Am I wrong to fight this?

marniott

Hi all,

I'm having a bit of an argument with Virgin Mobile. I have been with them for several years and have a couple of pay monthly contracts. I was recently "persuaded" to stay with them and they provided a "free" phone - a Blackberry Bold 9790 - this all happened in November 2012.

Around 2 weeks ago my daughter came home from school, with said phone, and 5 of the keyboard buttons had fallen off. Now, I know what you're all thinking (as this was my own first thought too!) but she assures me she hasn't done anything to break the keys.

VM are stating that the phone has physical damage to it which means the warranty is void - I have tried explaining to them that there is physical damage(the keys have come off!) and this is why I have sent it to them. Am I right to try and argue with VM that the phone is faulty and that it should be covered under the warranty or am I being naive and just trying to claim something for nothing?

Any advice appreciated please and many thanks in advance.

sparky93

marniott wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm having a bit of an argument with Virgin Mobile. I have been with them for several years and have a couple of pay monthly contracts. I was recently "persuaded" to stay with them and they provided a "free" phone - a Blackberry Bold 9790 - this all happened in November 2012.

Around 2 weeks ago my daughter came home from school, with said phone, and 5 of the keyboard buttons had fallen off. Now, I know what you're all thinking (as this was my own first thought too!) but she assures me she hasn't done anything to break the keys.

VM are stating that the phone has physical damage to it which means the warranty is void - I have tried explaining to them that there is physical damage(the keys have come off!) and this is why I have sent it to them. Am I right to try and argue with VM that the phone is faulty and that it should be covered under the warranty or am I being naive and just trying to claim something for nothing?

Any advice appreciated please and many thanks in advance.

I would say your first thought, accidental or not, 1 may drop if fault, but 5 in one go.. sorry.

robbies_gal

5 buttons just miraculously stop working? i used to lie to my parents trust me she is to you

chanz4

I have had these phones for years, never had the keys drop like that and myn are abused

d123

marniott wrote: »

Hi all,

VM are stating that the phone has physical damage to it which means the warranty is void - I have tried explaining to them that there is physical damage(the keys have come off!) and this is why I have sent it to them.

The fact it is physical damage is exactly why it isn't a warranty issue.

Unfortunately your big problem is the fact you are being lied to, 5 buttons don't just fall off without external "help".

Good news is the keyboard is cheap, (it comes in one piece, another reason why it is extremely unlikely for 5 buttons to just fall out).

It looks like this


Shop around your unlocker type mobile shops, I'd expect it to cost around £20 fitted (the part is £8.95 delivered from eBay if you have anyone who can fit it for you).

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-BLACK-BOTTOM-ARABIC-KEYPAD-BLACKBERRY-BOLD-9790-QWERTY-KEYBOARD-BUTTONS-/181067545312?pt=UK_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item2a28777ae0

peachyprice

I'm with the others on this, we've had many Blackberrys between us, probably in the region of 7-8, NEVER have keys 'come off' they just don't. As in the pic above, it's one unit, not individual keys.

Best ask your daughter what really happened to it.

Herongull

Why are you allowing your daughter to take a contract phone to school?

If the phone is lost or stolen, the thief will run up big bills until she notices the phone is missing and reports it.

Children can also sign up to expensive but useless subscription services.

If the phone is in your name, you are liable for all calls and subscriptions run up on it.

Would you give a child your credit card and pin?

So why are you allowing them unsupervised access to your contract phone?

19lottie82

Herongull wrote: »

Why are you allowing your daughter to take a contract phone to school?

If the phone is lost or stolen, the thief will run up big bills until she notices the phone is missing and reports it.

Children can also sign up to expensive but useless subscription services.

If the phone is in your name, you are liable for all calls and subscriptions run up on it.

Would you give a child your credit card and pin?

So why are you allowing them unsupervised access to your contract phone?

This is a bit judgemental isn't it? Maybe it wouldn't be your choice, but in the real world lots of kids are given contract phones by their parents.

Also what has the lost / stolen = possible huge bills, got to do with a child taking it to school, this could happen anywhere and to anyone?

Also, perhaps the OP, gave her DD the phone with a PAYG sim in it?

malcumms7898

It sounds like the buttons have come off due to some damage to the phone. Your daughter may be lying as others have suggested (maybe she was worried about you being angry for damaging the phone) or maybe it got damaged in a way that she wasn't aware of - if it was in her bag and something happened to her bag for example. Either way, accidental damage is not covered by the warranty. You could probably try and replace the keys yourself or take them to someone who will fix the keyboard for you. You could also consider getting phone insurance for a few pounds a month which would cover things like this in future. But the phone company is probably in the right for refusing to cover this with the warranty.

Herongull

19lottie82 wrote: »

This is a bit judgemental isn't it? Maybe it wouldn't be your choice, but in the real world lots of kids are given contract phones by their parents.

Also what has the lost / stolen = possible huge bills, got to do with a child taking it to school, this could happen anywhere and to anyone?

Also, perhaps the OP, gave her DD the phone with a PAYG sim in it?

There have been soooo many parents posting here because their phones have run up huge bills (thousands of £) because they gave the phone to their child who lost the phone and didn't report it promptly or else the child or their "friends" signed up the phone to dodgy expensive services.

Expensive phones also make children a target for muggers.

Many parents don't realise just how much they are putting their finances at risk by letting their children have contract phones.

Of course if the OP swapped the contract sim for a PAYG sim before giving it to the child, then this problem doesn't arise.

19lottie82

Herongull wrote: »

There have been soooo many parents posting here because their phones have run up huge bills (thousands of £) because they gave the phone to their child who lost the phone and didn't report it promptly or else the child or their "friends" signed up the phone to dodgy expensive services.

Expensive phones also make children a target for muggers.

Many parents don't realise just how much they are putting their finances at risk by letting their children have contract phones.

Of course if the OP swapped the contract sim for a PAYG sim before giving it to the child, then this problem doesn't arise.

A BB Bold isn't really an "expensive phone" or a target for muggers, when compared to newer, top of the range handsets.

I understand your point, and I'm not saying that I disagree with you BUT the OP came on here asking a specific question (which seems to have been answered), not to be preached at about her choice of phone for her child, especially before you asked if the contract sim was in the phone, or how old her daughter actually is.

My OH's daughter is 13 and has a Galaxy S2 on contract. She is very mature / sensible and we trust her to have it, use her common sense about using it in public, not run up huge bills, and not to let other people use it, unless she knows them and it's an emergency.

His other daughter however, is 9 and has the common sense of a goldfish. There is no way we allow her same priviiledges (sp) just now, or even when she is the same age as her sister, unless we see drastic changes!