John Lewis claim physical damage

hecktor

Hi,

I purchased a Nexus 5X 14 months ago and after about 2 months I had a charger issue. The charger stopped working, I replaced the charger myself and left it be.

After 13 months the phone stopped functioning, it would get stuck at the Google logo. I was unable to resolve the issue when I followed the tech instructions provided by John Lewis.

I sent the phone and original broken charger for repair under JL warranty and today had a letter stating that they are returning the handset due to physical damage which is invalidating the warranty and therefore should try and claim on house insurance (which will cover it as I have this in my policy).

The phone is immaculate, not a scratch on it. I'm not sure what physical damage I have done to the phone that has caused this without marking it and finally they have not even mentioned the faulty charger or replaced it.

I can't help feeling like i'm being fobbed off. Do you think I'm being paranoid and should just claim on house insurance or do you think I should push back?

IAmWales

You should ask what physical damage they have identified.

Don't "push back", call and politely ask the question.

SouthUKMan

What I suspect could have happened is that John Lewis would have had the phone assessed by LG who will have spotted a tiny, tiny scratch or chip somewhere on the case or screen. Increasingly phone manufacturers are insisting that such minor damage invalidates warranties or else they insist on charging you to repair such damage before they consider the original claim under warranty.

hecktor

Thanks both. I'll see if I can get more information from JL.

unholyangel

Also see what the terms of the warranty are - warranty providers are required to provide terms of a warranty in writing if requested and any warranty terms they offer are binding.

Theres a difference between physical damage & fair wear n tear imo.


Also, has it possibly been damaged in transit?

marliepanda

Did you replace with e Samsung charger or a random charger?

if a random one, that may have invalidated the insurance if it caused internal issues, which could be described as physical damage, maybe.

Until you know what the damage was its hard to say.

hecktor

I have asked for the terms of the warranty. I sent a polite email asking if they could please provide evidence of the accidental damage. This is the response.

Thank you for your email regarding your LG mobile phone.

I do appreciate receiving the findings that the phone has suffered accidental damage may of caused frustration or confusion.

Our repair centre is manufacturer authorised and if they discover any accidental damage they will get it sent back unrepaired if they believe it not to be economically repairable.

Regrettably we will not be able to provide any further information as our repair centre is limited to the details they can provide but I can assure you that if they have made the diagnosis of accidental damage then that would be evidence enough as that report has been concluded by accredited and qualified technicians.

If you would like to seek a 2nd opinion then we would recommend to contact LG directly for service, please find below their telephone number and also their web link to submit a repair request.

Bit of a drag making me seek a 2nd opinion, I wonder if the strategy is not to look at it until a customer forces them to by seeking 2nd opinion as they know most customers won't bother.

Here is a link to pictures of the phone: https://imgur.com/a/GPWBJ

[Deleted User]

hecktor wrote: »

Bit of a drag making me seek a 2nd opinion,

They are clearly just giving you that option, they are not in any way forcing you to do that at all. Note that you'll likely have to pay for this second opinion and won't be refunded the cost unless it finds in your favour.

hecktor wrote: »

I wonder if the strategy is not to look at it until a customer forces them to by seeking 2nd opinion

Concocting conspiracy theories really won't help you here.

Do you really believe that they haven't already sent off your 'phone to be inspected? I do agree their reply is very vague about what is wrong with the 'phone, though.

hecktor wrote: »

Here is a link to pictures of the phone: https://imgur.com/a/GPWBJ

You seem to be assuming that the "accidental damage" must be to the exterior of the product. That's by no means always the case (forgive the pun).

Manxman_in_exile

Did JL really say "may of"?

susancs

Could you take it instore? The reason I say this is that I purchased a Nexus tablet instore in JL which stopped working after 18 months. I took it instore to John Lewis with proof of purchase from them (a bank statement as could not find the receipt) and the tech support bit chap checked it out on the spot. They said they could not replace it as it was out of stock, so offered me a full refund or I could use the refund against another product which I did as they had a sale on.

You might get a better response from a person face to face who can look over the phone for damage.

[Deleted User]

Might have water damage inside - the phones usually have moisture sensors that change colour if water is detected.