12 month warranty/ 24 month contract please comment if you have had a problem

sogngion

My iPhone 3GS runs on a 24-month contract until november 2011, but last week it gave up its ghost and only now do I realise that Vodafone wants nothing to do with this because the handset itself is only under a 12-month warranty.

This is totally illogical and to me has all the hallmarks of a fraudulent scam, not dissimilar perhaps to the banks' loan insurance schemes which were on paper 'technically legal' but resulted in massive payouts by the banks when it was ultimately recognised that no matter what people sign up for, if it doesn't make sense and cheats the customer, it cannot be sustained in the long term.

Selling bundled contracts which tie you into a 24 month obligation with a service provider on the strength of the type of handset you choose as part of your bundle, and then extracting the handset itself from the bundle after twelve months and asserting that it is after all only the network service you are paying for is disingenuous and misleading. When you sign a contract for a combination product that consists of a device and a number of different voice, text and web services that are entirely dependent on the device that is for this precise reason integral to the contract, you have every right to expect that the contract covers the service including the device. You are, after all, continuously paying for the device as well as for the service. If that weren't the case, then Vodafone - or any other service provider - could simply offer you the same device on a 12-month contract for the same price as an 18 or 24 month contract, which they're patently unwilling to do. Your splendid service contract though is useless to you without a working device, so whether this is formulated in the contract or not, it is perfectly obvious that Vodafone - or any other service provider - is not fulfilling their obligation to you if they don't repair or replace a handset that has, through no fault of your own, stopped working.

The practice of selling contracts that are not in their entirety covered by the warranty for the device is therefore deliberately deceptive and thus unethical. It's also deeply offensive and I'll be taking it up with relevant consumer watchdog organisations because as far as I'm concerned it's a prime example of big corporations taking their customers for a ride simply because they have the power to do so, and it has to stop.

S

drbesty

Did you not read the rest of the thread before posting that? The phone and the contract are seperate

gjchester

sogngion wrote: »

My iPhone 3GS runs on a 24-month contract until november 2011, but last week it gave up its ghost and only now do I realise that Vodafone wants nothing to do with this because the handset itself is only under a 12-month warranty.

First you'll find all networks are the same, it's not Vodafone specific, all network offer 12 months warranty on iPhones.

Why did you think the warranty was 2 years just because the contract is? Were you specificlly told this or was it an assumption on your part?

My iPhone 4 has very little with it in terms of documetation with it but it does have an "important information " book detailing all the bits like you should not rely on it for emergency calls, it's not to be used in explosive atmospheres and so forth, however it also has the relevent section that the warranty on the phone is a year unless you extend it with Apple Care.

It's clearly stated there the warranty length, albeit in small print as nessitated by Apples desire to have small neat packaging.

sogngion wrote: »

This is totally illogical and to me has all the hallmarks of a fraudulent scam.

...

Selling bundled contracts which tie you into a 24 month obligation with a service provider on the strength of the type of handset you choose as part of your bundle, and then extracting the handset itself from the bundle after twelve months

....

Your splendid service contract though is useless to you without a working device,

...
is not fulfilling their obligation to you if they don't repair or replace a handset that has, through no fault of your own, stopped working.

I cut a bit out to make it a little shorter, but I was not intending to make anything you said seem less important. Accept my apologies if you thing I was over critical with cuts, it wasn't intended that way.


You are misunderstanding how mobile contracts work these are not products bundled together, simply initially supplied together.

When you go into a shop and buy a contract you are in fact entering into two seperate contracts.

1. Company 1 supplies you with a new phone in exchange (which may cost £££ as well) for you agreeing to take out a new airtime contract with Company 2.

2. Company 2 agrees to provide airtime (xx minutes etc) for yy months at £zz a month.

Now to muddy the waters, company 1 and company 2 are almost never the same legal entity, even it you deal with (say) Vodafone, company 1 is Vodafone retail, Company 2 is Vodafone airtime. Same parent but different entities within that parent company.

Now the two contracts are linked at the inception, you don't get the free/reduced phone without the contract, but after that they are not linked, and thats deliberate. Anything that happenes to the phone after that is down to you.

