Refund for mobile phone not water damaged

MyNameIsRene

My mobile phone has been diagnosed as water damaged and therefore the warranty is no longer valid!

I've had the phone five months and the screen stopped working! Took it to the mobile phone store and they pointed out that a sensor indicated that the phone was water damaged even though it had not been near water that could have reasonably stopped it from working. :mad:

So it has been to the store's repair centre confirming the water damage. I am now left with a phone that I upgraded to with the mobile phone company which doesn't work and an extended contract of which 2 years are remaining.

It shouldn't matter but the phone is a HTC 7 Trophy and the mobile company is Vodafone.

My issue is that Vodafone are not taking any responsibility or liability. HTC I'm not sure are involved at this stage but maybe standing by the sensor.

The mobile phone is clearly not fit for purpose and hasn't lasted a reasonable amount of time!

Vodafone customer service and local store are not interested so what can I do?

Any advice from MoneySavingExperts? :money:

MissKeith

There are other ways of an engineer spotting moisture damage than tripped indicators. It doesn't take a lot for liquid to get into a phone either. Using it in the rain, moving from a hot to a cold place, leaving your phone in a vehicle overnight, taking it into the bathroom while you shower are all ways of this happening. You can dispute the decision of you are 100% certain this has not happened to your phone but you would have to send it off to a third party engineer to request a second opinion.

MyNameIsRene

Happy to send it off to a third party engineer! How do I do this? My point is that I have used the phone normally and all of a sudden it stops working and it's water damaged! It shouldn't get water damaged! If the casing does not manage normal wear and tear and day to day moisture then it has a fault!

Techhead_2

MyNameIsRene wrote: »

Happy to send it off to a third party engineer! How do I do this? My point is that I have used the phone normally and all of a sudden it stops working and it's water damaged! It shouldn't get water damaged! If the casing does not manage normal wear and tear and day to day moisture then it has a fault!

Is your exclamation key stuck?

Seriously though, you'll get nowhere until you calm down and approach this logically and rationally.

Unless the phone was sold as water/weather/splashproof you will get nowhere by proclaiming it shouldn't get water damaged.

If you firmly believe it wasn't water damaged, then you need to have a report from a qualified engineer that proves this (as the retailer has checked for damage twice).

Alternatively, you could WRITE to them firmly but civilly stating you used the phone in normal conditions (no rain, bathrooms, changes of temperature etc) and asking politely for them yo re-examine.

MyNameIsRene

LOL No my exclamation key is not stuck and you obviously have noted I'm not happy.

I am calm and serious and civil and not happy.

I am using this site to gain support for buying a phone that should last for more than 5 months having been looked after. I do not believe that is unreasonable. I was looking for some responses that would help me get a positive resolution to my problem.

gjchester

MyNameIsRene wrote: »

If the casing does not manage normal wear and tear and day to day moisture then it has a fault.

If you seal the phone up to exclude moisture then you'll have sealed it up so sound cannot get in or out.


Next time it rains (probably soon at the mometn) take a look out on a highstreet, they will be loads pof people using phone as calls ot texting and I'll bet each one will claim later they don't remember using it in the rain.

We do not treat phones for what they are, £500 plus computers, you would not use a laptop in the rain but people don't think twice about using a phone.

grumbler

Many times I played games on my Desire while having a bath. Once I even had a visible water condensation inside on the screen. However, my water damage indicators are pristine white and the phone works perfectly.

Usually I say that water damage is used far too often as an excuse for refusing to repair/replace a phone under warranty. However, in this case, when the indicators are not white, it is hard to believe that " it had not been near water".

MyNameIsRene

My point is that the phone should not break with the odd bit of rain and the odd bit of moisture. Yes I see many people using the mobile in the rain and long may it continue. The phone needs to be built to handle this normal use.
On a separate point I would expect the phone company either the contract company or phone maker to offer me some kind of compensation or solution. Where has customer service gone?

grumbler

gjchester wrote: »

If you seal the phone up to exclude moisture then you'll have sealed it up so sound cannot get in or out.

This is arguable. A thin membrane can perfectly stop moisture (unless it's a high pressure), but can't stop the sound. And have Motorola not done this successfully? Was it Defy recently? And there were many other waterproof mobiles, not only from Motorola.

Also, have you ever heard about cheap waterproof radios for shower?

keith1950

Yes I see many people using the mobile in the rain and long may it continue.

Why should a manufacturer/retailer replace a mobile that HAS water damage.

Water/Moisture/High humidity damages electronic circuitry, treat your phone with respect ,it is an expensive, fragile piece of kit, if use abuse a mobile phone by exposing it to the elements you have only yourself to blame.

Even being kept in a sweaty trouser pocket can expose it to high levels of humidity.

Customer service is not applicable in such cases otherwise everybody who looks after their equipment will end up paying extra for the careless/can't be bothered/clumsy brigade. ( Sorry Guv- it wasn't my fault !)

It's usually the case that the complaining customer isn't fit for purpose.

Techhead_2

MyNameIsRene wrote: »

LOL No my exclamation key is not stuck and you obviously have noted I'm not happy.

I am calm and serious and civil and not happy.

I am using this site to gain support for buying a phone that should last for more than 5 months having been looked after. I do not believe that is unreasonable. I was looking for some responses that would help me get a positive resolution to my problem.

My post contained advice as to how to go about this.

This is meant as constructive criticism designed to help you: less argumentative and less emotional will help your complaint no end.