EU consumer law? iPhone 4

emilywyeth

My iPhone 4 broke on the day the 1 year warranty ran out!
The wifi button has stopped working, so I'm not able to slide to switch the wifi on. The rest of the phone, including 3G, is functioning well. I took it into Apple and they said it'll either be £150 to replace it or it may be covered under EU consumer law, but as I purchased it through Carphone warehouse, I'd have to go through them.

I phoned Carphone warehouse, who said there's no such thing as the EU consumer law and I'd have to pay for a new phone (oh and then they hung up on me)! It doesn't seem reasonable that a several hundred pound phone has broken after a year and a day! I've looked on the internet, and others have had the same problem with no solutions, suggesting it's a fault with the phone and not anything I've done to it.

Is there anything I can do apart from forking out for a new phone?

Silk

emilywyeth wrote: »

I phoned Carphone warehouse, who said there's no such thing as the EU consumer law and I'd have to pay for a new phone (oh and then they hung up on me)

Show them this page ....
http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/

Bingolingo

emilywyeth wrote: »

My iPhone 4 broke on the day the 1 year warranty ran out!
The wifi button has stopped working, so I'm not able to slide to switch the wifi on. The rest of the phone, including 3G, is functioning well. I took it into Apple and they said it'll either be £150 to replace it or it may be covered under EU consumer law, but as I purchased it through Carphone warehouse, I'd have to go through them.

I phoned Carphone warehouse, who said there's no such thing as the EU consumer law and I'd have to pay for a new phone (oh and then they hung up on me)! It doesn't seem reasonable that a several hundred pound phone has broken after a year and a day! I've looked on the internet, and others have had the same problem with no solutions, suggesting it's a fault with the phone and not anything I've done to it.

Is there anything I can do apart from forking out for a new phone?

EU Consumer law could be from any member state or it might be an implementing directive directly from the EU institutions.

Anyway, Apple's reference to EU consumer law is their way of saying "we don't really care". What you want is UK consumer law i.e. The Sale of Goods Act. I'd like to hear CPW deny the existence of that!

The wifi problem is a common fault on iPhones and would normally be fixed under warranty. As you've had the phone for more than 6 months you have to prove the fault was inherent in the device and not caused by misuse etc. CPW might take your word or you may have to get an independent engineer to produce a report.

If you can prove that to CPW's satisfaction then they have to fix it for you (or provide a replacement which is their choice to make). However, with the age of the phone and repair costs you may have to make a contribution to the repair or replacement but the contribution would likely be small.

grumbler

Bingolingo wrote: »

If you can prove that to CPW's satisfaction then they have to fix it for you (or provide a replacement which is their choice to make). However, with the age of the phone and repair costs you may have to make a contribution to the repair or replacement but the contribution would likely be small.

Why contribution? If the phone wasn't damaged/misused CPW have to repair or replace it for free.

However, if you go to them with an independent report, they will refuse to reimburse the cost of it. IMHO, it's better to get in writing from them that they refuse to repair it because it isn't an inherent fault, then either
- get it repared with a report elsewhere
OR
- get a report and buy a replacement
and then sue CPW for all costs (+compensation). They will pay before the court hearing.

NFH

emilywyeth wrote: »

I phoned Carphone warehouse, who said there's no such thing as the EU consumer law and I'd have to pay for a new phone (oh and then they hung up on me)!

Article 5(1) of Directive 1999/44/EC, which is often misquoted as a mandatory European two-year warranty, merely states that the limitation period may not be less than two years from the date of delivery. Given that Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980 already allows six years (five in Scotland), the Article has no effect upon UK legislation.

Where goods are supplied as a standalone product, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 applies. However, where goods are supplied in conjunction with a service and particularly where payments for the service wholly or partially cover the cost of the goods (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, and much longer in the case of an expensive product such as an iPhone.

gjchester

emilywyeth wrote: »

I phoned Carphone warehouse, who said there's no such thing as the EU consumer law

Correct.


The EU implements directives that each member state has to then enact into national law.











Have you tried a full restore on the phone? the issue was more common on 4S's than 4's and a reset may solve it.

d123

Three years ago Martin wrote a blog titled:

"The EU goods must last a minimum two years’ rule is a myth"

http://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2010/12/13/the-eu-%E2%80%98goods-must-last-a-minimum-two-years%E2%80%99-rule-is-a-myth/

Yet posters on this site still ignorantly shout at retailers demanding their "2 year EU warranty" because "it's the law" .

Buzby

There is also no such thing as a 'WiFi' slide switch on an iPhone. As there is no inherent fault and you had it a year, the onus is with you to prove the handset was faulty. You may be unaware that your use may have caused whatever switch to fail, but Apple's offer is a good one - you get a fully functional handset complete with a warranty.

You can either beat yourself up quoting laws that those who hear you will ignore, or get it fixed and get back on the road.

NFH

Buzby wrote: »

There is also no such thing as a 'WiFi' slide switch on an iPhone.

There is. It's under Settings, Wi-Fi. You can slide it between on and off.

Drwho

Im having the same problem emilywyeth since last weds and took it back to Apple store 70miles from me and they said to take it back to the retailer which is Carphone warehouse and they told me exactly like you?? Im also very angry that i will have to pay £37.00 a month for only using text message and my 300 minute as i dont get 3G where i live i could only acces the internet via my home wifi. I just dont know what to do next

gjchester

NFH wrote: »

There is. It's under Settings, Wi-Fi. You can slide it between on and off.

Buzbys point is it is not a physical switch that can fail, its a slider in software.


something's preventing it working but it's not likely to be a physical fault as the Wi-Fi chip is on the main logic board so there is nothing physical to fail in terms of connectors or switches.