Feel fobbed off by Carphone Warehouse!

MadamMuck

I had a brand new Samsung smart phone in March last year and its been the worst phone I've ever had since I first got it. In fairness, I should have returned it straight away as people kept complaining they couldn't hear me clearly and the sound quality was muffled but I just put up with it. Over the course time I have had many other problems with it including constantly disconnecting during phone calls. I got so sick of it I made it my New Years resolution to do something about it as I knew I had 2 years to return it as faulty.

So, I took it back to Carphone Warehouse who sent it off for repair but they returned it saying there is corrosion inside and this therefore invalidates the warranty so they won't repair/replace it. I was totally stunned as I have looked after the phone and have only had it since March but they explained that you don't need to get it near water, simply taking the phone outside in wet weather or taking it where there is humidity could result in water ending up in the internal mechanisms of the phone.

My questions are:-

a. What is the point of a mobile phone if you can't take it with you in wet weather or take it on holiday to a humid country?

b. Surely should it not be incumbent upon Samsung to ensure the mechanisms of the phone are fully sealed so no moisture can get inside?

To me, the above points render the item pointless and I've never heard of these clauses before. As my contract is a 2 year one I'm left without a phone for about a year and Carphone Warehouse couldn't care less.

Do I have any rights in this regard?

Bantex_2

Buy a cheap nokia for 20 quid. Problem solved.

lauralouise90

I'd definitely contact Samsung and see if they have any suggestions. If you haven't caused the corrosion then they should be able to do something or at least advise.

Plus I'd trust what the manufacturer says over Carphone Warehouse any day.

MadamMuck

Thanks, yeah I think I will contact Samsung just to see what they say. As for buying a cheap Nokia, I know it would solve my problem but it just annoys me that these big companies can get away with tricks like this when all I've done is buy their product. I just wondered if anyone had experienced anything similar

InsideInsurance

MadamMuck wrote: »

My questions are:-

a. What is the point of a mobile phone if you can't take it with you in wet weather or take it on holiday to a humid country?

b. Surely should it not be incumbent upon Samsung to ensure the mechanisms of the phone are fully sealed so no moisture can get inside?

To me, the above points render the item pointless and I've never heard of these clauses before. As my contract is a 2 year one I'm left without a phone for about a year and Carphone Warehouse couldn't care less.

Do I have any rights in this regard?

You can get highly weather resistant phones and they cost a lot more money. Things like headphone connectors etc all have to be lost or replaced with sealed units which adds cost and often bulk

As above, most of us dont want the cost or size of a fully weather sealed phone and simply know not to try and make calls outside in a downpour unless you want to run the risk of knackering your phone.

Mobile providers, eg apple, are getting more relaxed about humidity/ water damage to phones in that they'll now accept phones where the moisture sensor has triggered but only when the internal components dont show signs of water damage. To actually get corrosion inside would suggest a much more prolonged exposure than a simple 2 week holiday would cause. Remember that trouser pockets etc can also become fairly humid places