Phone warranty, HTC One, Phones4U, EE

jozyxqz

Hi there,

I purchased an HTC One mobile from Phones4U website on 02/08/2013. The mobile contact is with EE.

When I rang EE Technical support they told me that the phone was still under warranty and that I just needed to bring it to one of their store's to have it sent away to be repaired.
They also said that they had taken my information and it would just be a matter of giving the store representative my mobile number to process the fault.
I was reluctant to go to a store because I live 50 miles from the nearest one. The reason I went is because they told me there would be a administation fee of £30 if a return box had to be sent out for repair.
It seemed like a better option to use £10 on petrol.

When I arrived at the store the EE store representative told that they couldn't do anything because it was purchased via Phones4U and that it would have to be brought there to be repaired instead.
When I went to Phones4U they told me that they couldn't do anything because the Phone is older than 28 days.

When I came home I performed a quick search. The information from the Phones4U representative seems to conflict with what is on their website. Their website states:
If your phone develops a fault within the first 12 months, we will arrange for the return of your phone at no extra cost to you for repair at our authorised repair centre.
( support.phones4u.co.uk/pe/view.jsp?item=10101029 )

Can someone please tell me who is responsible for processing the repair?
Should I contact HTC directly myself to have a warranty repair?

Regards,

Wayne

-Notes-
HTC One Faults I am experiencing:
-Only charging when battery is completely drained
-Battery runs out very quickly
-Randomly goes into usb mode
-Randomly turns on car app
-Auto rotate randomly comes on even when turned off.
-Won't always connect to PC

I have tried a hard reset by pressing the power and volume button and then selecting it from the menu but this doesn't resolve the issues.
All issues ares still occurring with only the default setup.
--

Rusty!

Just go through HTC yourself. They will arrange for a courier to collect the phone from you, repair it, then send it back to you.

gjchester

jozyxqz wrote: »

Can someone please tell me who is responsible for processing the repair?

The seller is always for a repair or replacement who is reponsible in the eyes of the law. The choice of a repair or replacment (if that arises) is also the sellers choice.

Your contract is with P4U, so legally HTC do not have to offer you a repair service. HTC DO have to offer it to their distributer, who offers it to the retailer who offers it to you.

In reality the makers may offer a guarantee direct as it's better customer service and encourages customer loyalty.

jozyxqz wrote: »

Should I contact HTC directly myself to have a warranty repair?

No, but as Rusty suggests in many cases the manufacturer will be easier and more responsive, it may be that in this caseP4U will simply send it to HTC in your behalf so adding a delay, however the fact remains P4U are responsible.

Rusty!

Indeed they will, P4U will simply be a middleman in this situation.

grumbler

gjchester wrote: »

... so legally HTC do not have to offer you a repair service. HTC DO have to offer it to their distributer, who offers it to the retailer who offers it to you.

In reality the makers may offer a guarantee direct as it's better customer service and encourages customer loyalty....

This is very arguable. In fact the warranty is offered to the customer directly, but can be implemented through authorised repairers.

Retalers have obligations regardless of the manufacturer's warranty and in some cases can offer their own warranty like CPW do.

Just to confirm, in this case Orange have nothing to do with the handset. I think that when calling Orange the OP just has not made it clear that the phone was supplied by other company.

The options are:
p4u - SoGA,
HTC - warranty.

gjchester

grumbler wrote: »

This is very arguable.

First this doesn't apply in the cases where you buy direct, but my understanding is its always the retailer who's responsible, and if you think about it they have to be, as thats who the contract to purchase the device is with.

Theres nothing the Sale of Goods act that requires a manufacturer to be the party responsible for a warranty,they may do so but they don't have to do so under the law.


http://sogahub.tradingstandards.gov.uk/sogaexplained and http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/sale-of-goods-act

Both say that the seller is the one responsible.

grumbler

gjchester wrote: »

First this doesn't apply in the cases where you buy direct,

What doesn't apply? Both the manufacturer's warranty and the SoGA apply to any purchases in UK.

but my understanding is its always the retailer who's responsible, and if you think about it they have to be, as thats who the contract to purchase the device is with.

Yes, the SoGA applies to the retailer only.

Theres nothing the Sale of Goods act that requires a manufacturer to be the party responsible for a warranty,they may do so but they don't have to do so under the law.

The warranty has nothing to do with SoGA. AFAIK it's not 100% clear whether a manufacturer's warranty is legally enforceable.

gjchester

grumbler wrote: »

The warranty has nothing to do with SoGA. AFAIK it's not 100% clear whether a manufacturer's warranty is legally enforceable.

Ah Right, get you now..

True, I don't think a makers guarantee is really legally valid, where as a warranty is (its a different term legally) as theres no contract between the manufacturer and the buyer, but it's there to give the buyer some confidence.

That said most makers offer a direct route for repairs as it makes good customer service sense..

NFH

A consumer has statutory rights under Section 11N of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 against the supplier.

A consumer has contractual rights under a warranty against the manufacturer.

The former are much stronger than the latter but the latter are easier to enforce during the period they are in force.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 applies to standalone purchases of goods rather than to goods supplied in conjunction with a service. It is not relevant in this case.

jozyxqz

Hi All,

Many thanks for your response. I am grateful for so many quick replies.

This morning I called HTC Support and told them about the trouble I was having with my provider and supplier failing to provide warranty repair. After another quick hardware diagnostic and giving them my IMEI number over the phone they kindly arranged a pick-up tomorrow for repair.

Since arranging to repair with HTC I have also received a polite response from Phones4U forums stating that they do offer warranty repair.

Response from Phones4U:
I'm sorry for any confusion that has been caused and I hope that I can clear this up for you. Any phone that is purchased from Phones 4u does have 12 months warranty. Within the first 28 days with a fault code we can exchange your phone for the same make and model, after 28 days it is then a repair at our repair centre.

This is a free of charge repair under your manufacturer warranty, and you can book your phone in for a repair at any store or over the phone with our repair centre directly.

It's pity I hadn't been given this information yesterday while in a Phones4U store. The Phones4U representative in store was very polite so I will not frustrate over it further.

I am now silently wondering if I can be refunded 10 day's of my monthly contract while the phone is being repaired because I have no temporary replacement.

Thanks again,

Wayne