Long trip for a return - what are my rights?

cazmanian_minx

There's a slightly different version of this on the phones board, but there's a specific bit of consumer rights info I'd like some advice on.

Short version: bought a phone from Carphone Warehouse yesterday, specifically asked if a non-branded phone would connect to Orange UMA because I knew there'd been issues, was told it definitely would, got it home, it didn't, called Orange who said it definitely won't.

As far as I'm aware, I should be able to get a refund under the fit for purpose section of the Sale of Goods Act (it's PAYG, not contract) because they gave me misleading information - but am I entitled to either return it by post or claim compensation for the 220-mile 6 hour round trip back to the nearest branch if they insist I return it to the store?

molerat

You are entitled to the reasonable costs of returning the item. You will need to phone them first to discuss it though but I would assume that the Inverness branch would be used to this sort distance of problem ( but this is CPW we are talking about ), the company I worked for had provision made for this scenario. If you post it needs to be by Special Delivery as it is insured and tracked.

somethingcorporate

The key word here being "reasonable".

6-hour, 220 mile journey = no.

Postage = probably.

mountainofdebt

Are you seriously saying you drove 220 miles / 6 hours to get a phone?

Surely if you were going to drive all that way to get a phone that needed a specific function, you should have done a little bit of research first so that you knew which phones had that particular function?

cazmanian_minx

Thanks everyone - as it turned out they said I could return it by post but if I wanted my money back they physically needed my card in the shop, I couldn't return it to a central address and have the return processed as a Card Not Present transaction. So it was back in the car today....

mountainofdebt wrote: »

Are you seriously saying you drove 220 miles / 6 hours to get a phone?

Surely if you were going to drive all that way to get a phone that needed a specific function, you should have done a little bit of research first so that you knew which phones had that particular function?

1) I was in Inverness anyway to go to an event that evening.

2) I'd done a ton of research, the only thing I wasn't sure about (and couldn't find anything on Google about because HTC is so new to PAYG Orange UMA, literally a few days) was whether a phone bought from somewhere like Phones4U or CPW and put on the Orange network by them would be able to connect to UMA. I KNEW there had been issues with Blackberry phones, which is why I went into the shop and grilled the assistant on that specific question before paying for the phone. They told me that it absolutely definitely would work. It didn't. The phone does have that function, but only the Orange-branded ones have the particular bit of software on it that allows the UMA connection and if you didn't buy it from them they won't flash it with the software for you.

Forwandert

It might be worth checking out xda and the HTC forums on there, they may be able to solve the problem for you and get the software you need.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/

Edit: to say a little late though if you've driven all the way back

cazmanian_minx

Mountainofdebt, I'm sorry, my reply to you reads rather tetchily. A combination of too much single track road and a steady stream of tourists who don't know the etiquette of driving on it I think (and don't get me started on the cyclists who insist on riding 2 or 3 abreast so nothing can get past and then won't even pull into the passing places :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:) - please accept my apologies.

Flyboy152

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

Thanks everyone - as it turned out they said I could return it by post but if I wanted my money back they physically needed my card in the shop, I couldn't return it to a central address and have the return processed as a Card Not Present transaction. So it was back in the car today....

Bullpoo. There is absolutley no technical reason whatsoever, for refusing to refund a card when not present or they just need to send you a cheque.