CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

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Polar Bear
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CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by Polar Bear »

I am beyond enraged.

Five weeks ago I bought a new iphone 6 SE. This was a big deal for me because all of our cell phones have been given to us (husband and myself) by our adult children as they have renewed their own phones. I actually had to hand over money for the first time .... lol..... necessary because my previous phone has ceased to hold a battery charge and I was quoted £100 for a new battery.
My new phone developed a problem with the 'Home' button.

Down I goes to the store where I had made the purchase. As it was just outside the replacement time limit of the responsibility of the store it had to go back for repair. No problem I think, it is under warranty.

No problem ..... I laugh with hysteria......I thought wrong.
After a few days there arrives a text from the Repair Department to advise that the 'problem' is not covered by the warranty and would I telephone them regarding the matter.
I phone - it seems the liquid crystals inside the phone show that there has been moisture.
Huh ?? ... I am most careful. Definitely not near any water.
The engineer advises these crystals tell a story, there has definitely been moisture. Possibly a steamy kitchen/bathroon. Even using the device in the rain. But surely if that (steam) was the case the phone wouldn't be fit for the purpose.

Engineer could not be moved, the warranty was negated because of moisture contact - and did I want a quote for repair.
Now it gets really ridiculous.
I need the Home Button sorted - and was quoted £230 - five weeks ago I bought it new for £280.
I do understand that the Engineer needs to stand over the phone once repaired and that he may need to be super thorough but really - £230 ??

Anyways, my stepson says he reckons he can replace the Home Button for a few ££. He also can put a touch 'Home Button' on the screen until the physical button is replaced.
However, my warranty is of no further value to me because the Engineer insists there has been moisture.

Engineer is the expert, much as I don't like it there really is no way I can argue the point with him.
Yes, I guess there is the option of an independent check/report on the phone, which would have to be paid for. But, truly I don't know if I can face an ongoing issue on something I don't know a lot about.

Expert says - liquid crystals show moisture - end of story.

My husband is with the same provider and I have to say we have always been very satisfied in that regard. His SIM Contract is due for renewal in a few weeks. He is now on a one man protest on my behalf and says he is changing to another provider.
Not necessary but I do appreciate his loyalty lol
Betty
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debbluebird
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by debbluebird »

I understand your frustration. We have been having phones difficulties too. I won't go into it, but this has driven me crazy.

Yankiwi
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by Yankiwi »

That really stinks. Can you get a second opinion?
A year and a half ago I bought a new iPhone 6s. I also bought a store extended warranty for five years for one-tenth of the phone's price. Yes, expensive, but I thought it was potentially worth it as five years is a long time. The original phone warranty was for a year and 13 months after purchase the fingerprint ID stopped working so I took it to the store that sold it. They sent it away to several lplaces and tried everything to fix it but couldn't and finally had to give me another brand new iPhone 6s.
It was gone for over two weeks so after trying to tough it out for a few days I bought the cheapest "smart" phone compatible with my provider for $39. It wasn't all that smart and very slow but I could text and phone with my original phone number and anything else if I had a lot of patience.

Polar Bear
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by Polar Bear »

*Yankiwi*, the extended warranty for the new iPhone 6 was £6 per month and I thought this wasn't worth it.
Anyways, as it happened, it was still under the one year warranty except they considered it invalid.

I'm glad your difficulty was sorted, it justified your extended warranty.

Regarding your toughing it out whilst your phone was away for repair....... I'm fortunate that I still can use the old iPhone 5. It doesn't retain battery power so it is on charge all the time when in the house or near a power socket.
Betty
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ViewsAskew
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by ViewsAskew »

How infuriating! This kind of stuff makes me crazy, lol.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

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Rustsmith
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by Rustsmith »

Service in all forms is not what it used to be. I am in the process of trying to get home after a week long trip. The gate agent at the airport where I started wasn't truthful about how late the first leg of my flight was going to be (they kept announcing 10 minute delays). The plane didn't even arrive until we were supposed to leave. That means that I missed my connecting flight home. So I go to customer service to get a hotel (it was the last flight of the day) and a flight home first thing the next day. But the airline doesn't fly that route on Saturday. Easy, just put me on another airline that can get me home, No because we don't have an agreement with that other airline. Send me to the nearest airport (60 miles) and rent me a car to drive the difference, No because we cannot accept the liability. End result, I have to fly to yet another airport and wait for 5 hrs for a flight home. End result, I will get home 24 hrs late. Oh, and both of the planes that I will be on are full, so I get the last available seats, which means the middle seats in the back of the plane. One of the flights is 4 hrs long, so this is going to get even worse if or when my RLS kicks in.
Steve

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Polar Bear
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by Polar Bear »

Oh Steve, so you are now still mid journey. Had the airline provided anything to ease the wait... Food and drinks, anything at all. Is inconvenience recompense a poor dream?
In your position I'd be in frustrated tears by now.

As an aside, when on a long flight, we always book the worst seats. The row at the back next to the toilets where the seat backs don't even move. This is so that I can get out of the row to stand without inconveniencing the trolley dollies with their refreshments. There's also usually a tiny space to walk in a very small circle.

Not a good end to your trip.
Betty
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Rustsmith
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by Rustsmith »

PB, still mid trip. My seat for the first leg was almost like the one that you describe, seat just in front of the toilet except that this one was mid-way back in the cabin. Therefore, it was the worst seat on the plane in all respects because it did not recline, it was a middle seat and I had to stay in it since the trolleys were out most of the time. To make matters worse, the weather was very bad for the first half of the flight. So bad that the seat belt sign was on, the trolleys and flight attendants were kept in place and we were bouncing around so bad that I could barely keep my eyes on the screen with the movie that I was trying to use to distract myself. It took me about a half hour after getting off to stop the shaking caused by RLS anxiety.

