The technical support team member who i dealt with in store took the back of the phone off, and then removed the battery and tried various new batteries to see if this would fix the fault so if they are visible surely he should have noticed this??

 

Anyway when i left this phone in store the member of staff had the BATTERY and the FRONT of the phone ONLY, which i thought was strange. He gave me the back of my phone to take away with me as he said the repair centre would not need it. With that in mind the front of phone and battery was exposed to whatever conditions they stored them in. How do i not know that this moisture could not have been caused by the atmospheric conditions they stored this phone as without no back to the phone surely moisture would easily get inside it??

[Jonhubb]

Lee i don't know what happened on the phone but each call was still live but i couldn't hear your voice! I have emailed you the telephone numbers i am available on. Jon

Edited November 7, 2012 by Jonhubb

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi Jon,

 

Rest assured that I'll get back to you again as soon as I can.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Web Relations Team

 

Vodafone UK

[bschofield1980]

Hi Jon,

 

I have just had the same thing happen to me. Please can you let me know if you were able to get this resolved with vodaphone. I know for sure I have not let my phone be exposed to any water.

 

Lee - I would appreciate it if you can contact me as I have the same concerns re the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as per Jon's opening post.

 

Thanks

 

Bridget

 

 

 

Hi Jon,

 

Rest assured that I'll get back to you again as soon as I can.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Web Relations Team

 

Vodafone UK

[bschofield1980]

I have just spoken to the repair centre, and they are again demanding £100 to repair the phone. The phone is not even 6mnths old and this is the second time it has been sent for repair. I am really carefull with my phone, and it has never had any contact with water. I have done lots of reading up on this and it seems to be happening more often especially with the smart phones. I will not be making with payment for repair, and will take this complaint as far as I have to to get this resolved.

[bschofield1980]

Just sent an email to vodaphone customer care as per the instructions above. I will update once I have been contacted by the web relations team.

[Lee Vodafone Company Rep]

Hi Bridget,

 

Thanks for making me aware of this.

 

Having checked our emails I can confirm that I've received yours and will get back to you as soon as I can.

 

Kind regards,

 

Lee

 

Web Relations Team

 

Vodafone UK