mobiles.co.uk clearance phone faulty? advice please!

Ferris

i recently ordered a nokia 5530 on contract from mobiles.co.uk. this was a clearance phone, so i was expecting a scruffy manual, or a few marks or scratches on the casing of the phone/charger however, when i actually turned the phone on, i noticed a patch of the screen (roughly 2cm long, 1cm wide at its biggest) that glows blue whenever the screen is black. once you notice it, it becomes hugely irritating.

i know this is a clearance phone, but this strikes me as a fault rather than just an "occasional mark or imperfection". i don't have much experience of touchscreen phones, however, so this might be very common (like dead pixels on tft monitors, for example).

is it worth making a fuss about it and trying to get a replacement handset? it is irritating, but not as irritating as a replacement with faulty wi-fi or a dodgy camera would be! i think if i'm stuck with a phone for 24 months, i can expect it to not be faulty from day one!

any advice welcome! (although, with all due respect, PLEASE no "i told you so, you should never have had anything to do with mobiles.co.uk". i had my doubts and did my research and took a punt.)

OneADay

It sounds like someone pressed their thumb onto the screen and damaged it internally. The problem then is that if you go to Nokia direct and claim under warranty - it could be deemed to be your fault and they may not repair it.

Complain to mobiles co and see if they care about but at same time - I would get onto trading standards about where you stand with this.

If its only been with you for under 7 working days, you could return it and cancel the contract. If its under 28, you can also claim its not fit for purpose. Act quick.

Do all of the above and take it a cpw (which has nokia support) to have the phone looked at. CPW owning mobiles co might or might not help here but still worth getting it checked to see what they think the problem is.

Ferris

thanks for the reply. i got the mobile yesterday. i'll email mobiles in the first instance, see if they're happy to do an exchange. you say i should contact trading standards - what should i say to them? and what actually can they do?

there is a CPW repair station about 10 miles from me, so i can take it there if need be - but mobiles claim they'll exchange a faulty handset within 28 days. the problem then is whether they consider it to be faulty, or whether a damaged screen is within the scope of their bargain basement clearance claims.

OneADay

If you got it yesterday, forget exchanging it and save yourself a lot of hassle by returning it. Forget the deal and get something else. Once bitten....etc.

The longer you keep it - the more difficulty you will have contending that you did not cause any damage (if it really is damage). It sounds like they have sent you a faulty damaged phone - get rid of it and the contract.

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative

Hi,

If you feel the phone has a fault then please request a return, either for cancellation or exchange, via our website and full instructions will be emailed to you.

Regards,

Ferris

OneADay wrote: »

If you got it yesterday, forget exchanging it and save yourself a lot of hassle by returning it. Forget the deal and get something else. Once bitten....etc.

The longer you keep it - the more difficulty you will have contending that you did not cause any damage (if it really is damage). It sounds like they have sent you a faulty damaged phone - get rid of it and the contract.

i have considered that. however, as my number is already being ported, and the deal overall should work out quite good value, i think i'd like to give them a chance to put it right in the first instance. the blemish is relatively small and only visible when the screen is black, so i can see how it could be missed by an inspecting engineer, which is why i'm not going off on an "mobiles.co.uk, those cheats, sending me faulty phones...grrrr...." rant.

maybe i'm just naive. or stupid.

Ferris

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative wrote: »

Hi,

If you feel the phone has a fault then please request a return, either for cancellation or exchange, via our website and full instructions will be emailed to you.

Regards,

thanks, ben.

will i have to post it back at my expense? do you agree that a discoloured area on the screen is beyond what i should reasonably expect from a clearance handset?

also, which email address is it? customer services or returns? i want to email (rather than webform) so that i can keep a record of what i said.

redux

A clearance item is not secondhand or of reduced quality unless it is declared as such. The word is usually taken to mean that an item will be discontinued and they want to clear the shelf space.

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative

Hi,

Postage for faulty handset returns is always refunded, but you will need to use the webform as this is how our Returns system works.

Without seeing the handset I couldn't comment on the fault but obviously even clearance phones should be cosmetically and operationally perfect so if I were you and the device was obviously flawed in some way I'd return it.

Regards,

Ferris

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative wrote: »

Hi,

Postage for faulty handset returns is always refunded, but you will need to use the webform as this is how our Returns system works.

Without seeing the handset I couldn't comment on the fault but obviously even clearance phones should be cosmetically and operationally perfect so if I were you and the device was obviously flawed in some way I'd return it.

Regards,

thanks for the reply. how long would the turn around time be? if i choose to return it should i expect to wait weeks to get a replacement?

and what happens if when it is received you decide it isn't faulty? i imagine all i can do is ask someone checking to get it onto a black screen, but if they decide not to do that during their test then obviously the phone would appear to be fine.

also, will returning the phone for exchange make any difference to topcashback cashback? i don't see how it should as i'd still be keeping the phone and contract, and still be under the same order number, but i'd welcome anyone's experiences!

Ferris

redux wrote: »

A clearance item is not secondhand or of reduced quality unless it is declared as such. The word is usually taken to mean that an item will be discontinued and they want to clear the shelf space.

mobiles.co.uk disclaim it as follows:

It is possible that the box, manual or handset will not be in immaculate condition and may have some very minor marks or imperfections.

the question then is, how far can "minor marks or imperfections" extend? is a blue patch on the screen when the screen is black included in that definition? i will post a picture of the fault later, if i get the time. at the moment the only charged up camera in the house is the one attached to the screen i want to take a photo of...