Argos eBay outlet - refusing to refund for broken phone

MaggieBaking

This is both a plea for help and a warning to anyone considering buying a refurbished phone. I am so stressed, I had naively though that buying with Argos would be a guarantee against getting shoddy equipment and service

I bought a refurbished phone 3 months ago through the Argos eBay Outlet. It said I was to expect something with minor imperfections and that it would be covered with a 12 month warranty.

When it arrived it had a small crack on the screen, up near the front facing camera. I checked screen sensitivity which was fine and it didn't effect picture quality so I accepted it. I didn't think to say "Hey, this phone has a small imperfection like you said it would and it works fine but please can I go through all the hassle of sending it back and getting a replacement?"

3 months later I've taken it out of my handbag and the screen has just gone weird inside. I wrote off to Argos who told me that I must have damaged the screen, and any small damage to the screen can cause the internal one to go haywire and therefore I wasn't covered as it wasn't a "manufacturing defect".

I wrote back explaining that it was a second hand phone when I got it, and clearly the damage it had when I received it must, due to their own explanation, be the cause of the problems I am suffering from now.

I've only had it 3 months.

I don't know what to do now. The manager I am speaking to seems to be deliberately thick - repeating that I need a report to show proving that there has been a manufacturing defect.


What the heck do I do now? I am so short on cash that's why I bought a refurbished phone in the first place! I can see now it is a false economy and I am so furious they could put me in this position.

How dare they say that it's my responsibility when someone else has owned the phone previous to me? Even if it didn't have a noticeable crack when I received it, they explained that any damage, even if I couldn't see it, could have caused the problem. Why is the burden on me to have done it, when the phone had a previous owner?

Is there not some law to say that I bought it and should expect a longer lifespan than 3 months???

I bought it through a credit card on Paypal. Can I put in a claim through my credit card company, or Paypal, or both? Is there anything in consumer rights that is on my side or is it just "buyer beware"?

I am so cross and really feel taken advantage of. Don't buy a refurbished phone unless you enjoy wasting your money :mad:

MaggieBaking

This is the link to one you can buy today. I'm not sure if it was exactly the same bumpf as I bought it in April at £119

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sim-Free-Samsung-Galaxy-S3-Mobile-Phone-Blue-/161575834846?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item259eab94de

JJ_Egan

It was damaged glass that has now cracked further as glass does .
You did not want to return it then you must accept the consequences that this accepted fault has caused major problems .

tomtontom

I wouldn't class cracked glass as a minor imperfection, it should have been reported/ returned at the time. The difficulty you now have is proving the phone arrived with a cracked screen, and you're going to struggle to do this.

MaggieBaking

JJ_Egan wrote: »

It was damaged glass that has now cracked further as glass does .
You did not want to return it then you must accept the consequences that this accepted fault has caused major problems .

I didn't know it was going to cause major problems, the phone has worked fine for 3 months

MaggieBaking

Even if I hadn't noticed the break, their first email says to me

"Customers often feel that there cannot be a broken LCD display because they
cannot feel the break
However, cracks in the glass usually cannot be felt because the plastic
covering rarely breaks or fractures."

So what is to say anyone who receives a reconditioned phone hasn't already had their LCD display broken? How can they say the burden is on me when I am not the only person who has had it?

I haven't misused it, I have taken care of it. It's broken, and it's not my fault. I can't afford to lose £120. Why would they send something out that is already inherently crap? I have completely lost faith in Argos - all that reputation is for naught when it comes down to it. I may a well have bought it from a man in the pub.

custardy

MaggieBaking wrote: »

Even if I hadn't noticed the break, their first email says to me

"Customers often feel that there cannot be a broken LCD display because they
cannot feel the break
However, cracks in the glass usually cannot be felt because the plastic
covering rarely breaks or fractures."

So what is to say anyone who receives a reconditioned phone hasn't already had their LCD display broken? How can they say the burden is on me when I am not the only person who has had it?

I haven't misused it, I have taken care of it. It's broken, and it's not my fault. I can't afford to lose £120. Why would they send something out that is already inherently crap? I have completely lost faith in Argos - all that reputation is for naught when it comes down to it. I may a well have bought it from a man in the pub.

How would you go about proving that?
Im struggling to understand why you accepted the phone in the first place.

tomtontom

I can understand your frustration but you need to accept some responsibility here - your phone had an obvious fault and you failed to report it in a reasonable time. The argument that it might have been faulty even without an obvious crack is irrelevant - yours does have an obvious crack.

If you can't afford £120 there are cheaper alternatives available.

wealdroam

MaggieBaking wrote: »

I can't afford to lose £120.

Then get it repaired - at your cost. Should be less than £120.

MaggieBaking

I made a mistake.

I wish they'd come out and say "I don't believe you" - at least then I could just try and plead to their sense of good will.

I believed that what I was getting was reasonable for a refurbished phone and that it was covered through Argos. I believed all that c**p about it being checked over by professionals etc and thought that it would work fine. It was only a cheap phone I didn't need it to be perfect. My brother had a phone with a properly smashed screen that worked for months and months till he upgraded it.

Of course if I knew it was classed as being irreparably damaged I would have sent it back straight away. I wasn't expecting a phone I would own for 5 years, I just wanted something acceptable from someone trustworthy that would last a reasonable length of time.

I knew I was getting something lesser than a brand new phone, that was why I kept it.

MaggieBaking

wealdroam wrote: »

Then get it repaired - at your cost. Should be less than £120.

The crack isn't the problem any more the whole display has gone haywire. I heard that Samsungs are expensive to repair