BuyMobile NZ, Anyone bought from them and needed to make a warranty claim?

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YvonneW

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#245098 18-Jan-2019 14:45

Has anyone bought a mobile from BuyMobile.co.nz? I Bought a Nokia 6.1 Plus a few weeks ago that is not charging. They say I have to send it to Australia for assessment. Dangerous goods, about $55 to send. Not happy as their website says they have NZ repair centres.

Waiting for an email response from them now but it's disappointing. Should have just bought it from a shop here. Would have been cheaper in the long run.

I know nothing :-)

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'That VDSL Cat'
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#2163253 18-Jan-2019 14:53

They say they have been in the market for 10 years... first i'm hearing of them.

I had to laugh at this.

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YvonneW

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#2163259 18-Jan-2019 15:02

Yes... I'm not laughing now. Should have checked on here before buying.

I love my phone and just want it sorted.

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gehenna

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#2163265 18-Jan-2019 15:10

Never heard of them.

xpd

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#2163267 18-Jan-2019 15:17

Quote/Screenshot their site back to them and if no go, then take it to disputes tribunal. Or at least tell them that...... ;)

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YvonneW

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#2163275 18-Jan-2019 15:25

I have sent it to them. Still waiting for a reply.

I get that tech stuff sometimes is faulty but how the supplier deals with it is the issue.

I know nothing :-)

YvonneW

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#2163370 18-Jan-2019 17:17

Their response:-

"My apologies but we don't have any affiliated service centres in New Zealand right now, really sorry. We had one before but we parted ways and it will take some time to get another affiliate who has the same core vision with the company."

So they still want me to send it to Australia! So not happy.

My reply:-

"Your website says you do have New Zealand repair centres. This now needs to be changed as it is misleading but was one of the reasons I decided to buy online. Another being cost. "An online store in New Zealand."

I understand companies part ways but the customer should not have to pay for it.

I don't want to keep quoting the BuyMobile.co.nz website at you. I just want my issue sorted.

I am happy to pay for tracked shipping within New Zealand as I assume I have had would have had to pay that under your Local Warranty. I also notice that the Limited Warrenty is only valid in New Zealand.

I have no desire to enter into a consumer dispute with BuyMobile.

This needs to be resolved swiftly in New Zealand, with minimum cost to me and with BuyMobile sticking to their promises on the website.

N.B. I am now without a usable smart phone. This needs to be sorted."

I am angry but not quite sure where to go from here. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

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Hammerer

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#2163383 18-Jan-2019 17:56

Where did your phone originally ship from? I'd be surprised if it was NZ or Australia because I expect it was from China.

They have no physical footprint in either NZ or Australia and they attempt to deceive on their website.

You can see some positive reviews at https://www.productreview.com.au/p/buymobile.html, e.g. "With the internet flooded with questionable traders it was a welcome relief to research and purchase through BuyMobile". But you don't have to look far to find evidence that they work from eastern China or Hong Kong.

Their "suites" are dropboxes as in NZ https://www.privatebox.co.nz/compare-plans/

Suite 7454, 17B Farnham Street, Parnell, Auckland 1052

Their online hours are probably for Eastern China.

We are online 11am - 2am NZST, Monday to Friday, midday - 8pm Saturday and 4pm - midnight Sunday.

Their online office hours might also be suspicious because what NZ website needs to tell people in NZ what time it is. Of course, a legitimate Australian company might just have copied that feature from their Australian website where they do handle multiple timezones.

YvonneW

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#2163391 18-Jan-2019 18:07

It was shipped from Hong Kong.

I didn't realise. Lessons learnt.

Thank you for the information.

I also have found out they were/ used to be Mobicity.co.nz

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mattwnz

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#2163423 18-Jan-2019 20:00

If you look on our invoice, are they are registered NZ company? I can see on the bottom of their site it does say NZ service centres and brand new replacements. If they don't have this, you should ask them for either refund or replacement, or to send you a courier pack to send it back to them to be repaired, as I don't think you should have to pay overseas shipping if they advertise NZ service centres. It hasn't been corrected either if they no longer have NZ service centres.

Hammerer

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#2163437 18-Jan-2019 20:40

They're a Chinese company. As far as I can tell the Fair Trading and Consumer Guarantees Acts don't apply and the Disputes Tribunal doesn't have jurisdiction.

The problem here is that the power in this relationship is held by the overseas supplier. If they don't do anything then there is no real cost to them. So if a phone buyer wants a usable phone and, given a significant investment to buy it already, then they will usually take the option to pay for international shipping in hope of a "no-cost" repair. But they actually have little power to get the phone back unless, perhaps, they paid with a credit card and can get the phone price refunded.

The potential loss of business doesn't seem to make much difference to these overseas companies because New Zealand consumers will continue to buy "bargains" from them. I've bought this way a few times and been prepared to write off that cost if the items broke down. Thankfully, I've only had to put up with deliveries that take weeks instead of days.

YvonneW

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#2163442 18-Jan-2019 20:51

I am waiting their response.

I paid on a credit card, ASB Gold Visa, but don't know if this gives me any protection. I have been debating with myself about cutting my losses and writing this purchase off. I don't have another $400 for another phone (only earn $22 an hr!). Am pissed off that I didn't do my homework and that they don't care!

I know nothing :-)

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scuwp

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#2163464 18-Jan-2019 22:34

You could (should) log a claim with your credit card provider and start that process.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

BlinkyBill

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#2163569 19-Jan-2019 09:23

I think the disputes trib is $40 or $45, perhaps in this case you should pay the $55 and chalk it up to experience.

Hammerer

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#2163639 19-Jan-2019 11:53

BlinkyBill: I think the disputes trib is $40 or $45, perhaps in this case you should pay the $55 and chalk it up to experience.

You can't use the Disputes Tribunal because Buymobile.co.nz have no representative in New Zealand.

Disputes Tribunal FAQ at Citizens Advice Bureau

Note that it’s not possible for someone in New Zealand to make a claim in the Disputes Tribunal against someone overseas.

Edited to clarify who has no representative in NZ.

BlinkyBill

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#2163717 19-Jan-2019 14:24

Let me put it another way, such that a pedant can’t complain about it. The $55 fee is not so much that it’s worthwhile not paying, relative to alternative costs that could be potentially incurred. So perhaps in this case it would be better to pay the $55 and chalk it up to experience.

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