Virgin Mobile & Faulty Products

Lee_johnson28

Hi All:


In October 2013 (14 months ago) I signed up for a contract with Virgin Mobile, Unlimited Calls, Data, and Texts for £36 with Free Insurance. A Very Good Deal!
I also chose a new handset, Sony Xperia Z1, which was the phone I had wanted at the time.


So my problems start after about 2 months, the phone develops a charging fault and also an issue where people couldn't hear me, so I get in touch with Virgin and they arrange for it to go on a weeks holiday to be repaired...... Leaving me phoneless. They also reset the phone losing all my contacts which was a disaster for my business.


Then came 4 happy months, in which, shockingly, my phone worked and functioned as expected........ Until, another fault, the phone decided to do things without any input, it would text and call people without me touching it, and was almost impossible to actually use
" I get in touch with Virgin and they arrange for it to go on a weeks holiday to be repaired...... Leaving me phoneless. They also reset the phone losing all my contacts which was a disaster for my business."..... Where have we heard that one before?

Its now 14 months in, and my phone has developed yet another fault, a charging issue again. The phone dies completely and I cannot back anything up.


Guess what, I get in touch with Virgin and they provide me the WORST customer service I have ever received, and eventually offered to repair it for me..... so its now away on another repair, leaving me phoneless AGAIN.
I have tried as I might, to get the phone replaced, I have emailed them quoting the sale of goods act, and also recited it to them on the phone, only to hear about Virgin's "Policy".


Apparently Bransons company operates outside the confines of the law.

They refuse to acknowledge the phone is inherently faulty and they will also not reimburse me for my period of phonelessness.


WHAT CAN I DO NOW?!

gjchester

Lee_johnson28 wrote: »

Leaving me phoneless. They also reset the phone losing all my contacts which was a disaster for my business.

Business contracts usually have extra support, Was this a business or consumer contract? I wasn't aware VM do business contracts, its normally by a different arm of the company.

Backing up your phone contents before sending it away is a standard request, keeping inportant business information in more than one place is not unreasonable to a business. You would have been in the same boat if your phone was stolen.

Its also standard practive to ask you nto to send the SIM card, you could have put it in another phone to use.

Lee_johnson28 wrote: »

They also reset the phone losing all my contacts which was a disaster for my business."..... Where have we heard that one before?

... so its now away on another repair, leaving me phoneless AGAIN.

Did you not think this may happen agian and keep a backup of your contacts. The Z1 is an android phone it would have tried to back the contact to a Google account, have you checked that for contacts?

Again a business level contract would have provided a spare, and surely you have some phone to use in the mean time, worse case would be to spent a few poungs on PAYG cheapie and put your contract sim in it.

Lee_johnson28 wrote: »

I have tried as I might, to get the phone replaced, I have emailed them quoting the sale of goods act, and also recited it to them on the phone, only to hear about Virgin's "Policy".

Apparently Bransons company operates outside the confines of the law.

The SOGA states they have to offer a repair or replacement, but its the retailers choice. They are offering a repair so they are within the law.

Lee_johnson28 wrote: »

They refuse to acknowledge the phone is inherently faulty and they will also not reimburse me for my period of phonelessness.

WHAT CAN I DO NOW?!

What are you looking for, you have a consumer grade contract as a busienss phone, yes business phone contracts cost more but offer more services such as courtesy phones and enhanced repair cover.

Short term buy a cheap PAYG phone either unlocked or on Virgin to use, you can ask if they will consider compensating you for the cost.

You cna ask for compensationfor the times you were without phone in terms of a refund on line rental, but as you could have put the SIM in another phone this may not be much, maybe a few months refund on the rental.

If you get the phone back you may want to consider sending it to an independant assessor to examine the phone, this will cost you but if it bears out your claim that its faulty. Unless Sony have issued a recall proving an inherant design fault will be very difficult.

Don't misunderstand me I have past experience of Sony Phones and personally I think the are often poor build quality, however given that Virgin ARE making repairs there is not a lot you can do, other than if you can prove it was faulty at time of purchase.

grumbler

Lee_johnson28 wrote: »

...
Apparently Bransons company operates outside the confines of the law.

Which one?

WHAT CAN I DO NOW?!

Get your contacts synched with your Google account (or some other web-based account).
Get a spare handset that is a must when having a modern sophisticated smartphone. Even a spare Android can be bought for £20+.

The law says that Virgin have to repair or replace the phone within reasonable time and without causing you significant inconvenience. The law doesn't define 'reasonable' and 'significant'. If you think that the inconvenience they caused is significant, sue Virgin via the (online) Small Claims Court.