Problems with faulty iphone on three

fordie1974

Hi everyone!
This is a bit of a long story so will try to keep it as simple as possible!
I have been with three for several years, never had any problems. Until now! I upgraded on jan 31st 2013 to a iphone 5, the phone I chose was described as a iphone 5 refresh, it was explained to me this would be a refurbished phone which would be like new and have a full warranty. On around 16th December 2013 my phone developed a fault (it won't switch on) I looked on the apple website and checked my imei number, the warranty expired on the 10th dec! I phoned three and we tried some steps to cure the fault, these were unsuccessful and three admitted the phone needed replacing. However, they did not have the phone in stock and would be unable to replace it.
They suggested I paid apple the £209 they would want to replace my phone and then send my receipt to three and they would credit my account with the £209 I had paid out.
I explained I was unwilling to pay this as I felt it was threes responsibility to replace my phone and they said I could just wait until they had it in stock.
After countless calls to three which didn't seem to get me anywhere I actually took it to a Genius Bar in an apple store today, they looked at my phone and agreed it needs replacing, they were also able to bring up the history of the phone too, which was interesting, it had been reported as not powering up on the 10th jan 2013 (21 days before I got the phone)
Anyway, all three have offered me is a different phone, I can pay them £120 and they will send a iphone 5c, or they can send me a different phone of the same value (I want an iphone5 which is why I got one in the first place) or I can pay approx £200 to upgrade early. Or I can pay apple to replace my existing one and hopefully get it credited back to my account. Apple tell me they have the iphone 5 in stock and three could buy one from them to send me, but three say they can't!
Am I being unreasonable or shall I take this further? I have had the phone less than a year and don't think I should have to put my hand in my pocket to get it replaced!
Hope this wasn't too long and boring!

Harald

Just insist you want a replacement phone. Same or better.
If they will offer you 5c WITHOUT extra charge - just go for it.
Having a new phone instead of refurbished is a good deal, 5c has better LTE chip and don't be fooled by plastic case - it's far better than always-scratched aluminium body of 5

And if they try any tricks, just remind them they're fully responsible for product sold. Even more than in case of new iPhone. New iPhone comes with Apple warranty and the seller is responsible for conformity with the contract of sale.
In this case Three is responsible for both conformity and warranty.
And it is always your choice, which form of protection you'll use

NFH

fordie1974 wrote: »

Anyway, all three have offered me is a different phone, I can pay them £120 and they will send a iphone 5c, or they can send me a different phone of the same value (I want an iphone5 which is why I got one in the first place)

According to Section 11N(2) of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, when replacing the phone, Three must "bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so (including in particular the cost of any labour, materials or postage)" and also "replace the goods within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience to the transferee". Therefore unless it is your choice to receive a superior phone as a replacement (which it is not), Three cannot charge you. They also cannot expect you to receive a replacement with an operating system (e.g. Android) that is incompatible with your existing data, settings, purchased apps and accessories. Insist on a free of charge iPhone 5C or 5S. I would say that the iPhone 5S is the equivalent of the iPhone 5, not the iPhone 5C. The iPhone 5S is the same shape as the iPhone 5, whereas the iPhone 5C is not.

Harald

NFH wrote: »

Insist on a free of charge iPhone 5C or 5S. I would say that the iPhone 5S is the equivalent of the iPhone 5, not the iPhone 5C. The iPhone 5S is the same shape as the iPhone 5, whereas the iPhone 5C is not.

To be precise - 5C is exactly iPhone 5 in new case (apart from new LTE chip, which is far better).
5S is totally different internally, only common thing is the ugly, scrathing with speed of light aluminium housing.