Three - whose resonsibility for a broken handset?

[Starbug]

Hi, I'm a customer of Three and am currently on contract. My Sony handset has broken, and through no fault of my own. The screen has literally just come away from the frame, without being dropped or anything.

 

Three do what they do best - wash their hands of the situation and refer me to Sony. Sony are taking ages to sort it out, it's been almost two weeks since I first called Three and they referred me.

 

All this time I'm paying for a contract and I don't have my handset! Where do I stand from a legal point of view?

 

The sale of goods act covers me, as the phone was bought before the newer laws came into effect. And from what I understand, it's the responsibility of the retailer? And they should do it in a reasonable time so as not to cause me inconvenience?

 

It's causing me inconvenience. I don't have my phone, which I need for many reasons. So would I have a strong case to take Three to court via small claims? I'm really sick of these large companies, and would love to be able to send in the bailiffs.

 

I did try to upgrade early, but Three want a fee to do so, which I'm not willing to pay out of principle. I only have 3 months left, and it's not my fault my phone has fallen apart. From what I understand it's a design flaw with the z3 compact.

 

Any advice would be appreaciated.

[BankFodder]

You are absolutely right. If you bought the phone before October 2015 then you are covered by the Sale of Goods Act and section 14 requires that the goods are of satisfactory quality and that they remain that way for a reasonable period of time. Like many of these companies, Three has referred you back to the manufacturer. Of course, it may be that the manufacturer is best placed to carry out the repair but the responsibility still remains with Three.

 

If it's taking too long then write to Three and tell them that you are now invoking the pre-action protocol which requires that you negotiate with them for 14 days before you issue legal proceedings. Tell them that if you do not have your phone back plus full credit for the unused period of your contract that you will sue them in the County Court. However, do not make the threat unless you fully intend to carried out. Don't bluff. It's a waste of time and you lose credibility. If you really intend to sue them then make sure that you understand the steps involved and that you are ready to go. There is lots of guidance on this forum, but if you want to find it more easily then you could think about investing in our new Consumer Survival Handbook which is an interactive book that you can read on a Kindle or a free Kindle app and will take you through the steps very quickly – as well as a lot of other very useful information on how to stand up for yourself as a consumer. Follow the Consumer Survival Handbook link which will take you to the Amazon site.

[Starbug]

To be honest I'd rather avoid court action.

I just wanted to either get my phone back quickly, or get a good deal from them seeing as how my phone has fallen apart due to no fault of my own. They are charging me a fee to upgrade early, which I refused to pay. So I'm going to switch providers.

 

I've been speaking to their head office via email, and they say their position is final and they won't discuss it any further.

I made comments about their manager being a joke, and they threatened to terminate my account with immediate effect and add charges! Unbelievable. I have kept all emails from them in case of future legal action, it's hard to believe they'd tread me like this after 10 years.

 

I don't plan on giving them any more money, and they'll probably chase me for what I owe them. I will settle for a lesser amount due to the inconvenience I've had. Would this be a good idea? I believe that they should offer some form of compensation for the time I've had without a phone, it only seems fair.

[honeybee13]

Hello there.

 

I don't think you've said how long you've had the phone. How old is it please?

 

HB

[Starbug]

20 months.

[think about it]

I think the 'goodwill' ship sailed the moment you referred to someone as a joke.

 

The best you can hope for is some response under the details given by Bankfodder as I'm sure that they're unlikely to want to do anything more than comply with the law and their own terms and conditions now.

[Starbug]

I think the 'goodwill' ship sailed the moment you referred to someone as a joke.

 

The best you can hope for is some response under the details given by Bankfodder as I'm sure that they're unlikely to want to do anything more than comply with the law and their own terms and conditions now.

It had already reached the position of deadlock by then anyway, and the guy refused to escalate it any further. So I emailed his boss and complained about him. Seems fair to me. The guy in question seems to be the head of the "lose customers as fast as possible" department.

 

All I asked for was a reasonable amount off the upgrade fee, or for the cost to be spread out as it's unexpected. After 10 years with them, and the fact that my phones fallen apart, you'd think they might offer something. Still, it doesn't matter now, I've gone with another provider.