Samsung 'Repair' Centre V Supply of Sales and Services Act 1992

sarah_b_2

I have posted this in the Vent board but I think its better off in here

I paid Samsung for a repair to my phone of £130 in June 2013 as my phone had stopped charging. I was told it was 'water damage' so I reluctantly paid for it to be fixed.
Fast forward to September. Issue happening again, but on and off. I put it down to a glitch and left it until November were it was taking 14 hours to charge my phone to 12%. Back to square one. I ring Samsung and I send my phone back to be repaired.
2 Weeks later, I rung them as I had not heard anything and was told that phone had been fixed and was on its way to me. However when my phone arrived it was unfixed; apparently due to ''being out of warranty''.
I rung up the repair centre, to be told because I have a cosmetic crack (caused by a upset toddler) they are refusing to open up my phone. They acknowledged that the crack is purely cosmetic and can in now way cause the issue that I am having.
I asked for a refund, they have refused. But they are refusing to fix my phone as its ''out of warranty due to the crack''.
I contacted trading standards because I wasn't happy, I had paid for a repair and it had not been fixed. the adviser explained the Supply of Sales and Services Act 1992. They explained all repairs must be done to reasonable skill and care which has not happened in my case as the same issue has reoccurred. In no way I have damaged my phone via water damage, I am too scared to use it in the bloody rain after last time so I am extra cautious.
I told Samsung this (more than 10 times in capital letters lol) and still they don't get it.
I have quoted legislation, I have explained the difference between the Sales of Good Act and the Supply of Sales and Services Act 1992 as they were telling me to 'go to the retailer'. Although it was Samsung directly who had fixed my phone.
They have now sent me their ''final stance'' email stating that they are not going to do anything unless I PAY THEM to fix my phone.
I have sent 3 written letters via recorded delivery, emailed them 10 times and rung them 5 times. I also emailed their ''CEO'' but I suspect that the address is linked to customer services as it was on there site.
Where do I hit the point of escalating this past Samsung? Is there a Ombudsman for electrical products? How long do I give it (to show I am being reasonable with resolving it with the company before court) before submitting a small courts claim?
I will be ring the Citizens Advice helpline again in the morning, but I am wondering if anyone on here has experienced similar to me. This has never happened to me before and its daunting.
I am extremely annoyed and stressed out. During this time I haven't got a working phone which I am stuck with until June 2014 and I am paying out for a contract I am not using. I have just sent a email to watchdog but not rating my chances .
Thank you for listening, and I hope I have posted in the right bit.
Sarah.

Money-Saving-King

Although you've already paid the easiest thing to do is what I did when mine stopped charging.

I bought 2 spare batteries for about £1 each on ebay & a charger for the batteries that plugs into a normal socket which costs about £5. When the battery goes down I just take the old one & and replace it with a fully charged one & put the old one back into the wall charger to charge it up again. Problem solved for about £7 and I didn't have to be without my phone.

sarah_b_2

Money-Saving-King wrote: »

Although you've already paid the easiest thing to do is what I did when mine stopped charging.

I bought 2 spare batteries for about £1 each on ebay & a charger for the batteries that plugs into a normal socket which costs about £5. When the battery goes down I just take the old one & and replace it with a fully charged one & put the old one back into the wall charger to charge it up again. Problem solved for about £7 and I didn't have to be without my phone.

I have changed battery and charger but not done that. I'll buy a spare one now to do that, thank you.
still want my money back though

wealdroam

You really need to decide who is responsible for fixing your phone.

The manufacturer provides a warranty, which is in addition to your statutory rights and as such they can specify conditions.
If there is a condition that says "we aren't going to open the case if it is cosmetically damaged", then there is nothing you can do about that.

Under The Sale of Goods Act 1979 whoever sold the thing to you, I guess not Samsung, has a duty to provide a remedy if you can demonstrate that the problem is due to an inherent fault. I am assuming here that you have had the phone for over six months.

Or are you saying that Samsung didn't perform the last repair successfully?

In that case, under The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1992 (not what you called it ) they must have done the work with "reasonable care and skill".

I think you will find it difficult to show that Samsung didn't perform the last repair without "reasonable care and skill", but maybe because the same fault has appeared then that in itself shows that they didn't do the job properly.

You ask if there "is an ombudsman for electrical products".

The ultimate arbiter is the courts.

You might consider sending Samsung a letter before action.

Have a look at this CAB webpage for details about an LBA:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/consumer_e/consumer_taking_action_e/consumer_legal_actions_e/consumer_going_to_court_e/before_you_take_someone_to_court/step_one_write_a_letter_before_action.htm

sarah_b_2

Or are you saying that Samsung didn't perform the last repair successfully?

Yes. I have paid for a repair via Samsung and its not worked. Sorry for the confusion, I want to explain the entire problem.
I am going to send a LBA after I have spoken to citizens advice tomorrow. Thank you for replying, I am glad someone else is say the same as CAB. It makes you doubt yourself when a company says you are wrong and they are right.
This is all new to me so bear with me . I have never had a issue like this before, the only issue I have had was with BT and the ombudsman really helped me out.

wealdroam

Have you read MSE's Consumer Rights guide?

Their How to Complain article has some good stuff in it too.

Did you pay for the previous repair with a credit card?

If so, your credit card company may have some responsibility too.

Have a read of MSE's Section 75 Refunds article for further info.

sarah_b_2

wealdroam wrote: »

Have you read MSE's Consumer Rights guide?

Their How to Complain article has some good stuff in it too.

Did you pay for the previous repair with a credit card?

If so, your credit card company may have some responsibility too.

Have a read of MSE's Section 75 Refunds article for further info.

I have read the complaint guide and consumer right article when all of this arose.
I paid with a credit card (Capital One). Didn't realize about the Section 75 refund. If I did this, could Samsung take me to court?

wealdroam

sarah_b wrote: »

I paid with a credit card (Capital One). Didn't realize about the Section 75 refund. If I did this, could Samsung take me to court?

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes the credit card company equally responsible for performance of the contract.
In this case the contract we are talking about is the previous repair.

Samsung appear to have said they have done nothing wrong.
You can ask you CC co for a remedy, but I fully expect them to consult with Samsung before deciding their position.

There is no question of Samsung taking you to court just because you approach the CC co.
Even if you win your S75 claim, it is then for Samsung and your CC co to decide between them who actually pays up.

Retrogamer

Was the cosmetic damage on the phone there the first time it was repaired?

Did the first repair fix the fault for a while and allow you to charge the phone?

sarah_b_2

Retrogamer wrote: »

Was the cosmetic damage on the phone there the first time it was repaired?

Did the first repair fix the fault for a while and allow you to charge the phone?

The cosmetic damage appeared after the repair. The reasoning for refusing to open up my phone is because the damage may get worse and damage my screen so they wont look at my phone until I have repaired it.
The phone did charge ok afterwards for about 6 weeks. It then became hit and miss so I rang Samsung and they said ''to let it settle''. It seemed to be getting better (as in not doing it as much) until it just refused to charge.

Retrogamer

I think Samsung might also be thinking that whatever caused the crack might also have caused the repair to fail prematurely.

Is the crack beside the charger port?