My Apple iPhone 4 Headache!

iluk3YT

Hi All;

Before I come to my question, here's a bit of a background story on my iPhone:

I purchased an iPhone 4 in Dec 2010 direct from the Apple Store. The phone was great and I loved it but...all was well until about Jan 2012 (just past the expiry of the 1 year warranty).

At the end of January, the home button on the phone started to become less responsive and now it barely works at all. I went to see the Apple Store as soon as I could but as it was past my official warranty period and they said that they couldn't help and offered to put the value of my iP4 (£150) towards a 4S.

Since then, the iPhone's button only responds to extreme pressure, because of this I have had to enable the "useful" AssistiveTouch feature on this phone which for a short while was...an okay solution.

More problems have developed with the phone, it becomes quite hot (without charging) under very light load and it is becoming incredibly slow and often laggy (apps crashing CONSTANTLY while trying to open them).

The AssistiveTouch feature does not help the speed of the phone, when it is turned off the phone responds a bit better but nothing like it did when new but this feature must be enabled for me to navigate my way around.

With the coming of iOS6, when notifications temporarily slide in on the notification bar, the AssistiveTouch button disappears and I am unable to use the phone for around 5 seconds (doesn't sound like a HUGE deal but when it disappears while you are trying to use it, it becomes very frustrating).

So here comes my question:

I know that my official 'Apple 1 Year Warranty" has expired and Apple are refusing to help me with my situation, are there any laws ("EU consumer law", "fit for purpose law" and "sale of goods act" just to name a few...) that could help me with my situation? Even after bringing these up with the local store, they wouldn't budge as "I had no proof that the phone was faulty when I had purchased it in 2010" and they just offered me their new iP5 (which I will not touch with a barge pole). I have had numerous visits to different Apple stores but they were just interested in me paying £150+ for a replacement or giving me £60 for my phone towards a new 4S.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and well done if you read the whole thing through!

Cash-Cow_3

Their response that you have no proof is stupid. They have no proof it wasn't. I agree with you I would go down the sale of goods route. Strongly worded letter to hq.

iluk3YT

it really does concern me that a company that prides itself on great customer service will just push you to the side when your products aren't 'relevant' any more.

I have done some searching around and repairing my iPhone would be £40, would it be a good idea to attempt to get Apple to cover the cost of the home button repair (although not fixing the heating and performance issues) or go down the route of Good of sale act and try to get a full repair/replacement handset if possible out of them? (I don't want to risk getting a refurbished handset...)

wealdroam

If you want to go down the Sale of Goods Act route, then Apple are right when they say that the onus is on you to prove that the goods were faulty at the time of sale, although not necessarily apparent at that time.

It might be worth reading MSE's Consumer Rights article.

In there you will find that once it is agreed that the thing is inherently faulty, the seller has to provide a remedy.
That remedy could be either a repair, replacement or refund.
You can choose the remedy, but you cannot force the seller to provide a remedy that is disproportionately costly.

So effectively, the seller chooses the remedy.

If they were to offer a refund, that could be a partial refund to take account of the use you have had of the phone.

It seems that Apple have decided that as nearly two years have passed, you have had £150 worth of use from your phone.

This sort of question crops up frequently on the Consumer Rights board.

May also be worth reading MSE's How to Complain article.

stuart07970

Lesson 1
Buying Applecare to extend your standard 12 month warranty would have saved you all this heartache.

Lesson 2
Never, ever get your phone repaired by anyone except Apple. If you have a further problem, Apple will not touch it!

Lesson 3
Go back, if possible to another store, and be super nice, tell 'em how much you love Apple and what a great customer you are, and how you've persuaded your loved-ones to get an iPhone or Mac.
If this doesn't work pull out your sale of goods paperwork, but continue to be super-nice throughout

GOOD LUCK!