Consumer law on iphone with failed antenna :-( (EE)

Donegal_Paul

So, my iphone 13 is now about 18 months old and after some self diagnostics and a trip to the Apple Genius bar at Milton Keynes it appears that the antenna has a physical problem and the ballpark figure to replace is £500ish PLUS VAT. 

Now, apple say if i'd bought from them, I'd have been covered as they automatically add a second year under their consumer rights etc BUT as I bought the phone via EE they cannot do this. He's advised me to do some research on consumer law as he says EE "should" pay for the repair but in the real world I expect some pushback. I had an early issue with them when the camera failed at 4 months and they bounced me back to apple so not great customer service with EE. 

So, has anyone got any advice on how I can approach this at all or have a link to what consumer law / rights I can quote at them?

Thanks in anticipation. 

Paul. 

DullGreyGuy

Is it particularly large storage model? I had an out of warranty replacement for my iPhone 13 by Apple and it was £479 inc VAT

The legislation that applies is the Consumer Rights Act which gives you statutory rights against the company you bought the phone from... so if you bought it from Carphone Warehouse then it'd be against them not EE or Apple.

The legislation says it should be of reasonable quality and therefore have a reasonable lifespan. What the law doesnt say is what a reasonable lifespan is as clearly a 5p rubber band is unlikely to last as long as a £5,000 dining table. After 6 months of ownership its up to the consumer to prove that the item isnt of reasonable quality, though some sellers prefer to commission their own inspection. 

Assuming its agreed its died early and not due to customer error/missuse then its up to the retailer if they want to repair, replace or refund.  Note that a refund after 6 months can be reduced to reflect the use you've already had from the item (again the law doesnt say how this should be calculated). If the item fails for a second time the customer can then demand a refund but again it can be discounted. 

Donegal_Paul

So, the apple chap said it was obviously in good condition, not dropped etc and has said in the report attached its got no damage. 
I'll have a look and see about the consumer rights act and see how to approach them.
I mean it would be cheaper to do the early upgrade (400 quid) but not sure I want to be loyal to them with my previous customer experience frankly. 

DullGreyGuy

Hopefully EE will be reasonable and accept it... also its a Pro Max whereas mine is the standard hence the price difference. Ideally it'd have also opined on the cause of the failure/if it was reasonable for the component to only have lasted this long but you're unlikely to get Apple to give such comments about their own products.

You may want to cut your photo to avoid showing your name and phone's serial number

Donegal_Paul

Removed the serial number, not sure it's any good to anyone but never know. Name can stay :-) It's what me mammy calls me and im happy for anyone to know it lol. 

DullGreyGuy

Donegal_Paul said:

Removed the serial number, not sure it's any good to anyone but never know. 

People are normally more cautious about it around things like high end watches and handbags etc as people making counterfit products can then put a genuine serial number on a fake product so if you do superficial checks with Rolex etc it will confirm the serial number belongs to the matching model of watch. Once its know forgers are using a serial number it then gets blacklisted (a problem for the owner of the true original) and so they are always on the lookout for new serial numbers to use. 

Not sure how big the market is for creating fake iPhones but you never know and we've had several cases on here of people claiming to have bought counterfit Apple products (esp airpods)

southsidergs

Donegal_Paul said:

So, has anyone got any advice on how I can approach this at all or have a link to what consumer law / rights I can quote at them?
 

Why not just call them instead of posting on here? They make a point of saying this on their website but of course here's the correct place to look for advice......

https://ee.co.uk/help/help-new/orders-and-delivery/replacements--exchanges---repairs/how-do-i-know-if-my-device-is-still-under-warranty

DullGreyGuy

southsidergs said:

Donegal_Paul said:

So, has anyone got any advice on how I can approach this at all or have a link to what consumer law / rights I can quote at them?
 

Why not just call them instead of posting on here? They make a point of saying this on their website but of course here's the correct place to look for advice......

https://ee.co.uk/help/help-new/orders-and-delivery/replacements--exchanges---repairs/how-do-i-know-if-my-device-is-still-under-warranty

Thats warranty... the OP is talking about their consumer rights. Warranties can only add to your rights, they dont take them away. So the warranty is going to show as expired as its over 12 months old as per the warranty paperwork from Apple but that doesnt mean their consumer rights have expired, in they they last up to 6 years (though not all goods are designed to last that long and with the deduction of use it may not be worth claiming after X years)

Donegal_Paul

southsidergs said:

Donegal_Paul said:

So, has anyone got any advice on how I can approach this at all or have a link to what consumer law / rights I can quote at them?
 

Why not just call them instead of posting on here? They make a point of saying this on their website but of course here's the correct place to look for advice......

https://ee.co.uk/help/help-new/orders-and-delivery/replacements--exchanges---repairs/how-do-i-know-if-my-device-is-still-under-warranty

As above, I wasn't asking about warranty so that would answer your question?

southsidergs

But the warranty is what is important if it's developed a fault, no? In any case it'd be much quicker to contact them as you'd have an answer by now.....

Donegal_Paul

southsidergs said:

But the warranty is what is important if it's developed a fault, no? In any case it'd be much quicker to contact them as you'd have an answer by now.....

No, as I already know it's out of the one year ee warranty which is why i explained in the second paragraph about wanting to know more information re consumer rights as I am expecting some pushback from them.