HTC Warranty Claim

snab

Hi

Got a wee issue I could do with an opinion on.

Background

I have an 18mth Vodafone contract (6mths to go).
The phone I got was an HTC Desire S
In September I dropped the phone in a pint.
Dried it out and replaced the battery and it still works (except the camera and a splodge on the screen)

I couldn't get by without the camera and the splodge so I bought a phone from a seller on EBay.

This phone was an HTC Desire S
It was tied to an O2 contract
The seller requested the unlock code and forwarded it to me.
I unlocked the phone and away we go.

About 3 weeks ago the phone developed a fault.
It intermittently switches itself off in my pocket, when I put it down.
It was getting annoying so I phoned vodafone.
Understandably they weren't interested as the phone isn't theirs.
I don't have an O2 contract so can't phone them.
I phoned HTC.

They set up a fault report and sent a courier for the phone.
It went away and came back a week later.
The fault still existed, they'd only reflashed the ROM
I phoned again and raised a new fault report.
They collected and have been in touch this time by email.

They basically want to repair the chipped case and screen (the phone arrived at me with this superficial damage, but didn't have the fault at that point) before they do anything with the fault.
They are claiming that its down to quality control that this needs to be done, although it was OK for them to return it last week.
They want to charge for this work and want to charge for the return of the phone of I don't accept the quote.

They can't seem to explain anything clearly.
No chance of getting an escalation to a manager for discussion.

Where do I stand with this bearing in mind I haven't gone through the provider?

Any advice on what to do next?

Sorry for War & Peace.
TIA

wealdroam

The manufacturer has no statutory responsibility to you.

Your statutory rights are with/against whoever sold the thing to you.

Was that seller a private individual?
Sounds like it might be.

Is the HTC warranty transferrable?

If you want the phone fixing I fear your only option may be to pay HTC for the cosmetic fixes.

visidigi

HTC suck. really honestly they need to sort themselves out.

I would advise them you need them to diagnose the fault FIRST and then, if its directly attributable to the fault you will pay for the comsmetic repair.

Only HTC could come up with something so corrupt - car warranties don't require the car to be showroom condition for warranty work. So why should your phone?

HTC warranty is transferable - you have to prove purchase date when you first submit a handset for repair - if HTC didn't question this the first time that would indicate its been for repair before.

When my Desire S did the same as what yours is now, I didn't bother with HTC, I went with the o2 repair process, they couldn't find the fault...and they replaced the handset with a brand new one.

HTC havestopped doing swap outs, they havent invested in the support and the weird QC processes they think they can charge for are going to get them in big trouble with trading standards if they keep it up.

unholyangel

visidigi wrote: »

Only HTC could come up with something so corrupt - car warranties don't require the car to be showroom condition for warranty work. So why should your phone?

Sorry but i cant help pointing out what a silly comparison that is. For one, a cracked/smashed windscreen on a car will have no bearing on the cars performance. Only perhaps the legality of it being drivable. A cracked/smashed screen on a phone may/definitely will have an impact on the phones performance.

It could be the chip/crack/whatever just happens to be tripping the sensor that tells the phone to switch off. Its not out with the scope of possibilities.

Although i have to say, i think this is the 6th thread in the past month i've read where you've compared something such as a phone to a car You like cars?

visidigi

I would agree with the screen comparison - but the op clearly stated it was superficial damage that they are insisting on returning to factory condition BEFORE looking at repairing the problem that exists. It would be fair if the conclusion was that the superficial damamge was related, but to sweepingly state it must be returned to factory condition is simply unfair on the consumer.

My comparison was based on the facts of the OP and on that basis I do not consider it 'silly' biut a fair comparison to the details of the OP.

unholyangel wrote: »

Although i have to say, i think this is the 6th thread in the past month i've read where you've compared something such as a phone to a car You like cars?

