My property broken in a store - advice please

kenjones_2

Would appreciate your advice here.

Was looking at alarm clock docking stations for iPhone & decided to go to a well known electrical retailer to check functionality before finalising my purchase decision.

Successfully used my phone in the store with several devices (with some got a handy message from phone about not being fully compatible with the phone - desipte manufacturers claims that they were & belted out some rock music on another that had been left with the volume turned up) however upon docking with a 4th device there was a flicker on my phone screen then nothing. Phone completely dead. Advised customer service assistant who immediately took the dock off the shelves.

Store manager totally wanted nothing to do with it and frankly came as close as you can to accusing me of lying as you can without using those words and of trying it on.

I have had phone assessed by independent specialist Apple device repair company who have said that the failure is in the main logic board and cost to repair is £150.

My expectation is that the store/chain will cover the cost of the repair as my phone was damaged in their store on equipment that they have made available for members of the public to use/test with their phones. I am not asking for a brand new replacement handset which would be circa £450.

I am currently being fobbed off by customer service who are delaying by sending dock for investigation - although I don't actually believe they have the unit in question as store stated they had sent the unit back to manufacturers the following day and it was a week later that customer services said they were about to send a unit for testing to see if they could find a fault.

Frankly I have no interest in whether they find a fault (having working in an engineering support test centre I know that it is not always possible to find faults/replicate circumstances reported from the field) as they can not replicate the exact circumstances of the time when my phone was docked with the device.

So what are my rights here?

Can they come back and tell me they won't cover repair costs? If they do how strong a case do I have for small claims court?

I have missed opportunities by not having mobile internet access at my finger tips, incurred extra costs in time & journeys back & forth from the store & to repair company plus had to buy a cheap handset so I can at least have a phone while all this is going on.

Thanks for your time & comments on this.

my_old_mans_a_dustman

Got to be a wind up.

Googlewhacker

How can you prove that the phone went faulty BECAUSE of their products and not just that it was a coincidence?

kenjones_2

No not a wind up it did actually happen.

The fact that the failure occurred the moment I placed it on that particular piece of equipment leads me to believe that it isn't simply a coincidence and hence my pursuing it.

Rex_Mundi

Very very very hard to prove what caused this (surely?)

You were going around the shop plugging and unplugging your phone into different docking stations. How can you prove, without any doubt, that you didn't knock something loose inside the phone that caused the fault?

vicmorrow

kenjones wrote: »

No not a wind up it did actually happen.

The fact that the failure occurred the moment I placed it on that particular piece of equipment leads me to believe that it isn't simply a coincidence and hence my pursuing it.

What makes you think the shop is liable?

dreamypuma

I would have thought to have viable claim against the retailer, there would need to be evidence that there equipment caused the damage to your phone. What is to say that that the phone didn't have an existing manufacturing fault?

Did you have the permission of the retailer to dock your phone on the display products or was this just assumed?

Valli

I just bet, that if this isn't a wind up, there will be a clause somewhere stating that you connect your stuff to their display stuff at your own risk.

And if there isn't then, should it come to court (because the shop will deny it) the precedent will be somethign along the lines of 'You park your car in store car parks at your own risk.'

OP you would have to prove negligence by the owners/staff of the shop.

wealdroam

kenjones wrote: »

The fact that the failure occurred the moment I placed it on that particular piece of equipment leads me to believe that it isn't simply a coincidence and hence my pursuing it.

I'm a bit puzzled here.

Tell us again how does that prove it is not a coincidence?

You told us earlier that you tried several docks before this one.
Is it possible that your phone had a weakness and the plugging it in several docks weakened the main logic board each time until finally the thing broke?

tomjonesrules

Valli wrote: »

I just bet, that if this isn't a wind up, there will be a clause somewhere stating that you connect your stuff to their display stuff at your own risk.

The possibilities are endless!

kenjones wrote: »

No not a wind up it did actually happen.

The fact that the failure occurred the moment I placed it on that particular piece of equipment leads me to believe that it isn't simply a coincidence and hence my pursuing it.

Turn the situation around - if you had attached the ipod and the docking station had gone dead, who would be at fault then?

dreamypuma

kenjones wrote: »

No not a wind up it did actually happen.

The fact that the failure occurred the moment I placed it on that particular piece of equipment leads me to believe that it isn't simply a coincidence and hence my pursuing it.

What you believe is just that, not evidence that that their equipment damaged your phone.

In the absence of any evidence, the retailer could equally claim your actions damaged their equipment.