why does it cost so much for repairs!

[CarolineMurray]

why does it cost so much for repairs! i bought my sons the huawei g510 for xmas and gave them it early as sales assistant activated voucher my son fell smashed his screen within twelve hours i spoke to vodafone live who said take it back i took it back to shop sales assistant said it would cost me £65 to fix the phone was only £100 +£20 freedom freebie pack so its gonna cost me two thirds of the price of the phone to be repaired this is ridiculous!!!. Why??

[drey_p · Accepted solution]

Because you have to pay for the spares (which aren't cheap) and the labour charges for someone to dismantle the phone and put the new screen in and test it.

[CarolineMurray]

but its nearly the cost of phone how does that even make sense???

[jeffkinn]

The screen is probably the most expensive component in a mobile phone just like they are in laptops. As drey_p has said, replacing a broken screen is a very labour intensive process and not the auto installation of a factory assembly line. Does it even make more sense now?

[K_FARNWORTH]

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@CarolineMurray wrote:
but its nearly the cost of phone how does that even make sense???

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Hi CarolineMurray,

the repair might seem really pricey at £65, but that's because the phone itself was only £100. For example if you had an Iphone 5S (retail price around £550) and you were told £65 to fix the phone, it would seem like a good deal. The handset price is irrelevant to the cost of the repair unfortunately, parts can be very expensive, and they are the elements that make up the phone. 

You have to weigh up your options really, if it's £65 to fix, or buy a brand new one at £100, repairing it is still a saving of £35 in compared to purchasing a new one. 

[CarolineMurray]

Yet you can pick up a replacement screen for £10.50 so they charge £55 for the person to fix it

[CarolineMurray]

I clicked the kudos by accident i dont even know what it means

[grolschuk]

Kudos is a acknolodgement of when someone has been helpful or informative. A visual way of saying 'Cheers'

As for the repair price, I certainly don't have the tools or skills to take a small electronic device to bits, replace parts, and rebuild it without having any screws left over

So £50 for that is probably about right if it takes around an hour to do.

Have you had a look at your home contents policy, that may cover accidental damage to mobiles, although the excess may be around the same price as the repair

You could maybe get a different handset that is cheaper than the repair cost (Vodafone Smart Mini for example) and while not quite the same, at least it will be a working device, and a lesson learnt that accidents can happen and maybe ask santa for a case for it.

[CarolineMurray]

hes got a case was waiting on delivery, but i still dont agree with the high repair bill ive been a loyal customer to vodafone for alot of years but doubt il be much longer

[jeffkinn]

So you think that Vodafone should pay for your repair? And do you think any other network would repair it for you? Believe me - they wouldn't.

[drey_p]

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@CarolineMurray wrote:
i still dont agree with the high repair bill ive been a loyal customer to vodafone for alot of years but doubt il be much longer

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Let me see if I understand your logic.  Your son broke his phone.  Because it is broken it needs to be repaired.  You're not happy with Vodafone charging you for the damage that your son did so you are threatening to leave Vodafone?  £65 to repair a screen isn't a huge amount to repair a screen - if I were to drop my S4 it would cost in the region of £150 or so.

Yes, labour charges are high as you need to ensure that they have qualified staff who can correct repair devices according to the manufacturers specification. If you aren't happy, you don't have to pay them.  Get the phone back and don't have it repaired.  Alternatively, get the spares and do it yourself - you will see just what a mission replacing the screen is and perhaps then you will understand why it costs so much.

[CarolineMurray]

Check what i posted at the top!!. Why so high not that they should pay!. was not my sons fault it was an accident where he fell, but if the store didnt activate the voucher in the first place he wouldnt even have the phone yet. No before you ask i did not ask them to activate the voucher, £65 may not be a large amount to you but it is to me brand new phone no good for £65 i might as well buy a new phone rip straight off!!!. Might be better trying to fix it myself

[jeffkinn]

While everyone is sympathetic, Vodafone is not responsible for the accident and, not being a charity, there is no reason whatsoever for them to pay for the repair on your behalf. No network would.

[CarolineMurray]

My son did not break his phone it was an accident which i spoke to vodafone livechat about they told me to take it back my question was why so highly priced!! £65 may not seem alot to you but it sure is to me!! for a phone that is 12hrs old the guys who are fix it are experts so really it wouldnt be that hard to them nor take that long

[jeffkinn]

You are making statements and assumptions that have no relationship to reality. The experts that fix broken screen don't work for nothing any more than you would. Pay up or buy a new phone - those are the choices. Continually arguing that your 'accident' somehow moves the responsibility from you to Vodafone is a fantasy.

[drey_p]

I don't know what part you aren't understanding - you've had the costs explained to you in this thread.  Labour charges are high as you need to have a trained technician to carry out the work. Also, it does take a while to replace a screen (something that has also been explained in this thread)

Whether or not is was deliberately broken or an accident, the fact remains that it is damaged.  The warranty doesn't cover this damage so you will need to pay for a repair. Comparatively £65 is a lot cheaper than having to shell out £150 to have my S4 screen replaced - that is the point I was trying to get across in my earlier post.

[CarolineMurray]

noone was moving the blame to voda fone it was about the cost of the repair il fix it myself n see just how hard and long this takes as i dont believe its anything as bad as its been made out!!

[jeffkinn]

Good luck - let us know how you get on

[drey_p]

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@CarolineMurray wrote:
il fix it myself n see just how hard and long this takes as i dont believe its anything as bad as its been made out!!

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So you have hands on experience with mobile phone repairs which is why you believe that it isn't that bad to replace a screen?

I'll be nice and give you a few hints here.

You will need to check very carefully what tools you need to be able to open up the handset.

You will need to buy yourself a different set of screw drivers as most mobile phones don't use standard screws.

When removing any of the circuit boards, be careful as the components on these are very delicate.  

When replacing the screen, make sure that you have a spare seal as the original can get easily damaged. 

Don't over tension the screws when putting everything back together as this will damage the phone itself and the circuit board.

Don't miss out any of the screws as some of them are designed to carry current between the boards. 

Try to do any repairs in a relatively dust free environment. 

[SynthFG]

Also even if by some miricle you don't destroy the phone with your self repair

opening the phone and performing the repair yourself will void the warenty 

Wheras getting a techy to do it through the official channel the warenty will still be valid

So your £65 is paying the costs of a certified repair, ie 

Parts, Labour, tools and the validation required to keep the warenty intact 

Side note, one of the reason the phone only costs £100 is because it was originally assembled by a wage slave in China earning next to nothing,