Most likely most of them were on the subject of cars unless you're confusing me with someone else - besides, on the point of cars, no, I can't stand them, my car dealer or HTC.

unholyangel

visidigi wrote: »

I would agree with the screen comparison - but the op clearly stated it was superficial damage that they are insisting on returning to factory condition BEFORE looking at repairing the problem that exists. It would be fair if the conclusion was that the superficial damamge was related, but to sweepingly state it must be returned to factory condition is simply unfair on the consumer.

My comparison was based on the facts of the OP and on that basis I do not consider it 'silly' biut a fair comparison to the details of the OP.



Most likely most of them were on the subject of cars unless you're confusing me with someone else - besides, on the point of cars, no, I can't stand them, my car dealer or HTC.

Hmmm but is the OP a phone engineer? If he were, would the phone be getting send off for repair? :P No offense to the OP of course. But that being said, a chip in the case/screen would indicate a drop, does HTC warranty cover accidental damage?

Regardless, I'm not saying its reasonable for them to want the phone back in factory condition before looking at it. They should be able to tell what the fault is without doing that.

However seeing as OP isnt original purchaser, they've been reliant on HTC's goodwill to transfer the warranty. If the person he bought it from was acting in the course of a business, he may be better going through them.

snab

wealdroam wrote: »

The manufacturer has no statutory responsibility to you.

Your statutory rights are with/against whoever sold the thing to you.

Was that seller a private individual?
Sounds like it might be.

Yes they were, bought from Ebay, seller didn't like the phone.

snab

visidigi wrote: »

HTC suck. really honestly they need to sort themselves out.

I would advise them you need them to diagnose the fault FIRST and then, if its directly attributable to the fault you will pay for the comsmetic repair.

Waiting on a manager to call back tomorrow to discuss. I've also drafed a letter that probably nees tweaking now I'm in a marginally better mood asking them to clarify what they want to do and why they feel it necessary to replace all the csmetic stuff

visidigi wrote: »

Only HTC could come up with something so corrupt - car warranties don't require the car to be showroom condition for warranty work. So why should your phone?

HTC warranty is transferable - you have to prove purchase date when you first submit a handset for repair - if HTC didn't question this the first time that would indicate its been for repair before.

When I first sent the phone in, they asked for proof of purchase. I sent them the ebay/ paypal receipt and there was no complaints about it. I didn't send anything this time assuming they'd tie the 2 jobs together but maybe they haven't, I'll ask tomorrow.

visidigi wrote: »

When my Desire S did the same as what yours is now, I didn't bother with HTC, I went with the o2 repair process, they couldn't find the fault...and they replaced the handset with a brand new one.

No can do, phone is an unlocked o2 original, my contract is with vodafone. Neither provider are interested.

visidigi wrote: »

HTC havestopped doing swap outs, they havent invested in the support and the weird QC processes they think they can charge for are going to get them in big trouble with trading standards if they keep it up.

snab

unholyangel wrote: »

Hmmm but is the OP a phone engineer? If he were, would the phone be getting send off for repair? :P No offense to the OP of course. But that being said, a chip in the case/screen would indicate a drop, does HTC warranty cover accidental damage?

I am a phone engineer as it happens, just not the internal workings of a mobile phone engineer unfortunately!

unholyangel wrote: »

Regardless, I'm not saying its reasonable for them to want the phone back in factory condition before looking at it. They should be able to tell what the fault is without doing that.

Indeed, that's what is probably annoying me the most. The fact that they won't investigate the fault (so they say) until the cosmetic stuff is cleared up

unholyangel wrote: »

However seeing as OP isnt original purchaser, they've been reliant on HTC's goodwill to transfer the warranty. If the person he bought it from was acting in the course of a business, he may be better going through them.

As mentioned earlier, the phone came from a private sale on Ebay.

cardinalbiggles

Cant fault HTC. Had a problem with my almost 2 year old Desire. Phoned them they picked it up next day on the Monday and it was back by lunchtime on Thursday.

arcon5

snab wrote: »

I am a phone engineer as it happens, just not the internal workings of a mobile phone engineer unfortunately!

What does that mean?You sell phone covers or something