Help please with rights/procedure re. return/replacement of faulty phone?

FabApocalypse

I bought an HTC One V phone (sim free) from Argos in January this year. It's always been a bit slow and temperamental with sending and receiving texts and sometimes is reluctant to make a phone call, and of late it's become virtually unusable.

On contacting HTC they advised me to do lots of things I've already tried (apart from removing the battery, which they told me to do: this model doesn't HAVE a removable battery!) which have not helped and then told me 'my only option' is to return the phone to them for repair. No mention of replacement.

An internet search for this issue with the phone results in a list of many other people suffering the same problem so I'm therefore inclined to think this is an across the board issue with the model of the phone and not my individual handset. I've also seen forum posts whereby people have returned their phones, got them back after a couple of weeks only to have the problem recur once they start using the phone again.

I feel that the very least you should expect of a mobile phone is that it should be capable of the basic functions: sending texts and making phone calls; since there are phones sold for under a tenner which do, I fail to see why the model I have, though aimed at 'entry level', costs nearly £300 and can't seem to manage that.

Before I get out the Argos receipt/guarantee and so forth, can somebody please advise if they, as the retailer, are responsible for repair or replacement? Or do I really have to go for HTC's 'only option'? Is there an accepted 'script' I should say when contacting Argos (if it's appropriate)?

I'm on a tight budget so can't afford to simply buy another phone or write off this one, and use the phone a lot so the inconvenience of being without it is as unappetising as the ten minute wait to read an incoming text! I'm PAYG and can't do contract so can't get a 'free' phone that way either.

Any assistance appreciated! Thank you.

JJ_Egan

You return to the retailer not the manufacturer .
They are responsible for repair under warranty .
But most likely they will send it to HTC .
A manufacturing defect across multiple users is rather harder to prove .


jje

FabApocalypse

It is a software or firmware defect I would imagine, as there are so many reporting it worldwide; I can't see how they can, in that case, effect 'a repair' on an individual handset and from reports it would seem they can't.

grumbler

JJ_Egan wrote: »

You return to the retailer not the manufacturer .

Not necessarily, but the retailer is preferable especially if the phone is pretty new.

They are responsible for repair under warranty .

The retailer is responsible under the SOGA, not warranty, although some retailers do offer their own warranty on the top of the manufacturer's one.

diamonds

Look for a independent APPROVED HTC repairer and if they cant sort it take the report to Argos and get your refund under the Sale of Goods Act.

Don't let Argos send it away for repair to a national repair centre as anything can happen to it en route or being returned, let alone what the swamped national repair centre staff COULD do to CLEAR their backlog of repairs by *cough* accident.

These network and/or manufacturer approved national repair centres are generally allocated a budget per manufacturer not an a handset by handset repair and parts price/service. DONT trust them these companies are companies to make profit NOT HTC staff.

Stay local, contribute locally by going to a HTC APPROVED repair centre.

grumbler

diamonds wrote: »

Look for a independent APPROVED HTC repairer and if they cant sort it take the report to Argos and get your refund under the Sale of Goods Act.

Don't let Argos send it away for repair to a national repair centre as anything can happen to it en route or being returned, let alone what the swamped national repair centre staff COULD do to CLEAR their backlog of repairs by *cough* accident.

This is arguable. After getting the phone repaired/replaced by an independent repairer of the manufacturer you can lose all your rights under the SOGA that generally offers a better protection than the warranty. That's why MSE article recommends to deal with the supplier in the first place.

diamonds

Argos and many will not do SOG until after a APPROVED report, that APPROVED report is more likely to fail if you send it to a national repairer like Argos third party one.

I get your point though Grumbler, best go speak to manager under SOG and if they want to send it for repair/report tell them that's fine but you will be using the local APPROVED manufacturer repair not Argos national third party contract (as its a conflict of interest on enforcing SOG in any small claims proceedings if NEW faults develop whilst away - and near impossible for the consumer to prove that fault/damage was not there before being sent away)

grumbler

The phone was sold in Jan, i.e. can be less than 6 months old. If so, the customer doesn't have to prove anything. The retailer does.
Even if it's more than 6 months old, the report can be needed only if the supplier refuses to repair/replace and blames the customer for damaging the phone.
And if the supplier agrees to repair it I don't think that a customer is in a position to dictate where it has to be repaired.

FabApocalypse

Oh dear!

Doing more research it seems that HTC's repairs department is not highly thought of, putting it mildly.

I feel loath to send back (by whatever method, via Argos or directly) a phone in perfect physical condition but with a software fault and end up with it being lost or broken by the service centre themselves.

There are many horror stories.

Am really worried now :eek:

And still can't see how they are going to 'fix' it.

diamonds

grumbler wrote: »

The phone was sold in Jan, i.e. can be less than 6 months old. If so, the customer doesn't have to prove anything. The retailer does.
Even if it's more than 6 months old, the report can be needed only if the supplier refuses to repair/replace and blames the customer for damaging the phone.
And if the supplier agrees to repair it I don't think that a customer is in a position to dictate where it has to be repaired.

Correct and Argos will sent it to THEIR own repairer who again like the manufacturers will say user damage as they pay a allowance to them not per handset/repair/parts out that ALLOWANCE for the contract period. So its a yeah or no depending on how that person feels about your handset, they are far from honest.

diamonds

FabApocalypse wrote: »

Oh dear!

Doing more research it seems that HTC's repairs department is not highly thought of, putting it mildly.

I feel loath to send back (by whatever method, via Argos or directly) a phone in perfect physical condition but with a software fault and end up with it being lost or broken by the service centre themselves.

There are many horror stories.

Am really worried now :eek:

And still can't see how they are going to 'fix' it.

Local HTC approved repairer, Argos cannot argue SOG if they want it looked at first with their possible unapproved HTC repairer.

Software will take local approved HTC guys a couple hours to install latest approved firmware of OS which should stop the problem, whats the problem with software ? Can you do a update at home ?


your phone support page https://support.htc.com/en-uk/010-HTC_One_SV