Faulty phone, still in contract, no insurance but do they have to fix?

cevans65

Hi there,

My wife is still within contract, approx. 8 months left, on orange bought via carphone and her Samsung s3mini has developed a cpl of problems;

Namely the screen occasionally goes off/ blank and more recently, in approx. 1 month, her battery runs right down in just a few hrs but either connected or not it now turns itself off whenever it sees fit and usually when she turns back on her battery is depleted.

Anyway, the point of the post is can she take it back and say it is not fit for purpose and ask them to fix it free/ get a replacement etc? (she has no insurance) the issues are surely product defect rather than smashed screen by dropping, water damage etc and as the phone is approx. 1 1/2 yrs old surely under sales of goods and as she is in contract it is not fit for purpose?


She is 'shy' and doesn't want to go in and even if she does she thinks will b fobbed off but if I know she can get it fixed/ replaced I am happy to argue the case - any words of help appreciated x

JJ_Egan

First have you tried a factory reset .
Battery could be at the end of its lifespan .
At eighteen months old the vendor will say warranty has finished . Samsung offer a LIMITED 24 month warranty on the phone .

Not fit for purpose you have to prove that with an independent engineers report .

grumbler

JJ_Egan wrote: »

Not fit for purpose you have to prove that with an independent engineers report .

It's much easier for an engineer to prove that the fault wasn't a result of misuse or damage.

forgotmyname

Doesnt it have a 2 year warranty?

Maybe just the battery though. That maybe excluded from the warranty.

Try a new one.

Has the battery swollen slightly?

keith1950

and as she is in contract it is not fit for purpose?

The phone and the contract are totally separate. If it is out of its 12 months warranty CPW have no obligation to repair or replace.

You may be covered by Samsung for 24 months however you will have to send it off for inspection/repair.

marlot

keith1950 wrote: »

The phone and the contract are totally separate. If it is out of its 12 months warranty CPW have no obligation to repair or replace.

The Sales of Goods act might have a different interpretation of that!

Retailers often use manufacturers warranties as an excuse to avoid their obligations.

grumbler

keith1950 wrote: »

The phone and the contract are totally separate. If it is out of its 12 months warranty CPW have no obligation to repair or replace.

You may be covered by Samsung for 24 months however you will have to send it off for inspection/repair.

What two warranties are you talking about?

Silk

grumbler wrote: »

What two warranties are you talking about?

As I see it he means the 12 month one that CPW are obliged to provide and the Samsung 24 month one for all Samsung mobiles.
If it's a battery fault though it would probably only be covered for 6 months.

grumbler

Silk wrote: »

As I see it he means the 12 month one that CPW are obliged to provide...

Obliged by whom/what?

ETA:
There is no any obligation for retailers to provide any 'warranty', but some retailers do this voluntarily. So possibly do CPW: Mobile phone warranty periods - Help - Carphone Warehouse
'Possibly' - because it's not clear in general and, possibly, out-of-date. E.g. in the past Motorola's warranty indeed was 12 months and CPW seemed to extend it to 24, but now Motorola offer 24-months' warranty for their handsets. However, LG's warranty is still 12 months, but CPW say 24.

matelodave

Any item that is purchased will be subject to statutory rules about fitness for purpose and other remedies under the Sale of Goods Act. CPW and Samsung if they wish can extend those remedies by way of warranties which my give you improved protection but cannot exclude anything that is covered by the SOG, neither can any contract. Batteries are considered to be consumable items and therefore any warranties (actual or implied) would be limited.


You best course of action is to check on your documentation and contracts to see if Samsung do indeed extend their warranty to 24 months and if you should be covered.
If not then your only recourse is via CPW and the SOG however as the phone is over six months old it would be up to you to prove that the phone has a defect by means of an independent engineers report.
I'd try getting a new battery first to see if it's a simple problem that's easily sorted out.

cevans65

Hi there and thanks for all reply's/ comments - think I'm a bit clearer lol.

The screen issue of keep going off has been for a good few months so not sure if connected to battery as this only last month or so.

I have checked Samsung website and the handset does indeed have a 2yr warranty, the battery tho only 6mths so going to go there and see what carphone say and if screen issue is not battery then hopefully they will have to fix or if it is battery related guess worse is I have to buy one as the warranty doesn't cover this anyway and that will fix both issues.


thanks again