Botched mobile phone repair - advice needed

MattSnell

Hi everyone, I'm looking for some advice on how I can resolve this issue - has anyone experienced a similar problem?

I used an online phone repair service which promised to replace mobile's my broken screen in 24-48 hours with return postage included.

Initially, the order was delayed. They claimed they didn't have the right parts due to high volume of repairs .

10 days later, the parts arrived and they replaced the screen.

I then received an email stating that a "software fault" had been found on the phone and the company was demanding an additional £60 to fix this.

I called to complain and found the fault was simply that the phone would not turn on and boot up - the sony logo would come up on the screen for a few seconds, and then the phone would crash/turn off.

The company argues that they did not cause this fault (but will not offer any other explanation for it), and refuse to rectify it for free.

I argue that the only reasonable explanation for this is that it occurred as a result of them dismantling and reassembling the phone. e.g. the technician was not grounded properly before touching electronics inside.

I have refused to pay for the additional repair, and stated my case many times for them to fix this. They will not budge on the matter. Instead they are sending the phone back to me in a 'not-working' state (and not refunding my initial payment for the screen repair either).

I'm keen to gather opinions on whether I have a case to take this to a small claims court (which I have told them I intend on doing if they don't fix it), or raise it with a consumer watchdog or similar and get some compensation?

Thanks for reading,
Matt

Jon_01

For any kind of legal action you would have to get an independent engineers report on the phone stating what the problem is and the likelihood that the repair created it. Without that you don't have a case.

MattSnell

Thanks Jon,

Does anyone think it would also an adequate argument that the issue occurred when the phone was in their care - regardless of the cause? They are responsible for returning the phone to me in the same state that I sent it them, i.e. with the software working.

Matt

SuperAllyB

If it comes to small claims, it will be very difficult to prove that software was fine when you sent it.

Jon_01

The problem you have is, there's no way you can prove that the software was fine when you sent it in. I'm sure it was, but there's a burden of prof.

At the moment it's your word against theirs. And, I'd guess, that they have a qualified engineer stating their case.

MattSnell

Thanks for the advice - this is definitely a frustrating situation! I just hope I can fix the phone myself my re-formatting and re-installing the software.