how can vodafone refuse a hardware fix under warranty because of a cracked screen?

[rogers2m]

The last week has left me extremely frustrated. I have an LG G4 that is stuck in a boot loop. This is a common problem withbthe phone and LG have acknowledged that it is a motherboard issue that needs replacing. Having used live chat (for about an hour) I was assured that if I took my phone to a vodafoe shop they would run a diagnostic and resolve my problem as it is still under warranty. I then drove 20mins to my nearest store and queued for about 20mins to talk to an advisor who googled the problem, tried the same fixes i'd tried many times previously, then told me she couldn't fix it and if I wanted to send it off it would cost in excess of £100 to fix as my screen has a small crack in it. How can a crack effect the warranty on the hardware?! The girl even admitted it was rediculous but that was how it worked. I wasted over two hours of my day on this issue to be left exactly where i started. Now i'm left with the option of wasting mote time on the live chat/phone trying to talk to someone with an ounce of common sense or paying the £100+ and being screwed for money fo the rest of the month. Either way i'm without a phone for a while and am getting increasingly angry with vodafone. Maybe i'll drop them an email to let them know how I feel.........oh wait, they don't have one do they? Maybe if they make it as hard as possible to get in touch the prolem might just go away? Thanks vodafone.

[drey_p]

Hi there

This sort of thing has been debated many a time as a quick search of the forum will reveal.

The key thing here is that Vodafone are a third party repair agent and because of this they have vey strict rules that they need to adhere to when doing a repair.  Any form of physical damage prevents them from doing an in-warranty repair, even if that physical damage isn't related to the issue. They can do an out of warranty repair which they will charge for.

However, if you take your phone directly to LG, you may find that, as the manufacturer, they are able to do an in warranty repair because they have greater discretion. 

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @rogers2m

I appreciate your frustration on this. 

They would probably look upon the crack in the screen being caused by a drop causing further issues inside the phone. 

This would render the manufacturing warranty void as this does not cover issues caused by a drop or water ingress. 

Also it maybe the case that if the technician has to remove the screen / open up the phone the crack may grow causing the screen to be unusable and require replacing. 

The manufacturer may take the same stance. 

Other avenues to explore could be home contents cover.

And some Bank Accounts provide mobile phone cover as a perk of the account. 

T&C and excess fee's would need to be checked out.