Two broken phones in two year contract and they want me to pay them

countingthepennies395

Hello,

Just looking for a bit of advice regarding a phone contract I have (which is up in September).

I got a refurbished iPhone on contract, and after about a year, the screen suddenly stopped working correctly. I keep the phone in a waterproof, shockproof case with screen protector, and I knew I hadn’t dropped it or got it wet etc, so I took it to the phone company and they told me to take it to the Apple Store to see what they said. One of the Apple engineers opened the phone up and said there was a hardware fault with the screen, that would not be possible to repair.

I don’t have phone insurance, but the phone was under warranty with the phone company. When I took eh written evidence from Apple back to the phone contract company, they said that they would need their own engineer to look at the phone, but it would be likely that they would say it was my fault (?) and I would have to buy a new phone; alternatively, they offered to give me a new phone for free, but it would be without their warranty, however, not to worry because it was new and would be covered by Apple’s warranty, which would take me up to the end of my contract. I chose to take the new phone because at least then I was guaranteed a phone that worked without having to shell out more money.

Fast forward a few months and the new phone they gave me suddenly was unable to make or receive calls. I took it into the Apple Store and they said that the phone had a hardware fault that would not be possible to repair, and the phone was actually not in warranty because the company bought it from them in 2017.

I went back to the phone company to relay this information, and they said that my only option was to buy myself out of my contract and then get a new contract.

I said I wasn’t happy with this, and they acknowledged that they shouldn’t have given me false information or offered any device in contract without a warranty, when I was making a decision about the previous broken phone.

I’m just wondering what I can reasonably expect to come of this. I read something yesterday that stated under EU law, any product bought in an EU country had a two year warranty, but not sure if this is accurate?

Thanks in advance for any help.

TJ17

What company is this? It seems to be extremely poor service.

Also, what type of a contract is it? Are you paying monthly for the device itself or is it for a phone+mobile plan? All of this can help us know how we can help you.

If they've supplied you a new phone (they say, anyway) then it would be up to the supplier. You should probably persist with them as they have a responsibility to help you. Apple, even though they're the manufacturer, offer their warranties on top of your consumer rights it's not required for them to do so unless you bought the phone from them.

countingthepennies395

Thank you for your reply.

The contract is with O2. I pay for the device and minutes/data package; I have £119 left to pay for the device.

I’m not sure why they didn’t offer to send it off, as they did this before, even though Apple said it was not economical to repair it.

I know I can get £180 for the phone from GiffGaff if I have it unlocked, so I’m definitely not going to hand the phone over. I’m just not sure where to go from here.