Where do I stand?

kelloggs36

I have a Sony Ericsson Vivaz phone with a 2 year contract with 3. I took it out in December. This week, I found that it wouldn't charge as the connection had somehow worked its way loose and actually came out with the charger. I have not dropped it, or damaged it in any way. They have offered to repair it but I have to firstly pay a £20 admin fee, plus the cost of repair (unknown) or I can upgrade my phone. I am unhappy at having to pay for something that is not my fault - as far as I am concerned, it isn't fit for purpose - I have only had it for 4 months.

Do I have to pay the admin fee? I can't seem to be able to get an exact replacement phone even if I upgrade slightly as their website doesn't even mention the phone any longer! What are my rights>?

Bushey

Read the Forum http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/sony-ericsson-vivaz.htm
others have the same problem

kelloggs36

doesn't look hopeful that they will cover it under the warranty, but surely from what i can see, it is a classic warranty issue!

DUTR

kelloggs36 wrote: »

doesn't look hopeful that they will cover it under the warranty, but surely from what i can see, it is a classic warranty issue!

Contact Sony Ericsson UK , the USB charging system is not the most robust, not sure why 3 will want you to pay £20 upfront

thepurplegoldfish

I won't bother complaining to the network, 9 times out of ten they just don't care, you're 'locked in' to a contract with them so why should they bother?.. In times gone by Customer Service would have been the answer but I think examples of Customer Service where mobile networks are concern are far and few between.

Call the manufacturer and have it looked at under warranty

gjchester

thepurplegoldfish wrote: »

Call the manufacturer and have it looked at under warranty

Is it fit for purpose, hard to say. Problem is for something like this 99% of the time it's user damage, too much force or a knock to the to the to the charger port will be whats broken it.

However if you've had the phone 4 months then under the sale of goods act is on your side, for damage that occured in the first six months it's deemed that it's a manufacturing fault, and the onus is on the retailer to prove otherwise. After 6 months it will be on you to prove it was a fault at manufacture time.

Remember regardless of reviews (very few people would post a review that a phone has been solid and relaible after 6 months) unless the manufacturer has done a recall you'l be told that you must have damaged it.

You can try Sony but your contract is with the supllier, Three. Sony may offer a repair or may tell you to go though the retailer for the repair.

I'd suggest you read up on the sale of goods act, (try http://whatconsumer.co.uk/the-sale-of-goods-act/ for the general gist but ignore the comments as they may not be too relevent to your case) I'd say go back to Three tell thame it's less than 6 months old and ask for it to be repaied under the sale of goods act.

As it's faulty in the first 6 months you could ask for a replacment, but thats more tricky, the SOGA says you can return a faulty item in a "reasonable time" but does not define what "reasonable time is" on a mobile thats typically expected to last 18 to 24 months 4 months may be too long.

Wintermute

DUTR wrote: »

Contact Sony Ericsson UK , the USB charging system is not the most robust, not sure why 3 will want you to pay £20 upfront

I agree, contact SE directly, there's so many issues with the SE Vivaz I doubt they'll put up much resistance and I'm surprised 3's repair centre are.

kelloggs36

Would it change my rights as the phone was provided free, as my contract is for air time?

grumbler

Your airtime contract is with the network.
Your handset contract is with with the retailer (network in this case).
Also, the handset is under the manufacture's warranty.
If it is faulty you deal either with the retailer (Sale of the Goods Act) or with the manufacturer (warranty).
It doesn't matter how much you paid for the phone. If the fault is not a result of accidental damage, the handset has to be either repaired or replaced.

kelloggs36

Just to update - went into 3 store and explained. They sent phone off to Sony for a warranty claim. Just over a week later, I got a new phone sent to me by Sony - no problems, no quibbles - an excellent result!

Exemplar

Well done!! Result!!