Explain that the phone is new, isn’t of merchantable quality and that you wish to exercise your statutory right to a replacement.

What frustrates me is that these are not new consumer problems and that everyone in Ireland seems to think that educating consumers about their rights is “the solution”. It’s not! It is one step… The solution would be punitive charges in EVERY case where a customer is mis-informed by a shop / retailer /company of their legal obligation to support (Replace / Repair / Refund). Fine them for non-compliance and let them work out what makes more financial sense…

At the moment companies like O2 turn away a huge percentage of complainants on the first (/second/third/etc) complaint and only take care of them when they kick up a fuss… This is very cost effective and we can only stop it by making it less cost effective.

They disgust me.

Imagine a world where you could just buy an iphone.

There have been sales and support issues ever since O2 joined Apple at the hip in its iPhone sales strategy. I’m sure Apple gained some market share by the arrangement, just as its sales partners took most of the brunt when the product performs poorly.

I get a new phone every five months, normally through a trustworthy O2 channel partner who has been told he cannot sell me an iPhone. And because he knows my mobile needs, he’s keeping me clear of the headaches he’s read about–like yours here.

Hope you find reliable mobile connectivity soon.

They sold it, it stops working, so it’s up to them to fix it. Maybe you should see if there’s some clause in the contract that will allow you to get out of it early?

In my experience Apple customer support are excellent. My brand new MacBook Pro died the evening I got it, and a few checks on the phone and they replaced it without question, just had to wait while the courier did its thing.

Well and truly my longest blog post(s) too!

O2 are well out of order and have been trying to flout this law for years. My incident was four years ago.

“If you have bought faulty goods, remember that it is the SHOP, NOT THE MANUFACTURER, who is responsible for sorting out your complaint.”

and

“If the goods fail to comply with any of these criteria – for example, they turn out to be faulty – you have certain clear rights under consumer legislation. These entitlements come under the three R’s:

* Repair
* Replacement
* Refund

If the shop offers to repair the item, the repair should be permanent. If they offer a refund, this can be in cash or by cheque, or (where appropriate) they can refund your credit card account. If they offer you a credit note or voucher instead, it is your right not to take it and request a refund instead.

If you are not happy with their offer you have the right to request an alternative remedy, and to take legal action if you are not happy with their final offer. You have the option to refer the matter to the Small Claims Court, which can handle a claim of up to €2,000 by a consumer against a shop. The application fee for Small Claims is €15.”

There’s a long thread on this on the o2 Forums.. http://url.ie/oip .. but the long and short of it is that Apple will most likely provide the better experience (compared to o2).

o2 have sent some broken iPhones back (including the broken Home button) to Apple for inspection/replacement/repair. That usually takes longer than the (free) courier service offered by Apple. Normally Apple would send out a replacement with the courier, but not when you didn’t buy the phone directly from them, I think. 1 dude I know, got a replacement within 4 working days from his local o2 store, but that was down to being lucky with incoming stock.

Finally, and what really gets me going, o2 have been grossly misleading customers and blatantly ignoring their legal obligations.

Ignoring the fact that dealing with Apple directly may be quicker/cheaper/easier/less-vomit-inducing, o2 have a legal obligation to deal with your faulty iPhone. That they may take some time to establish that it is faulty (and that’ll probably be just the shop sending it back to Apple anyway), is besides the point. The shop can’t tell someone they won’t deal with the fault, as they are not permitted to under Consumer Law.

They’ve been suggesting this on the above thread as well (resulting in my snotty post at the end of page 10 .. http://url.ie/ois ).

Still, though, 2 of 3 friends that I know have had the Home button problem have had Apple replace it (1 thinks he got someone else’s refurbished phone) quicker than the 3rd dude was dealt with by o2 directly (having got snotty and brought in printouts of the sale of goods & supply of services act and a ConsumerConnect.ie email!).

That doesn’t alter their legal obligation, though.

Sorry to hear about the new toy acting up, btw! Very annoying.

Officially my longest blog comment!
.cg

When I bought my first iPod I took it home, unboxed it, and there was a problem with the screen. I went back straight to town (Nassau Street) to be told that I had to send it to Apple. No no no, my contract was with the retailer, not the manufacturer. They said I was wrong, and they had notices around saying that in the event of a problem (ho ho ho) you would have to go to Apple. I had seen the notices when I bougth the iPod, so I’d checked before taking it in again.

I had looked up the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs http://url.ie/oiq and found this (and more).

<> [my caps]

<>

http://url.ie/oir

They contined to deny responsibilty, and refused to help me. I rang the Small Claims Court who said I should write to them and serve two week’s notice, so I went home, wrote a letter serving notice (the SCC helped me word it), and faxed it to the manager, the CEO and every top name I could find on the O2 website. (Did I mention I was furious?)

Later that afternoon (less than two hours after faxing) I got a phonecall saying that a replacement iPod was at the store ready for me to collect, which I picked up the following morning.

Total time taken: less than two days.

Go get the bastards, and don’t let them away with a damn thing. You’ve been through enough already!

Debbie

I really feel for you Alexia. I’m glad though you’re taking no prisoners. Great post. I’m looking forward to seeing if/how they react…