Problems with mobile phone from carphone warehousee

Blurry120

In march 2015 I bought a samsung s5 mini from carphone warehouse, in October the same year I began to have problems with the phone, if anything it was software issues, running slow, some apps weren`t working the way they should, battery wouldn`t charge properly, until you restarted the phone, the problems would go away for a few days then come back.
Having had these problems on a previous samsung phone I went to the walk-in samsung repair store in manchester arndale, in october last year and got the phone fixed.
All was well for a time, and the the software issues came back, I had a week off january so i went back to the same store, again the phone was fixed.
The reason why I didn`t go to carphone warehouse first with my current phone, was that the other samsung phone I had, I gave to them to be fixed, and they made more of a hash than fixing the phone, and I only found this after I visited the samsung repair centre after. They fixed my previous phone better than carephone warehouse did.
Thisa time I went to carphone warehouse explaining the problems I had, and they said would send it off to their repair centre, bearing in mind that the first two times being fixed by samsung twice does not count with their 3 times repair policy, in other words the phone has to be in for repair 3 times and be fixed before you can change the phone over.
Well my phone has been in twice now with carphone warehouse, had for just over a week and some issues are the same, not all but some, apparently after I emailed carphone warehosue I managed to get an engineer to give me details as to what had been done to my phone.
It has had a new main board fitted and casing has been replaced due to the scratches that were on the casing, thing is the phone is white and the front is glass, I look after my phones and they were no scratches on the front or back of the case, and being as its still under warranty, its work that has been pointlessly carried out.
My guess is that carphone warehouse are trying to blame me for damaging my phone for some reason, which I`m not happy about.
I`ve just had the phone for just over a year now, it doesn`t always work the way I want it to, and I`m looing interest in the phone, I am with EE at the moment and I`m happy with them.
I have visited my local carphone warehouse a numerous of times, with not much luck since the guys in there are not much help, they are more interested selling new phones than trying to help you with your broken one and finding whats causing the problem.
I am at my wits end and I have looked at some info on this website about sales of goods act, printed it off, ready to visit the shop agin tomorrow, its not the fact I want my money back, I do have a two year contract to pay, but I am damned if I am having a phone that doesn`t work properly, this has put me off owning another samsung phone all together, I am happy with EE, like I said before, its just unhelpful people at carphone warehouse who don`t to have a clue,

can anyone advise?

mobilejunkie

Methinks it's you who "doesn't have a clue". I agree about CPW repairs, but you have absolutely no grounds for any kind of a refund. Apart from that, did they charge for the case replacement? If not, why are you complaining?

If the phone is faulty they have to repair and eventually replace. If just don't like the phone, buy a different one and make sure you like it first.

Blurry120

mobilejunkie wrote: »

Methinks it's you who "doesn't have a clue". I agree about CPW repairs, but you have absolutely no grounds for any kind of a refund. Apart from that, did they charge for the case replacement? If not, why are you complaining?

If the phone is faulty they have to repair and eventually replace. If just don't like the phone, buy a different one and make sure you like it first.

What makes you think I`m clueless, I`m not after refund, its never been what I want in the first place, its the phone I have an issue with, I even offered to pay extra for another different make of phone, to which, the response is no, we (carphone warehouse) will replace the handset with a new one, which I suppose is a win, whats to say it won`t happen again?

Yes I could buy a new phone, but why should I have to if I`m offering to pay for another new there a the carphone warehosue there and then, and they turn me down.....

glennstar

Blurry120,
I think it is fair to say there are a few of issues here;

1. The phone you have is, at best, appropriate for non-savvy users. It is made (in terms of manufacturer's spec) for light use. This is why a reset usually helps for a short while but will not resolve your issues in the longer term as the device just isn't up to the job.
2. You are not separating the roles and responsibilities of the suppliers in this chain. EE provide your network services, CPW send you bills (and do little more) and Samsung provide you with a device with which to make voice calls, send text messages and do very light weight Internet related activities.
3. You have had this device for ~12 months. Given it would not have been new when you got it then it is certainly EoL by now. Any upgrades you have made to the OS, new applications installed recently, etc will be developed for new hardware - making your underpowered device look even worse. Be aware the same issues do not affect Windows Mobile and iOS to the same extent.

If you are a heavy phone user (and by that I mean you have managed to navigate as far as the Android store) then do yourself a favour and get a phone with a relatively high specification... or get yourself a device that requires less management... by which I mean not Android. The Android OS is very Open, capable, flexible and powerful. With that comes responsibility to manage the device, rather than treating it like a White Good and just expecting it to do it's job - it's more complicated than that, I'm afraid.

Finally, (and I have no axe to grind with CPW) do yourself a favour and contract directly with your MNO of choice and buy your device from a reputable retailer free of any network subsidy. It is the best and cheapest option in the long run if you can afford it from a cash flow perspective.

JJ_Egan

If CPW do replace this phone you don't like then just buy what you like and sell the one you don't like .

Grumpyoungman

glenstar, what are you talking about? a galaxy s5 mini is a perfectly capable device. For what its worth (anecdotal) i had an s4 mini, and it was great for the whole 2 years of heavy use.