Replacement phone -- haggling with Virgin Mobile

sew_what

I've had a Motorola Razr i on contract from Virgin for 16 months. It developed a fault last week, has gone back for repair under warranty and they've deemed it unrepairable.
My warranty states "if we are unable to repair it we will replace it free of charge with an as new Device which in our opinion is of equivalent specification" but the phones they've offered aren't as good as my phone!

They've offered a Motorola Moto G, which has a poorer camera, no micro sd slot and slower processor, or a Sony xperia L, similar spec to the Razr but gets rubbish reviews and also has a slower processor.

What are my chances of getting them to give me a newer model phone - I went for the razr i because of the speed and robustness (sold as being splash resistant) and I've found I use the camera a lot so need the extra storage.

I've stuck my neck out and asked for the S4 mini, can anyone suggest any other phones or strategies to use?

I'm narked because the phones they've offered are available on a similar tarrif for a lot less than I'm paying, but of course I'm locked into my contract for 8 more months!

grumbler

sew_what wrote: »

...My warranty states "if we are unable to repair it we will replace it free of charge with an as new Device which in our opinion is of equivalent specification" but the phones they've offered aren't as good as my phone!..

Whose warranty is it - Virgin's or Motorola's? If the latter, it has nothing to do with Virgin.
Either contact Motorola directly, or refer to the Sale of the Goods Act instead that says essentially the same.

They have to replace with the same or better. Don't accept anything worse. If they keep giving you runaround threaten them by legal actions (small claims court). They have already admitted that they must replace it, and the only question is what to replace with.

sew_what

grumbler wrote: »

Whose warranty is it - Virgin's or Motorola's? If the latter, it has nothing to do with Virgin.
Either contact Motorola directly, or refer to the Sale of the Goods Act instead that says essentially the same.
.

Thanks grumbler, the warranty is with Virgin. Intending to stick to my guns but struggling to find a phone as good, having to be creative with my "must haves" to get the best out of the situation!

grumbler

Use http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=4998&idPhone2=5033 for comparison and for arguing with Virgin.

Their Phone Finder can be useful too.

Or just suggest them paying cash and buy a new one yourself. I see it for £173 at Handtec and much cheaper at ebay.

AlecEiffel

I'd consider the Moto G to be honest.

It has a larger and higher res screen, the processor, whilst slower, is more modern and quad core so actually outperforms the Razr I. It will probably be updated longer than the Razr I will. It also has it's innards coated with some nano coating stuff which gives it an element of water resistance.

In many ways you'll be cheating yourself to opt for the S4 mini too, and the Moto G feels higher quality than the S4 mini.

sew_what

AlecEiffel wrote: »

I'd consider the Moto G to be honest.

It has a larger and higher res screen, the processor, whilst slower, is more modern and quad core so actually outperforms the Razr I. It will probably be updated longer than the Razr I will. It also has it's innards coated with some nano coating stuff which gives it an element of water resistance.

In many ways you'll be cheating yourself to opt for the S4 mini too, and the Moto G feels higher quality than the S4 mini.

Thanks, the Moto G only has a 5MB camera and no expansion slot! I guess if you're taking smaller photos you don't need as much storage ;-)

I finally spoke to someone at Virgin who had a good command of English and cared enough to find out that replacement Razr i handsets are available, so they're sending me one next week!

djpailo

sew_what wrote: »

Thanks, the Moto G only has a 5MB camera and no expansion slot! I guess if you're taking smaller photos you don't need as much storage ;-)

I finally spoke to someone at Virgin who had a good command of English and cared enough to find out that replacement Razr i handsets are available, so they're sending me one next week!

Get the Moto G 4G handset. 4G + sd slot.