What are my rights?? What to do next?

MintSam

Hello all,
I recently sent my Samsung galaxy s3 on EE off for repair.
I woke up one morning and the screen was flickering on and off and also the colours were very pale on the screen.

I took it to the local EE shop and got it sent to the EE repair centre.
Yesterday I called up to see if had been returned yet. They said yes but it hasn't been fixed due to water damage. I basically argued saying how can it be water damage (it has genuinely not been anywhere near water)
The guy told me they had taken a picture of one droplet of water by a circuit board and so will not repair it.

Any idea what I should do next? I am 7 months into a 24 mnth contract.

Thanks, Sam.

grumbler

Difficult to say. Water damage is the most common excused for a refusal to repair under warranty or SOGA, but pretty often it's really the case. It can be a result of condensation, not necessarily dipping/spilling.
Search the board for 'water damage', 'liquid damage'.

It's always advised to check water damage indicators and take good photos of the handset (inside and outside) before giving it for repair.

That said, under the SOGA, during the first 6 months they have to prove that it was damaged, not just say this: Consumer Rights Armour.
A droplet of water on the PCB is a sufficient proof (unless they've dropped it deliberately just to create the excuse).

Buzby

The length of your contract has nothing to do with your phone issue. The official repairer will not do anything, but get it back and take it to an Indy repairer who is less fussed with the damp indicator - they just want to fix it and get paid.

Water ingress is one possible issue, but so is condensation where cycles of hot/cold can induce it, but it is always up to the owner to prove they did not 'abuse' the device - which as you have found is impossible.

A water droplet is damning and if they have a picture of it, you need to think hard your earlier useage - and avoid repeating it!

grumbler

Buzby wrote: »

.... it is always up to the owner to prove they did not 'abuse' the device...

No, during the first 6 months it's up to the seller to prove that the owner did abuse.

d123

grumbler wrote: »

No, during the first 6 months it's up to the seller to prove that the owner did abuse.

Unfortunately the seller will use the repairers report of the water damage and subsequent photo as their proof.

The OP would have to then take it to a court and hope that either the seller doesn't defend, or if he does, that the Court believes him above the seller and the repairer.

Buzby

grumbler wrote: »

No, during the first 6 months it's up to the seller to prove that the owner did abuse.

They did. Did you miss the bit about taking a photo of an internal water droplet?

Guys_Dad

Get the phone back.

Make sure it is dry.

Send it to Samsung or a market guy for a 2nd opinion.

I am always suspicious of "water damage". Occurs too often which indicates to me that it is either a cop out or phones are badly designed to allow it to happen when actual immersion or proper exposure to water hasn't occurred.

Having said that, sometimes people are not always 100% truthful when a £400 handset is in the frame. So, sometimes water damage may be genuine.

Not saying that this is the case here and, remember, the point of this is to get the handset working, if possible, so follow the advice and don't get into any arguments.