[Gagz]

Hey

Right as most of you know i got a 18month contract out on the Sharp v903 mobile about 2andhalf weeks ago. Sunday afternoon (yesterday) i went onto the camera as you do and it was all fuzzy i was like WTF. Anyways i then turned the camera off and back on and the phone just turned off.

At this point the phone would not turn on at all. !! So rang Vodafone Customer Services only to find out their system is down and they told me to take the sim card out and put the battery in and leave it in for 20mins then put the sim in again and see if it works. I was like hows that gona work :S anyways it didnt work.

So went to Vodafone store today about 11am and then they asked me if i took my phone out in the rain :S i said no. So they go 'we got to send it off to sharp to get it repaired' and they gave me a lame a$$ Nokia 6610 replacment phone till the 903 gets fixed and comes back.

Gawd "rolls eyes" no wap on this kaky phone, what am i meant to do for a week !! I love my 903 ¬_¬ i hope it dont break down again when it comes back i think the battery messed up but i dono.

Gagz

[whatleydude]

Dude.

Sorry to hear about your loss..

Word of advice - ALWAYS, ALWAYS phone 191 and ask them to replace it as the phone is faulty. They'll tell you to take it back to the shop to get sent off but stand your ground.. eventually they'll agree to send a new one out to you within 48hrs (normally 24hrs - depending on what time you call).

Ive had this happen a few times with my 6630. After the first repair I thought 'sod this' and from now on I always get a new one sent out.

Much much easier.

[Hands0n]

Point of note vis a vis UK Sale of Goods Act - you are *not* obliged to accept a repair and you are fully entitled to a replacement. Most large businesses will try and duck out of this, but it is your right so as whatleydude says, stick you ground.

If you accept a repair you waive all of your statutory rights to a replacement! Then the company can offer you endless repairs until you get fed up and go away - this is the policy of the likes of Come'it, that well known high street electronics store. Company policy cannot void statutory rights.

You can get all of your entitlements info from your local Trading Standards office or their website. Always useful to carry in the booklet or printout suitably highlighted in the appropriate areas. Saves arguing ......"If you'd care to read this official document before trying to get me to waive my statutory rights I'll be pleased to wait while you do!" usually works a treat.

Fx: goes off to re-perm barrack room lawyers wig.

[Gagz]

I see wasnt aware i could demand a replacement. They told me when i signed the contract if the phone failed or anything within 2weeks they would give me a replacment in store. If after 2weeks like me then they would need to obey Sharps warrenty aka send it off to sharp to get it repaired.

Hmm if i ring Customer Services will they not want proof that the 903 was faulty meaning me send them the phone then they send me a replacment ?

[Ben]

Mhm.. you sure?

"Replacements
You are entitled to a replacement of the goods if they are faulty and cannot be repaired economically. If a replacement is not possible (for example, if the goods you require are no longer in stock), you are still entitled to a refund for faulty goods."

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/your-rights/fs_c04.shtml

If the goods are sold to you faulty then that's a different matter, but if something develops a fault after you have been using it then AFAIK you're bound as above.

This is from the Refunds section: "You must be able to prove that the fault was present when the goods were sold. The burden of proof is on the consumer."

So, by the sound of it, Gagz has taken the action he is entitled to take.

[Hands0n]

Further along that article ....



However, since the 31st March 2003, the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations give you parallel or alternate rights. Instead of a refund, you may choose to ask for a replacement or a repair. Goods which do not conform to the contract within the six months after they were delivered are presumed to have been faulty when you got them. In these cases, you do not have to prove the fault was present when the goods were sold. Instead, the trader must prove that the fault was not present when the goods were sold. The burden of proof is on the trader.


That is the bit that you invoke if the goods develop a fault. You have to ask for the replacement, but reject the repair (the latter will void you subsequent right to replacement).



The law says it's up to the seller to deal with complaints about defective goods or other failures to comply with your statutory rights. Don't accept the excuse that "It's the manufacturer's fault," although you might also have additional rights against the manufacturer under a guarantee.

