No WiFi on Iphone 4s

gbtillies

Anyone please able to let me know if this is a battle I should fight or am I on a loser.


Bought my iPhone 4S from Tesco Phone Shop on the O2 Network in May 2012 on a 24 month contract. Am now on a 12 month Sim only Contract with O2, paying them £9 a month. Few days ago my WiFi stopped working on the phone. Apple have run a diagnostic check and confirmed that the WiFi Chip is not working and needs replacing. Apple told me that I needed to speak to Tesco as they provided the iPhone (O2 told me that they provide the airtime contract, Tesco provided the phone) and that Tesco are legally bound to replace/repair/refund (although not a full refund as has been used). Apple quoted the EU Wide Consumer Law from their website and provided me with a copy. It states that 'consumer law across the EU provide statutory rights in addition to the coverage you receive from the Apple One Year Limited Warranty'. It goes on to state that the Claim Period is 6 years in the UK. Needless to say Tesco are refusing to budge beyond the 1 year warranty and told me that if I was unhappy to speak to Trading Standards.


On the EU Wide Consumer Law sheet that Apple sent through, there is a link which takes me to the UK European Consumer Centre which is hosted by Trading Standards. I called and they told me that I should write/email Tesco using the Sale of Goods Act saying not fit for purpose, not reasonable length of time for the phone to last, breach of contract, faulty product and repair/replace/refund (although not full amount).


Apple have been really supportive and helpful and I have a named contact with direct dial telephone number and her hours of work for the next two weeks. I am going to my local Genius Bar and they will run a 'consumer law assessment' on my iPhone and will provide documentation on Apple headed paper saying it is a valid claim.


At the suggestion of the UK European Consumer Centre I have emailed CAB for their advice.


I am hoping that someone can please let me know whether my efforts are likely to bear some fruit, should I continue with my approach or just give up and get a new iphone.


I am using 3G at the moment but only have 300MB on my plan so may end up using a Bolt On to give me some extra data.


Any help or advice would really be very gratefully appreciated. Sorry for the long post, just wanted to make sure the information was given.

wiogs

You would, if I recall correctly, have to prove that the phone had an inherent fault when you bought it. Is this what Apple are saying? The phone was indeed faulty when supplied to you over two years ago?

gbtillies

Thanks Wiogs for such a quick reply. Apple have said that the fault is not accidental damage, but they have not actually used the words inherent fault to me. But how can anyone prove that it was an inherent fault given that it has taken over two years for it to appear. I will mention your point when I go to the Genius Bar and see if they can get the wording on the letter to say that it was an inherent fault. Your input is much appreciated. Thank you.

cookie365

So Apple currently are saying nothing more than 'it doesn't work now'?

mije1983

You would be better off going to an independant rather than Apple to get the report if Tesco are going by the letter of the law. You will have to pay for this, but if it does turn out to be an inherant fault, Tesco also have to refund you the cost of the report.

I would be very surprised if Apple were to put in writing that one of their products has an inherant fault.

Until you get this report stating it's an inherant fault, Tesco aren't legally bound to do anything.

gbtillies

Thanks cookie365 for your reply. Apple have been really very helpful and supportive on this issue. Having run diagnostics on my phone they say the wifi chip is at fault. They say that Tesco are legally bound to repair/replace/refund. If Tesco want Apple to do the repair then Apple will do so but I need to be able to claim the money back from Tesco, so Tesco need to agree to it, which they won't do. Tesco are saying that the phone is out of warranty so tough luck and if I want to take it further then speak to Trading Standards (which I have done).

gbtillies

Thanks mije1983. That is a very interesting point that you make regarding an independent report. I can understand what you are saying. Does it matter if I still get an Apple report done as well? And how on earth do I find someone to do an independent report. Google here I come again!

gjchester

gbtillies wrote: »

Apple quoted the EU Wide Consumer Law from their website and provided me with a copy. It states that 'consumer law across the EU provide statutory rights in addition to the coverage you receive from the Apple One Year Limited Warranty'. It goes on to state that the Claim Period is 6 years in the UK. Needless to say Tesco are refusing to budge beyond the 1 year warranty and told me that if I was unhappy to speak to Trading Standards.
.

