Problems with Orange iPhone

Hotspur

Honey_B wrote: »

Thanks again, everyone. Just to clarify: I bought the phone in an Orange shop. I connected the phone to two separate computers with iTunes and in both cases, I got this message:

There is. It's been taken out, re-inserted (by me and by an Orange employee) and U still get the same message.

It looks obvious to me that I will get better service at an Apple shop, however if the problem is a faulty SIM card then changing the phone at Apple won't get the phone working.

It's incredible that Orange think their T&Cs can somehow override the law...

If I could, I would cancel the entire contract.

Honey_B,

After only having the phone a few days you can legally reject and cancel as long as there is a fault with it or the SIM.

If the phone/sim/airtime package don't do what they should then the law say's you can reject the contract made for supply of the same and receive a full refund.

Effectively Orange are unable to complete their side of the contract so they are in breech. Their T&C's can't override English law in the circumstances you find yourself in.

Go and politely create merry hell with the shop. Go armed with a 'I reject this phone due to it not working' letter just in case. Stand your ground as it is you and not Orange that is in the right.

Guys_Dad

Absolutely right. Shops may huff and puff etc, but it's good old SOGA.
Like most Acts of Parliament, they can be difficult to read if you are not a lawyer, but try looking here, for example.
http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/sale-of-goods/understanding-the-sale-of-goods-act/your-rights/

Last para "If your claim is about a problem that arises within six months of buying the product, it's up to the retailer to prove that the goods were fit for purpose –", not the other way round. The onus is on the reseller.

Originally, the SOGA was the other way round placing burden of proof on the customer, but this was reversed. I quote:-

" What does the "reversed burden of proof" mean for the consumer?
It means that for the first six months the consumer need not produce any evidence that a product was inherently faulty at the time of sale. If a consumer is seeking any other remedy the burden of proof remains with him/her.

In such a case, the retailer will either accept there was an inherent fault, and will offer a remedy, or he will dispute that it was inherently flawed. If the latter, when he inspects the product to analyse the cause, he may, for example, point out impact damage or stains that would be consistent with it having been mistreated in such a way as to bring about the fault.

This reversal of the usual burden of proof only applies when the consumer is seeking a repair or replacement. After the first six months the onus of proof is again on the consumer."

Remember that you bought "goods" - a phone and a sim/contract. They depend upon each other to work and both items need to be shown to work. If the shop can't get them to work together, then you can demand your money back.

Do a bit of web research, take a couple of print outs showing that they need to prove it works, and take a letter of rejection, plus a witness and camera showing you handed the goods back if they get silly. But you need to be prepared to take it all the way if they refuse to sort it out.

Good luck.

MissKeith

simax wrote: »

Correct. We fix it by getting Apple to do it. Apple WILL NOT let us replace it ourselves under warranty. End of.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I work for Carphone, the retailer who has been selling the iPhone the longest. We will replace the phone if it goes faulty within 28 days, we will then act as a courier and send it off to Apple if it goes faulty after 28 days.

This isn't the first time that this has come up with Orange and iPhones, I'm very surprised that they've been getting away with fobbing their customers off like this.

easwara

hi a friend recently renewed their orange contract, and got a really low retentions offer with 750mb unlimited data well fair use data package included, and unlimited texts and a lot of mins etc. anyway they got the samsung galaxy s and they really wanted the iphone.

if they bought an unlocked iphone 4, would their sim card work in the phone? i mean if they cut it so it was a mirco sim card etc. im worried more about the data and network side. can you use a standard tarrif on an iphone phone or does it need to be a iphone tarrif or sim activation??
just worried if they buy the phone, the standard 3g sim tarrif wont work? help??

Honey_B

Just an update - I finally took the phone back to the shop where I'd bought it. The assistant checked another SIM card in it and put the original SIM card in another phone before deciding that there was a fault with the card itself. (So that suggested visit to an Apple store would have been pointless - as I guessed.) At first, they offered to post me a new one but when I asked them why I couldn't simply get one there and then, he checked with the manager and finally gave me one to take away with me. And now the phone works...

