phone contract help

[folkestonesgull]

I need some advice.

I have an i-phone 3G, on a 2 year contract with 02 that expires next May.
Last month the phone stopped working - whilst all of the i-phone features worked it does not pick up any signal, so essentially it does not operate as a phone.

I spoke to 02 who basically said that they recommended getting the second year warranty when getting an i-phone (i was not told about it) and the best they could do was to offer me an upgrade on to an i-phone 4 (which i don't want as 02 does not have network coverage in my new house). So they said either go to apple to get the phone repaired (min £150), buy a new phone and see out the contract (pointless) or cancel the contract (7x£30 to do so).

I sent my phone off to I-phone-repairs, who had it a week and then sent it back saying they could not diagnose the fault (not sure if they opened it up though).

Any advice - I can sell the handset for about £80 online, should I then try to agree a lower cancellation cost with 02 - anyone got advice on how to best do this?

Cheers!

 

[Box of Frogs]

My iPhone 3G packed up 2 months into the second year of its contract. I took it to the Apple shop who tried to fix it but they couldn't. However they did offer me a brand new phone in exchange for mine and £139 which I took. I then sold the new phone on eBay for £215 and upgraded to an iPhone 4!

 

[happypig]

I would suggest trading standards. There was s ruling a few years back that said that goods should be expected to last up to seven years and that as a rule of thumb, the more expensive the item/brand, then the longer it should be expected to last. I would argue that an iphone, being top end of the market and with a premium price tag, should last for more than 16 months.
There is loads of info about it online (maybe google for "extended warranty rip-off" or somesuch.
Tell o2 that you want it repaired/replaced or you will take them to the small claims court.

 

[clippedgull]

I would suggest trading standards. There was s ruling a few years back that said that goods should be expected to last up to seven years and that as a rule of thumb, the more expensive the item/brand, then the longer it should be expected to last. I would argue that an iphone, being top end of the market and with a premium price tag, should last for more than 16 months.
There is loads of info about it online (maybe google for "extended warranty rip-off" or somesuch.
Tell o2 that you want it repaired/replaced or you will take them to the small claims court.

Good advice. Get the legal ball rolling, they won't send an expensive solicitor to a small claims court for a couple of hundred quid. Its about time the British public took on these rip off phone companies!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I need some advice.

I have an i-phone 3G, on a 2 year contract with 02 that expires next May.
Last month the phone stopped working - whilst all of the i-phone features worked it does not pick up any signal, so essentially it does not operate as a phone.

I spoke to 02 who basically said that they recommended getting the second year warranty when getting an i-phone (i was not told about it) and the best they could do was to offer me an upgrade on to an i-phone 4 (which i don't want as 02 does not have network coverage in my new house). So they said either go to apple to get the phone repaired (min £150), buy a new phone and see out the contract (pointless) or cancel the contract (7x£30 to do so).

I sent my phone off to I-phone-repairs, who had it a week and then sent it back saying they could not diagnose the fault (not sure if they opened it up though).

Any advice - I can sell the handset for about £80 online, should I then try to agree a lower cancellation cost with 02 - anyone got advice on how to best do this?

Cheers!

Just out of interest, why do o2 tell folk to go to Apple? I purchased my iPhone from o2 and if it broke I'd expect them to sort out fixing it, I would not expect to go to their supplier.

 

[folkestonesgull]

thanks people!

 

[folkestonesgull]

just been searching forums, advice is all over the place. The thing that annoys me is I haven't broken the phone, it has just stopped working in one way (the most important granted) and because of this I cannot utilise my contract with 02..yes I could put the sim in another handset but why would i want a £35 a month I phone contract to do that?!

I will speak to o2 tonight...hopefully they will agree a compromise fee to cancel my contract, repair my phone or lower my tariff considerably.

 

[Cappers]

Reason why o2 tell you to go to apple is that it is out of their warranty (presumably?). My advise would be go to the apple store in brighton (genius bar appointment - see Apple web site), they can run a diagnostic test to see if any of the hardware has failed. If nothing is found it must be software. They can re-flash it for you witn new software, straight out the box. Make sure you do a back up before your go as it will be like a brand new phone (working hopefully). If it is the hardware, this may add strength to any argument your have regarding how long it should last.
Good luck

 

[folkestonesgull]

cheers Cappers. I am heading to London this weekend (no chance Apple would venture into east kent) so will give it a go on saturday morning...
It went to iphone repairs who ran a diagnostic and could not find anything wrong with the software, I have also fully rebooted it- my guess is its a hardware problem, not that it helps

 

[Box of Frogs]

Reason why o2 tell you to go to apple is that it is out of their warranty (presumably?). My advise would be go to the apple store in brighton (genius bar appointment - see Apple web site), they can run a diagnostic test to see if any of the hardware has failed. If nothing is found it must be software. They can re-flash it for you witn new software, straight out the box. Make sure you do a back up before your go as it will be like a brand new phone (working hopefully). If it is the hardware, this may add strength to any argument your have regarding how long it should last.
Good luck

Thats what happened to me and, as I said before, if they can't fix your phone they will offer you the option of buying a replacement for a reduced fee (cost depends on what model you have obviously).

Alternatively you could sell your busted iPhone on eBay - I have seen them going for £100-150 which you could then put towards an iPhone 4!