w960i broken warranty issues with o2

bixieupnorth

i'm six months into a 12 month contract with o2, £50/month and last week my w960i developed a 'lightning bolt' look accross the screen, and while it still works its impossible to use with no visuals.

o2 have agreed to replace the phone as its under manufacturers warranty still, however they no longer stock this phone. they have asked me to choose a new phone, and i rather fancied an i phone, obviously i'd have to go onto iphone contract, 18 month min. man in o2 shop yest said it shouldnt be a problem and that i'd prob be able to just have 12 months contract added onto my current one, but reduced to £45.

upon calling the iphone people (was advised to do this by returns and replacements dept) i have just been told that i can't change as its better than my sony. i asked to cancel my current contract as i felt they have broken the expensive contract by not being able to supply the phone that i pay for. she said that was impossible too and that i'd have to choose a like for like replacement. not happy, her supervisor is gonna ring me before 4pm today

anyone got any views on this situation??

i'd have thought that my offer to take up an iphone contract shouldn't be too much of a problem for them, ideally i'd like to add it to current one, but prob would be happy to take out new 18 month one

cheers

Cavey

They do like for like replacements, usually the same model. If they don't stock that model any more, they offer you close matches. If you have a walkman phone they replace it with a walkman phone. If it is a smart phone, you get a smart phone. They might offer you a small range of similar phones, but they will be similar. I would not expect to be able to get an iPhone when not on an iPhone tariff.

Given the guy in the shop said you might get an iPhone, you might find that the manager who rings you back has some leeway to offer things like upgrade-replacements with new contracts. However, I wouldn't bank on it.

bixieupnorth

manager rang back and wouldn't budge on either a change of contract or a new iphone.

very unhappy with this, argued that my contract was for w960i and there are no 'like for like' phones on the market. she said that after 9 months i could change but not now. asked for someone more senior than her but she said there wasn't.
gonna write an email to complain about this matter, its not my fault that the phone isnt available any more

will be leaving o2 asap

Cavey

I am not surprised that they wont offer you a different contract or the iPhone. The iPhone is a premium that they do not give away and they do not give away easily and I dont know any company that lets people out of contracts without a fight.

I would suggest contacting them and stating that the phone should last for the length of the contract at minimum. If it does not, it's clearly not fit for purpose. As such, if the phone malfunctions the supplier should repair or replace the phone.

If they cannot or will not repair it, it should be replaced. If they can't replace it with an exact replacement, they should provide one of similar specification.

Looking at the review on the O2 site the headline features are 8Gb of internal storage, 3G and a 3.2Mp camera. I spot it has a Symbian OS and is it a touch screen device? If it is, I think I was offered the w960i (or something like it, as well as the other XDA and Blackberry phones) when I broke my phone and had an insurance replacement.

I would therefore request a replacement from this list as that should be reasonable. If you take something like the XDA Stellar they still go for £250+ 2nd hand, so when you upgrade to an iPhone in 3 months time you can flog it and get some money back.

bixieupnorth

i can see your point but its still very annoying, my contract is more than the iphone one, and they are giving them away for £35 18 month contracts now. i would've prob gone for that plus text bolt-on.

that was my plan exactly, prob get n95 and sell it straight away on ebay, got old n70 borrowed for time being.

bixieupnorth

latest news is only 3 phones available

o2 stellar
lg viewty
samsung g800

i don't consider any of these to be a substitute for w960i

hassled them about n95 and they said could offer 1gb only, how can an 8gb be like for like with a 1gb. offered single £30 credit to compensate

asked for supervisor to ring me back

robellett

I got an N95 old style as a replacement, and they wouldn't give me the newer 8Gb version. But, memory cards are pretty cheap for them, to get a ton of extra memory, and https://www.Play.com have 8gb's for £16.99: http://www.play.com/Mobiles/Mobile/4-/3564175/Sandisk-Micro-SD-HC-8GB-Memory-Card/Product.html

Keep pushing for the 8Gb version, to see if they'll give in, otherwise take the £30 credit as well as an N95, and buy the memory card if you can. The N95's a great phone that replaced my old broken phone, covered by warranty. With O2 I frequently phone several times, and there are some staff who are more flexible and more helpful than others.

Good luck! Rob