Motorola / SBE won't repair my phone

moneywow1

Hello everyone,

I have a Motorola phone and one day it just shut off and wouldn't turn on.

If I plugged it in to charge, after a while it would just came up with the fastboot/recovery screen (so I know the screen worked 100%) but if I tried to boot into Android, or I unplugged it, it died again.

There was no physical damage to the phone (crackes, broken screen, etc.) only a few minor cosmetic scratches. Also, the SIM card tray had a little piece of plastic snapped off. There are two bits that stuck out at the side to help you pull it out. One of them snapped while I was swapping the SIM card, but the rest of it still made a seal with the phone.

I opened a repair claim with Motorola who said it would be repaired under warranty, and sent it off to SBE (nightmare company, had the same problems with them before but Acer admitted they were at fault and covered the costs)

I even kept the parcel open until the courier turned up as requested on the email with the return label and asked if he needed to see it, but he said no it's fine.

Basically SBE sent me a letter saying the battery was dead, as well as the charging port and cable (as expected). However, they also said the screen was dead as well as the connector cable, and it was user damage and not covered by warranty, but didn't elaborate.

I emailed Motorola back, and asked for pictures of the damage, why it wasn't covered, and how they troubleshooted the screen because I knew it was definitely working before.

He sent me back one picture, which was the side of the phone that had the broken SIM card tray (a little bit of plastic missing from it in the corner).

He said it was user damage and not covered under warranty.

I replied saying "That's the SIM card tray, nothing to do with the screen or phone hardware"

He replied saying, "No you're wrong. Here's a picture of the phone layout. It's the volume buttons, the SIM card tray is on top"

I replied saying, "No, that's a completely different phone. Here is my phone. This is the SIM card tray. The volume rocker is on the other side."

And I also said asked for pictures of the insides of the phone (surely they took it apart to diagnose issues with the battery, screen, connectors, etc.) and what methods they used to determine these faults, and said you don't really believe that I should be liable to pay £200 in repairs (about what the phone was worth new) because a bit of plastic is missing from the SIM card tray?

He said I was right and it was the wrong phone, and he would escalate it.

He then replied back saying "Nope sorry they said there is user damage so you have to pay."

It feels like they are basically implying that I managed to drop the phone in a way that it only broke the SIM card tray, and that caused all of this other damage, and if I had borrowed a SIM card tray form someone, or bought one off eBay before sending it to SBE, it would have been repaired

Is it worth going through small claims court for this? I can't believe anybody in their right mind would side with them when they refuse to post any other pictures or proof of this damage? I paid with PayPal. should I just file a claim with them?

Should I pay to get the phone back and see if I can get proof that the screen works again (as long as they haven't broken it while testing it, although I don't believe they have opened the phone up at all, I believe they would just write it off and send me a refurb device) and then try and reclaim that (and repairs)?

I know when I had problems with Virgin Media I went through CISAS, and it was so easy to do. Is there anything like that for warrantiy/repair issues?

Thanks in advance

Alderbank

I know when I had problems with Virgin Media I went through CISAS, and it was so easy to do. Is there anything like that for warrantiy/repair issues?

Thanks in advance

There might well be, we can't tell yet.
CISAS is a dispute resolution service subscribed to by Virgin Media, amongst others. 
Who did you buy your Motorola phone from and when?
If you bought it from Virgin Media and you are making no progress with them then ultimately you would be able to go to CISAS again.
Be aware though that people's opinions about dispute resolution services are very subjective. If they found in your favour they are great, if they found against you they are rubbish.

moneywow1

Alderbank said:

I know when I had problems with Virgin Media I went through CISAS, and it was so easy to do. Is there anything like that for warrantiy/repair issues?

Thanks in advance

There might well be, we can't tell yet.
CISAS is a dispute resolution service subscribed to by Virgin Media, amongst others. 
Who did you buy your Motorola phone from and when?
If you bought it from Virgin Media and you are making no progress with them then ultimately you would be able to go to CISAS again.
Be aware though that people's opinions about dispute resolution services are very subjective. If they found in your favour they are great, if they found against you they are rubbish.

I bought it from Motorola directly

Just mentioned the VM thing in case there was something similar. Wasn't aware that companies had to sign up to it

Would you recommend trying a refund with Paypal first? Or small claims court?

If I go through PP, will I be ineligible to go through court? And vice versa?

bris

They see physical damage they refuse repair. Damage is caused by impact, as far as they are concerened which can cuse shock damage internally.

You are going to need an expert to tell them otherwise, good luck finding one that coud even diagnose that.

born_again

moneywow1 said:

Would you recommend trying a refund with Paypal first? Or small claims court?

If I go through PP, will I be ineligible to go through court? And vice versa?

Well given you have not provided any timescales. With PP you only have 180 days to dispute. 

moneywow1

bris said:

They see physical damage they refuse repair. Damage is caused by impact, as far as they are concerened which can cuse shock damage internally.

You are going to need an expert to tell them otherwise, good luck finding one that coud even diagnose that.

Do I NEED an expert witness for small claims court?

Don't you usually just represent your self?

I worked in IT specifically dealing with the hardware and software side of mobile devices, so I know enough to know that what Motorola/SBE are claiming is BS

I just don't understand how SCC works

Ectophile

You don't need an expert witness for the small claims procedure.  But you do need to persuade a judge that, on the balance of probabilities, you are probably right and Motorola are wrong.  A report from an expert helps.

Jenni_D

When did you buy the phone? (Was it new?)

When did the fault occur?

When did you inform the seller?

Who are SBE ( https://uk.sbeglobalservice.com/ ?) and why did you send the phone to them? Did Motorola advise this?

moneywow1

Jenni_D said:

When did you buy the phone? (Was it new?)

When did the fault occur?

When did you inform the seller?

Who are SBE ( https://uk.sbeglobalservice.com/ ?) and why did you send the phone to them? Did Motorola advise this?

I bought it brand new from Motorola online

The fault occurred after about 10-11 months

I informed Motorola straight after, within warranty

SBE is the company that repairs devices for a lot of companies. Motorola sent me a prepaid label to send the device to SBE.

Thanks

theonlywayisup

moneywow1 said:

 I paid with PayPal. should I just file a claim with them?

I know you have had it pointed out to you that there is a time limit with Paypal of 180 day.  What wasn't highlighted is that you have no claim with Paypal.  They do not give a guarantee for 180 days, they give you a resolution for something that is broken when it is delivered, not months later.