EE phone warranty

Pejsan

Over the past few months I have experienced issues with my handset during calls after say every 3 seconds the sound and voice drops out for around 1/2 a second which makes calls very difficult.

I have gone through tech support and confirmed that the issue is with my handset and not a network or sim error and so have contacted EE to make a claim under warranty.

I am told that as I have an Apple Iphone 5 which is now 17 months old I am no longer covered as I am outside of the 12 month warranty period.

Having done a little digging myself I quoted EU directive 1999/44/EC which states a 2 year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU

Only to be told that this does not apply to EE in these circumstances as I would need to contact the manufacturer as they only supply the mobile contract. Although when i took out the contract they supplied the phone and charged me £99 to.

They stated that they do not conform to the EU directive but the 1979 sale of goods act and as such all liability rest with the manufacturer giving me the extra cover for upto 6 years for replace or repair.

But as the issues with the phone have only started recently I wouldnt be covered by that either.

Naturally Im not very happy so need help as in what to try next as Kev at EE (dont know his surname as he stated he didnt have to supply it under the data protection act) say I am not covered.

Anoneemoose

Pejsan wrote: »

Over the past few months I have experienced issues with my handset during calls after say every 3 seconds the sound and voice drops out for around 1/2 a second which makes calls very difficult.

I have gone through tech support and confirmed that the issue is with my handset and not a network or sim error and so have contacted EE to make a claim under warranty.

I am told that as I have an Apple Iphone 5 which is now 17 months old I am no longer covered as I am outside of the 12 month warranty period.

Having done a little digging myself I quoted EU directive 1999/44/EC which states a 2 year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU

Only to be told that this does not apply to EE in these circumstances as I would need to contact the manufacturer as they only supply the mobile contract. Although when i took out the contract they supplied the phone and charged me £99 to.

They stated that they do not conform to the EU directive but the 1979 sale of goods act and as such all liability rest with the manufacturer giving me the extra cover for upto 6 years for replace or repair.

But as the issues with the phone have only started recently I wouldnt be covered by that either.

Naturally Im not very happy so need help as in what to try next as Kev at EE (dont know his surname as he stated he didnt have to supply it under the data protection act) say I am not covered.

I think you may be covered under soga however (I believe) the burden of proof falls to you to 'prove' the fault was/is inherent before you can expect them to do anything. Proof if usually accepted in the form of an independent report.

grumbler

Pejsan wrote: »

But as the issues with the phone have only started recently I wouldnt be covered by that either.

Fobbing off typical for EE and other networks.
You are covered if the fault isn't caused by misuse or damage, but under the SOGA after 6 months it is you who has to prove this.

....(dont know his surname as he stated he didnt have to supply it under the data protection act) ....

Yet another fobbing off by hiding behind the DPA that is absolutely irrelevant in this case. It's not that you really need the surname.

macman

Have you tried going direct to Apple? It's out of m/f warranty, but they do have a record of offering free repairs beyond the warranty period if you go in with a polite approach.

NFH

Where goods are supplied as a standalone product, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 applies. However, where goods are supplied in conjunction with a service and particularly where payments for the service wholly or partially cover the cost of the goods (as is the case here), the relevant legislation is Section 11N of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 which obliges the supplier (not the manufacturer) to repair or replace defective goods free of charge if they develop a defect within a reasonable time after their supply. This legislation is over 30 years old and has been well tested in court. The law doesn't define what a reasonable time is, but where goods are supplied in conjunction with a service, a court would determine a reasonable time to be at least the minimum duration of the service contract. The maximum time is limited to six years by Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980.

It is irrelevant that EE has separate written agreements for the goods and the service because:

• EE supplied the goods with the intention that they be used with the service.
• The goods were supplied at the price paid on condition of entering into the contract for service.
• The goods were funded, either partially or fully, by the monthly charge for service.
• The goods were supplied at the same time that the service started.
• The goods and service were marketed as a package.

Any warranty is a contractual right which is in addition to, and cannot replace, the consumer's statutory rights under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. If EE tells you that you have no rights to a free repair or replacement after the warranty expires, then according to Regulation 5(4)(k) of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 it is committing an offence under Regulation 9 punishable under Regulation 13 by a fine and/or up to two years' imprisonment. If EE alleges that the fault was caused by your misuse or negligence, then you will have to obtain an independent report, the cost of which you can claim back from EE if it confirms that the fault was caused by defective manufacturing or software.

Pejsan

Thanks for the update. I have been in contact with trading standards as EE still wont budge. Trading Standards advised me to get an independent report of the phones condition and send it to them detailing when i got the phone and what I want ie repair, replace or refund.

I am booked into the genius bar on Wednesday following speaking with Apple direct who said they will complete a report for me to help.

Following which I need to send a letter with a copy of the report to EE and give them 7 to 28 days to reply should they fail to do so then Trading Standards have told me to call them back so they can take it further

grumbler

Pejsan wrote: »

Following which I need to send a letter with a copy of the report to EE and give them 7 to 28 days to reply should they fail to do so then Trading Standards have told me to call them back so they can take it further

I wouldn't rely entirely on the TS. They are notoriously toothless.
As it's an ongoing dispute, don't give Orange more than 7 days to reply.
If Apple charge you for the report and the report is in your favour, demand compensation from Orange for the cost of the report and for the time wasted. Make it clear that you are taking the case to the small claims court if they don't pay and repair/replace the phone.

gjchester

Pejsan wrote: »

Having done a little digging myself I quoted EU directive 1999/44/EC which states a 2 year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU.

