iPhone stopped working out of warranty; what are my rights?

kthms83

Hi everyone,

I'd really appreciate some advice on a consumer advice issue. I have a 24 month mobile phone contract with EE (taken out over the phone), and an apple iPhone 5C, which is faulty ...

My handset has basically died on me, but through no fault of my own! I took it into the apple store and they have provided me with a written statement confirming as such (i.e. no damage to any of the parts inside or out), and that the phone is irreparable. They wouldn't however cover the cost of repair (which in this case was essentially a replacement phone) as my phone was 51 days out of the 12 month warranty period, but quoted me £199 and advised me to get in touch with the service provider (EE).

I rang EE but they claimed the broken handset essentially had nothing to do with them and refused to replace it. They said it's apples product so they should be responsible for fixing it, not them. If I'm honest the guy on the phone was pretty patronising ...

I accepted this at the time but having read the page on "consumer rights" on moneysavingexpert.com my interpretation of the Sales of Goods Act is that EE, as the service provider of a 24 month contract, are responsible for the goods provided as part of the service. Therefore they should also be responsible for replacing those goods if they become faulty for reasons which aren't my fault (which i have a statement from apple to that effect)

If someone could confirm/deny my interpretation of this and offer any advice on how to move forward I would be very grateful!

Thanks

Kevin

unholyangel

If inherently faulty then yes they need to provide a remedy.

However it is up to you to prove the fault is inherent. The statement you have from apple might not be enough (if all it states is there is no apparent physical damage - your post only references that part so it might only state that).

kthms83

Hello,

Thanks for the reply! this is what I have from Apple under "Problem Description/Diagnosis":

"Issue: Device is unexpectedly restarting with Apple logo fading to black then flashing back to full logo.
Steps to reproduce: attempted DFU restoring the device but will not restore
Cosmetic condition: No wear to the device, internal inspection also clean
Proposed resolution: Advised that device would require replacing in order to resolve issue. As outside of warranty device can be replaced at out of warranty cost. Customer is still within two years of original purchase. Referred customer to retailer"

Would this be strong enough evidence to support any claim from the service provider?

Thanks

JJ_Egan

Doubt it as it makes no mention of the actual fault .
Depends upon the vendor though and if they want to know what component failed .The Apple report might be enough but as they have already given you wrong information you may have to fight .

unholyangel

kthms83 wrote: »

Hello,

Thanks for the reply! this is what I have from Apple under "Problem Description/Diagnosis":

"Issue: Device is unexpectedly restarting with Apple logo fading to black then flashing back to full logo.
Steps to reproduce: attempted DFU restoring the device but will not restore
Cosmetic condition: No wear to the device, internal inspection also clean
Proposed resolution: Advised that device would require replacing in order to resolve issue. As outside of warranty device can be replaced at out of warranty cost. Customer is still within two years of original purchase. Referred customer to retailer"

Would this be strong enough evidence to support any claim from the service provider?

Thanks

As above, I doubt it. It doesnt state whats the cause of the fault (for example that a component was poorly soldered and this has caused it to fail). You could always try arguing it with them but I wouldn't threaten court action or anything along those lines until you have a report that states the nature of the fault is inherent.

kthms83

Thanks all for the replies ... I rang again and tried to put forward an argument that the goods were faulty through no fault of my own and that it would be "reasonable" as per the sale of goods act to expect a handset provided for a 24 month contract to last 24 months but I got no joy .. as you both correctly indicate it's impossible to prove the nature of the fault is inherent as I've had the phone for 13 months where it has worked (though the truth is i've had problems with it crashing for months, i've just always been able to fix it myself)

In the future I'll be a bit more militant if i pick up faults early .. if i'd gone to the apple store when I was having minor problems I might have been able to solve this within warranty before those minor problems turned to major problems.

Still a bit frustrated at EE ... I've been a loyal customer to orange/EE for years and would have expected a better service. I'll be running down my contract with them and switching as soon as possible.

Thanks for your help anyway guys, really appreciate it

unholyangel

kthms83 wrote: »

Thanks all for the replies ... I rang again and tried to put forward an argument that the goods were faulty through no fault of my own and that it would be "reasonable" as per the sale of goods act to expect a handset provided for a 24 month contract to last 24 months but I got no joy .. as you both correctly indicate it's impossible to prove the nature of the fault is inherent as I've had the phone for 13 months where it has worked (though the truth is i've had problems with it crashing for months, i've just always been able to fix it myself)

In the future I'll be a bit more militant if i pick up faults early .. if i'd gone to the apple store when I was having minor problems I might have been able to solve this within warranty before those minor problems turned to major problems.

Still a bit frustrated at EE ... I've been a loyal customer to orange/EE for years and would have expected a better service. I'll be running down my contract with them and switching as soon as possible.

Thanks for your help anyway guys, really appreciate it

An inherent fault is one that is present at time of sale but not necessarily apparent. For example a substandard component - it could work fine for 3 years and then fail. That would be inherent. The problem with your statement from apple is that it only says that there is a fault, not what the cause of the fault is.

However another point I would make is that customer service agents are not usually trained in law (should be, but they arent). If hoping to have a complaint taken seriously, its always best to put that complaint in writing.

kthms83

I think I might try pursue it in writing ... the problem as you say is the cause of the fault is not outlined by apple ... the reason it isn't outlined is because they don't know what it is! That's what has frustrated me most about the whole thing; I feel I've taken good care of the handset and as such it shouldn't just suddenly stop working without good reason.

Thanks again for the advice