Vodafone Won't Fix My Mobile

kah22

My contract mobile (HTC Wildfire S) was not working properly so I sent it off to Vodafone for repair via my local Vodafone shop.

The problem was that, occasionally – but becoming more frequent – when I made a call and the call ended my phone did not seem to turn off properly. Everything that you’d expect to happen happened the screen went blank but if I went to make a second call then I found I could not turn the phone back on! The only way I could reconnect was to remove the battery. As I said this wasn’t happening all the time, but it shouldn’t have been happening at all, and it was becoming more frequent.

Anyway I’ve been tracking the repair on line and this morning and I discovered the following message

Resolution Code Your handset was found to have suffered physical damage, repair of which falls outside of the manufacturer's warranty.

I was in touch with the Vodafone shop and the lady I was speaking to on the phone said that the phone hadn’t arrived back in their shop yet. However she went on to something or other about it been crushed or having received a knock. Maybe it was sat on that sort of thing.

The Vodafone lady looked up my account and discovered I hadn’t any insurance on the phone. I don’t normally buy extra insurance. I was more than please with my conversation with the lady she appeared to be as helpful as she could but basically Vodafone have said they will do nothing. Is there any way I can contest their decision? How? How long? Does it cost? Can't upgrade until the end of March next year

Has it been knocked or crush, not to the best of my knowledge. Yes it travels with me in my pocket and has to meet the rigours of everyday life but crushed not that I can think of.

grumbler

How old is the phone? During the first 6 months Voda have to prove that it was damaged by you, not just say that it was some damage. Demand all the details of the 'damage' that they imply and check if this really is the case.

After 6 months you can take it to any independent repairer for an opinion. If they say that it wasn't damaged you can sue Vodafone for all money spend on the repair, report and for the inconvenience they caused you.

That said, you can deal directly with HTC as their warranty is 24 months.

kah22

grumbler wrote: »

That said, you can deal directly with HTC as their warranty is 24 months.

The phone is well over six months. It was a two year contract, contract expires April next year, so yes it is under two years old so how do I go about contacting HTC and what do I really say to them. Sorry if these sound stupid questions

grumbler

kah22 wrote: »

The phone is well over six months. It was a two year contract, contract expires April next year, so yes it is under two years old so how do I go about contacting HTC

Contact us

and what do I really say to them.

That your phone is not working properly - with all the details that you posted in the first post?

Vodafone

Hi kah22,

Firstly, I am sorry to hear that your phone isn't working as it should. I know how frustrating it can be.

I'm afraid if there is any sign of physical damage to a phone, it will void the warranty and we will be unable to offer a free repair.

When the device is returned to the store, they can advise how much it will cost to opt for the chargeable repair though.

Kind regards,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

kah22

First of all my thanks to Grumbler for his helpful advice. :beer:

Anyway maybe I can address the next post in particular to the Vodafone rep who replied above, but other members feel free to respond

Got the phone back today from my local Vodafone shop Here is part of what it said

Your phone has been thoroughly inspected at our repair centre One of our engineers has found the fault to be caused to physical damage to the phone

there was no other useful information re the damage except a photocopy of the damage on a separate sheet of paper. It is difficult to say what the photograph is but I think it is the little screw at the bottom right of HTC Wildfire S.

A surprise to me was that the report says: ' Your phone has been thoroughly inspected at our repair centre.' I was off the opinion that when a phone was returned to Vodafone for repairs that the first thing to happen was that it was completely wiped for data protection purposes. This does not seem to be the case here for all the apps and all the names stored on the phone are still there.

OK the phone is older than six months so I can't insist that Vodafone prove to me that it was damage by me and not just say it was damaged

Another issue, and I didn't realize this until I read the reply from Heidi of Vodafone Web Relations Team was that the they shop could have advised me how much it would cost to opt for the chargeable repair. They didn't do that. In fact I talked to one of the ladies about how much various phones would cost to buy, I asked about any buy back schemes Vodafone have, would I be allowed a discount if I were changing and all she was able to tell me was that it would cost in excess of £130 (but don't quote me on that precise figure) to buy out of my current contract. To give her credit she did suggest that it would possible to buy a new phone for an independent source! There is good salesman ship for you

So to sum up no detail of the precise damage except a picture which I'm only guessing at. A phone that wasn't wiped prior to examination, and no help on telling me what options were open to me, regarding repairs or buying a new phone.

