Internet dongle - am I entitled to a full refund?

skoobydoo30

I am looking for some advice on my consumer rights re: a full refund on part use of an internet dongle from Three.

I am seeking a refund for a Three purchase (an internet dongle - Huawei E3231 with 12GB Broadband pack; £89.99).

I want a full refund because it has developed a number of faults, and despite an exchange, and other faults since my purchase on 30/09/2012, it has now not worked since January 2013.

I have been without any internet since January 2013, and despite usage, there have been a number of faults since the purchase date which have meant I am unwilling to accept their offer of a repair.
The dongle has;
a) randomly uninstalled device driver software, which resulted in a visit to store to exchange it,
b) developed a connection fault which meant no internet for several days, and
c) again, randomly uninstalled the device driver software, which means the dongle cannot be used.

I tried to repair this issues myself (system restore, downloading device driver software again etc), but nothing worked.

On 23/01/2013 I made a complaint, via post to Three customer services. After pursuing my complaint in store and via postal letter, email, phone calls to and from Three since then, I have still had no satisfactory resolution.

Three have offered to repair the dongle, which I am unwilling to do as the same fault may occur again. They have also offered a repair/data refund, which again, I am unwilling to accept because of the time wasted so far and the chance the same fault may occur again. I have stated I would accept a repair if a financial conciliatory gesture was also made for wasted time, and the loss of work time I have suffered without an internet connection. Three are not willing to do so.

I am seeking a full refund of £89.99 under the Sales of Goods Act 1979 (as amended), but Three argue that because I have used some of the data (I think 6 GB), they will only refund £50.00.

I am arguing that the item is not fit for purpose, and as such I am due a full refund. Am I within my rights to do so, despite the fact I have used some of the data allowance?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

HappyMJ

£50 is a very good offer considering you have used half of it.

The actual value of one of those dongles is only about £1.00. The real value is in the SIM card which you could continue to use.

NiftyDigits

If you have used 6GB out of 12GB, it's going to be difficult to argue that it was not 'fit for purpose'.
Ask them to swap the troublesome modem for a MiFi(Huawei E5331). It is a reasonable request if the standard modem has proved to be troublesome. That way you can continue to use the service without having to be concerned about 'device drivers'. It's also a more useful piece of kit.
Once you've used up the remaining 6GB, you can continue either with 3month/3GB PAYG SIMs available for around £11.50 or a suitable contract that fits your needs.
Alternatively, you can unlock it for as little as £0.99 and use it with most any network, here and worldwide.

If they refuse, take the £50 and buy a MiFi from PC World/Currys anyway for £29 on the one month contract and call to cancel the contract on the same day.

NiftyDigits

HappyMJ wrote: »

£50 is a very good offer considering you have used half of it.

The actual value of one of those dongles is only about £1.00. The real value is in the SIM card which you could continue to use.

Perhaps you can point us towards where we can purchase the £1 dongle.

skoobydoo30

Thanks for the advice guys - I've offered to accept the £50 as a conciliatory gesture if a working dongle can be provided for use with the existing SIM card, which still has around 50% of the data allowance left.

Let's see what comes back...

I'm still frustrated that this has had to be accelerated to the Executive Office because customer services have run me ragged since Jan 2013, but here's hoping it's resolved quickly