Faulty Phone - Vodafone Refusing to Replace

MJ23

Hi,

Im having some problems so was hoping for any advice to deal with it.

I took out a 24month contract with Vodafone about 18 months ago which came with a Nokia 5800 handset, I pay £25 a month for the contract. Last May I sent the phone off to be repaired due to a fault which made the screen freeze making it unusuable. It was returned after about 2 weeks with a "software upgrade" (no other information on the fault) and it worked ok for a couple of months, then a new fault appeared where the screen would go blurry which made the phone completely unusable as the display is completely obscured. Here's some pictures of the fault to show it a bit better:

(Im not allowed to post links!! If anyone wants to see/post them I can forward the pictures on)


This started out only happening for a couple of hours a day, but soon increased to it being most of the day. In December 2010 I requested a replacement from Vodafone as the handset was unsuable. They offered to do a postal repair which I agreed to, but they never sent the pack to send the phone off. I have contacted them again as the fault is now so bad that I am only able to use the phone for at most, an hour a day but most days all I can do is take calls, not make them, send texts or use the internet. I emailed their Customer Service team to request a replacement phone stating that the handset is clearly not suitable for the purpose it was provided to me. Vodafone have refused to do this as I did not take out seperate insurance to cover the phone, though surely if I have taken a 2 year contract the phone should work for the duration?? I have always had this cover with previous contracts where the phone has been faulty and replaced without any insurance needed (on O2). All they have offered me is another postal repair (though the phone was returned faulty last time so presumably is beyond repair!) or for me to pay to upgrade my contract (more money for vodafone!!) and get another phone. I wish to end my contract when the 24 months are up due to my problems with Vodafone so i certainly dont want to take out another contract with them.

I would like to know where I stand with getting a replacement phone from Vodafone as it seems wrong that I should have to upgrade my account just to get a working phone. I also dont want to have to send my phone off again for another repair taking 1-2 weeks as this seems unreasonable, especially considering that the handset has already been sent for repair and returned faulty. Alternatively, would I be able to request to end the contract early without having to pay any further due to having a phone which is so faulty that I can barely use it? It takes at least 24 hours to get a response from the customer service team which is very frustrating. I have contacted Consumer Direct for advice also and am awaiting a response from them.

Thanks,

Jessica

Rusty!

Don't bother with Vodafone, take it to the nearest Nokia Care Point and let them deal with it. Will be much quicker than all this sending it off stuff

Unfortunately a repair is all you're going to get (especially as it is so old now), and this is quite normal.

Ps. Does the screen problem occur when the phone gets cold by any chance? My OH's 5800 did the same. Was repaired in a couple of days by the NCP round the corner.

MJ23

Rusty! wrote: »

Don't bother with Vodafone, take it to the nearest Nokia Care Point and let them deal with it. Will be much quicker than all this sending it off stuff

Unfortunately a repair is all you're going to get (especially as it is so old now), and this is quite normal.

Ps. Does the screen problem occur when the phone gets cold by any chance? My OH's 5800 did the same. Was repaired in a couple of days by the NCP round the corner.

How do I find a Nokia Care Point? And do I have to pay for it??

And yes, it does seem to be when its cold.. Or, at least, if its in my pocket on my jeans or something and warm it will usually work. But if its in my bag or just on the table or something it will go blurry.


**Just searched on the Nokia site and they wont repair it as its now out of warranty**

grumbler

MJ23 wrote: »

How do I find a Nokia Care Point?

Google?

And do I have to pay for it??

**Just searched on the Nokia site and they wont repair it as its now out of warranty**

Well, this is what I'd expect without searching.

MJ23

I have emailed Nokia to see if they will take pity on me.. I think its unlikely but i cant afford to buy another phone. Having done a quick google search for "nokia 5800 fault when cold" it seems that an awful lot of people have this fault so Nokia do know about it.

Rusty!

I could have sworn Nokia's have 24 month warranty? Did you use the warranty checker: http://www.nokia.co.uk/support/repair/repair/warranty?c=1

MJ23

Yeah I put the serial number in and it said it was out of warranty... Unless it wasnt a new phone when Vodafone sent it to me?? That would be naughty...

Rusty!

Bizarre.

Doubt it wasn't new, but might have sat around for a while. If you can prove your date of purchase, you should be onto a winner.

Techhead_2

MJ23 wrote: »

Yeah I put the serial number in and it said it was out of warranty... Unless it wasnt a new phone when Vodafone sent it to me?? That would be naughty...

You need to read that more closely, the warranty is 24 months from date of purchase or 25 months from date of manufacture. So you just needed to put in the date on your receipt. They'll send a courier to collect and return the repaired handset.