Sale of Goods act vs Vodafone

eefee

Can anyone tell me of a clause in the Sale of Goods act that exempts Vodafone from their legal responsibilities?

My iPhone 3GS stopped working after 20 months (error code 1611-Hardware fault). It's been perfectly well looked after, never dropped, never got wet and I'm locked into a 24 month contract.

Vodafone customer services tried to fob me off by saying go to Apple. Apple quite rightly said 'It's Vodafone's responsibility'

I emailed Guy Laurence- the CEO of Vodafone UK asking for a free repair under the terms of the SOGA and also quoting EU directive 1999/44/EC which states that 'all new consumer goods, including cars, carry at least a two-year warranty'.

I received a reply from a customer service advisor called Kirsty Vaughan who very helpfully attached a copy of the SOGA and a message stating 'The warranty for all iphone’s is 12 month manufacturer warranty' and ending 'We would not be able to offer a repair or replacement on your current iphone'

Despite pointing out the various parts of the SOGA that clearly state that I'm entitled to a free repair or replacement, Ms Vaughan resolutely refuses to discuss the matter any further stating that this is Vodafone's final position and go to the ombudsman.

There is also the Unfair Contract Terms act 1977 which states that 'Consumers cannot have their legal rights removed in sale of goods contracts. Furthermore, it can be an offence to mislead consumers about their legal rights. To do so could result in a criminal prosecution' Despite me pointing this out, Ms Vaughan states that we are in a position of deadlock, go to the ombudsman.

We're not in a position of deadlock, she refuses to respond to any of my points directly.

I noted with interest that Apple have been fined €1.2m in Italy for this very reason-

http://www.theverge.com/2011/12/27/2663489/apple-fined-1-2m-in-italy-for-misleading-warranty-claims

I have written to the ombudsman now. Vodafone customer services are breathtakingly appalling in my opinion and I will be taking my business elsewhere.

What am I missing? Has anyone else had similar problems?

prosaver

yes me
they refused to repair my charger said out of warranty...so what about sog act they said phone tmobile...
they said out of warranty..told him the soga he said write a email ..so i did.... waiting fo a reply

prosaver

some of the people on this forum work in shops, so they and try and wined you up.. for example
read my thread..about my charger
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3801507

grumbler

eefee wrote: »

...
Despite pointing out the various parts of the SOGA that clearly state that I'm entitled to a free repair or replacement,

What parts exactly? Can you quote them here? I don't know any parts of SOGA that clearly say this. AFAIK, SOGA is very vague and full of ambiguous terms like 'reasonable time', 'significant inconvenience' etc.

There is an opinion that you are covered by Supply of the Goods and Services Act, not SOGA, but this is far from being clear.

prosaver

grumbler wrote: »

What parts exactly? Can you quote them here? I don't know any parts of SOGA that clearly say this. AFAIK, SOGA is very vague and full of ambiguous terms like 'reasonable time', 'significant inconvenience' etc.

There is an opinion, that you are covered by Supply of the Goods and Services Act, but this is far from being clear.

its both
Just as with Sale of Goods, Supply of Goods and Services legislation contains statutory rights, which don’t have to be specifically mentioned in any contract, but cannot be excluded....
supply of good act would be the phone contract line.
and soga is the phone and charger and ear piece

grumbler

prosaver wrote: »

its both
...
supply of good act would be the phone contract line.
and soga is the phone and charger and ear piece

You are missing the point.
As I said, SOGA is very vague about the time.
If the SOGSA applies, the handset has to last at least for the duration of the contract because the goods and services are supplied as a pack.
However, it is a very big 'if'.

prosaver

grumbler wrote: »

You a missing the point.
As I said, SOGA is very vague about the time.
If the SOGSA applies, the handset has to last at least for the duration of the contract because the goods and services are supplied as a pack.
However, it is a very big 'if'.

ok thanks
thats very interesting i might use that
gotta go

mattyprice4004

grumbler wrote: »

You are missing the point.
As I said, SOGA is very vague about the time.
If the SOGSA applies, the handset has to last at least for the duration of the contract because the goods and services are supplied as a pack.
However, it is a very big 'if'.

Ignore him, he's the current forum nutter.

From disputing that you could need an engineers report to saying a charger is inherently faulty, saying a charger should last more than 2 years and then some truly nonsensical and bizarre replies, we've had them all.

gjchester

eefee wrote: »

quoting EU directive 1999/44/EC which states that 'all new consumer goods, including cars, carry at least a two-year warranty'.

Although this is a EU ruling all EU Rulings need to be enacted into UK Law to be valid.

As far as I'm aware although it should have been done years go this has not been enacted as generally the Sale of Goods Act gives better protection, although does not specify timlines so is not a UK legal requirement yet.

grumbler

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Ignore him, he's the current forum nutter.

From disputing that you could need an engineers report to saying a charger is inherently faulty, saying a charger should last more than 2 years and then some truly nonsensical and bizarre replies, we've had them all.

What a pile of rubbish. EDIT: assuming that your comments refer to my post, that I am not sure about now.
What you are saying is correct for the SOGA that I criticized, not advocated.
Re the SOGSA I said that it was an opinion, not the fact, and that this was a big 'if'. And it is the opinion shared by Trading Standards and by some solicitors, not my opinion. I merely stated the fact that this opinion existed. AFAIK this has never been tested in court for mobile contracts, but some customers were successful with appealing to the SOGSA. And, although I have not 'disputed' anything like you say, it is up to a judge, not to an engineer, to decide how long a charger is supposed to last.

Also, my first reply was addressed to eefee, not prosaver, i.e. was about iPhone, not the charger. However, this doesn't make any difference as I don't see why a charger doesn't have to last at least the same time as a handset. It is not a battery.

System

gjchester wrote: »

Although this is a EU ruling all EU Rulings need to be enacted into UK Law to be valid.

As far as I'm aware although it should have been done years go this has not been enacted as generally the Sale of Goods Act gives better protection, although does not specify timlines so is not a UK legal requirement yet.

SOGA covers all points in the EU directive.
You do not enact an EU directive, you incorporate it into a national law/act/SI.

I emailed Guy Laurence- the CEO of Vodafone UK asking for a free repair under the terms of the SOGA and also quoting EU directive 1999/44/EC which states that 'all new consumer goods, including cars, carry at least a two-year warranty'.

This was your first mistake the CEO now knows that you haven't got a clue what you are on about.
If you read SOGA correctly then after 6 months it is your responsibility to prove that the fault is inherent by an engineers report or similar