Mobile Phone Warranty claim rejected

paulperro

Hi. My daughter's phone that I bought end of November and she opened on Boxing Day was sent back to Affordable Mobile on 13/1/22 for repair but they have refused to repair it as they say it is customer damage as the power button has got jammed in. The power button was not working properly and only got jammed in whilst it was being pressed to make it work. Am I in a strong position under consumer rights as am within the first 6 months of warranty. They are saying we invalidated the warranty. I am saying phone didn't stand up to fair wear and tare so has a fault.

cx6

Just to clarify - was it a new phone or used?

paulperro

Reconditioned. £20 per month contract for 2 years Inc the calls, texts, data usage.

jon81uk

consumer rights have nothing to do with the warrenty.

If you want to claim under comsumer rights contact the retailer, but as you have "damaged" it further by pushing the power button in then it will still be considered as damage.

Aylesbury_Duck

The phone should have been returned under consumer rights when it was apparent the power button wasn't working properly.  Now it's been user-damaged which will make it trickier.  Forget the warranty because it's now invalid.  You need to tell them you are rejecting it under your consumer rights.

paulperro

Affordable Mobiles are the online retailer. Maybe I was wrong to mention warranty above. Under consumer rights am I right that I have extra protection in the first six months as it is on them to prove that the fault wasn't there to start with, whereas after 6 months it is on me to prove that. If they are refusing to repair or replace how do I got about enforcing any rights I have.

pinkshoes

paulperro said:

Affordable Mobiles are the online retailer. Maybe I was wrong to mention warranty above. Under consumer rights am I right that I have extra protection in the first six months as it is on them to prove that the fault wasn't there to start with, whereas after 6 months it is on me to prove that. If they are refusing to repair or replace how do I got about enforcing any rights I have.

Yes, it's consumer rights you want - goods have to be fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality. 

I would start by telling them you are rejecting it under consumer rights due to it being faulty, and would like a replacement or a refund. See what they say.

If they refuse, then a letter before action is your next step.

cx6

It does not appear to be of satisfactory quality - power buttons on anything can of course fail but I would not expect a mobile phone power button to break like this so soon after purchase.

Did you pay any part on credit card?

Alderbank

cx6 said:

power buttons on anything can of course fail but I would not expect a mobile phone power button to break like this so soon after purchase.

We don't know how much use this phone has had since originally purchased. All we know is that the buyer returned it for some reason.
Affordable Mobiles will say that unlike new phones in sealed boxes they individually check each refurbished phone for scratches and scuffs, holding a charge, display OK, etc.
They claim the switch has been damaged by the OP and the OP does concede this to some extent.

The OP bought a secondhand phone in November to give to his daughter at Christmas. I am sure they checked it out for scratches, etc., and made sure as far as they could that everything was working OK before the big day so perhaps the daughter has inadvertently pushed it too hard. These tiny switches are quite fragile

On the plus side these switches are very cheap and easy to replace. Not an average DIY job but the stall in your local shopping mall will probably do it while you wait