The airtime service is provided to you as something you can use, if you break/lost /have stolen your phone then that DOES NOT affect the airtime side, they are still supplying you the ability to use it if you have suitable hardware, it's written that was as otherwise if a phone is lost / stolen / break you would have grounds to cancel the contract. Put the sim in any other phone and the airtime service is available to you.

Warranty's exists so the purchaser has confidence in a item and is likely to buy it, if you have a big item (car, washing machine, computer, phone) from company A who offer 90 days warranty,or a similar item from company B who give you a year warranty. If it's an expensive item then chances are as long as specs and cost are similar (and you don't want a specific model thats one comoany only) you'll go for the one with the longer warranty.

I've got a vague memory that you really have no rights to any specific warranty, there is the sale of goods act that says an item has to be "reasonable quality" and "fit for purpose" but those terms are not defined. There are plans to give everything in the EU a two year warranty but thts not been enacted to UK law yet.

Now coming back the the phone, all this does not mean it has no warranty, simply the warranty is down to what the manufacturer or retailer wishes to offer you. Apple offer 12 months, Sony and Nokia offer 24 months, but thats a business decision by those companies.

Just because you entered into a contract that is longer than the warranty that is nothing to do with the company who sold it. Apple are clear their warranies are 12 months and if you want to extended it you need to buy Apple Care.

Sorry but this is not a scam, it's a case of making sure you read the T&C before you buy. Vodafone and Apple state 12 months and you are now past it.

On a more positive note you can try going to Apple direct, they may exchange it as a goodwill gesture, but thats all it will be goodwill, you don't have any specific right to it. You could argue it's not fit for purpose or of durable quality, but as I mentioned they are not defeined in law as terms so it's all a bit woolly. It's unlikely as the phone is 9 months out of warranty but worth a try.

bill_the_bus

drbesty wrote: »

Did you not read the rest of the thread before posting that? The phone and the contract are seperate

but the whole point of the thread was asking it to be made clear at time of signing that although you have a 24 month contract the MAIN ITEM required to use that contract is only covered by a 12 month warranty. I personally still think the phone should be covered by a warranty for the length of the contract but it appears i am in a minority. i do still strongly feel it is the retailers obligation to make it known that certain phones are not warrantied for the term of the contract

gjchester

bill_the_bus wrote: »

i do still strongly feel it is the retailers obligation to make it known that certain phones are not warrantied for the term of the contract

It's clearly stated in the warranty documents wiht most phones, you only have to look at them for that.

Question is do people think to ask when looking at the latest shiney toy (and that applies to PC's, phones, tvs etc.)

We chose to buy our TV from John Lewis for the 5 year warranty, but how many people think that choice through?

bill_the_bus

gjchester wrote: »

It's clearly stated in the warranty documents wiht most phones, you only have to look at them for that.

Question is do people think to ask when looking at the latest shiney toy (and that applies to PC's, phones, tvs etc.)

We chose to buy our TV from John Lewis for the 5 year warranty, but how many people think that choice through?

yes it does but i am not making a purchase i am signing a contract. If you look at the poll results its 2 to 1 supporting my initial statement.

Like you i always make sure i buy a product with an extended warranty as part of the deal, i worked in electrical retail for the best part of 30 years and seen some of the horror stories but still feel it s an important point that the retailer should be making.

drbesty

The poll results would obviously support your initial statement, you may aswell have asked 'Would you like £10 or £100?', one is clearly preferable to the other

bill_the_bus

drbesty wrote: »

The poll results would obviously support your initial statement, you may aswell have asked 'Would you like £10 or £100?', one is clearly preferable to the other

what a strange comparison, nothing like.

As i said i have my opinion and others have theirs. Which is right and which is wrong???? Well that is obviously down to personal feelings.

sophlowe45

My Blackberry (bought to use on a SIM only plan) broke after 11 months and Carphone Warehouse sent it to Blackberry who said they couldn't fix it.

I checked on the Carphone Warehouse website and asked instore and they said it was 24 month warranty with a Blackberry.

Can i do anything about this?

robt_2

Depends how it was broke. For example water damage or accidental damage wouldn't entitle you to a repair.