LG not honouring warranty for mobile bought from Amazon UK

arts99

Hi,
I will really appreciate your guidance, suggestions and help please.

Bought LG G3 phone in June last year from Amazon.co.uk for £234.93 (Sold by FRElectronics:Fulfilled by Amazon) and paid by Capital One credit card, it came with a 2 years warranty.

I use all my things very carefully and was very careful with the phone; within a couple of months noticed that it overheated every now and then and upon searching online saw it was a common problem with LG G3 but as the phone was at least operational I kept on using it.


Earlier this year the screen became yellow at one spot on left side and it seemed that it was also a common problem, I contacted LG support and they said it will have to be inspected at their service centre and since I was out of the country at that time I thought when I will return to UK I will get it checked by them since the warranty is valid till June 2017.

Last month it stopped working just like that, I had put it on for charging and later on when checked it won’t work and showed blue screen and sometimes even the blue screen didn’t show.


I tried all possible things that were suggested in different forums like taking the battery out and restart etc nothing helped.


Contacted LG support through their website and they said they will have it collected and repaired, they got it collected through DPD
after about 10 days I got a notification that it’s being sent back.
When I collected it, I was very disappointed to see that they have not repaired it and just sent a note that states:

“Out of Warranty Inspection Report

We have inspected your LG mobile and regret to inform you that due to our findings of liquid damage we are unable to accept repair under LG’s warranty policy.

Faults/Found
Evidence of liquid residue found.
Comment
Unit is deemed to be beyond economic repair and out of warranty”

I called up their support line straight away and guy on the phone said nothing can be done as its liquid damage, I said to him that it never fell down in water etc and he said that it could happen
even with small amount of moisture/dampness entering the phone which gradually expands.

I am not happy with the response I got and also do not agree with their findings and advice.

I need advice/suggestions as to what shall be the best course of action to resolve the issue and either get my phone fixed, replaced or refunded.

1. Shall I contact LG again? Although I don’t think they will do much as the guy said nothing can be done.

2. Contact Capital One as paid through them and it was £234.

3. Contact Amazon

I understand that after 6 months things may become slightly more difficult but like I said above I was always careful with the phone and experienced the heating issues within the first couple of months
and subsequently yellow spots afterwards and then finally it stopped working.

In my experience the phone design and hardware is defective/faulty as I am not the only one who experienced these issues.

Looking forward to your help.

Thank you

[Deleted User]

All you can do is attempt to prove the "fault" was inherent at the time of purchase. You would do this by arranging an independent inspection of the phone at your own expense. If the inspection deems that the fault was inherent then you may have a case to go back to LG with...

Incidentally, the manufacturer's warranty is not with Amazon and is in addition to your legal rights in any case.

unholyangel

OP have you actually approached the seller yet? FREwhatevertheirnamewas? It seems to be the one course of action you haven't considered yet

ETA: Should perhaps expand on that. If they offered a 2 year warranty, its possible it was a warranty provided by them rather than the manufacturer - some retailers do this when the goods theyre selling aren't already covered by a manufacturers warranty (some of them even use it to negotiate a cheaper unit price with the manufacturer).

If they promised you a 2 year warranty, then go back to them and see what they say. It is possible you are going to need to go down the statutory rights route though and get a report. Especially if the manufacturer have said liquid ingress.

[Deleted User]

unholyangel wrote: »

ETA: Should perhaps expand on that. If they offered a 2 year warranty, its possible it was a warranty provided by them rather than the manufacturer -.

Is this really likely for a mobile 'phone?
Most retailers don't advertise such extended warranties unless they are offered by the manufacturer rather than themselves. If the OP returns, I'd expect him to say it was the retailer who referred him to LG, especially more than 12 months since purchase.

Regardless, certainly worth a try if it hasn't been done already.

Fosterdog

I don't think LG are saying it is out of warranty due to the time you've had the phone, they are saying it is out of warranty due to it being liquid damage which is not covered and in turn voids the whole warranty.

Are you 100% sure that it has never been exposed to moisture? A lot of people take their phones in the bathroom with them while they have a bath or shower, the damp and steamy environment causes condensation to build up inside them. Once or twice may not cause too much damage but doing it several times a week can cause problems pretty quickly.

I regularly open up phones, tablets and even laptops that have had the liquid sensors triggered by this, if there is enough moisture to trigger the liquid sensors there is enough to damage the components.

[Deleted User]

Fosterdog wrote: »

I don't think LG are saying it is out of warranty due to the time you've had the phone, they are saying it is out of warranty due to it being liquid damage which is not covered and in turn voids the whole warranty.

I think the Op knows this, he is not happy because he feels he has "looked after" the item.

I still think his only realistic option is to have an independent inspection.

arts99

Hi,



Thank you very much for your input so far, much appreciated!


I have received a response from amazon and they have offered me £140 and have stated the following:

"[FONT=&quot]Amazon do not provide the warranty for this item. However, we do have certain obligations under the Sale of Goods Act which grants recourse against a seller of goods if those goods were defective at the time of purchase (i.e. if there was an inherent fault in the goods). This may include, in certain circumstances, repair, refund or replacement, but only to the extent that doing so is not disproportionate to the value of the goods, having regard to the use the customer has already had of the goods and the nature of the goods. In addition, in order to be entitled to any repair, refund or replacement 6 months or more after purchase of goods, you must be able to provide evidence that the product was defective at the time of purchase.

