Warranty dispute with company based in Hong Kong

super_saint

Hi

Bought a mobile from EglobalcentralUK out of Hong Kong 18 months ago (they have ceased trading in UK helpfully!).  Screen has stopped working & is still within 2 yr warranty.  A local company have confirmed there is a technical issue with screen so I sent it back to Eglobal under warranty - they have today advised that phone has physical damage, warranty is voided & have advised it will cost me £32 to return!  They have also sent a pic of phone (dont know if it's mine, with purple shading on screen).   I know for fact that there was no physical damage & phone had never been dropped.

Any ideas on what i can do or just except not to buy from HK again?!

TIA

JJ_Egan

Apart from looking up HK consumer laws not much .

How did you pay .

super_saint

Paid with debit card

Sandtree

super_saint said:
Any ideas on what i can do or just except not to buy from HK again?!

Remember that one of the reasons that products are cheaper overseas is because there are a lot less statutory protections and so you pays your monies and takes your chances.

Obviously as well as being in your careful hands its also been thrown from cart to cart by whichever courier you used to get the thing back to them and there is plenty of opportunities for them to have dropped it etc. Hopefully you packed it better than just putting it in a jiffy bag. Its a bit of a moot point though because couriers almost universally exclude damage to screens from standard contracts.

greyteam1959

Basically I think you are well stuffed.

Aylesbury_Duck

You have little or no chance of any redress.  This is why you should buy from proper UK retailers rather than trying to save a few quid buying from overseas.

Sandtree

Aylesbury_Duck said:
This is why you should buy from proper UK retailers rather than trying to save a few quid buying from overseas.

There are various reasons why its good to buy from local retailers but buying from overseas can still make sense as long as you factor in the potential future complexity.

Looking to buy a microphone at the moment thats made by a company in the far east. Fully landed cost when buying from the manufacturer themselves is half the price of buying from a UK retailer (USA retailers are around the far east price too so just UK companies profiteering). Personally, getting it half price is worth the hassle of if it goes wrong.