Mobile phone purchase

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alanrp123
alanrp123 Posts: 409 Forumite
in Praise, vent & warnings
In October last year, I purchased a new mobile phone from a company on Ebay, plenty of good feedback. I paid cash, via paypal,, and everything was OK, the phone is a Huawei Mate 9, cost £399.
Worked perfectly until 2 months ago, then kept losing mobile data connection.
Did a factory reset, obtained a new sim, did not fix the problem.
Contacted both ebay and paypal, neither wanted to know, contacted Huawei Uk, gave them the IMEI number, and they told me the phone was meant for the Singapore market only, and was not for sale in UK, so they would not honour the guarantee.
I have requested a refund from the company, but all they say is return the phone!!, no mention of a refund.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
«13

Comments

  • JJ_Egan
    JJ_Egan Posts: 20,281 Forumite
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    Fairly common for out of market phones to be sold on EBay .
    As its over six months old you don't have an actual right to a refund under Consumer Law.


    Has the phone had an update since purchase ??
    That could be the problem as it would be non UK firmware and not see your network .
  • Tallaght
    Tallaght Posts: 1,632 Forumite
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    Like with Nokia you would have a 'nokia finland' phone or an 'asian nokia'.The asian market ones would be cheaper in the uk when imported via ebayers usually.
    Most of the uk market were nokia finland.
  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598 Forumite
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    edited 1 July 2018 at 9:09AM
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    I guess you didnt notice if the ad mentioned if the phone was for another market.

    Who was the seller, can pm me the seller if you dont want to post it on here.
  • alanrp123
    alanrp123 Posts: 409 Forumite
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    The ad did not mention anything about origin, I am now in contact with them, and they want me to return the phone, to a UK address, which I will do.
    Will post as to the result.
  • DCFC79
    DCFC79 Posts: 40,598 Forumite
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    alanrp123 wrote: »
    The ad did not mention anything about origin, I am now in contact with them, and they want me to return the phone, to a UK address, which I will do.
    Will post as to the result.


    Just make sure you use a suitable method.
  • alanrp123
    alanrp123 Posts: 409 Forumite
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    jtbcglobal-uk, this is the name of the company, I have now packed the phone and am sending it back.
    I have asked for a full refund on the £399.00 I paid for it, will let you know the result!!.
  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 72,206 Ambassador
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    alanrp123 wrote: »
    jtbcglobal-uk, this is the name of the company, I have now packed the phone and am sending it back.
    I have asked for a full refund on the £399.00 I paid for it, will let you know the result!!.

    It's a foreign seller- their ebay page shows : Member since: 15-May-17 in Singapore. Their feedback is 96.7% and actually getting better, back when you bought the phone their feedback must have been shocking. Also whilst I can only see back to April, all their sales are from outside the UK.

    I'm not sure why you would be surprised to buy a phone from Singapore that is meant for the Singapore market?

    A bit more digging shows these were always clearly marked as being sent from overseas- personally with a non UK seller I would not be sending this back anywhere as I can't see a way for you to ensure you will get anything back at all. Interestingly, as they are not UK registered they do not appear to have to show full business registration as UK sellers do.

    before you bought as well one of their negatives is a worry and should have raised alarm bells:
    'Does not come with a UK spec plug. UK legislation states should have UK plug'
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the eBay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sales, Boost Your Income, Praise, Vents & Warnings, Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning , UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know.. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • alanrp123
    alanrp123 Posts: 409 Forumite
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    Because their web site stated that the phone was international!!
  • Aylesbury_Duck
    Aylesbury_Duck Posts: 13,993 Forumite
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    alanrp123 wrote: »
    Because their web site stated that the phone was international!!
    It is international. It just doesn't work in the UK.
  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,098 Forumite
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    I can't see that this fault has any connection with the origin or spec of the phone.
    OP, you are not going to get a full refund. You've had about 8m use out of it, so I'd guess it's value is now well under £200.
    The retailer can repair, replace or refund-their choice.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
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