Mobile Phone Stolen by Someone at the Sony Ericsson Repair Centre

motoko

OK, I checked the IMEI on the phone last night using *#06#, and it is the same as the one on the sticker, i.e. the IMEI number of my original phone. So that answers the question about whether the people at the repair centre can / would change this. But its not very helpful to me, as it still leaves me with just a second sticker being stuck over the top of the original sticker, and the colour difference between the phone casing and the back of my original phone, as evidence that this isn't actually my phone. I guess another possibility is that this is my phone, and they've just switched the casing, but that still wouldn't explain the sticker.

Another issue is whether SE are actually liable for a theft by one of their employees. I was looking this up yesterday and it seems to be a pretty grey area legally. As far as I can gather, one important factor seems to be whether the employee has stolen something in the course of their employment or as a separate activity, i.e. if someone actually responsible for handling the phone steals it, then SE are more likely to be held liable than if the guy who sweeps the floor steals it. The difference being that in the first case they have deputised that employee to look after my phone, whereas in the second case they haven't. Also it depends on whether they have carried out appropriate checks prior to employing the person. Unless they work out who did it, they won't be able to prove this either way I guess. Hopefully they won't want to get into all this though, and will just give me a new phone, it has to be less hassle for them.

The excalations dept at SE haven't got back to me yet either...

eranou

motoko wrote: »

OK, I checked the IMEI on the phone last night using *#06#, and it is the same as the one on the sticker, i.e. the IMEI number of my original phone. So that answers the question about whether the people at the repair centre can / would change this. But its not very helpful to me, as it still leaves me with just a second sticker being stuck over the top of the original sticker, and the colour difference between the phone casing and the back of my original phone, as evidence that this isn't actually my phone. I guess another possibility is that this is my phone, and they've just switched the casing, but that still wouldn't explain the sticker.

Another issue is whether SE are actually liable for a theft by one of their employees. I was looking this up yesterday and it seems to be a pretty grey area legally. As far as I can gather, one important factor seems to be whether the employee has stolen something in the course of their employment or as a separate activity, i.e. if someone actually responsible for handling the phone steals it, then SE are more likely to be held liable than if the guy who sweeps the floor steals it. The difference being that in the first case they have deputised that employee to look after my phone, whereas in the second case they haven't. Also it depends on whether they have carried out appropriate checks prior to employing the person. Unless they work out who did it, they won't be able to prove this either way I guess. Hopefully they won't want to get into all this though, and will just give me a new phone, it has to be less hassle for them.

The excalations dept at SE haven't got back to me yet either...

It is also possible that it is the same phone but a diferent casing was put on it when it was re-assembled.

motoko

eranou wrote: »

It is also possible that it is the same phone but a diferent casing was put on it when it was re-assembled.

I did wonder about that, but it wouldn't explain why they put a new IMEI sticker on. I looked up the parts they claim they replaced, and neither of them appear to be the bit with the sticker on it.

And if this is the case, then they've still replaced undamaged parts with damaged parts, and that doesn't make me any happier.

*Chattie*

why didnt you send the back of the phone? they may have thought they were doing you a favour by replacing the all of the casing as the back was missing

motoko

They said not to send the back of the phone or the battery, as they didn't need them to fix the phone.

pippitypip_2

If this were me, I'd be ringing the escalations dept on a daily basis. Failing that, request contact details for their head office and write to them as a complaint. You'll find things move quite swiftly after that!

I don't know what your rights are officially on this, but I would be refusing to accept this returned phone.

On another note, did you leave any personal bits on the phone when you sent it off (i.e. contacts, photos) that were stored to phone not SIM? If you did, are they still there?

pippitypip

motoko

I didn't leave any personal info on the phone, I had already done a software upgrade hoping it might fix the fault, then I deleted everything else for privacy reasons before I sent it off. They also said they'd done a software upgrade, and when I tried it the phone had definitely been reset to default settings.

I've got the address for the UK HQ, funny enough its the only address I could find anywhere on their website. I've also got another address, which I was given when I asked for the contact details for complaints, but it seems to be a pretty generic one. I fired a couple of emails out at the weekend (which have been ignored) and called them first thing on Monday when the repair centre phone lines opened. I don't have a phone number for the excalations dept, and the only phone number I do have is an 0870 number so I don't want to spend too much time on it, I couldn't find a working alternative geographical number even on "say no to 0870".

Allegedly the excalations dept are going to come back to me with a resolution within 3-5 days, I guess its fair enough to give them that long. But if its not sorted by then I will start to get militant using every communication channel I can find, but primarily by letter as its more official (and I'm crap on the phone).

Sid_Harper

Speaking as a barrack-room-lawyer here so feel free to flame me, but once in their hands they have a duty of care to return to you your phone repaired, or replace it with a new one. If the IMEI on the *new* sticker matches that of the phone and your original phone as you've said, plus you have the back cover, you've got pretty compelling evidence and can start a small claims action really easily. You could video peeling off the imei sticker to see what the one underneath it says too.

In any case, they will have little way of proving that you did NOT send in the original phone, and likely the first sight of a letter from a court and their litigation dept will just arrange to dispatch you a new phone.

pippitypip_2

If you know which repair centre the phone was repaired at, you could direct complaints there (non 0870 numbers here: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/579256.html )

motoko

I've been trying to avoid the temptation of peeling off the sticker to see whats underneath, but if I videoed it then that should solve the problem.

I don't know which repair centre it ended up at, but I'll ask next time.