For more information on your rights under the Sale of Goods Act you can contact your local Trading Standards Office.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]You purchased your product approximately 13 months ago and, until recently, have used it successfully and reported no fault with the product until now. In particular, you have had satisfactory use of the product for a period of time which exceeds the manufacturer's warranty period. As such, you are not entitled to a replacement or refund of the replacement value.

However, in this circumstance as a measure of goodwill, I've applied an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to the value of £140.00 to your account.

You will be given the option of applying those funds when you confirm payment on your next order[/FONT]"

It goes on and states "[FONT=&quot]Please note that the manufacturer is often in a better position than the retailer to deal with technical problems affecting their products. Therefore, should you wish to pursue this matter further, we would encourage you to contact the manufacturer to see if they are able to provide you with any further assistance. They may be in a position to offer a repair service or could provide you with information on relevant charges for an out of warranty repair. [/FONT]"

My points are:

1. It’s not correct that I reported no fault till now, I had contacted LG customer support about 4 months ago as well and reported heating issues and yellow spots appearing on one side of the screen. I have copy of the chat with me .
2. How is a customer able to provide evidence that the product was defective at the time of purchase? Which companies offer independent inspection reports that will be acceptable to retailers etc?
3. I have not had satisfactory use of the product for a period of time which exceeds the manufacturer warranty period so they cannot say that I am not entitled to a refund as such.
4. I have already contacted the manufacturer and they have said they cannot do anything and that the mobile is beyond economic repair.

I am almost a £100 out of pocket due to know fault of my own and I have always taken care of the phone and not exposed it to liquid or moisture in terms of using it near the liquids/water or very evident dampness/moisture .

Please suggest how shall I proceed please? Shall I ask Amazon to refund the full amount or ask them for a replacement with a phone of equal value? For example they are selling LG Nexus 5x for £230 at the moment which is less than what I paid for my phone to them.

Thank you very much for your help.

[Deleted User]

arts99 wrote: »

Shall I ask Amazon to refund the full amount or ask them for a replacement with a phone of equal value?

I think you've been fortunate that Amazon has refunded anything at all. As stated, they have no liability in your circumstance and they have applied a (generous IMHO) gesture of goodwill.

If you remain unhappy, you need to arrange an independent inspection and hope that it reports that your "fault" was inherent at the time of purchase. You can then approach LG again. However, liquid damage is not an inherent fault and so you may want to think carefully before paying for a such inspection. If the inspection report confirms what the manufacturer has already told you then you will have wasted more money.

arts99

hi,

this gentleman seem to have success after 15 months of buying a product from them:

http://www.fireworks-forum.org.uk/threads/amazon-not-honouring-manufacturers-warranty.19942/

I contacted them again but it seems they are not even reading what I am saying to them and have just responded again with "you have had satisfactory use of the product for a period of time which exceeds the manufacturer's warranty period" . They have given me links to go to Trading standards, citizens advice etc if I want to pursue it further.

Is it worth using http://www.resolver.co.uk/

what will be the advice regarding contacting the Credit Card company?

Thank you

Thank you

shaun_from_Africa

arts99 wrote: »

Please suggest how shall I proceed please? Shall I ask Amazon to refund the full amount or ask them for a replacement with a phone of equal value?

You are entitled to ask but in reality, it's very unlikely that either of those two option will happen.
Even if you get a report stating that the fault is due to a manufacturing defect, Amazon are not legally required to give a full refund.
They can opt to repair, replace or refund (their choice) and the refund can be a partial one to take into account the years use that you have had from the phone.

You can contact your credit card company but it's likely that they will simply ask for the same as Amazon which is proof of an inherent (manufacturing) defect with the phone.

If you do take it further, there is one thing that could go against you:

within a couple of months noticed that it overheated every now and then and upon searching online saw it was a common problem with LG G3 but as the phone was at least operational I kept on using it.

A phone overheating is a good sign that there is something wrong with it and by continuing to use it despite knowing that there was a problem, it might be argued that you contributed to the eventual failure of the phone.

[Deleted User]

arts99 wrote: »

I contacted them again but it seems they are not even reading what I am saying to them and have just responded again with "you have had satisfactory use of the product for a period of time which exceeds the manufacturer's warranty period" . They have given me links to go to Trading standards, citizens advice etc if I want to pursue it further.

To be blunt, it is you who are now not reading. From the outset, the responses on this thread have advised that you will not get a full refund or replacement unless you can show that the "fault" was inherent at the time of purchase.

Despite this, you keep coming back demanding to know who you should contact and what you should do.

So, for one final time..

If you hope to show that the fault was not inherent then you need to arrange and pay for an independent inspection. If the inspection finds the same liquid ingress as the manufacturer found, then count yourself lucky that Amazon gave you back £140 as a goodwill gesture.

If you contact your card company, they will want to see proof that the fault was inherent.

If you contact Trading Standards, they'll only tell you what you have been repeatedly told here.