HSBC/FD app

sausage_time

skitskut said:

Great, so I'm stuck with an expensive brick. The phone was for my Mum and the main reason for buying it was for use of the HSBC app! She's not had a smart phone before. I did quite a bit of research beforehand and at no point did this come up as an issue. It's not like it's a niche app.

The HSBC pages are a bit misleading (and way out of date I think).

From https://www.hsbc.co.uk/ways-to-bank/mobile/

On Android devices, the app is available on Android 8.0 or higher, but you need to be using Android 9.0 or higher to use our latest features.

Perhaps you or your mum should raise a complaint with HSBC and perhaps get some compensation? 

Argos should not really be selling this, so might be worth pushing them.

How much was the phone?  Can you sell it or trade in?  

400ixl

sausage_time said:

On Android devices, the app is available on Android 8.0 or higher, but you need to be using Android 9.0 or higher to use our latest features.

Perhaps you or your mum should raise a complaint with HSBC and perhaps get some compensation? 

Argos should not really be selling this, so might be worth pushing them.

How much was the phone?  Can you sell it or trade in?  

What compensation do you think the OP is entitled to? What are the financial losses incurred?

You ommitted the part where they give the alternative. "If you can’t use the mobile app, you can ask for a physical Secure Key so you can access online banking. You can do this by calling 03456 002 290 or by visiting your local branch. Please allow up to 10 working days for delivery."

Argos are entitled to sell the phone. Android 12 Go is a valid OS, it is still in support (all be it not for many years). The fact it is a cut down version which comes with limitations is not Argos's problem. Can't see any laws they are breaking in selling the phone.

Personally I don't disagree that in general Android Go is not really fit for purpose for many people, but there is a subset that it is. It may well be that on Android 14 Go the problem does not exist, but the OP has bought a phone which one must presume the manufacturer is not intending to provide an update to 14 or 15 when it comes out.

Knowing the make and model may help confirm this.

sausage_time

400ixl said:

sausage_time said:

On Android devices, the app is available on Android 8.0 or higher, but you need to be using Android 9.0 or higher to use our latest features.

Perhaps you or your mum should raise a complaint with HSBC and perhaps get some compensation? 

Argos should not really be selling this, so might be worth pushing them.

How much was the phone?  Can you sell it or trade in?  

What compensation do you think the OP is entitled to? What are the financial losses incurred?

You ommitted the part where they give the alternative. "If you can’t use the mobile app, you can ask for a physical Secure Key so you can access online banking. You can do this by calling 03456 002 290 or by visiting your local branch. Please allow up to 10 working days for delivery."

Argos are entitled to sell the phone. Android 12 Go is a valid OS, it is still in support (all be it not for many years). The fact it is a cut down version which comes with limitations is not Argos's problem. Can't see any laws they are breaking in selling the phone.

Personally I don't disagree that in general Android Go is not really fit for purpose for many people, but there is a subset that it is. It may well be that on Android 14 Go the problem does not exist, but the OP has bought a phone which one must presume the manufacturer is not intending to provide an update to 14 or 15 when it comes out.

Knowing the make and model may help confirm this.

My thinking is that banks are in general pushing folks to use mobile apps (for the security of the banks).  This is at odds with out of date information on the HSBC web page.  So I'm thinking they might make a payment as a good-will gesture.

I'd certainly try for it.  I've had payments from several banks for inconvenience despite no financial loss.

400ixl

Good will is a very different statement to compensation though. Good will with no financial loss is very different to compensation for no financial loss.

They are certainly pushing people on line and they give their online alternative to the mobile app on the same page.

