Orange want to charge me for replacement

Caryne

My Orange phone has just stopped working, none of the keys work. I have just rung Orange, and after keeping me holding on for ages, they want to charge me for a replacement phone as they say the current one is 'out of warranty'. As far as I am aware, if something breaks within a period of time that it would be expected to work for I am still entitled to a free replacement. I have to pay Orange monthly to have a service from them and I fail to see why I should have to pay for a phone because the one they supplied me has just died. Can anyone advise?

T_T_2

A few more details would help. What phone do you have, how long have you had it? What are you paying per month and what do you get in return?

Caryne

It's a Blackberry 8520, I've had it for just over a year (it was a replacement for a previous faulty phone) and I've got it on a monthly contract. I can't see how 'what I get in return' is relevant as I understand all goods, phones or anything, have to work for a reasonable length of time, not just the 'one year' they claim is the 'warranty'.

T_T_2

Caryne wrote: »

It's a Blackberry 8520, I've had it for just over a year (it was a replacement for a previous faulty phone) and I've got it on a monthly contract. I can't see how 'what I get in return' is relevant as I understand all goods, phones or anything, have to work for a reasonable length of time, not just the 'one year' they claim is the 'warranty'.

If it wasn't relevant I wouldn't have asked. I'm trying to determine what you actually paid for the phone as the value of goods has an inherent impact on how long they can be expected to last. I asked what you get in return for your contract to get an idea of how much of your monthly amount is covering the cost of those services and how much is actually paying off the hardware costs.

Did you get your contract directly from orange or via someone like carphonewarehouse?

Caryne

Just checked my records, and my current phone was supplied as a replacement (for a previous one that didn't work) in October last year - so not even out of warranty!!

Caryne

A Blackberry phone would, I think, be expected to last longer that a year. I didn't actually pay anuything for the phone as it was supplied free as part of the pay monthly package. I got it direct from Orange.

T_T_2

Caryne wrote: »

A Blackberry phone would, I think, be expected to last longer that a year. I didn't actually pay anuything for the phone as it was supplied free as part of the pay monthly package. I got it direct from Orange.

That's good news. Getting passed back and forward between carphonewarehouse and orange isn't much fun!

Even though the phone was replaced last October your guarantee might be concurrent with the original phone. In other words your guarantee may not start afresh each time the phone is replaced. You would need to check the terms of your guarantee. Other wise each time your phone breaks and is replaced your guarantee could run on indefinitely.

Under the requirements of the Sale of Goods Act you have the right to contest that the product should last UP TO six years (England & Wales). In the first six month's it is oranges job to prove it is your fault but beyond 6 months it is your job to prove it was an inherent fault in the phone. That means getting a third party technician to inspect and report on the device, at your own initial expense. If you are found to be faultless and you argue that the device should last longer than a year, then orange are liable to cover these costs.

keith1950

Just checked my records, and my current phone was supplied as a replacement (for a previous one that didn't work) in October last year - so not even out of warranty!!

I don't know the different warranty periods of different manufacturers however where , say, you buy a phone that has a one year guarantee in September and it is exchanged due to a fault in December then the replacement would be covered until the expiry date of the original phone.

If a new one years cover started after every replacement then theoretically you could get free replacement phones and be covered for years.

And remember that the phone and contract are two seperate issues, just because you might have a 24 month contract doesn't mean the phone has a 24 month guarantee.

Best to check with Blackberry on how long their products are covered for. If they were covered for 24 months you may be able to send it to a third party repairer to get it repaired free of charge.

Caryne

Thanks but not sure that really helps, I simply don't have the money to pay for a third party technicians report.

Surely a guarantee is on the product not the contract? If something is guaranteed for a year, for example, then it should last at least a year, should it not?

T_T_2

Caryne wrote: »

Thanks but not sure that really helps, I simply don't have the money to pay for a third party technicians report.

Surely a guarantee is on the product not the contract? If something is guaranteed for a year, for example, then it should last at least a year, should it not?

Which is why you need to check the terms. If your guarantee/warranty was started from scratch each time you received a replacement they could be supplying you with phones for the next 20 years. Some guarantees are stupid enough to do this so you need to check what the situation is.

If you can convince orange that you are still within that guarantee then this will be your quickest and easiest fix. After that you second easiest fix could be to contact the manufacturer and see what they offer. After that it's back to orange with the SOGA, arguing that you believe it should have lasted longer than it has. Although your opinion is this respect isn't going to be given much weight. The opinion of a suitably qualified third party would carry weight but at the risk of you losing the cost of a report.

Caryne

T_T wrote: »

Which is why you need to check the terms. If your guarantee/warranty was started from scratch each time you received a replacement they could be supplying you with phones for the next 20 years. Some guarantees are stupid enough to do this so you need to check what the situation is.

If you can convince orange that you are still within that guarantee then this will be your quickest and easiest fix. After that you second easiest fix could be to contact the manufacturer and see what they offer. After that it's back to orange with the SOGA, arguing that you believe it should have lasted longer than it has. Although your opinion is this respect isn't going to be given much weight. The opinion of a suitably qualified third party would carry weight but at the risk of you losing the cost of a report.

But if they were supplying me with phone for the next twenty years that would only be because their phones are rubbish and break in the first place. If the phone lasted a reasonable period of time without breaking then this would never be an issue would it?