Vodafone water damage scam - so angry?!

prowla

I know that iPhones have a water damage indicator - the inside of the jack socket goes pink.

Buzby

GD, you are asking and answering questions that were never asked/raised.

So here's some answers. Handsets tha can no longer e classed as new are not scrapped. They are sent for refurbishment and enter the supply chain as white box replacement products.

Do they offer refurbs as new? They can't as there is no retail packaging. They might end up as a Manager's Special, but even so this would not permit a previously water damaged item into the supply chain. So in answer to you (sarcastic?) third paragraph - absolutely no chance, with a new or a refurb.

But turn this round a little, could the OP have used it outdoors? Might it have rained? That has a higher probability than your earlier suppositions!

A market guy could certainly confirm that the dampness indicators had triggered, but we know that already. He certainly cannot say when it happened, so the OP is no further forward However I agree, this will be the most cost-effective route to repair and getting it back in use.

As for the blame game - an opportunity to reject a dampness diagnosis is rarely successful, as there are many situations that will trigger the indicator, even humidity.

gjchester

prowla wrote: »

I know that iPhones have a water damage indicator - the inside of the jack socket goes pink.

iPhones have two visible ones

http://osxdaily.com/2011/02/08/iphone-ipod-water-damage-sensor-locations/

I've had mine 24 months and used it in most conditions includin light rain and both are white.

Most phones have them in the battery compartment too, and some inside that are not user accessable.

The problem lies in the fact than most of the poputation (me included) don't think twice about using a mobile in all conditions, we answer the phone in the rain when we'd never dream of using a laptop. The OP says scotland is not know for it's high humidity true, but it is know for high rain levels. We also throw phones in pockets and move in and out of hot and cold places without even thinking about it, how many times have you gone in a pub on a cold night and you had glasses steam up (or a friends if you don't wear them) it's all condensation.

Water damage is not really a "scam" but a fact, and as phones get more expensive, and we tend not to take care of them as expensive computers then so makers will continue to have water damage limiting conditions in the terms and conditions. If people had not been so willing to try and claim on warranties for water damaged phones in the past we may not have had these indicators, but we do and we have to live with them.

The suggestion for the OP to get the phone back and have it independantly examined is the best, BUT the OP needs to consider that the independant person may also come back with the fact the water damage indicators have been tripped.

Mrs_Arcanum

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Vodafone have a returns policy and when they get a phone back from a customer who has changed their mind, they automatically scrap the handset? I didn't think so.

So they offer "refurb" handsets when you upgrade at lower prices than new? I've never seen one. So what happens to Vodafone returned handsets? Mystery.

So, absolutely no chance of OP getting issued with a handset showing moisture damage then !

What I suggested was a possibility and who is to say exactly when the dot changed from white to red, if that indeed was the evidence of corrosion/moisture. I have seen on this forum MSE members having phones diagnosed as suffering from water damage and refused repair when the fault was a charging socket that had come adrift!! Bit too often moisture damage gets the blame. It's a bit rich that the supplier who would take the hit if the handset was faulty becomes the judge as to what was the fault!! Not as if they have any interest in the outcome, have they???? :rotfl::rotfl:

That is why I advised OP to get phone back and see if market guy could repair the handset and to give OP diagnosis of fault.

I would say this is the best plan.
DH Has had his Galaxy for 2 years now with no issues at all.

This is only 5 months old for goodness sake. Definitely get the phone back and take to an independent person for checking. State clearly that you expect the phone you returned back in the condition you sent it.

Guys_Dad

Buzby wrote: »

As for the blame game - an opportunity to reject a dampness diagnosis is rarely successful, as there are many situations that will trigger the indicator, even humidity.

I would almost certainly agree that, if the handset has moisture ingress, then the balance of probability would lie with the customer in most cases.

However, there is a possibility that if the handset indicator was tripped it could have happened before OP got handset. (There have been threads on here where OP got a handset as new from a store where contacts have been set up already.)

I, for my part, returned a handset to a CPW shop within 24 hours, unopened, and exchanged it for a better handset. I am 100% sure that the returned handset would have been sold as brand new and no reason for it not to be.

The real point I want to make is that, in my view, faults that have absolutely nothing to do with moisture ingress are not being fixed because once a pink/red indicator is found, then no further diagnosis is carried out and even totally different faults are being attributed to "water damage".

Unless my memory is playing me tricks, there was a thread on here some time ago refusing to fix a broken on/off switch because of water damage!

The OP needs to get a professional 2nd opinion first of all and, hopefully, the handset fixed before taking it all the way with Vodafone if their diagnosis was incorrect.

The other really important thing is that when getting a new handset or one that is a refurb replacing one gone faulty, you MUST check the water ingress indicator and immediately reject if not white.

chanz4

Do you ever go drinking and put it on the table?

Mrs_Ryan

I had the same thing happen on the S2 with the yellow triangle and it wouldnt charge. CPW interestingly told me these phones are riddled with manufacturing faults. They swapped mine no trouble but I hated the phone and ended up selling it.

JethroUK

bootsdingo77 wrote: »

It was a genuine case, and surely modern phones should be able to handle breath, or any other natural level of moisture??? Otherwise the phones are fit for purpose?

You're quite right - it would need to handle 'normal' levels of exposure to be considered 'fit for purpose'

JethroUK

I seen on Gadget Show some special bag you can buy for wet phones - they dunked a mobile in the sea and then put it in one these bags and next day it was fine - they rated it

Dave101t

so its in a (possibly) plastic cover with few vents, it is on all the time with a nice warm battery, and this heat is further insulated by being trapped in a handbag? i dont need a ladybird book on thermodynamics to tell me there could be a problem.