John Lewis: Brand new phone has a cracked screen: am I sunk?

dgerrard

Livid.

Bought a phone from John Lewis 4th Jan.

Wife pointed out last week that there's a hairline crack across the screen.  You can't see it unless you hold the phone at an angle to the light, but it's definitely there.

I work from home, have barely left the house in two weeks. Crack is so slight, could easily have been damaged in shipping & I hadn't seen it.  I've definitely not done anything with the phone other than take it from my dresser & put in my pocket.

Reached out online, online said call tech support. Tech support said, it's within return period, either send us photos for assessment, or take it in for immediate assessment & replacement.

Went into store today, talked to a rep, she essentially said, you've probably damaged it without realising, didn't buy accident insurance, nothing we can do. Said as I bought it online, need to go to the website, but likely just need to buy a new phone as they won't do anything.

So I've gone website, phone, store, now back to website. Massive waste of everyone's time.

The facts:

- I haven't dropped or damaged the phone. You can see there is no damage to the phone, apart from the split in the screen. But I know this is basically, my word, with no real way to prove it.
- They don't manufacture the phone, but they do sell it.
- I need a phone for my work. Luckily, I dragged my feet on sending my old phone back, so I can use that whole this gets resolved.

The person on the phone said as it's within the return period I could just return it, or at least that's how I understood him. But I'm nervous based on my poor experience thus far that I'll send them the phone, they'll have it for a month, decide "yeah he probably dropped it" and send it back to me as-is, with no replacement, and then I've wasted money on a phone that I believe was likely damaged before I even received it, as the crack is so faint.

It's a Motorola so not a top-of-the-line phone (thankfully!), but to have developed a crack between when they shipped to me and two weeks later, is shocking quality.

I bought it with an Amex Platinum Cashback card, which I believe has 90 day accident replacement (for a £50 fee).  Or I could claim against my insurance (and pay the deductible).  But I can't believe that even this close to purchase it's basically, my word against theirs and they've decided, I'm lying.

Any advice?  Or am I sunk, and should just pay?

Grumpy_chap

You purchased a phone online and after three or four weeks noticed that there is a crack in the screen.
The crack was not noticed when you unpacked the phone and, presumably, would have inspected it carefully at that time.
Is that correct?

I can't see that this will be claimable as damaged on arrival.
I expect that any return would be refused (or reduced in value) on account of the cracked screen.
Any claim via the CC would also be similarly declined (though the insurance with the CC may cover the damage).

Which Moto phone is it?
What was the original price?

Given how slight you say the crack is, can you simply apply a screen protector and carry on using the phone?

sheramber

could it have been subject to pressure while in your pocket, such as stting when it is your back pocket or leaning to the side of a side pocket it was in?

Why stop using it when it still works?

Aylesbury_Duck

dgerrard said:

Crack is so slight, could easily have been damaged in shipping & I hadn't seen it.  

You can see that the counter argument to this is that it could just as easily have been damaged in your pocket.  In fact, it’s more likely to have been damaged in your possession because it was shipped in protective packaging which I presume wasn’t visually damaged when you received it?  I’ve no idea whether that’s the case or not, but you can see that JL would think that’s the case.

dgerrard

So if you bought say, a car, and within 3 weeks of normal usage the windshield cracked, you wouldn't find that surprising?  Or a new TV, and the screen cracked after 3 weeks of viewing?

Of course, from their perspective, I could have been kicking the thing around the house 24/7 since I got it.  But surely it must at least call into question the build quality of the device?  Especially as they're isn't a mark on the thing.  My last two phones I had for 6 years (Nexus 5) and 5 years (OnePlus 6) without even a scratch.  And now this one, three weeks in, the screen is split?  Even if it wasn't damaged during shipping: just putting a phone into and out of a pocket is enough to crack the screen?  

Grumpy_chap

dgerrard said:

So if you bought say, a car, and within 3 weeks of normal usage the windshield cracked, you wouldn't find that surprising?  Or a new TV, and the screen cracked after 3 weeks of viewing?

Of course, from their perspective, I could have been kicking the thing around the house 24/7 since I got it.  But surely it must at least call into question the build quality of the device?  Especially as they're isn't a mark on the thing.  My last two phones I had for 6 years (Nexus 5) and 5 years (OnePlus 6) without even a scratch.  And now this one, three weeks in, the screen is split?  Even if it wasn't damaged during shipping: just putting a phone into and out of a pocket is enough to crack the screen?  

I am as likely to crack the windscreen on a car that is 3 weeks old as 3 months old, 3 years old, or even 30 years old.  Not an indicator of a faulty windscreen.

Sometimes, it happens with mobile phones.  I went years and years and never cracked a phone screen.  Then I dropped my phone (2019) and the screen cracked right over and just got worse and worse.  I bought a new phone and within a couple of weeks noticed a hairline crack beneath the screen protector.  Did nothing about it and that phone with the hairline crack still works just fine.

Yes, putting a phone into and out of a pocket is enough to crack the screen.

What phone case do you have?
What screen protector do you have?

ThumbRemote

Grumpy_chap said:

dgerrard said:

So if you bought say, a car, and within 3 weeks of normal usage the windshield cracked, you wouldn't find that surprising?  Or a new TV, and the screen cracked after 3 weeks of viewing?

