Faulty iPhone purchased from Vodafone

[donnyguy]

Hi guys, 

A friend of mine has an iPhone 6 plus which for a while he's complained about needing a new one because he thought it was going to explode. I just thought he really wanted a new phone.

However yesterday when I passed by to set up his new phone. I can see where he's coming from.

Something inside the phone (I'm guessing battery) has swolen so much it's pushing the screen away from the casing.

So here's where I need some help / clarification. This clearly is device / manufacturer error. I'll add there's no user damange of any kind on this phone. Personally I buy my phones from Apple so would have just taken this to them however this handset came from Vodafone as part of a phone contact.

Now working out dates, this phone will be around 2 years old which is fine. There is no Vodafone insurance on the contract. So what I need to know is how we'd go about getting this phone repaired / replaced under the Consumer Law.

The information supplied by Apple on this one is "Call / contact / visit the seller" so I'm doing that and as this would fall under Consumer Law rather than it being part of any standard warrenty or insurance then I do have to approach the seller rather than the manufaturer (which I have to admit would have been a lot easier).

Look forward to hearing from you.

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi @donnyguy

Happy New Year.  

From When-I-buy-a-device-from-Vodafone-how-long-does-the-warranty-last-and-what-does-it-cover.

"Apple's limited hardware warranty on iPhone and iPad is 12 months from the date of purchase.

But unlike other networks, we’ll be providing an extended 24-month warranty on all Apple devices from 1 August 2017.

So if your device develops a manufacturing fault between months 13–24 we’ll repair it for you at no extra cost.

This extended warranty applies to all new Apple devices bought directly from us in store, over the phone or through vodafone.co.uk. Existing customers with Apple devices bought within the last two years will also benefit, with the warranty covering your device from 1 August 2017 until the end of the 24 months. So, for example, if you bought your iPhone on 1 June 2016, the warranty will cover you for 10 more months from 1 August 2017 to 1 June 2018."

So your friend just needs to visit a Vodafone High street Store where they will check on its status for warranty and send it away to be tested. 

[BandOfBrothers]

To add...

If the phone exceeds the 2 Years then your friend could look at.

Consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act.

Consumer Rights Act 2015.

"If a fault develops after the first six months, the burden is on you to prove that the product was faulty at the time of delivery."

Further relevant info is in the above link ^

[donnyguy]

Hey, 

First of all, Happy New Year to you as well! Hope 2018 is a good one.

I'm taking care of this issue for my friend which is why I want Vodafone to respond so we can be clear on the policy and how we move forward in getting a resolve here as I worry that understanding can get dilluted along the way. I'm sure you'll know from reading my posts in the past, I'm a straight to the point kind of guy who likes to get things resolved with the minimum of effort.

So firstly, the extended guarantee from Vodafone that covers manufacturing issues. It's a good move and does make things easier for people who don't understand they're already covered by Consumer Law for this kind of fault. We're lucky in a way here because we're automatically covered by EU law on these kinds of purchases for two years . On top of that being in the England and Wales, that two years becomes six. In Scotland, only five.

In fact, becuse we're talking Apple here, let's post their link: https://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/

So the link you've quoted below can be mis-understood as it gives the impression that the product you've purchased has to have been faulty from day one. Think of an oven, it's purpose is to cook food. If it suddenly stops working, you would not say well can you prove it wasn't cooking food on day one because... well of course it was. It worked perfectly fine right up until the point it didn't.

So back to the phone, I'm sure the internal parts were of normal size on day of purchase. It's become faulty since through no fault of the end user. 

So Vodafone... can you please advise next steps here? 

[BandOfBrothers]

You're very welcome @donnyguy 

Please do await for the Social Media Team for advice. 

My understanding is that the owner i.e. your friend would be probably be advised that they need to start the ball rolling by approaching a store. 

However I wish your friend all the best and Vodafone offer full support.