Ridiculous fee for fixing mobile with Vodafone, advice very welcome

WiltsInLondon

Several ago I took out a new contract through Vodafone, with which I chose a Samsung Galaxy Ace. I had to have it repaired 3 times for the same problem: It kept thinking it was charging when nothing was plugged into it, then not recognising the charger when it was. The third time around they gave me a replacement phone. By this point I was mildly annoyed but didn't bother taking it further.

A couple of weeks ago the replacement phone started doing the exact same thing: I was cooking in the kitchen when I felt it vibrating in my pocket. When I took it out it thought it was charging again. I took it back for repair again but this time around I've been told that I have to pay £75 to have it repaired due to USB damage which is outside the warranty. I've disputed this but was informed today that they still want £75 to fix the phone.

I'm not ruling out the possibility that I did damage the USB socket in some way, especially as I was plugging/unplugging the charger in the hope that it would start working. However, given the fact that I've been paying for this for several months now and have experienced that phantom charger problem a total of 4 times, I'm pretty damn angry that I'm being asked to fork out £75, especially when it doesn't cost too much more to just buy a replacement! Furthermore, although I eventually was put through to someone quite helpful who raised my (not upheld) complaint, before that I had to speak to about 5 different people at various departments in Vodafone before anything happened. One of them even seemed to refuse to take anything further after I stated that I wanted to complain.

Has anyone been in a similar position? I'm very reluctant to pay the relatively extortionate £75, especially given how many problems I've had up to now!

Vodafone

Hi WiltsInLondon,

Thanks for making me aware of your concerns.

If you'd like me to take a closer look at things could you email me with your details via the link in our profile here?

All you need to do is copy and paste the link into your web browser and it'll take you to the Contact us form on our website. To make sure it reaches me could you also quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line?

Once sent you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. So I can make sure I've got it could you update the thread with this and I'll get back to you as soon as possible?

Kind regards,

Lee

Web Relations

Vodafone UK