MSE News: Were you mis-sold an iPhone 5? Your options...

Kite2010

matttye wrote: »

Thanks for the clarification.

Not planning on replacing my iPhone 5 until 4G is pretty much rolled out across the country anyway. It's blazing fast (software wise) and does everything I need it to, so until 4G is available where I live I'm not going to bother upgrading!

You will be in for a long wait, considering some parts still can't get 3G.

And the 4G network is fast as the number of users is low.

matttye

Kite2010 wrote: »

You will be in for a long wait, considering some parts still can't get 3G.

And the 4G network is fast as the number of users is low.

Fine by me - I'd rather wait until it has matured. Some networks are rolling out DC-HSPA which will be a significant speed upgrade anyway.

MSE_Martin

A few unnecessarily snide comments above.

We've had a number of people who believe they were misled on this asking what their rights are. And so we wrote a news story on it to explain their rights and their options if they want to upgrade. That's what we're here to do.

The piece isnt a huge call for people to take up claims - in fact it is rather clear that most people don't have rights here (do note the title of the piece has a question mark - its not a clarion call).

Yet while in the main this is just the march of technology. Some people do feel upset and feel misled - that isn't implausible across the mass of phone shops in the UK.

Remember goods must be 'as described' and that includes information given by shop sales staff.

Martin

adamc260

Just shows the intelligence of most isheep, can't be bothered to check the frequencies that the networks support before purchasing a device. A big shiny red banner saying '4g' is enough to get everyone jumping up and down with excitement... Most people moaning about it won't even upgrade to 4g i'm sure!

NFH

I believe MSE are right and many of the responses above miss a crucial point. I'll repost my original comments (which MSE partially quoted) with some editing for further clarification:

When I bought my iPhone 5 SIM-free from Apple on its launch date of 21st September 2012, Apple stated on the ordering screen (of which I have kept a screenshot) "An unlocked iPhone 5 may not support LTE networks in all other countries; contact service providers for details". Given that Apple specifically mentioned the lack of support "in all other countries" but neglected to mention the lack of support by half of UK networks, a reasonable consumer would understand that the iPhone 5 would function throughout the mainstream 4G networks in the UK. At the time, no UK network was offering 4G but it turns out that Vodafone and O2 already knew that they would not support any of the 4G frequencies of the iPhone 5, and Apple would have known this as well.

Given Apple's lack of disclaimer regarding UK networks (only regarding non-UK networks), those who bought from Apple would have strong grounds to return their iPhone 5 for a refund under Section 14(1)&(2B)(a) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979. Customers who bought from Vodafone or O2 would likewise be able to claim a refund under Section 4(2B) of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 which causes any public statements by Apple to be binding upon Vodafone and O2.

db333

As can be seen in Apples official iPhone 5 launch conference. They only claim that EE will support 4G on the iPhone 5.

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"An unlocked iPhone 5 may not support LTE networks in all other countries; contact service providers for details"

Correct. iPhone 5 does support LTE in the UK... on EE!

This is a blatant attempt at people trying to get out of a contract because they are unable to do some simple research. I remember when buying my iPhone on O2. It clearly stated on their website that they would offer a "4G promise" to people who bought the iPhone 5, that they could upgrade early when 4G was released for a fee.

Surely when buying a £500+ phone you would do a little research to make sure it's fit for your needs. A 5 second search on Google would have given you the information needed:

w w w . apple.com/iphone/LTE

KTF

NFH wrote: »

"An unlocked iPhone 5 may not support LTE networks in all other countries; contact service providers for details".

Given Apple's lack of disclaimer regarding UK networks (only regarding non-UK networks,...

They did put a disclaimer in that you should contact the service provider to check if it will be supported (not rocket science really).

It was well publicised at launch that the iphone 5 would not work on all 4G networks in the UK so I really don't see why people think they have been 'miss-sold' the phone.

Seemingly its always someone elses fault these days...

Earthworm

I think what MSE and NFH are referring to is different from what our replies are referring to. NFH in particular only mentions phones bought SIM free via Apple whereas most of the miss-selling claims we are likely to hear will come from contract purchases via networks. If indeed the Apple site at the time of launch did not state the UK 4G compatibility on their page then those who bought the phone from Apple only at time of launch may have a case.

Those who purchased from O2 and Vodafone have no options to claim miss-sell unless they were speficially told it would work on their own 4G when it launched. As all publications online stated though at no point was the phone publically advertised as 4G Ready on their networks so it will become your word against theirs.

The gripe people have in their MSE-branded "snide" comments are justified (some) if the person looking to escape their contract made the assumption their handset would work on Voda/O2 4G without doing research or asking questions prior to purchase.

NFH

KTF wrote: »

They did put a disclaimer in that you should contact the service provider to check if it will be supported (not rocket science really).

The disclaimer was specifically regarding networks outside the UK; it is not relevant to this problem within the UK.

Earthworm wrote: »

Those who purchased from O2 and Vodafone have no options to claim miss-sell unless they were speficially told it would work on their own 4G when it launched.

If they reasonably understood from Apple's statements that the iPhone 5 would work throughout the forthcoming 4G networks in the UK, then those statements are binding upon Vodafone and O2 as I explained above. If a manufacturer says something about its product, this is binding upon all suppliers.

Earthworm

If this is true (I am not into law and don't study it) then the airtime agreement is still valid surely not? Would this then mean that Voda/O2 would then have to pursue Apple for individual claims or that the purchaser themself would have to contact Apple? I cant see how it would give you rights to terminate your monthly plan early.