Tablet left at carphone warehouse for repair has been lost

Suzannelwalsh

To cut a very long story short I left a samsung galaxy tablet with the carphone warehouse for repair (it was within warranty) and they have lost it. According to the store manager it's not the store's responsibility as they sent it away for repair and when I contact repairs and customer service I am told they can't help me... no one will take responsibility for the problem! Clearly it is unacceptable that they have lost a £200 tablet but when I phone I just keep being told that they will investigate the matter and get back to me within 48 - 72 hours but weeks later the problem is still unresolved. I read on the forum that it is best to send a letter to head office via recorded delivery but does anyone know what legislation etc they are in breach of? Any advice gratefully received.

egk

Hey,

I don't know Carphones exact policy but I work for another high street phone retailer. You should have been given a tracking number for your repair, and if it is anything like us then from the moment we swap you the phone for the receipt its not your responsibility.

We had one go missing at the repair centre and it was their job to replace it another was returned to our store and accidentally sent for recycling and in that case it was our responsibility to get a credit authorisation to cover the phone.
Both times the balance was agreed on and the equipment was replaced instore.

Although not ideal, as the store should be investigating anyway, I would go instore and try and determine which stage of the repair it has gone missing at if you can't track it online. If the store gets shirty at all with you then a letter to head office and a daily call asking where it is would get even the laziest staff member doing something.

Hope you get it fixed.

ThumbRemote

They are talking rubbish. It is entirely their responsibility.

Write a letter before action to head office, then go to small claims court. I would suspect they would refund you at letter before action stage, there's no debating it's their fault.

frugal_mike

As for specific legislation, if they are claiming their terms and conditions limit their liability then they may well be in breach of the Unfair Contract Terms act (section 16 1b I think) which states that a business is not allowed to limit their liability to a consumer unless it is fair and reasonable to do so.

I don't think it's fair and reasonable to claim no liability for a lost phone that was in their care.

Retrogamer

If you bought it from a store then your contract is with them for any repairs.
You done your part by returning it for repair. If they decided to send it off for repair and then lost it, that's their problem.

mattyprice4004

Retrogamer wrote: »

If you bought it from a store then your contract is with them for any repairs.
You done your part by returning it for repair. If they decided to send it off for repair and then lost it, that's their problem.

Totally agree that it's not the customer's problem, however the issue here is that the device has either been lost in the care of the store OR the repair centre - and neither is taking responsibility.
I used to work for CPW in this exact capacity at their repair centre, so I know what I'm talking about.

You're probably going to have a bit of a wait while repairs and the store argue it out - the store manager will get a boot in the face from his area manager if they shell out, and repairs operate on a strict budget. Lose lose, really! Customer care can't 'temporarily' foot the bill either, as that'll then come out of their budget.

Let's hope one of them takes responsibility soon.
As you haven't said where exactly in the repairs process it went missing I can't help as to who should be footing the bill, but it shouldn't be you.

[Deleted User]

So the trick is.. go into the store and ask for the contact details of the area manager. That'll cut a lot more corners than waiting for their head office to investigate it

mattyprice4004

ringo_24601 wrote: »

So the trick is.. go into the store and ask for the contact details of the area manager. That'll cut a lot more corners than waiting for their head office to investigate it

Nope, they are powerless in situations like these and you won't get the area manager's details anyway. They're not allowed to give them out.

You need to ring Repairs and complain to them.

Not sure what corners you expect to cut, but even if you could get in touch with the area manager they wouldn't just hand out £££ over the phone...!

Valli

Start keeping a record of all phone calls etc in regard to this - because if, when they come back to you, they are still denying responsibility you might want to consider sending a Letter Before Action, where you give them time to offer an acceptable remedy (ie a replacement tablet plus any associated costs you have incurred) or you will take them to small claims court. (When, of course, your claim will increase as you will also claim the cost of bringing the action)

Even if CW say it's down to whomever the tablet was sent YOUR contract is with CW so they have to sort it.

I wouldn't even bother ringing repairs - that's for CW to do; and is entirely a waste of your time.

lucy03

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Nope, they are powerless in situations like these and you won't get the area manager's details anyway. They're not allowed to give them out.

You need to ring Repairs and complain to them.

Not sure what corners you expect to cut, but even if you could get in touch with the area manager they wouldn't just hand out £££ over the phone...!

I'm sure you're right for this company of course but the other poster's suggestion is often not a bad strategy in general (or to ask the area manager to contact the customer). In the two large chains I've worked for (not phone shops) it is a quicker way of getting a resolution which customers rarely use. It sometimes focuses the mind of the store manager and area managers don't tend (excuse the generalisation which of course depends on the company) to like problems going to Head Office which then show the area manager hasn't resolved the matter.

As others said though, it's entirely their responsibility in this case and I hope it's resolved soon. Good luck!

[Deleted User]

mattyprice4004 wrote: »

Nope, they are powerless in situations like these and you won't get the area manager's details anyway. They're not allowed to give them out.

You need to ring Repairs and complain to them.

Not sure what corners you expect to cut, but even if you could get in touch with the area manager they wouldn't just hand out £££ over the phone...!

The OP obviously wants to escalate the matter if the store staff aren't willing to make a decision. An area manager makes sense, but if you can't get hold of one that's pretty poor.

It's not like it's worth bothering Graham Stapleton about it. I find it's useful to find the company rep on Twitter and ask them, it's an extra side of customer services you can sometimes use