Faulty Note 3....Store not playing ball

alextexmex

Hey all,

I brought a galaxy note 3 from handtec for £432.00 on the 26th July, immediately started having troubles with signal strength, I contacted handtec who directed me to Samsung support, who after diagnostic and settings checks and hard resets, declared the handset faulty.

Handtec state on the website that along with the distance selling regulations giving 14 day returns for unwanted and faulty goods, that they have a 30 day return policy, which is available on their website to view, giving 30 days to return goods which are faulty for replacement or refund.

Within the first 3 day period I rand Handtec 5 times, each time, on hold for eternity and never getting to talk to anyone, So I sent a letter by first class post, and kept proof of postage complaining that the product was not fit for purpose and requested a returns authorisation (which they state you must have or you cannot return anything) and a refund.

The letter was ignored so I left it a reasonable amount of time to be responded to, then sent a request authorisation request on the webpage, and returned the item with a copy of the original letter, a rejection letter and a request for a refund, making a point to state that I had requested a return well within the first 14 days and that this did not happen, I returned within the first 30 days as per the terms and conditions and that I was not happy with the service.

Today I received a curt email stating "since 02/09/2014 we now have a 14 day return policy which is listed on our website, as a result your item will be repaired and returned to you."

My question is this, what are my rights? Having provided evidence that I attepted a return, complained and requested a refund in the first 14 days and gave them plenty of time to respond. Furthermore they have two differing terms and conditions pages on the website with contradictory returns policies, I am unsure of what to do next. CAB says I am entitled to a refund, handtec say I am not, should I once again request a refund and state my rights, or talk to visa about a chargeback? any ideas?

Here are the links for the policies:

http://www.handtec.co.uk/return-policy This is the one that states 30 day return, specifically clause 1.3.3

http://www.handtec.co.uk/customer-service/#policies This one states 14 days.

mobilejunkie

For starters, the change in policy is in the future unless you've got the year wrong; the one which counts is the one at the point of sale, which you'd have to prove. Next, you'd have to prove that you've complied with the terms of that policy - there are always conditons.

If you've covered these points, srnd a Letter Before Legal Proceedings and if they don't refund you, issue proceedihgs - all of which is easy and effective provided your case is sound snd they haven't gone bust.