The only good thing that has happened so far is that the gate agent here in Salt Lake City moved me from another middle bulkhead seat in the back of the plane to an aisle seat that isn't as far back. So, at least I will have an aisle seat for this next leg.

As for accommodations, the answer is no. They grudgingly provided me with a voucher for breakfast this morning after I pointed out that they were causing me to be 24 hrs late. Nothing else, in fact they originally gave me the worst seats available on both flights. Things definitely don't work like they used to, even with the major airlines. This is the sort of treatment that I would expect from the budget carriers, not the majors.
Steve

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Rustsmith
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by Rustsmith »

PB, getting back to your original post - this isn't the first time that I have heard a complaint about an Apple phone where the home button stopped working and the repair people claimed that it was due to water damage. I am not an Apple customer and never will be. I have only had one phone that experienced any water damage and that was due to it getting soaked when a water bottle in my backpack leaked all over it. That phone recovered, but I quickly replaced it because it seemed to act strangely at times.

My latest two Samsung phones have both been rated water resistant to immersion in 1.5 meters of water for a period of over 30 minutes. This is very different from supposedly being sensitive to use in a steamy kitchen or bathroom.

I know that many people love their i-Phones, but Apple needs to get with it when it comes to durability in real life. Of course, that is assuming that they care and are not using this is yet another method of getting people to regularly replace their phones.
Steve

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stjohnh
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by stjohnh »

I stopped using iPhones a few years ago when I decided that while they worked pretty well they were overpriced for what you got. The last couple of years iPhones have been rated highly by Consumer Reports, but they are not the top rated phones anymore. If you look at the reviews on Amazon iPhones generally get 4 stars while the best phones get four and a half stars.
Blessings,
Holland

Polar Bear
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by Polar Bear »

Rustsmith - what an awful journey. Even though you've got an aisle seat it doesn't help greatly (but better) when the trollies/trolleys ? are in use..... which is a lot of the time. Time for water, time for snack, anyone want to buy anything??
Yes, definitely the extreme back of the cabin to be up and about at the end of the trolley run and not causing a blockage.
Best is when I'm on an aisle seat and my husband is on the aisle seat 'across the aisle' although he will take an inner seat if necessary. In the aisle seat I can get up and down as frequently as possible without much disturbance to other travellers. Also being at the back allows me to sit on my lower legs and face backwards without staring into someone's personal space and rest my arms/head on the headrest.

stjohnh and Rustsmith ---- I was introduced to the iphone after being passed our sons' cast-offs. I didn't even think about changing to another brand when buying one a few weeks ago. Now, upon discussion, another son tells us he'd never have Apple again (he has a Samsung). Something to consider if and when I or my husband have to hand over cash in the future.
Betty
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ViewsAskew
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by ViewsAskew »

Wow, what a bunch of awful experiences you all are having! I do hope it gets better soon.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

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Rustsmith
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by Rustsmith »

I just got an email from the airline asking for feedback about my delayed flight. I always suspect that these emails are fishing for complements about how well they handled the situation. Well, if that is what they wanted, they most definitely did not get it. I rarely give choose either the best or the worst rating in these surveys, but they got a large number of the bottom marks this time. I also filled up the comment box about everything that they did wrong after the fact. I doubt that I hear anything more from them, but I would really like for them to followup this time.
Steve

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Polar Bear
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by Polar Bear »

We have an update.

My old iphone 5 had awful battery issues and I'd been advised by a repair store that it wasn't worth fixing........ This was why I bought the new iphone 6. However, because of the ongoing difficulties with my new iphone 6SE my son put a new battery into the old iphone 5 and lo and behold..... it's working fine. Goes to show that it's not always good advice given from repair stores and perhaps I should have had a second opinion.
Looks like I didn't need a new phone in the first place.

Now, for the story of my new iphone 6 which 02 Repair Centre said was contaminated by moisture (I refuted that I did this) and was returned unrepaired. My son couldn't get the new home button to fix and I took the phone to an Uber store, they fitted a new button for 30 pounds. All great..... well no....
I had noticed it was slow in charging, very slow, and the screen started to flip to the apple icon. The Uber store, when they put the 6 with its new button on charge, noticed that it was not charging properly. Held the phone for a couple of days to check it and advised they reckoned the main chip was faulty thus unrepairable.

Coming home I threw the 6 into a drawer - with my 5 with its new battery I was up and running. Albeit out of pocket but resigned to the loss.

HERE IS THE GOOD BIT ..... On Monday past I decided to do an email to the CEO OF 02. The full time line of events with a few bits of padding out i.e. I've always been a loyal customer,
feel let down,
A Friday phone,
at my age this was probably the last phone I'd be buying !!

This morning, Wednesday, only two days later I received a phone call from the 02 CEO team. Discussed the regular procedures, my warranty invalidated etc but that they would like to reach a resolution. I was offered a new replacement telephone...... would I be happy with that ??
Indeed I would be happy. :clap:

There is to be a doorstop swop via Courier on Friday.

Never did I reckon on such a result. On this occasion I can only applaud their customer service.

Who'd have thought.....
Betty
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ViewsAskew
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Re: CELL PHONES - ENGINEER - WARRANTY !!

Post by ViewsAskew »

Great news, Betty! And, how interesting that Steve heard nothing.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest

Managing Your RLS

Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.

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