Mobile Phone 2 months out of Warranty. 2years contract still to go. What are my consumer rights?

DrEvazan

Hi All

I started a 36 month contract with Tescomobile in February 2022. This month the phone no longer connects to wifi (the wifi symbol has a line through it) or Bluetooth.

I have online chat Tesco and they say nothing they can do as Apple warranty is just for a year. They say they can repair but it will cost me.

Does Anyone know where I stand? Does the Consumer Rights Act help me. If Tesco are offering 36 month contracts surely it’s not unreasonable to expect the iPhone to work for 36 months or at least 24. The phone still works and connects to data but I can no longer connect to wifi and therefore won’t be able to use abroad unless I use my data at Tesco roaming costs.

If Tesco won’t help can I go to Apple or am I just stuck paying for a phone that no longer does all the advertised functions?

Thank you all in advance. 

eskbanker

Tesco will be offering a 36 month airtime contract, not guaranteeing that the handset will perform fault-free for that duration.

I suspect that the most pragmatic actions will be to spend a bit of time researching the issue online (there might be some way of resolving it via software configuration, for example), and if that doesn't bear fruit, then try a local independent repair shop?

Wonka_2

In simple terms no, there isn't an automatic right to extended warranty/length of use if you take out a long contract.

Have you visited/contacted Apple service to look at how to fix the issue 

DrEvazan

In relation to the phone issue I’ve already had a search online and the majority of the information suggests that there is no easy fix and some people have even found that Apple can’t (or don’t appear to want to fix it).

This is the reason I raise the Consumer Rights Act. If I’m going to be spending over £700 over the lifetime of the contract is it not reasonable to expect the phone to last longer than 14 months. Maybe it’s a subjective test, but I would expect an iPhone to still fully work up to 24 months at the very least. If not what’s stopping companies using components in their products that they know will start to fail after 12 months when warranties run out. I’m sceptical given the battery issues with iPhones a few years back.

MikeJXE

Have you checked with the Apple Store ?

If it's a software issue they will fix it for free 

Wonka_2

DrEvazan said:

Maybe it’s a subjective test, but I would expect an iPhone to still fully work up to 24 months at the very least. 

It is a subjective test - and if you want a phone warrantied for 2 years (or more) then you buy one with that (i.e. an iPhone from John Lewis)

Have you actually contacted Apple re your specific issue and to see whether it can be fixed ?   

DrEvazan

Will be contacting Apple next week.

Just wanted to get initial thoughts on Consumer Rights Act following Tescos reply. Regardless of the contract I still wouldnt expect a phone to fail after 14 months. If I’d bought it outright my issue would still be the reasonable amount of time something should last even out of warranty and still being fit for purpose. Although it’s starting to sound like I shouldn’t expect a phone to last more than a year and I’ve just been lucky with the ones I’ve had in the past.

Aylesbury_Duck

Aside from consumer rights, try this:  Put the phone in a plastic bag and put it in the freezer for an hour.  Then try to activate WiFi.  If it works, it's a hardware problem.  I had the same problem with an iPhone a few years ago. Freezing the phone enabled WiFi functionality for a while.

powerful_Rogue

Don't count on Apple to help if it's a hardware fault. I'd imagine they will trot out the line 'If you had purchased from us, we would have fixed/replaced it for free'. They will give you a report, however certainly won't say that the part has become faulty prematurely.

Start with Apple, then get a proper independent report.

eskbanker

It's not unreasonable to expect a phone to last more than a year.

It is unreasonable to expect a phone company to fix any faults free of charge throughout the life of the product, in the same way that, for example, you have to pay for (non-consumable) car or appliance repairs once out of warranty.  The fact that you have a 36 month airtime contract doesn't equate to a 36 month hardware warranty....

Alderbank

eskbanker said:

Tesco will be offering a 36 month airtime contract, not guaranteeing that the handset will perform fault-free for that duration.

Might have been different 15 months ago, but that's not what Tesco are offering now.
I assume the OP bought the iphone from Tesco?

Tesco say:

• You have two contracts – one for your phone and one for your usage
• Your airtime contract is a 1 month rolling contract
• Your monthly phone payments depend on how long your phone contract is – 12, 18, 24, 30 or 36 months

Independently of any warranty from Apple or Tesco, this is a consumer purchase so the OP has statutory rights under consumer law. These rights are against the seller (Tesco) and not the manufacturer.

Because the phone is more than 6 months old the OP will have to convince Tesco that the issue is due to an intrinsic fault rather than because of misuse, etc. As it seems to be a known problem Apple genius bar might be willing to provide a suitable statement which Tesco will accept.

Tesco then have to either repair or replace with an equivalent phone (not necessarily a new one), or give a refund. The refund can be reduced to allow for the use the OP has already had from the phone.

I suspect that if they offer a refund the OP would be able to cancel the rolling airtime contract.