Advice please : Motorola Smartphone, Play.com, Jersey, Statutory rights

r3v3r3nd

Hi all,

Please assist me with advice on how to deal with the following matter.

March 2010 -> Purchased Motorola Milestone Android smartphone from Play.com for £380. Cool!

December 2010 -> Phone has keyboard problem, (hardware issue) is fixed under warranty by Motorola's designated repairer S.B.E. Ltd. (Parts had to be replaced).

May 2011 -> Phone behaving weirdly when using touchscreen. Use 'pointer location' application to identify that a horizontal band of the screen (approx 15mm wide, halfway down face) doesn't register input at all. This completely breaks the phone as you cannot use any program that requires touch input in this area, like the phone dialer.

I use Motorola support website to try to book phone for 2nd repair.

Disaster! Website reveals that Motorola Phone Warranty is only for 12 months (In spite of the EU recommended 2 year period for warranty ...)

So, phone is broken and out of warranty. A little Googling reveals that many people have had touch screen issues with this phone (or its US-twin, the Motorola Droid) caused by the ribbon cable or the 'digitizer' to the touchscreen wearing out and having to be replaced. People inside the warranty period can have it fixed for free, but outside of that, the charge is at least £60.

So, out of service with the manufacturer, it seems I must deal with the seller, Play.com.

It is over a year since I bought the phone, and it was working fine until last week. But the problem seems to be a complete design flaw. So I think my best chance would be to try to get a partial refund/replacement under SAD FART? Due to the design flaw (which i'm sure Motorola would never acknowledge due to having to extend warranty on all these models) it is not of satisfactory quality, nor is it durable.


The reasonable time I would expect a phone to last under normal use, is two years. Having to get the hardware fixed every 6 months is not acceptable. ESPECIALLY for a £400 computer.

So to Play.com, who are unfortunately infamous for consumer rights issues, in their legal grey area on Jersey. Do I have protection under the Sale of Goods and Services Law 2009? I suspect the Sale of Goods Act doesn't apply as its UK, and the Distance Selling Regulations only apply for the first week after delivery.

After 6 months, it appears the onus is on the buyer to prove the goods were faulty on delivery. But how can you prove that if the fault is a design flaw affecting durability that only appears after the manufacturers (short) warranty period has expired!?!

I'm stuck for how to progress with this. I haven't yet contacted Play.com, because I would like to start with a strong opening. Is this a better issue for an official letter, rather than an email?

I just want a working Android phone, and to not have to pay endlessly for repairs. I can't afford to have to buy a new one 18 months either.

Any and all advice appreciated,

R3v, Hampshire

r3v3r3nd

P.S. I had some links to explain SAD Fart, and to the EU 2 year thing, and to Jersey Sale of Goods And Services Law, but the forum forbade me from adding them :mad:

wealdroam

http://www.jerseylaw.je/law/display.aspx?url=lawsinforce/htm/LawFiles/2009/L-14-2009.htm