Any ideas what to do next ?. We have a monthly contract with Orange but one of the phones we bought from them in May has stopped working (no longer receives a signal - the other phone is ok). Contacted Orange and they said it's ok, take it back to the shop you bought it from and they'll replace it. Did that today (hour's journey each way) but have been told that they don't have to replace it because we didn't take out their own insurance. We think that must be wrong, the phone is only 5 months old and should be covered by the manufacturer's warrenty (anyway, their insurance is for lost/stolen). I believed that the Sale of Goods Act says that it's the retailer who our contract is with not Sony. Anyway, came home and phoned Orange again and they have now said that no, the man in the shop was correct - all he could do was send the phone back to Sony and see if it can be mended (which could take up to 5 weeks !). Anybody had a similar problem ?. Sounds like a bit of a rip-off to me.

val

The sale & supply of goods to consumers regulations 2002 say :- You have the right to : Choose repair, replacement, partial or full refund, or compensation if a fault appears within 6 years (5 years in Scotland) and it is reasonable for the goods to last that long. Since you would reasonably expect a mobile phone to last longer then that, the regulations can be enforced.

The sale of goods act 1979 Goods must fit the description given, be of satisfactory quality, be fit for there purpose, if not the retailer is legally obliged to remedy the problem.
a phone that doesn't work isn't fit for its purpose.

Robert

Thank you Robert - I thought I'd gone mad !. Still have to get the company to do it though but I'm not intending to back down. It's not as if we went in there complaining, just simply asking for the phone to be replaced because it doesn't work.

Val

Now you have me puzzled :) (Nothing to do with Eddy's query) If I buy a washing machine and it goes wrong after three years - are you saying that I am entitled to a refund or replacement or repair free of charge ???? :)

Daisy

i have done a link here for you to look at, its the terms and conditions for orange, if you scroll down enough you will see what it says about the warranty, i would print this page off and take it to the shop. Hope this helps :) here

Thank you Jacki. I've read through it but as we don't have Orange care I'm not sure it those terms and conditions apply. If the phone had gone wrong after the years warrenty then fair enough, it's our problem. But as it's only a few months old, Orange care or not, the phone is faulty and is under warrenty. ........just had a look - Orange care costs £5 a month and covers lost/stolen/damaged and faulty phones. Ok if the phone is over a year old and goes wrong but surely a new phone is covered under the manufacturers warrenty - they just seem to be charging £5 for something which, if faulty, is covered anyway ?.
If I have any luck from them I'll let you know.

Thanks all for your help.

Val

I didn't realise it was for orange care, sorry, i thought the part about the warranty would stand with you, i would definetly take this further if i was you because with the fone being only 5 months old they should replace it with a new one, good luck and keep me posted on what happens :)

I've got a Nokia phone which my insurance people purchased. I've had it just over a year and it's not ringing. The sound for the key pad works and it still vibrates but no ringing tones. Wd. I be able to do something with this? The only thing is I don't know where my insurance company purchased it from.

I've been with Orange pay monthly now for several years, as I understood things, your phone came with 12 months free insurance. I upgrade mine every 12 months or so. Safe in the knowledge it's covered again for the next 12 months. Hope that's clear ???

Saying that, perhaps they've changed the free insurance part, but it's worth checking it out, I also found out you get better advice by phoning them direct, than going into their shops.

JMHO

liberty :)

I think they've changed the insurance thing now. I'm sure I know more about it than I can remember now, but having consumed waaaay too many red wines the detail escapes me ;) :D :D

You're probably right Chloe, so I'll join you in another glass of red wine :D :D

liberty

Hi Perrodeagua

If your phone is pay monthly (not pay as you go), then it shouldn't matter whom it was bought from, but who your operator is, i.e. Orange, Vodafone etc. After 12 months however you can upgrade/change your phone for one of the many free handsets avaiable. If not go elsewher and get a free handset by agreeing to a 12 month term with another phone company :)

liberty

As far as I understand the sale of goods act and all its amendments, if you purchased your 'goods' after March 31st 2003 (when the latest amendment came into force), and it is faulty within 6 months of purchase, it is now up to the retailer to prove that it isn't their fault, rather than up to you to prove that it is! (Bought a 'dodgy motor' off a dealer, unfortunately it was March 15th, bum!, so was looking into the whole sale of goods thing a lot). I know that some of the folk here know much more about this than me, so I'm sure they'll correct me if I'm wrong, but we got a heap of useful info off the internet about 'consumers rights' and so on, and who your claim should be against - I found that a strongly worded letter quoting bits of the legislation had 'dodgy motor guy' caving in!

I have a contract with orange for two phones and they used to include the insurance on the contract but now I believe you have to pay and extra £4 on top I have always been happy with them as they upgrade the phones every year and if the phone breaks there is a replacement the next day by courier but !!! we received a bill on friday for over £200 from 2002 it simply says that I owe them the money and they couldnt find me so it had been passed to a debt collector ! couldnt find me yet Ive been in contract to them for three years upgrading every year and only moved from the address they couldnt find me from in april this year they cant tell me anything else so how do I prove I dont owe them the money? and they most certainly would have disconected my other phones if I had owed the money.
I think Orange have lost the plot.
Does anyone know if there is an ombudsman covering mobile phones.

I think it is Oftel.
Does the bill include an itemised bill ? If not then ask to be sent one and then look at the calls. You will then know whether you have called them or if they are a load of overseas call and 0845 no's you will know your number has been got and you can go back to Orange and say they are not your calls. They will say that you should have informed them at the time but if you didn't have the bills then how could you !

HTH

Lucy

I would have thought you could have got it replaced under the Trades Description act which in brief states "fit for the purpose of" if the retailer fails to honour the agreement I would consult the trading standards office to see if they could help.
Bazza