HELP !! Three upgrade nightmare

scorpio78

So last week I upgraded my account with 3 and got the iPhone 5.
The day it arrived I was not in but family took it and place3d it in my room

When I returned I opened the box to discover the screen glass was cracked ( the box was fine and new)
I phoned 3 straight away to tell them and ask for an exchange.
They then pull up some company policy, which I was not told about , and say as I have not contacted them in 24hrs they cannot help me.
I have spent the last 10 days arguing , politely , with various different 3 departments but to no avail.
I tried to cancel my upgrade as within 14days but they wont even accept this

To rub it in they offer me £5 to credit my phone for any inconvenience caused

Looks like I will take it to apple and exchange for a new phone now

I have been with 3 since 2005 , and this in defo my last dealings with them , there staff in india was polite and friendly but did not have a clue

any suggestions for my best course of action ???

Buzby

Pretty limited - you are expected to check items immediately on receipt and confirm suitability. You may have inadvertently dropped it, why should they pay? Apple will be able to confirm whether the phone was powered up prior to the screen implosion, helping your case, but they are now able to do screen repairs in store so may ask you to wait whilst they sort you out.

Either way, 3UK are dammed if they do or dammed if they don't. You won't be he first person to have dropped a new handset, and hoped the network would spring for a replacement.

scorpio78

the phone is as it arrived - new

I took it out of the box once to inspect the damage

All clear stickers are still on it and I have not even switched it on yet

scorpio78

How much would screen repairs at apple cost me ??

I was also told the apple warrenty won't cover this but if phone is new the will replace it with an extra cost , any idea how much ??

Herongull

Under Sale of Goods Act (actually Sale of Goods and Services in your case as it is a contract phone), you can reject faulty goods within a reasonable time - usually a few weeks - and claim a full refund (or rescind the contract).

After that you can get the item repaired or replaced at no cost to yourself and at minimum inconvenience to yourself if it is faulty. In the 1st 6 months the item is assumed to be inherently faulty unless they can prove you damaged it.

So what you were told about 24 hours is nonsense.

So decide whether you want to rescind the contract or if you want to continue and get them to repair/replace the phone. Don't let them fob you off or mess you around.

Herongull

Buzby wrote: »

Pretty limited - you are expected to check items immediately on receipt and confirm suitability. You may have inadvertently dropped it, why should they pay? Apple will be able to confirm whether the phone was powered up prior to the screen implosion, helping your case, but they are now able to do screen repairs in store so may ask you to wait whilst they sort you out.

Either way, 3UK are dammed if they do or dammed if they don't. You won't be he first person to have dropped a new handset, and hoped the network would spring for a replacement.

What complete nonsense! Haven't you heard about SOGA and related acts?

d123

Herongull wrote: »

What complete nonsense! Haven't you heard about SOGA and related acts?

Since when did SoGA cover damaged items?

Especially when there is a reasonable likelihood that the damage could have been caused by the OP or a family member in the time period they had the phone before notifying 3 of the damage (which he doesn't actually say how long, only in excess of 24 hours)?

Silk

d123 wrote: »

Since when did SoGA cover damaged items?

SOGA does cover damaged goods

OP ....how long after delivery was it before you reported and did anyone sign for the parcel ?

d123

Silk wrote: »

SOGA does cover damaged goods

So I can smash something and then use rights under SoGA to get a refund?

If I bought a crystal vase and then dropped it and it shattered I can return a box of glass shards for a full refund?

Similar, but slightly more melodramatic scenario as the OP.

Silk

So if you bought the vase and it arrived broken you would just accept it then?

clemmatis

scorpio78 wrote: »

So last week I upgraded my account with 3 and got the iPhone 5.
The day it arrived I was not in but family took it and place3d it in my room

When I returned I opened the box to discover the screen glass was cracked ( the box was fine and new)
I phoned 3 straight away to tell them and ask for an exchange.
They then pull up some company policy, which I was not told about , and say as I have not contacted them in 24hrs they cannot help me.
I have spent the last 10 days arguing , politely , with various different 3 departments but to no avail.
I tried to cancel my upgrade as within 14days but they wont even accept this

To rub it in they offer me £5 to credit my phone for any inconvenience caused

Looks like I will take it to apple and exchange for a new phone now

I have been with 3 since 2005 , and this in defo my last dealings with them , there staff in india was polite and friendly but did not have a clue

any suggestions for my best course of action ???

Talk to Trading Standards

http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/advice/