You might be able to upgrade 50 days before the end of the contract but those 50 days are added to the new contract. You don't get let off those 50 days.
If the phone is out of warranty and you have no insurance you will ahve to pay for a repair.
I'm sure one of the forum team will be along to look at your account specific issues - they work oin a first come first served basis you please be patient.
Just to add to the information that Jeffkinn has already given you, if the battery is swollen - it sounds like the battery is defective. As far as I am aware, RIM give a 1 year warranty on the batteries. Beyond this period you would need to replace the battery at your own cost. This would probably be a cheaper option than paying the Early Termination Fee.
I understand your sentiments but the simple fact is that VF will not repair a phone if it is outside of its warranty period. I'm sure the same woud apply to other retailers - would Comet repair a faulty TV if it wasnt covered by a warranty?
The forum team will tell you what your options are as far as the ETF is concerned.
Regardless of who sold you the phone and battery doesn't change the fact that RIM only provide a 1 year warranty. Outside of this warranty you become liable for the repairs or replacement of the device and accesories. For details of the warranty, please take a look at this link. RIM have quite a good warranty on the battery - a lot of other manufacturers only cover the battery for 6 months or specifically exclude it from any warranty.
The battery is now defective as indicated by the swelling. Unless you raised this issue earlier, within your warranty period, you would have a hard time proving that it was supplied in a defective state. The only time I have managed to get a battery to swell in this way is when I left it connected to the charger for too long (OOOPS!). The problem is I can't prove that the battery was faulty to begin with, only that it swelled up and leaked muck everywhere.
Re: Contract and Blackberry issues
Tim ... the best advice I can give is buy yourself a new battery (eBay or Amazon for less than £10) & let the contract run until its end.
(
remember, free advice is worth the same amount it cost ... nothing!!)
That way, you have 'repaired' your phone at minimal cost & with no down-time. You've stopped worrying about your phone & contract issues - you have a phone, contract & network that you seem to be happy with - & no longer need to lose sleep over the ETF.
When October comes around, Vodafone might be keener to keep you as a customer - while you're in contract you have very little in the way of leverage - and, if you're really wanting to join the Iphone fanbois, the latest saviour-of-mankind (aka #5) will be out by then and there will be a glut of offers.
Hope this helps.
Hi tejbennett,
As the guys have said, the issue lies not with the handset but with the battery. As such a repair of the handset would not assist with the issue.
all batteries have a natural lifespan, as well as conditions they should not be exposed to, such as moisture, extremes or, as was described here, severe overcharging.
As the battery would be outside the manufacturer's warranty, I would agree that your best option would be to purchase a replacement battery for the device. This would be cheaper than any cost for buying out commitment to get to the upgrade period and would allow you to minimise the time carried over onto the new agreement on an upgrade.
Dave