OP can try for a good will, Android Go is not Android though, so they have made no assertion that any version of Android Go will support the app. 

skitskut

It's a Nokia CO2 @ £60 btw

eskbanker

skitskut said:

Great, so I'm stuck with an expensive brick. The phone was for my Mum and the main reason for buying it was for use of the HSBC app! She's not had a smart phone before. I did quite a bit of research beforehand and at no point did this come up as an issue. It's not like it's a niche app.

skitskut said:

It's a Nokia CO2 @ £60 btw

With all due respect, £60 may be expensive in the context of bricks, but it's really a very cheap smartphone!

born_again

sausage_time said:

skitskut said:

Great, so I'm stuck with an expensive brick. The phone was for my Mum and the main reason for buying it was for use of the HSBC app! She's not had a smart phone before. I did quite a bit of research beforehand and at no point did this come up as an issue. It's not like it's a niche app.

The HSBC pages are a bit misleading (and way out of date I think).

From https://www.hsbc.co.uk/ways-to-bank/mobile/

On Android devices, the app is available on Android 8.0 or higher, but you need to be using Android 9.0 or higher to use our latest features.

Perhaps you or your mum should raise a complaint with HSBC and perhaps get some compensation? 

Argos should not really be selling this, so might be worth pushing them.

How much was the phone?  Can you sell it or trade in?  

Why should Argos not be selling the phone?
It works for it's intended purpose.

400ixl

The Nokia C02 will not be getting any Android version updates, so will be stuck on Android Go 12.

It was only guaranteed 2 years of security updates from its global launch date of May 2023 (I think that is all that Go gets per major release). There are no guaranteed security updates beyond May 2025 - https://www.hmd.com/en_int/security-updates

You could try to claim a new phone should not be obsolete within 7-8 months of purchase. Whether there is an angle under any consumer regulations for not being fit for purpose I don't know. 

It has 2 year warranty by the looks of it which is good and along with 2 years of security patches would be acceptable at that price point, maybe 12 months. Once it had been released for 12 months, whilst  you would still get a 2 year warranty, you would only have 1 year of security updates, it should really have come off of the market or had an upgrade to Android Go 13 to get back to the 2 years.

Unfortunately Android is still a bit of a minefield, especially when you are down in the bargain basement side. Google are trying to push manufacturers to offer longer support to their devices, they are now up to a minimum of 8 years on their own. But that is just not going to happen with this type of phone which really wasn't designed for developed countries in the first place.

Nasqueron

400ixl said:

The Nokia C02 will not be getting any Android version updates, so will be stuck on Android Go 12.

It was only guaranteed 2 years of security updates from its global launch date of May 2023 (I think that is all that Go gets per major release). There are no guaranteed security updates beyond May 2025 - https://www.hmd.com/en_int/security-updates

You could try to claim a new phone should not be obsolete within 7-8 months of purchase. Whether there is an angle under any consumer regulations for not being fit for purpose I don't know. 

It has 2 year warranty by the looks of it which is good and along with 2 years of security patches would be acceptable at that price point, maybe 12 months. Once it had been released for 12 months, whilst  you would still get a 2 year warranty, you would only have 1 year of security updates, it should really have come off of the market or had an upgrade to Android Go 13 to get back to the 2 years.

Unfortunately Android is still a bit of a minefield, especially when you are down in the bargain basement side. Google are trying to push manufacturers to offer longer support to their devices, they are now up to a minimum of 8 years on their own. But that is just not going to happen with this type of phone which really wasn't designed for developed countries in the first place.

I doubt you'd get anywhere with a complaint about life of the device for a phone which is sadly viewed as fairly disposable and something commonly replaced every couple of years. Android Go having 2 years of updates is by no means unusual, Apple set the standard for 6 years but it's only in the last couple of years that Samsung, Google etc have started doing the big support periods because they can control the software and hardware like Apple can. 2-3 years of security isn't rare in phones sadly, so a complaint on that basis is doomed to fail.

skitskut

Well I took it back to Argos, the manager was asked and I was told yes ok to swap it for another phone! I think the fact that it didn't have any security tags/seals because it was such a budget phone and that I wanted to swap for a more expensive phone worked in my favour.

So that was a result, I'm not stuck with a paper weight! I now have an Android 14 phone but for nearly twice the price. Will see how this goes with the HSBC app.