Of course, from their perspective, I could have been kicking the thing around the house 24/7 since I got it.  But surely it must at least call into question the build quality of the device?  Especially as they're isn't a mark on the thing.  My last two phones I had for 6 years (Nexus 5) and 5 years (OnePlus 6) without even a scratch.  And now this one, three weeks in, the screen is split?  Even if it wasn't damaged during shipping: just putting a phone into and out of a pocket is enough to crack the screen?  

Yes, putting a phone into and out of a pocket is enough to crack the screen.

Then the phone isn't of satisfactory quality. 

Aylesbury_Duck

dgerrard said:

So if you bought say, a car, and within 3 weeks of normal usage the windshield cracked, you wouldn't find that surprising?  Or a new TV, and the screen cracked after 3 weeks of viewing?

Of course, from their perspective, I could have been kicking the thing around the house 24/7 since I got it.  But surely it must at least call into question the build quality of the device?  Especially as they're isn't a mark on the thing.  My last two phones I had for 6 years (Nexus 5) and 5 years (OnePlus 6) without even a scratch.  And now this one, three weeks in, the screen is split?  Even if it wasn't damaged during shipping: just putting a phone into and out of a pocket is enough to crack the screen?  

This isn't about me and what I'd find surprising, I was making the point that from JL's point of view, it's perfectly reasonable to assume that it's been damaged in your care.  The TV analogy isn't really appropriate.  A TV isn't carried around in and moved between hands/pockets/handbags/rucksacks/car cradles, etc.  It just sits there passively, and if the screen spontaneously cracked after 3 weeks then it's much more likely to have an inherent fault.

Your next step could be to take it to one of those high street phone repair places and ask them for their written verdict on the cause of the crack.  If they conclude there's an inherent manufacturing defect then go back to JL with that and ask them to provide a resolution.

photome

dgerrard said:

So if you bought say, a car, and within 3 weeks of normal usage the windshield cracked, you wouldn't find that surprising?  Or a new TV, and the screen cracked after 3 weeks of viewing?

Of course, from their perspective, I could have been kicking the thing around the house 24/7 since I got it.  But surely it must at least call into question the build quality of the device?  Especially as they're isn't a mark on the thing.  My last two phones I had for 6 years (Nexus 5) and 5 years (OnePlus 6) without even a scratch.  And now this one, three weeks in, the screen is split?  Even if it wasn't damaged during shipping: just putting a phone into and out of a pocket is enough to crack the screen?  

I have had a windscreen crack on day 1….it was the stones fault

why can’t you continue to use the phone, I can’t see JL accepting that you have havent cracked it, after all ,you don’t know that you didn’t

RefluentBeans

dgerrard said:

So if you bought say, a car, and within 3 weeks of normal usage the windshield cracked, you wouldn't find that surprising?  Or a new TV, and the screen cracked after 3 weeks of viewing?

Of course, from their perspective, I could have been kicking the thing around the house 24/7 since I got it.  But surely it must at least call into question the build quality of the device?  Especially as they're isn't a mark on the thing.  My last two phones I had for 6 years (Nexus 5) and 5 years (OnePlus 6) without even a scratch.  And now this one, three weeks in, the screen is split?  Even if it wasn't damaged during shipping: just putting a phone into and out of a pocket is enough to crack the screen?  

So I think there’s a couple of things to bring up here. There’s three mechanisms for returning, two of which are statutory and one of which is above your legal rights. 

The first statutory is irrelevant here (but would your 14 day right to cancel distance sales contracts for any or no reason). This is irrelevant as the window has now passed for that. This leads into your supplementary returns process - via JL returns. In this case, JL can refuse a return for being damaged, and as it’s above your rights they have every right to do so under that policy. But that policy can’t override your rights, which may still be valid here. 

So the final mechanism do return is the short term (within 30 days) right to reject and a further right of repair/replacement or refund (within 6 months) for inherent faults. In those cases the retailer has to show the product wasn’t faulty before (rather than you showing it is faulty). This is however complicated by the fact that you presumably would’ve checked the phone on delivery more closely than you may normally check the phone, but as you didn’t notice it then it’s based on the balance of probabilities. 

To go back to your windscreen analogy (the TV one is a poor analogy) - you would notice a crack along the screen if it was delivered to you like that, and if a crack appeared randomly one day, I think you’d be in the same situation as this. 

Finally, you say you use the phone for business - is this then a B2B contract as you purchased it as business transaction? In which case, your rights are severely limited (and large parts of what I said previously don’t apply) with respect to CRA, as you wouldn’t be a consumer in this circumstance. 

If it’s a hairline crack, that by your admission, you hasn’t even noticed, surely you could just use the phone if the position of JL is that you should’ve noticed it on inspection at delivery and that the screen could’ve inadvertently been damaged by you? Again if it’s a B2B transaction then I don’t see how you can move forward with the rights mentioned above. 

born_again

Grumpy_chap said:

You purchased a phone online and after three or four weeks noticed that there is a crack in the screen.
The crack was not noticed when you unpacked the phone and, presumably, would have inspected it carefully at that time.
Is that correct?

I can't see that this will be claimable as damaged on arrival.
I expect that any return would be refused (or reduced in value) on account of the cracked screen.
Any claim via the CC would also be similarly declined (though the insurance with the CC may cover the damage).

Which Moto phone is it?
What was the original price?

Given how slight you say the crack is, can you simply apply a screen protector and carry on using the phone?

What insurance?