Vodafone Mast Down since 2nd Sept - Still no service - Cancel contract under SOGA?

trevorjdaniel

Hello,

Looking for advice relating to cancelling my Vodafone contract based on the "unfit for purpose" section of the Sales Of Goods Act 1979.

Bit of background...

A local vodafone mast has now been out of commission since 27/8/2012, over 3 weeks. This mast serves the majority of the village I live in just outside Cardiff, Dinas Powys.

I reported this fault to Vodafone on the 3/9/2012 after giving it a few days for them to sort it out themselves.

I have had numerous subsequent emails and telephone conversations where they are unable to tell me when the mast will be fixed, have been unwilling to offer me any compensation and have refused to release me from my contract.

I am not at the stage where I simply cannot be without my phone any longer and have told them that I will be cancelling my contract based on the SOGA.

Do you think SOGA protects me in this situation please?

This is what I have found:

[URL="javascript:;"]SOGA[/URL]: Not Fit For Purpose: http://whatconsumer.co.uk/it-is-not-fit-for-purpose/

"That’s a legitimate claim as long as you are using the item for the purpose for which it was intended. This is the principle of fitness for purpose. There is no point claiming that paint thinner has had adverse effects if it is not being used as paint thinner! Similarly, if you are commissioning the manufacture of a product and do not specify the purposes for which it will be used you will have no recourse if it fails to live up to your expectations."

SOGA: How do you measure quality? : http://whatconsumer.co.uk/how-do-you-measure-quality/

"Satisfactory quality is defined as what a ‘reasonable person’ would regard as acceptable, and takes into account factors such as price paid, fitness for purpose specified, appearance and finish, freedom from minor blemishes, safety and durability. If it becomes apparent that an item is not of the quality you were led to expect, you were not aware of any such defect when you bought it, and you bought from a seller acting ‘in the course of a business’ (i.e. not an informal sale), you are quite within your rights to go back to the retailer, even after some months of use. If a product develops a fault within the first 6 months, the assumption will be that this defect was present at the time of purchase and you will not have to prove anything. If you are returning an item after this 6 month time period, this automatic assumption does not apply, and it may be up to you to prove the fault did not occur through misuse. You should also consider aspect of durability and acceptance."

SOGA: Acceptance: http://whatconsumer.co.uk/my-responsibility/

"The principles of contract law discussed earlier are evident here, and if the breach is so fundamental or the consequences so significant, you will be entitled to rescind the contract entirely, get your money back and also claim damages. However, your rights in this respect depend upon whether it is felt you have already ‘accepted’ the goods in question. If you have been using the goods in question over a reasonable length of time, or you have given the impression that all is well and you are happy with the product, you cannot rescind the contract, but will be able to claim damages. However the law says that you must have ‘reasonable opportunity of examining the goods for the purpose of ascertaining whether they are in conformity with the contract’, which, in some cases, may be up to a year.

This may seem a bit fuzzy, so to add further clarification, the Sale of Goods Act now states that if a product develops a fault within the first 6 months, the assumption will be that the defect was present at the time of purchase and you should get an automatic repair or replacement. After this time, you may have to prove the fault was not due to misuse, although shops must also recognise issues of durability – i.e how long an item would be expected to last before developing problems.

Just because you sign a delivery / satisfaction note, or agree to a manufacturer’s repair, it does not mean you have accepted the goods, and are waiving your right to return them at a later date."

Please can anyone help me?

This problem has gone on so long its now made the local paper:

https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=5c666bdcb5db3b04&id=5C666BDCB5DB3B04%21647&sff=1

Thanks in advance...

Trev

grumbler

If your really want to refer to some Act, it has to be the Supply of the Goods and Services Act in this case, not Sale of the Goods Act.
Your device (goods) is perfectly fine.

In their T&C Vodafone are very relaxed about repairing faults and only promise you a refund for the time when service is unavailable.

NFH

grumbler wrote: »

In their T&C Vodafone are very relaxed about repairing faults and only promise you a refund for the time when service is unavailable.

If Vodafone are taking an unreasonable time to repair the fault, then the OP could argue that Vodafone are not carrying out the service with reasonable care and skill in breach of Section 13 of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Any terms in the contract that allow Vodafone to breach Section 13 would unenforceable under the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.

trevorjdaniel

brilliant - thanks guys.

I, and many hundreds or people on vodafone, have been suffering from this problem for over 3 weeks and the STILL cannot tell us when it will be fixed.

I forgot to mention that the mast was also broken for 3 weeks back in May this year. Again with no apology, compensation or comment from them.

I will be emailing them today saying that I will be leaving them and that I will not be paying their £500 early termination fee.

Anybody got any thoughts on how I would "word" this email?

Thanks again

Trev

gjchester

trevorjdaniel wrote: »

I, and many hundreds or people on vodafone, have been suffering from this problem for over 3 weeks and the STILL cannot tell us when it will be fixed.

It may be they do not know a fix date yet..

They may have to get permission to travel over land to make a repair if it's on leased land, and contact is proving difficult as the key person is away, or they are reliant on replacment hardware that is on on order, or it a fault outside their control (say loss of power to the site) that again needs someone else to do some work or give permission.
It could even be that St Cyres School (as SiteFinder looks like it's just inside the school fields) denying permission as they are in the midst of re-negotiating a higher lease fee for the year.


The T&C say that they cannot guarantee and fault free service at all times and you did agree to it when you signed up. Yes it's a real problem to you but you may be hoping too far to get a termination fee removed.

trevorjdaniel

surely all of the above strengthens my argument?

having now been without service twice in the last 6 months totalling over 6 weeks in total.

surely if they have access problems or problem getting parts that have added up to an outage of 6 weeks this is even stronger proof that they "have not carried out the service with reasonable care and skill"?

gjchester

trevorjdaniel wrote: »

surely all of the above strengthens my argument?

having now been without service twice in the last 6 months totalling over 6 weeks in total.

surely if they have access problems or problem getting parts that have added up to an outage of 6 weeks this is even stronger proof that they "have not carried out the service with reasonable care and skill"?

If it was the same reason maybe, but I doubt Vodafone will give you that details.

What happens if it was theft of parts? regardless of the care and attention to replace them thefts are certainly out of their control.

Lynsey

trevorjdaniel wrote: »

I have had numerous subsequent emails and telephone conversations where they are unable to tell me when the mast will be fixed, have been unwilling to offer me any compensation and have refused to release me from my contract.

That's the sad bit, they know you have suffered as a customer and even as a "gesture of goodwill" a company of this size should have done the "honourable thing" and allowed you out of the contract at no expense to yourself and allowed you to find a more suitable option.

Good luck.

Lynsey

grumbler

gjchester wrote: »

What happens if it was theft of parts? regardless of the care and attention to replace them thefts are certainly out of their control.

Really? Theft is out of their control. Repairs are not. The only question is what the reasonable time is to repair.

gjchester

grumbler wrote: »

Really? Theft is out of their control. Repairs are not. The only question is what the reasonable time is to repair.

True, should have been clearer...

It may not be theft but Vodafone are unlikely to release those details.

trevorjdaniel

Well im going to take a chance and fight my corner.

After talking to someone about a week ago, who agreed to release me from my contract, I was then passed to the "Cancellations Department" who proceeded to deny that the previous conversation could have taken place refused to release me from my contract.

But, the next morning, as if by magic, I had a text message with my PAC code in it...

So, I will be emailing them in the morning stating that I will be leaving dispite their refusal.

I also intend to point out that I am aware of them placing defaults on peoples credit reports as well as selling disputed accounts to debt collection agencies and if that happens I will claim damages...

Wish me luck!!

Trev