My 24 month contract for two phones expires March/April of next year

Kevin

denwhatshisname

kah22 wrote: »

A phone that wasn't wiped prior to examination

Why would they wipe it, theres no point. If they flashed it to repair it that would have wiped the phone, but if, for example, they just repaired the screen I would be miffed if they had wiped it.

Also the phone could just need flashing to repair. Its the first thing I would have done.

kah22

denwhatshisname wrote: »

Why would they wipe it, theres no point. If they flashed it to repair it that would have wiped the phone,

Maybe I'm confused buy on their Blog Vodafone state that

Our engineers work in laboratory conditions, to ensure that dust and dirt won’t get into the circuit boards of your phone. All data on your mobile will be wiped to protect your privacy – which is why we advise people to back up their content and contacts before sending their phone off.

So I am wondering if my phone was not wiped, and it is Vodafone's policy to wipe, then was it examined at all?

Forgive me if I am confused about wiping and flashing. Maybe the Vodafone rep would give us a step by step account of what happens when a phone is returned to them for repair.



Kevin

denwhatshisname

.

kah22 wrote: »

Maybe I'm confused buy on their ... Vodafone state that So I am wondering if my phone was not wiped, and it is Vodafone's policy to wipe, then was it examined at all?

Forgive me if I am confused about wiping and flashing. Maybe the Vodafone rep would give us a step by step account of what happens when a phone is returned to them for repair.

I'd be fuming if they wiped a phone just to replace, for example, an LCD..................

Do a google for "proximity sensor" and "android"

and find an app similar to this

androidzoom.com/android_applications/tools/proximity-sensor-calibration_bxkwr.html

for your phone and see if that fixes it.

Vodafone

Hi kah22,

They would only need to wipe the handset if there were going ahead with a repair. As that's not the case here, they wouldn't have done so.

If you would like to discuss it in more detail, get in touch with me via the link here and include WRT135 FAO Heidi in the subject.

If you could also include a link to your post and a contact number, I will be in touch.

Kind regards,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

kah22

I’ve taken a decision to go down the road of contacting Vodafone via this forum rather than through phone, email, or snail mail. Why? Well one reason is that I’ve tried the standard ways of raising an issue with Vodafone, I even got their representative on this board to contact me and offer help. I’m still waiting.

Let me recap my position

As you can see I started this thread on the 4 September, 2012 and if you follow the thread you can see that the Vodafone representative was more than anxious to help. He wanted me to do certain things like contact the Vodafone help center, which I did but without any success.

Well on 7 September I received the following:

Thanks for getting in touch with me.
I will be happy to investigate this further for you and get full information surrounding the repair and the cost if you were considering a chargeable repair.

In order for me to do so, I will need to liaise with the store you were dealing with. Can you let me know which one you visited?

If you could let me know when you get back and a contact number that I can reach you on, I will give you a call to discuss it further.

Many thanks,

Heidi
Web Relations Team

[FONT=&quot]Because I had been away for a few days I was not able to reply to Heidi until [/FONT]13/09/2012 and she got back to me on the 17/09/2012 stating:

Thanks for getting back to me.

I have emailed the store today to request further information regarding the repair centre report.

As soon as I have this, I will get in touch to discuss our next steps.

Kind regards,

Heidi
Web Relations Team
Vodafone UK

[FONT=&quot]That’s a full ten days ago and I haven’t heard a word since.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]So what am I going to do. Well I’ve changed the sim card in my malfunctioning Wildfire S and placed it in an old phone from years back.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]While I haven’t actually thrown the Wildfire S into the bin (though God knows why not) I have in effect ditched the Wildfire S. It is not suitable for the purpose for which it was intended.ie making and receiving calls.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]I am not going to be contacting Vodafone again it really does seem a waste of my time, it is now up to them to contact me and explain what exactly they are prepared to do, no ifs no buts..[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]While I know I am only one customer among I’m sure millions I will not be renewing my contract with Vodafone when it falls due in April of next year. I’ll suffer on to until then. (by the way Vodafone rep. How many customers have you world wide - just want to see how important an individual is?)
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It is hard for an individual to beat a large international business like Vodafone. The only effective remedy we have is the withdrawal of our custom and I hope that by reading this I will have encouraged others who are not getting satisfaction from Vodafone to state publicly that they are leaving when their contract is up.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There is no publivcity like bad publicity.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]And for the rep who will be reading this post here is a reference number: [/FONT]Subject: Re: WRT135 FAO Heidi [#9826182]

Kevin