Carphone Warehouse and faulty iPhone 4S

[Worstutility]

Hi All,

 

Just looking for a little bit of advice on this one.

 

I bought an iPhone 4S on 20th December 2013 and on Christmas Day 2013 the wifi button greyed out completely and I cannot use the phone for Facetime, iMessages or the internet now without using up my internet allowance on my contract. Sometimes the signal at my home isn't too good either because we are in a bit of a dip so I rely on my hone having wifi so that I can use my Sure Signal from Vodafone.

 

This is a known issue with this phone and there are dozens of people around the world that this has happened to but some have been able to fix it by restoring it through iTunes but I wasn't able to. This was bought on a contract of £25.00 per month over 24 months so I would have thought that the phone should last at least that long.

 

I knew I would have a problem with Carphone Warehouse and their poor aftercare so I decided to take it to Apple to have the fault diagnosed first to see what it was first. After their staff member looked at it he said that the wifi chip had burnt out and the phone would need to be replaced but if I had bought it from them it would have been done there and then. I then had to go to Vodafone because of a separate issue and whilst there I asked them what would have happened if I had bought the phone via them and they said that they honour the Apple warranty now of 2 years but even though they are my network, it still needs to be Carphone Warehouse that replaces it.

 

Anyway, I took the phone over to Carphone Warehouse and the sales asssitant said that I only had a year warranty. I said that they should be honouring the 2 year warranty for my phone as it was on a 24 month contract and this had to be referred to the manager. The manager told her to phone the helpline which she did and after about 20 minutes of waiting, she finally got through to someone. He obviously said no, I would need to buy a new phone and also verbally said to me that they did not have to comply with the Sale of Goods Act for this type of problem. I also asked about Apple's EU wide Consumer Law which was given to me by the Apple shop and he said this does not apply to them either. Gob smacked wasn't the word!

 

Anyway, because I have a disabled son, I need to be able to be contacted at all times and I am travelling to my family tomorrow and need my phone with me so I had no alternative but to purchase a new phone from Apple directly at a total cost of £159.00. I have a copy of the diagnosis from Apple and a receipt for the phone that I had to purchase as well as a copy of the notes made on my account from Carphone Warehouse which the sales assistant has recorded details of our conversations with their helpline stating that they don't have to comply with SOGA or any EU directives.

 

I thought my next step would be issuing a letter stating that I am willing to go to court to get this money back but I just wondered what everyone else thought? I don't think that the phone is fit for purpose if it breaks halfway through a contract.

 

Any advice would be appreciated and many thanks,

Sarah

[2ltr16valve]

Hi

 

My brother has same issue but with a different network.

 

He is with t mobile. They have refused to replace the handset to start with. But after going through the CEO email with a complaint they have agreed to refund the £150 apple want to replace the handset.

 

I am going with my brother tomorrow to apple to try get handset replaced free of charge on the basis of its ios7 causing the phones to overheat which takes out the wifi chip.

So on that basis the soga does apply as it's a manufactures defect that has now come to light. Apple also admit this although I am unsure if anyone has this in writing.

[Worstutility]

Hi there 2ltr16valve!

 

Thanks for the reply - I have tried the SOGA on the phone to them today but it didn't wash but as I have it on CPW letter headed paper from the store (I got the girl to print it out because he said the same to her as he did to me) that the SOGA doesn't apply to them I think I am just going to send the a letter with all of the documents attached and requesting my money back. I just had no alternative but to buy a new phone.

 

I think I will be kind and give them 10 days to reply and then just go through the small claims court. Apple registered it all on their system and so did Vodafone so with the documentation, hopefully they won't argue.

 

Hope everything goes well for you.

[Worstutility]

Right - I sent a letter by registered post enclosing the receipt, report from Apple and also the letter head which the sales person printed out for me yesterday confirming hers and my conversation with the repair helpline person who stated that none of the legislation applies to contract mobile phones. I have given them 10 days to send a cheque to me for the amount of £159.00 before I start proceedings through the small claims court. I am not hopeful that I will even receive a reply however you never know!