HTC repair incompetence

ChrisB85

Hello,

This is my first post here and I'm afraid it's a bit of a cry for help.

It's a long story but I'll try to keep to the main points.

In August last year (2013) I took out a 24 month mobile phone contract with Vodafone which included an HTC One. The phone was working fine for a few months but in December I noticed that the camera had developed a fault where only a small section of every picture was in focus.
Being an engineer by trade and curious about these things I put the phone under a microscope at work to examine the camera lens to see if there was any obvious damage. The outside of the phone was fine but the lens on the camera module INSIDE the body of the phone had what appeared to be a chip taken out of it. Since this is inside the phone there is no possible way I could have done this so I sent it in for repair on 13th December. I received the phone back a week later to find that they had not repaired it, only updated the software (bizarre when I provided proof of a physical fault).
Since the Christmas holidays would have delayed the next repair I opted not to use the phone over Christmas and arranged for it to be sent for repair on the 10th January. It was again returned to me a week later.
On receiving the phone back I (out of curiosity) looked again at the phone under the microscope at work. I found that although the original chip was no longer present (they obviously changed the camera module) the lens on the new module was badly scuffed/scratched and had a hair or fibre across it. The camera did focus correctly but the replacement part was either a damaged, second hard part or a new part which had been damaged by the technician repairing the phone
Unhappy with the standard of repair I contacted HTC and raised a dispute. This conversation went on for approximately 6 weeks with me sending photos of the damage, example photos taken with the phone etc. before being told by their "escalations team" that cracks and scratches are progressive faults and since they get worse over time they will not be repaired.
At this point (late March) my phone developed another fault, this time related to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. I requested a replacement device due to the level of service I had experienced with their repair centre but was told that they would offer only a repair at this stage.
The phone went for repair at the end of March and was returned to me a week later in exactly the same condition I sent it to them in.
Following a further conversation with HTC I was offered a refurbished handset to replace my faulty one so I sent mine back to them and a week later received a replacement device.
Surprise, surprise the replacement phone was faulty too. This time the phone will not get a signal in 2G areas, only in 3G areas. Since I live in rural Gloucestershire there is no 3G at home so I contacted HTC again.
After being told that it's probably the SIM (a bizarre conclusion considering it worked fine in my backup phone and my last HTC one) I obtained a replacement from Vodafone which only served to confirm what I already knew; that the replacement phone was at fault.
The phone went back to HTC yesterday and I'm waiting to receive another replacement now.

Now, throughout this ordeal they have had my HTC One for 5 weeks and I will not have had a fully functional phone for almost 5 months. My contract is £33 per month, the closest equivalent contract they offer for SIM-only is £21 (although this includes a 4G connection which my contract doesn’t).
Considering the time taken to provide me with a working phone I feel I should be entitled to an amount of compensation equal to the difference in these two contracts for the time taken to provide me with a functional phone. (£60 so far)
I have been told by HTC that they do not provide such compensation but I’m lost as to what to do next.

I’d like to apologise for the length of this post (especially as it’s my first post here!) but I would very much appreciate some advice (even if it’s to tell me that I’m unreasonable about what I expect!)

Thanks

Chris

visidigi

Phone service and Phone are separate. Consequential Loss is unlikely to be covered.

I will say, I know first hand how incompetent the HTC repair process is - its one of the reasons I believe they have lost so many repeat buyers.

We went through 5 repairs and three handsets, switched to a Apple (I was a total iHater) but you know what, hasn't broken, still quick and it just works. 30 months later...

ChrisB85

Wow, that's a shame! So essentially they could just fob me off by giving me faulty phones for the remainder of the warranty period then?

Unfortunately I just couldn't cope with an Apple. I know a lot of people swear by them but I just don't like their business practices and the fact that all iPhones look identical. You can change the wall paper but that's about it so far as customising goes. And don't get me started on iTunes.....

Maybe Samsung or Sony are the way to go then. In 15 Months when my current contract expires.......

alexander2020

Well Sony serves well in that aspect, they are well known for the services along with quality and durability.

May be it is time for a change !! Iphone serves very well too, customization is limited, i could not agree more, but at least the thing lasts and you don't have to keep running back and forth to the seller.

harrys_dad

Sorry I can't help with your original problem, but have a suggested solution for avoiding Apple. I purchased a Motorola Moto G phone (£130) and got a 30 rolling SIM contract with Virgin. No 24 month contract, and over £24 months about £300 cheaper.

Vodafone

Hi ChrisB85,

I’m sorry to see the problems you’ve been having with your phone and getting this repaired.

If you'd like me to look into this, please email me with your details via the link in our profile here.

All you need to do is copy and paste the link into your web browser and it'll take you to the Contact us form on our website. To make sure it reaches me please quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line.

Once sent you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Please update the thread with this and I'll check we’ve received it.

Thanks,

Jenny
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