The EU does not make laws, they set directives that individual member states then enact into law, unless the local law is stronger.


1999/44/EC says you have two years to report a defect that was present at time of purchase, or a was caused by an item not being correctly manufactured from the time of purchase, NOT that its warrantied for 2 years, so under 1999/44/EC you'd have two years from purchase to claim for any fault that happened in the warranty period (ie year 1).


However the UK sale of goods act already gives you 6 years to report a problem that happened in the first year, so 1999/44/EC was never enacted as its weaker than what was already in place.

d123

gjchester wrote: »

The EU does not make laws, they set directives that individual member states then enact into law, unless the local law is stronger.


1999/44/EC says you have two years to report a defect that was present at time of purchase, or a was caused by an item not being correctly manufactured from the time of purchase, NOT that its warrantied for 2 years, so under 1999/44/EC you'd have two years from purchase to claim for any fault that happened in the warranty period (ie year 1).


However the UK sale of goods act already gives you 6 years to report a problem that happened in the first year, so 1999/44/EC was never enacted as its weaker than what was already in place.

Well written, that is one of the best concise explanations of the "Europe 2 warranty" myth I've read in a long time.

g6jns_2

gjchester wrote: »

The EU does not make laws, they set directives that individual member states then enact into law, unless the local law is stronger.


1999/44/EC says you have two years to report a defect that was present at time of purchase, or a was caused by an item not being correctly manufactured from the time of purchase, NOT that its warrantied for 2 years, so under 1999/44/EC you'd have two years from purchase to claim for any fault that happened in the warranty period (ie year 1).


However the UK sale of goods act already gives you 6 years to report a problem that happened in the first year, so 1999/44/EC was never enacted as its weaker than what was already in place.

it is rather more complex than that. there is no standard six year warranty as is sometimes suggested. English law allows an action to be taken in court up to six years from when the problem occurred. This is because of the Statute of Limitations. As always it will depend on the facts of the case. the longer from the date of purchase the harder it becomes to prove that it was a manufacturing fault. Having said that modern electronics should have a life of at least three years and probably longer.

Jacko4815

"Where goods are supplied as a standalone product, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 applies. However, where goods are supplied in conjunction with a service and particularly where payments for the service wholly or partially cover the cost of the goods (as is the case here), the relevant legislation is Section 11N of the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 which obliges the supplier (not the manufacturer) to repair or replace defective goods free of charge if they develop a defect within a reasonable time after their supply. This legislation is over 30 years old and has been well tested in court. The law doesn't define what a reasonable time is, but where goods are supplied in conjunction with a service, a court would determine a reasonable time to be at least the minimum duration of the service contract. The maximum time is limited to six years by

It is irrelevant that EE has separate written agreements for the goods and the service because:

EE supplied the goods with the intention that they be used with the service.
The goods were supplied at the price paid on condition of entering into the contract for service.
The goods were funded, either partially or fully, by the monthly charge for service.
The goods were supplied at the same time that the service started.
The goods and service were marketed as a package.

Any warranty is a contractual right which is in addition to, and cannot replace, the consumer's statutory rights under the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. If EE tells you that you have no rights to a free repair or replacement after the warranty expires, then according to Regulation 5(4)(k) of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 it is committing an offence under Regulation 9 punishable under Regulation 13 by a fine and/or up to two years' imprisonment.
If EE alleges that the fault was caused by your misuse or negligence, then you will have to obtain an independent report, the cost of which you can claim back from EE if it confirms that the fault was caused by defective manufacturing or software."

Would this apply to this;

Upgraded my daughter to a Samsung galaxy S4 mini on a 2 year contract for her Christmas 2013 @£25 p/m. (2 year warranty) as her existing 2 year Tesco Blackberry contract was up for renewal.

No problems with phone until first week of March, Daughter Then said that phone was getting very hot and the Screen wouldn't stay off when not using(Flashing on/off) and depleting the battery very quickly.
As the phone was only 3 months old I took it to our Tesco mobile shop where the assistant said there was a fault with the screen and it did seem hot. He tried a factory reset but to no avail the screen still flashed on/off when going in to screensaver mode. He then said it would need to go away to their repair centre and we got the jiffy bag and return envelope arranged through the repair centre. Bag arrived and phone was sent off 13/03/13.

Received an email from Tesco Mobile Repair Service 14/04/13 they had received phone and you can track it's repair with a link. did this and on the 17/18th an engineer was looking at your phone was the status. On the evening of the 19th the status changed to we are trying to contact you about your phone repair, I phoned them on the 21st as they hadn't phoned me.

They said you're phone isn't covered under warranty because, it has water/liquid damage at the USB port, the earpiece, and the LED screen. We can repair it for £124.95.
After disputing the water damage as the phone is in the house 90% of the time and the daughter said she hasn't been near any water with it. I asked them to escalate this for a 2nd review.

Received a call today and their decision still stands. I asked for an engineers report and was told they don't have reports just notes sent to them on their computer from the engineer.

Can Tesco not email me these fault reports and send/Take photographic evidence of the damage about their customers device?

Surely there has to be some legal responsibility to providing proof or is it their word against mine?

Any how the phone is coming back and I will make sure it's functioning as it was when I sent it them. In working order except the screen going on/off when in standby and getting a bit hot( If not the same as sent, Tesco I will be returning to your phone shop).

I will then send to Samsung and ask them to look at it, as i'm baffled as to how it got Water/Liquid damage(Maybe the perspiration from your ear canal is enough or a bit of rain has landed on it, who knows?). And if they can provide evidence of the damage.

Thanks for reading your help appreciated.