Sort of...

I live in inner London and find the reception terrible. The signal keeps dropping out - something I don't ever remember happening before during my 15 years with O2. I checked my postcode on Orange's postcode checker and it says I should get "excellent coverage" - so is this a problem with the phone or with Orange? Also, a key feature of the iPhone isn't working - Visual Voicemail. It looks like Orange's network isn't capable of supporting it. Obviously, this wasn't mentioned by the Orange staff at the time.

After less than a week with Orange, I'm really fed up. Does anyone think that because of the poor reception and failure of a basic phone feature I'd be able to cancel the contract? Is there a "cooling-off period"?

head2head83

The signal thing could be down to the well documented IPhone 4 'death grip' problems. While not ideal, getting a case should sort it.

As for Visual Voicemail,. I think O2 are the only phone company that offer it. I was going to move to another network but didn't for that very reason.

jayme1

head2head83 wrote: »

The signal thing could be down to the well documented IPhone 4 'death grip' problems. While not ideal, getting a case should sort it.

As for Visual Voicemail,. I think O2 are the only phone company that offer it. I was going to move to another network but didn't for that very reason.

to add to this ring up apple care and tell them you are having signal problems they will send you a free 'bumper' case, if this solves the problem then it was the 'death grip' problem, if it doesn't it is oranges network problem

SmoggyTalisman

You can cancel the contract within 7 days if you contact them. Although, I did buy mine online so distance selling laws applied I think.

I signed up with them about 2 weeks ago. got the iphone and wasnt pleased with orange themselves or the tariff i had signed up to, so i phoned up and twas told to contact channel returns, so i did via email, i received a response within a few hours and when i checked, i had lost connection to orange so i called cs to check if the contract had infact been cancelled and they said they couldnt even access my info or account so it must have been. channel returns sent me out a postage bag in which to return all items and accessories i received.

I then received a call from a lady at orange who then put me through to a customer relations member and he just confirmed i had cancelled the contract and that i would only have to pay for the texts i had sent (£8.00) and that when they scanned my phone back in at their end, i should receive a full refund of the handset cost(£229.00) within 30 days.

I recieved the postage bag on Monday and sent the phone today.

I also then read on here that the iphones were back in stock at Tesco Direct so i gave them a call and signed up for the £20/month 12 month contract with them, £369 up-front inc. first month line-rental.

The only thing that could scupper me now is receiving the refund from Orange, which, no doubt, will end up taking forever and I'll have a load of hassle in trying to resolve it Hopefully not though.

Oh and, Tesco told me that delivery is usually within 2-5 days but due to Christmas and the snow, it may be up to 7 days.

Good luck in resolving your predicament

oedi

I too have been caught by Orange's clause 14.1.

I have been a life-long orange customer. In November 2009 I upgraded to an iPhone 3GS on a 2 year contract. In September 2010 it began to fail - overheating, shutting down, etc. The phone was replaced by Apple (I was told it was new but suspect it was a recon).

The new phone has now (Dec 2010) failed.

Of course Orange are now telling me that I am out of warranty and fobbed me off to Apple - who tell me I am out of warranty.

Pretty annoyed at the really poor service from Orange - the iPhone team member I spoke to was as cold as a fridge and gave the impression that I was a mere annoyance to him. But he would have been happy to take £170 from me to replace it.

I have asked Orange to send me a copy of the T&Cs I last signed just in case cls 14 was not in force when I signed and I have an appointment with the Apple shop. Hopefully they have some degree of pride in their products and will replace it.

I will be dropping Orange a letter to register my disappointment - but I expect it will just end up in the bin.

I find it sad that manufacturers have such little faith in their own products that they only offer a years warranty. I'm only in my 40s but remember when durability was a selling point and customer loyalty meant something.