Vodafone repair are saying I damaged my phone and I did not

[totallyttrs-com]

Hi All

I have a samsung s7 that I got 3 months ago. After using the phone a few weeks I noticed that the volume buttons did not work, i can go into settings as change the volume and did that for a while. Busy December/Christmas came and went. Then I went on holiday in early Jan and my wife noticed me messing about with the volume and asked why I did that and told here the volume buttons did not work and that it would be fixed under warranty. When we got home I phoned vodafone and told them what was wrong, as I do not live anywhere near a store they sent a bag to return it in.

They phoned me today to say that there was damage around the volume button and they would not fix it under warranty and I would have to pay! I asked to speak to customer services to complain. I then got grilled on why I never sent the phone back earlier, I told them I had been busy and did not get around to it.

I told them that there was no damage to the phone when I sent it and they told me that as I did not take it into a store for inspection prior to being returned, they could not confirm this, I asked if the damage could have been done at their end as it was definetly not damaged when I sent it. I was told that because I cold not prove this they would believe that I sent it damaged....

Why did they not explain this to me when they sent me a bag to return it in? I would have gone to a store for prior inspection, if this would have been pointed ot to me. I have been made to feel very upset, I have been with vodafone for a very long time and it is wrong to be treated like this. They are sending the phone back to me so I can inspect it, but have been told they will not do anything else about it.

This is extremely annoying.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[BandOfBrothers]

I know this is now hindsight @totallyttrs-com but when im discussing with someone about sending a phone away I suggest to take time and date stamped pictures to prove its aesthetic condition and one of it turned On. 

You could see if a Samsung Experience Store or Samsung Service Centre location is local to see if they can help even tho its the Retailer that applies the manufacturing warranty the manufacturer themselves tend to be keen to help. 

If they decline repair due to the issues then you maybe stuck. 

Im wondering if a back up and factory reset may help. 

[totallyttrs-com]

I definetly would have took it to the store, if they would have told me about this sort of problem may happen, or told me to take photos, which had a time stamp.

Tried the factory reset and that did not work.

Thanks for the feedback, just dissapointed of how I am being treated.

[wwhyte92]

The European Consumer Rights act might help here. If a product is faulty within 6 months of purchase the burden of proof is on the retailer to prove that damage was caused by means outside the warranty. If they are unable to prove this satisfactorily they are legally obligated to attempt a repair, replace or refund the purchase. After 6 months the burden of proof is reversed and the consumer has to prove damage was caused by an act that does not void the warranty.

Be very wary that Vodafone may try and push you towards getting this sorted with Samsung off your own backas they often claim it is down to the manufacturer to try the repair under these regulations (speaking from past experience from myself and family members). This is not true. Vodafone are the retailer who sold you the product and therefore they have obligations to repair or replace under the EU legislation. They may send the device to Samsung themselves to attempt the repair and that's fine, but they are then the party taking ownership as they should do under the law rather than trying to reglect that responsibility.

Below I've copied in some information from the Which? website which might be helpful. Just search "Consumer Rights Act 6 months" in Google for the full article.

After the first 30 days

If you're outside the 30-day right to reject, you have to give the retailer one opportunity to repair or replace any goods or digital content which are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described.

You can choose whether you want the goods to be repaired or replaced.

But the retailer can refuse if they can show that your choice is disproportionately expensive compared with the alternative.

If the attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful, you can then claim a refund, or a price reduction if you wish to keep the product. 

Can I get a full refund? - the first 6 months

If you've owned the item for less than six months, the retailer must give you a full refund if an attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful.

The only exception to this is motor vehicles, where the retailer can make a deduction for fair use after the first 30 days.

It doesn't matter whether you bought your goods before or after 1 October 2015 - in the first six months from when you buy something, the onus is on the seller to prove it was of satisfactory quality when you received it. 

It's not for you to prove that the item was not of satisfactory quality in order to get it repaired or replaced during the first six months after purchase.

[BandOfBrothers]

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wrote:

I definetly would have took it to the store, if they would have told me about this sort of problem may happen, or told me to take photos, which had a time stamp.

Tried the factory reset and that did not work.

Thanks for the feedback, just dissapointed of how I am being treated.

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You are very welcome @totallyttrs-com

I've a feeling that they will contribute the issue to the damage where the volume buttons are which would not have been present when you originally un-boxed the phone.

I totally sympathise with your stance that the damage was not present when you sent it off but unfortunately there is no evidential support from you to prove this. 

I think an act of goodwill from Vodafone or Samsung is what you can hope for. 

[totallyttrs-com]

Very supportive replies so far many thanks 🙂

* I think an act of goodwill from Vodafone or Samsung is what you can hope for.* 

Will cross everything, but the chap I spoke to at vodafone was not at all sympathetic 😞

I wish they would advise about taking it to the store or photo evidence when returning a faulty phone, that is my main gripe, as I would have done something other than just posting it off.

[BandOfBrothers]

Its from personal experience @totallyttrs-com that I always take timed and dated photographic evidence of items i'm sending back wether it be for repair or refund. This i pass onto others when advising. 

As far as I can see the advice i give isn't in Vodafones Support Pages so the Vodafone agents will abide by the information contained within those and advise accordingly. 

[totallyttrs-com]

They should make it clear about the returns policy to protect customers and themselves against something like this happening, I wonder how many times this does happen?

Also when I was disputing the alleged damage, they customer support agent talked to the repair centre about the damage and he stated the screen was also damaged and I got really upset and said no way was the screen damaged, he then told me that it was not actually damaged, but it might get damaged during the repair, what does that mean????

Looking forward to getting the phone back for inspection and seeing this for myself and then I can see what actions are left open to me?

There must be another way to complain and get this sorted?

[wwhyte92]

I think it will be interesting to see what it is like when you do get the device back from Vodafone. If there is any additional damage to it that you don't recognise, I wonder if you could then claim that that damage could/had been caused in transit from the delivery from the repair centre to yourself.

Unless Vodafone took photographs prior to shipping it off they may struggle to argue back about that? Just a thought.

[hrym]

The problem is that Vodafone, as a 3rd party repairer, aren't allowed by any of the manufacturers to carry out warranty work if there's any evidence of damage, even slight and patently unrelated to the fault in question.   In this case, your best option is to go direct to Samsung who are generally pretty good about this sort of thing and will take a pragmatic view.   Even if there is damage, they will often repair under warranty if it's clear that the damage and the fault are unrelated.