Is it worth the ombudsman?

Shortman00

Hello I am looking for advice regarding a recent situation with EE insurance.

My Daughters phone is on my account and it went wrong within a year. We had EE insurance and repair so took it to the shop who sent it off. I was contacted and they said it would be in excess of £500 to repair due to "evidence of water damage". At this point I need to say my daughter is Autistic, has OCD, and is extremely protective of her phone. There is no way that phone went near water but I worried it might be due to her using detol wipes to clean it when she came back from hospital appointments so didn't argue and instead opted to pay the 90 excess for a replacement and received what I believed to be a new phone but was in fact (as per my policy documents) a refurbished one.
Fast forward 8 months and the "new" phone breaks with a similar problem. Again took it back to EE for repair. This time I got a quote for over £700 to repair for "water damage and evidence of unauthorised repair". This time I questioned it as am 100% sure that phone has been nowhere near water or Detol wipes as it never goes into the bathroom (part of her OCD) and we use special wipes to clean the screen instead of the Detol wipes and even then only if she has it at the hospital. I also questioned the evidence of unauthorised repair as again I know my daughter is extremely protective of the phone and won't even let anyone else in the family use it let alone anyone try and open it. To be honest neither of us would have a clue as to where to start to open it even if we wanted to. The response I got was it is missing a screw which tells them it has been opened and the seal compromised. They also said that they had no mention of this being an insurance repair (despite me mentioning it several times when I took it in) and when I asked if that would have made a difference the response was "it may have done". 
I contacted EE insurance to complain about the phone as we must have been given it missing a screw. They pointed out it was a refurbished handset as per the policy. When I made a formal complaint I was told it was outside of the 30 day warranty and as there was no evidence of damage prior to the 30 days it cannot be considered against a warranty claim for replacement so I will need to pay the £100 excess for a replacement. I pointed out that as I cannot open the phone and look inside I had no way of knowing it was incomplete and as such I wanted assurances that if I paid the excess for a new one it would be either a new one, or if it was refurbished I wanted the full details of the quality control that it goes through including the replacement of any water indicators, all the screws were in and that the seal had been tested and was intact. the response was we can't do that and if I want to challenge the decision I need to go to the ombudsman. 
Do I have a case? is it worth it? or do I just pay the excess hope the new phone lasts and see out the contract to switch providers because I have had it with EE?

Browntoa

Big coincidence that 2 mobiles she owns have "water damage " one after the other.

Ombudsman is unlikely to intervene in that sort of dispute 

DullGreyGuy

Look up the model of phone she has and what, if any, liquid contact indicator it has. For old iPhones it was in the headphone jack, modern ones its in the SIM card slot. Normally its white or silver but turns red when its come in contact with liquids. 

It's worth keeping an eye on it and checking that it hasn't been triggered if buying/receiving any refurbished or secondhand device. 

Whilst they are supposed to only trip if in direct contact with a liquid certainly earlier ones would trigger after extended exposure to very humid environments. So it didnt have to get wet but brought into a shower room with someone who likes long hot showers could cause it to change overtime. 

You're free to take the matter to the ombudsman if you dont like their response to the complaint, assuming it is actually insurance and not a service plan, however the ombudsman will not challenge the experts report so if they have a report saying the LCI has been triggered it will be taken as true unless you can provide an alternative explanation. 

Shortman00

Thank you I will pay the excess this time and will check the LCI prior to accepting the replacement.