O2 Apple nightmare

Debsmillis

I am 14 months into a 2 year contract with O2 , my iPhone 5 has broken, the caller cannot hear me and the handset keeps restarting continuously. I have had a call from apple with no resolution and a visit to apple genius where they say I need to claim EU consumer law with O2 to replace the handset . O2 say that this is not their problem ! Apple say it is O2 problem and I don't know where to turn to ....
How do I make this EU claim ? Is this the correct path to take? I am paying £42 every month for a service that is not of merchantable quality.

sinizterguy

Your warranty is finished. So you cannot expect them to just deal with it.

You will have to claim under the relevant law - Sale of Goods or something similar - Pretty sure it has been superceded this year.

This says any item has to last a reasonable length of time and I would expect a phone to last longer than 14 months.

You would need to put all this in writing - find a template letter somewhere - and send it to the manufacturer - Apple.

grumbler

Apple are right in washing their hands.

It's O2 who are responsible under SoGA (not 'EU consumer law' in UK). However, after 6 months the onus lies on you to prove that it was an inherent fault (or, IMO, just that the fault wasn't caused by misuse/damage). Also, if you prove this, you don't have a right for a replacement, and O2 can repair the phone if they prefer.

Get in writing from O2 that "this is not their problem".
Get an independent report. If the report is satisfactory, claim from O2 to repair/replace the phone and refund the cost of the report.
If they refuse, sue them via the SCC for the cost of replacement, report and the inconvenience they caused you.

MSE articles:

• Consumer Rights
• Small Claims Court

Next time, if you don't want jumping through hoops, either pay through the nose for Apple 'protection' or vote with your feet and by another phone with a normal free 2-year's warranty instead of pathetic 1-year's one.

sinizterguy wrote: »

Your warranty is finished. So you cannot expect them to just deal with it.

You will have to claim under the relevant law - Sale of Goods or something similar.

You would need to put all this in writing - find a template letter somewhere - and send it to the manufacturer - Apple.

Apple have no obligations under the SoGA unless the phone was purchased directly from them.

d123

sinizterguy wrote: »

Your warranty is finished. So you cannot expect them to just deal with it.

You will have to claim under the relevant law - Sale of Goods or something similar - Pretty sure it has been superceded this year.

This says any item has to last a reasonable length of time and I would expect a phone to last longer than 14 months.

You would need to put all this in writing - find a template letter somewhere - and send it to the manufacturer - Apple.

Quite a bit of misinformation in this post...

The OP has a claim under SoGA, it hasn't been superseded.

The OP will have to get an independent report into the cause of the fault and then take action against the retailer.

@debsmillis, who actually was the retailer? Did you buy direct from O2 or another retailer?

The manufacturer has no obligations whatsoever after the warranty expires. The retailer is responsible, and the OP will have to escalate a complaint and possibly even take to court to try and get resolution (if an independent report will back up the OP, no damage, inherent fault, not satisfactory quality etc).

Debsmillis

Hi , I entered into a 2 yr contract with O2 with a new iphone5 , I upgraded my iPhone 4s after an initial 2 year contract. I basically pay each month in 2 parts . One part for the phone and one part for the service from O2.
O2 have told me that after 12 months the warranty is invalid but I am in a contract for 2 years surely the phone should be useable for the duration of the contract at least????
I have not misused the phone at all , I woke one morning awaiting my alarm and it was in recovery mode? No previous problems at all , now when I try to sync with iTunes (something my son does for me) it comes up with an error code , unable to sync . So in short it can't even be restored to start again.

d123

Debsmillis wrote: »

Hi , I entered into a 2 yr contract with O2 with a new iphone5 , I upgraded my iPhone 4s after an initial 2 year contract. I basically pay each month in 2 parts . One part for the phone and one part for the service from O2.
O2 have told me that after 12 months the warranty is invalid but I am in a contract for 2 years surely the phone should be useable for the duration of the contract at least????
I have not misused the phone at all , I woke one morning awaiting my alarm and it was in recovery mode? No previous problems at all , now when I try to sync with iTunes (something my son does for me) it comes up with an error code , unable to sync . So in short it can't even be restored to start again.

You are going to have make a complaint to O2, in writing, by letter or email laying out the reasons why you feel they need to comply with their obligations under the Sale of Goods Act. Tell them you expect them to repair or replace the phone or you will get an independent report and claim the repair cost back through the courts.

If you are ok with emailing, a good starting point is the CEOs office, they tend to have more common sense when compared to normal CS.

Mr Ronan Dunne
Chief Executive

Email: ronan.dunne(at)o2.com
Telephone: 0113 272 2000
Personal Twitter: @ronandunneo2

Frozen_up_north

If you purchase a phone directly from Apple UK, they "sort of" have a 2 year warranty, although they fudge the issue in their UK terms and conditions.

A friend bought an iPad from Apple in the UK, it failed completely during the second year of use. As she lives in Spain she contacted the Apple store in Murcia (Spain) and arranged to take it there. They swapped it under warranty, without a quibble. It didn't have an extended warranty, only the standard Apple (UK) one... The Spanish Apple warranty has interesting wording when compared to the UK one:

"For purchases made ​​by consumers in Spain, the seller shall be deemed responsible for any lack of conformity with the contract of sale that becomes apparent within two years from the delivery. The claim period for consumer purchases in Spain is 3 years from the date of delivery."

This might make a claim easier than our Sale of Goods Act route.

It might be worth taking a flight to Murcia

However, the OP purchased their iPhone through an O2 contract and not directly from Apple...