The EU does not provide any rights or laws, The EU may propose legislation or requirements but its down to each member state to implement them into national law. The EU Parliament has no power to force anything into UK Law, however if their wishes are not made into national law the can fine or penalise a country.


Under UK law you have 6 years to claim for a fault at time of manufacturing, it is NOT a 6 year warranty.


The proposed EU legislation was to limit that to 2 years, the UK law was already greater than that so it was not enacted into law.


However Again its 2 years to claim for a fault inherent at the time of manufacture, NOT 2 years warranty.




Tesco are only legally bound to replace faults in the warranty period, and that has since expired. There is another debate on Why apple only give 12 months when most other companies give 24 months, but that's not relevant here.




You have been using it for two years without issue, sothe emphasis will be on you to prove that the fault was there at the time of manufacture, not on the maker to prove it was not. How anyone can do this especially as Apple have never issued any recall or defect notice is hard to day. There is a fair few comment on the web about this, (http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/10/10/ios-7-update-brings-more-wi-fi-issues-for-some-iphone-4s-owners) but (and this is a big but) Apple have sold many many millions of 4S's and the majority of them work without issue.


Unless there was a recall (and I don't believe there was) Apple
are unlikely to say there is a fault at time of manufacture as that means Tesco can them claim back from Apple. I suspect they will simply say the unit has gone faulty.


You *May* be able to claim that the unit was not of sufficient quality, and it should have lasted longer, however two years from a mobile is about the normal lifespan of a phone and
you will find it hard to get any further.


Realistically you may have to pay for the repair and sue for the repair cost back from Tesco as not sufficient quality, in all likelihood Tesco will not defend and you will win, however that's not a guarantee.

gbtillies

Thanks gjchester for your reply. When I spoke to the UK European Consumer Centre which is hosted by Trading Standards, the guy told me that it is not a warranty issue, that my claim is under the Sale of Goods Act and this is where the 6 year comes into play. He said to forget about the EU Wide Consumer Law. He did say there was a burden of proof and to get it in writing from Apple which is when my Apple named contact made me an appointment at the Genius Bar so they can do a consumer law assessment on the device and provide documentation on apple headed paper saying I had a valid claim. I opened up the link you posted, but I have not upgraded my iphone 4s at all, it is still running on iOS 6.1.3. I deliberately took the decision not to upgrade as I had heard of all sorts of problems after upgrading.
I have been reading up on and trying to get my head round The Sale of Goods Act, printing off a very informative pdf from the House of Commons Library. I can't post the link to it as I am a new user.


The pdf also talks about Consumer Credit Act, where I may have a claim against the Credit Card Company (which interestingly is Tesco) but I am not sure if that is only applicable if the seller of the iphone has ceased trading etc.


I take your point about maybe having to get it repaired and then sue Tesco for refund.


Thank you for so much useful advice.

gbtillies

Thought I would let you know outcome.
I emailed Tesco, sending them report from Apple and quoting Sale of Goods Act etc. needless to say they bounced it back to me saying the onus was on me to prove the fault was inherent etc etc. However, as a gesture of goodwill they will send me out a Grade A replacement handset on receipt of my faulty one. Am very pleased with this outcome and think Tesco have handled the matter very well.

Am currently out of the Country on holiday but once back home I believe the necessary paperwork and pre paid packaging will be waiting for me.

Thank you to everyone for your advice and I hope that maybe knowing the final outcome of my issue may be of help to somebody.

gbtillies

Tesco came up trumps and am extremely happy with final outcome. Got back from holiday and sent them my faulty iphone 4s. However, they did not have a refurbished Grade A Replacement iphone 4s in black. They offered me a white one but I specifically wanted black as hubby has a white one. I am now the owner of a BRAND NEW!! Black iPhone 4s, delivered by DPD on next day delivery. iPhone came in a factory sealed box so I know it is brand new - it's just like I picked it off the shelf (not that you can!). Well done Tesco mobile technical support team on great customer service, excellent handling of the situation. Thanks to everyone here that took the time to post helpful comments.