iPhone 4S - Wifi Dead 14months

st213513

Hi,

The Wifi on my iPhone completely failed (hardware issue) after 14months, therefore outside of the 1year Apple warranty. I personally think this is not acceptable for a "quality" product to fail after through a short period of time. I have filed a complaint with Apple regarding this as the phone is still practically in brand new condition. They have suggested I pay £145 to have it fixed by them which I declined.

EU warranty law states 2 years but can this apply in my case? Are there limitations?

Can anyone advise? As I mentioned I expect more than 14 months usage before a product should fail due to hardware issues.

NFH

Who supplied it to you? Apple or a mobile network?

st213513

Bought off eBay practically brand new 25/06/12 from private seller.

NFH

Then you have very few rights, if any.

There is no such thing as an EU two-year warranty. There is an EU directive (I can't remember which one) which mandates that a consumer should have at least two years to bring an action against the supplier (not the manufacturer) for defective goods, but given that Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 already allows up to six years (five in Scotland), the directive has no effect in the UK. Because the supplier in your case was a private seller and the goods were secondhand, I don't think this helps you at all.

FlyingDonkeys

I wonder if you can get in touch with person you bought it from and ask them to query it for ou. They would have more rights and would probably be disappointed to know what you are experiencing? Good luck

st213513

Ok, thanks for the info.

Still not happy with the product failing. Will look to sell all Apple products I own and move onto something else.

A waste of my time and money as I really expect more.

NFH

FlyingDonkeys wrote: »

I wonder if you can get in touch with person you bought it from and ask them to query it for ou. They would have more rights and would probably be disappointed to know what you are experiencing? Good luck

This is indeed the only way to get redress, but it relies on the cooperation of the seller, who possibly couldn't care less. The seller would have rights against their supplier (probably a mobile network), but none against Apple.

Where goods are supplied as a standalone product (e.g. by Apple), the Sale of Goods Act 1979 applies. However, where goods are supplied in conjunction with a service (as is probably the case here), the relevant legislation is Section 11N of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 which obliges the supplier (not the manufacturer) to repair or replace defective goods free of charge if they develop a defect within a reasonable time after their supply. This legislation is over 30 years old and has been well tested in court. The law doesn't define what a reasonable time is, but where goods are supplied in conjunction with a service, a court would determine a reasonable time to be at least the minimum duration of the service contract. The maximum time is limited to six years by Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980. The problem is that it's up to the original owner to enforce these rights.

Silk

NFH wrote: »

Then you have very few rights, if any.

There is no such thing as an EU two-year warranty. There is an EU directive (I can't remember which one) which mandates that a consumer should have at least two years to bring an action against the supplier (not the manufacturer) for defective goods, but given that Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 already allows up to six years (five in Scotland), the directive has no effect in the UK. Because the supplier in your case was a private seller and the goods were secondhand, I don't think this helps you at all.

Heres Apple's page relating to the EU
http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/

st213513

I'll try to get in touch with the seller although having checked eBay he is no longer a member. But eBay may be able to pass on the message.

Again, thank you both for the helpful information.

flashg67

I'm no apple fan, but no brand is perfect - in recent years, our family has had phones from Blackberry, Apple, Nokia, Motorola and HTC all fail within 2 years or less with only moderate use. At least Apple offer you a discounted replacement - not found others that do - you might be jumping out of the frying pan...

st213513

flashg67 wrote: »

I'm no apple fan, but no brand is perfect - in recent years, our family has had phones from Blackberry, Apple, Nokia, Motorola and HTC all fail within 2 years or less with only moderate use. At least Apple offer you a discounted replacement - not found others that do - you might be jumping out of the frying pan...

Appreciate that fact but I suppose it's whatever experience you go through as an individual. Had plenty of Nokias in the past which have been no problem. This issue is the Wifi completely failing (my opinion is due to poor design as the phone then runs hot and the Wifi chip contacts are weakened)