It depends on what you want done - if you want a replacement stick to you guns and if necessary quote Sales of Goods at them. If you're happy with a repair then bear in mind that, having waived your replacement rights, the dealership can return the phone for repair to the manufacturer as many times as they like! You haven't much of a leg to stand on until it gets beyond economical reapair when the legal support kicks back in as above!

Me? If it don't work I want it replaced or my money back. Nothing less will do. But sometimes you've got to kick up a bit of a stink to get your entitlements.

[Ben]

See how hopeless I am? I'm going to hang onto that paragraph... so a 12 month warranty is actually pretty useless for the first 6 months as you can get a straight replacement through the seller? That's amazing :\

Edit: Do you know if refurbished/non-new products are acceptable 'replacements'?

[Hands0n]

Y'aint hopeless at all :) I'm no black belt at consumer law but I have had my fair share of spats both personal and business in relation to purchasing. We have better personal protections but the Sales of Goods act is abused constantly by the likes of Come'it with their "Company Policy" which is actually near worthless in the face of statutory regulations and requirements.

Bear in mind the Warranty is issued by the Manufacturer. What the Sale of Goods act has done is to put the Dealer in between you, the consumer, and the Manufacturer. It is a requirement, in law, for the Dealer to resolve your problem. Not the Manufacturer, unless you accept a repair. The Dealer will, inevitably, try and get around their statutory requirements either through ignorance or on purpose. You, the Consumer, have to be aware of your legal rights and entitlements and then press for them firmly but politely. The most important thing is for you to have in mind what it is you want by way of a resolution before you walk into the shop. It may seem a lot of hassle for the Dealer, but don't sympathise too strongly, these laws have only come about through generations of Dealers cheating their customers on precisely these terms.

AFAIK you can be offered a refurbished/non-new replacement, it is up to you whether or not to accept. I do recall the mainframe and mini comuter manufacturers supplying refurbished spares even under their extraordinarily expensive on-site maintenance contracts! I think it all began in the 1980s iirc. I don't think that you are in any way entitled to a brand new replacement, although conventionally that is what typically happens.

[whatleydude]

:confused:

So... am I right or not?

[Ben]

He would have been entitled to a replacement from the seller - so I'll let you work the rest out for yourself ;) :p

[Gagz]

Meh im sitting here in collage in my A-Level I.T class with that lamea$$ 6210 ¬_¬ grrr hopefully should get my 903 back in 2/3days. I hope they find out what was wrong i rekon the Battery died but i dono :S. I wish they just gave me a new 903.

[whatleydude]

Every day's a school day mate.

At least you know what to do if there's ever a next time!

[Gagz]

Meh i still aint got my 903 back ¬_¬ its been 1 and half weeks 2morow grrrrrrr.

+ the 6210 they gave me to use till i get my 903 back is really crap !! says 'Insert Sim' like 70% of the time which pees me right off so i just put my sim in my old 3310 which has been on a table for like a yr unused :\ meh ima ring erm 2morow if they dont call me !! ITS UNACCEPTABLE FFS ive agreeded to pay £360 over 18months and they take my phone away and dont even tell me whats going on or anything !

[whatleydude]

Give em hell Gagz.

[Gagz]

Right good news rang erm earlier @ about 12:30pm, they said the phone has come back and i was like thinking 'well why the *uck aint you rang me FFS' anywho went down there during Jeremy Kyle dammit thats a class show. Anywho went down there and got a nice new shiny 903 so im happy now lol not sure if it has the same firmware or anything cause no one knows how to check :S. Anywho gave erm back the 6210 but left the charger at home lol gona have to go back down there tomorrow and return it grrrrr

[Hands0n]

Glad it worked out for you m8. Shiny new one huh? Thats what they should have done in the first instance instead of messing you around. Worth giving CS a call and asking them "What are you going to do to sooth the pain of this experience?" Don't ask, don't get.

[whatleydude]

Good shout HandsOn.

You should do that..