iPhone broke, still in contract, please help.

oopsadaisydoddle

Nereis wrote: »

Rightly or wrongly ee/tmobile stores do not take iPhones in for repair, they send them through apple. As fair as I know this was Apple's decision but I'm not 100% sure. I'm not saying its the right thing at all but you won't get anywhere in a tmobile store, as it actually states on the paperwork that the customer signs that the phone must not be an iPhone. No staff member/manager would have the authority to override this, so I think you'd need to go through customer services to persue this, which might be more of a nightmare than its worth, as most of them will simply tell you to go in store. You're best bet is probably Apple.

You're correct. At present, I believe, Orange are the same too.

It is all to do with the agreement between Apple and the networks - they will only have official Apple bods doing repairs.

easy

oopsadaisydoddle wrote: »

If that is the case, then the OP I believe, for want of a better phrase 'is stuffed'.

It clearly states the onus is on the consumer once 6 months has passed. If OP cannot not prove it then not much they can do.

That would be my opinion on this, yes.

In the OP's shoes, I would cut my losses and either buy a less expensive android phone, or take the option suggested earlier of getting a recon from Apple at £140 (a decent price in my opinion - does it include a new battery and any warranty?).

I don't think to trying to fight this would be a reasonable use of his time/energy - in any case the arguing will easily take 6 months, by which time his contract has expired anyway.

oopsadaisydoddle

easy wrote: »

That would be my opinion on this, yes.

In the OP's shoes, I would cut my losses and either buy a less expensive android phone, or take the option suggested earlier of getting a recon from Apple at £140 (a decent price in my opinion - does it include a new battery and any warranty?).

I don't think to trying to fight this would be a reasonable use of his time/energy - in any case the arguing will easily take 6 months, by which time his contract has expired anyway.

I can't remember if OP said £140 is for repair or replacement. If replacement I think it is good because (i believe) that the refurb handsets are 'as new'. Batteries are integrated so not sure if that bit can be replaced.

Fire_Fox

ljh8 wrote: »

Hello everyone. I need some help please.

I have an iPhone 4 on a 2 year contract with T-Mobile. It is currently about 18 months through its contract.

The phone had developed an irreparable fault.

T-Mobile say they are not obliged to fix it or give a free replacement. They say it is Apple who are liable.

Apple say they are not liable and only offer to repair it for a fee.

I understand that the sale of goods act refers to good having to last as long as is reasonably expected. In this case I expect my phone to last at least the length of the contract.

Can anybody advise me on how to get this issue resolved? My understanding is that T-Mobile are liable, but they just say they are not and refuse to continue any conversation.

If anybody else has been in this situation I would love to hear from you. Thank you in advance, ljh8

How much did you pay for the handset itself? Even if you got a report showing an inherent fault (doubtful) and had rights under SOGA the retailer can choose repair, replacement or refund. If you paid £40 for the handset you will get a portion of that back since the phone is now second hand. It's not a £500 handset unless you paid £500, SOGA does not permit new for old replacement or refund.

Sorry but you should have taken out the extended warranty/ insurance if you wanted to guarantee a functioning iPhone for two years. What you pay T-mobile is for airtime/ the service, the handset is 'free' or heavily discounted.

d123

oopsadaisydoddle wrote: »

I can't remember if OP said £140 is for repair or replacement. If replacement I think it is good because (i believe) that the refurb handsets are 'as new'. Batteries are integrated so not sure if that bit can be replaced.

For an iPhone 4 it's actually £119 for the out of warranty service.

iPhone Model Out-of-Warranty Service
iPhone 5 £ 186.44
iPhone 4S £ 146.44
iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS,
iPhone 3G, Original iPhone £ 126.44

The Out-of-Warranty Service Fee includes a £ 7.44 shipping fee, which applies only if service is arranged through Apple and requires shipping. All fees are in British pound sterling and include VAT. iPhone Out-of-Warranty Service may also be available from your wireless carrier. Pricing may vary.

http://www.apple.com/uk/support/iphone/service/exchange/

I have never heard of anyone not getting a replacement handset with this service, and the replacement will have a 90 day warranty.

dmliverpool

The contract is for airtime and the phone is a perk. Apple offer a 12 month warranty for two main reasons. First is that iphone tariffs usually clear the cost of the phone and the actual value of the airtime within 6 months. The other six months are 100% profit to operators. After 6 months everything is profit. Secondly apple make phones with a shelf life to keep the upgrade market alive. I learnt this with an old 3G contract a whole ago. I also did the maths.

dmliverpool

Basically your snookered and will have to buy a new phone. The rest is a waste of your time.

amcg100

Hi
I have a simple solution to your problem - your phone contract is regulated under the consumer credit act ( because you have bought the phone on credit - why else would they credit check you ? ) - T - mobile are liable and you should get right into them.
You are also right in my opinion that under SOGA an item is expected to last a reasonable amount of time ( in this case the duration of the contract)
Under both scenarios, you should pursue T mobile and not Apple, although if you get no joy from T mobile then there are legal avenues you can still go down with Apple if you've got the tenacity.

good luck

gjchester

dmliverpool wrote: »

. Secondly apple make phones with a shelf life to keep the upgrade market alive. I learnt this with an old 3G contract a whole ago.

It's entirely down to the use (or abuse) patterns of the user.

The biggest problem in all modern phones is batteries and that's down to people having mis conceptions and urban myths.

Lithium batteries DO NOT take well to being deeply discharged, without getting too technical if you draw too much power from a Li cell that's it, it will never take a charge again, however many, many people still work on the logic of NiCad and NiMH and try can do a full drain and discharge to keep them at capacity, and that's the worst thing you can do to a Lithium cell.

All modern smart phones are battery heavy, they'll be down to 50% battery in a day easily, but yet we don't think to put them on charge as soon as we can, we tend to run them flat and charge them later. Research has shown if you top up a lithium battery as soon as you can after using 40-50 of it's charge it will last thousands of cycles, leave it to there is only 10 or 20 % left before charging and you'll be lucky to get 500 cycles out of it. It's no different with laptop batteries, where people use the laptop till it shuts off then charge it, and then wonder why after a year they only get a hours life from the battery.

We also tend to treat phones with no real regard for them. They get thrown in bags, pockets and so on as well as being used in all weathers, all of which does not help their life, you would not dream of using a tablet or laptop in the rain but look on the street in the next downpour, and many people will be on a mobile.

Sure phones have a fixed life, the best battery care will only give 2000 or so cycles, but very few people really take care of the devices they have which is why they tend to live shorter lives than we expect.

gjchester

amcg100 wrote: »

Under both scenarios, you should pursue T mobile and not Apple, although if you get no joy from T mobile then there are legal avenues you can still go down with Apple if you've got the tenacity.

Not sure there is, your contract is with the retailer not the supplier, the OP and Apple have no contract in place so no legal comeback.

That does assume as has been stated earlier TM is the retailer not another 3rd party,