Well done Vodafone, shame on you brightpoint

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › Well done Vodafone, shame on you brightpoint - Apple would be disgusted.

dickytim

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#130680 24-Sep-2013 06:56

We had a faulty Iphone4 that I sent back to Vodafone for a warranty replacement, I didn't know when the warranty ran out only that is was in warranty. I sent it back and it arrived at the dealer on 11th September, they sent it back a few days later, due to a mix up and it arrived at Brightpoint on the 16th September, as it turned out the warranty ran out on the 13th September so "No under warranty replacement, pay $226.09 + GST for a replacement, or pay $50 to get your phone back. Question this discussion, as it looked like a computer had produced it, answer NO!

Luckily Vodafone will cover this charge but really Brightpoint WTF?

I have heard here that you should only ever send back via Apple for replacements etc. but FFS.

I guess all our non-hardware rebate purchases will be from the Apple store from now on.

Now I have to see what to do about the Iphone that had to be used in the mean time that also needs warranty repair! Will give Apple a call and explain the situation.

BTW the phone has a faulty screen that was discoloured down one side, so I could have replaced the screen for a lot less that 226.09+GST.

MikeB4

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#901612 24-Sep-2013 07:06

If it is a fault, i.e not water damage or misuse it should be covered. You advised that it arrived at the reseller before the warranty expired therefore it should be covered, secondly there is the Consumer Guarantee Act. Thirdly you don't need to go to Apple the CGA prescribes that the reseller should do this.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

dickytim

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#901615 24-Sep-2013 07:17

KiwiNZ: If it is a fault, i.e not water damage or misuse it should be covered. You advised that it arrived at the reseller before the warranty expired therefore it should be covered, secondly there is the Consumer Guarantee Act. Thirdly you don't need to go to Apple the CGA prescribes that the reseller should do this.

Sorry should have mentioned it was a business phone, so not covered under the same rules as a private phone.

It was replaced by Vodafone in the end.

AidanS

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#901616 24-Sep-2013 07:19

Warranty is irrelevant here as KiwiNZ said. We have the consumer guarantees act. Meaning that your purchases should last for a "reasonable" length of time. For a device like an iPhone that would be considered at least 2 years assuming it is kept in good condition by the owner.

Secondly, you are allowed to choose who you take the phone back to. Either the shop or the supplier.

When I had an issue with my Samsung Noel Leeming wanted to charge me $50 to get it sent of for a warranty check up, we said no thanks, went to Samsung's office in Albany, Auckland and had it repaired (it was a manufacturing fault) for free.

-Aidan

hairy1

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#901622 24-Sep-2013 07:39

AidanS: Warranty is irrelevant here as KiwiNZ said. We have the consumer guarantees act. Meaning that your purchases should last for a "reasonable" length of time. For a device like an iPhone that would be considered at least 2 years assuming it is kept in good condition by the owner.

Secondly, you are allowed to choose who you take the phone back to. Either the shop or the supplier.

When I had an issue with my Samsung Noel Leeming wanted to charge me $50 to get it sent of for a warranty check up, we said no thanks, went to Samsung's office in Albany, Auckland and had it repaired (it was a manufacturing fault) for free.

-Aidan

Consumer Guarantees Act does not apply to business purchases.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

kiwitrc

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#901631 24-Sep-2013 08:07

AidanS: Warranty is irrelevant here as KiwiNZ said. We have the consumer guarantees act. Meaning that your purchases should last for a "reasonable" length of time. For a device like an iPhone that would be considered at least 2 years assuming it is kept in good condition by the owner.

Secondly, you are allowed to choose who you take the phone back to. Either the shop or the supplier.

When I had an issue with my Samsung Noel Leeming wanted to charge me $50 to get it sent of for a warranty check up, we said no thanks, went to Samsung's office in Albany, Auckland and had it repaired (it was a manufacturing fault) for free.

-Aidan

The $50 charge from Noel Lemming is refundable if the warranty claim is valid.

sbiddle

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#901636 24-Sep-2013 08:18

AidanS:
When I had an issue with my Samsung Noel Leeming wanted to charge me $50 to get it sent of for a warranty check up, we said no thanks, went to Samsung's office in Albany, Auckland and had it repaired (it was a manufacturing fault) for free.

-Aidan

While I disagree with the concept of a bond the reason for it are perfectly legitimate. Lots of people do damage their phone and think that dropping it in the toilet should be covered by warranty and nobody will notice that they actually did this.

If you take it to a store they then have to forward it on to the repairer who under your logic should work for free to assess the device. If it's a legitimate warranty claim you're not going to pay, but when the damage is found to be the fact it's dropped in the toilet and not covered by warranty many people don't want to go ahead with a repair. Without a bond by the store it would leave them out of pocket when they have to pay the assessment fee to the repairer.

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hyperman

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#902047 24-Sep-2013 20:16

Bit OT now..

But I see both sides of the fence here a $50 bond to get your phone looked at is not bad considering brightpoint charge $47 +GST+freight (from memory) for a out of warantee assesment..

But really If the retailer cant see impact damage/ liquid engress then they need to sharpen up, my work has been in a similar situation where we have had to just rightoff phones that have been swapped out (under 7 days old) due to liquid engress!

My view is get over it, its called a cost of doing buisness!

The views expressed by me are not necessarily those of my employer

stevenz

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#902456 25-Sep-2013 13:58

How does one see liquid damage to a circuit board when it's inside a sealed device?

Having been on both sides of this, there really is no way to win. You either lose money and/or time, or you end up with angry customers. Especially when the profit margins on iDevices are so razor-thin.

I've generally found Brightpoint to be okay to deal with given the massive amount of devices they must have to deal with. There's very little money to be made doing warranty work, trust me.

@KnightNZ

jonb

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#902470 25-Sep-2013 14:18

So it was vodafone's mix-up that caused the phone arrived at Brightpoint outside the warranty period, and then vodafone paid the servicing charge, and also eventually gave you a replacement phone.

I don't see what the 3rd party servicing agent, Brightpoint, did wrong here. It isn't up to them to give you an out of warranty free repair/replacement, and they owe no goodwill to you.

uglyb0b

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#902510 25-Sep-2013 15:36

I completely agree with jonb. Brightpoint did exactly what they needed to do, it's not their fault the phone didn't get sent in when it should have been.

Also in regards to the comment about replacing the screen for less than the $226.09 +gst fee you mentioned - keep in mind this is the cost of a replacement phone, not a repair. There are no Apple authorised warranty repair centres in NZ, so any warranty claim is for a replacement device.

I'm not sure if Apple even do warranty repairs at all, as I've heard about the Apple stores in the states where you go in with a warranty claim and they just give you a new device. This could be inaccurate though, I'm not 100% sure on it.

stevenz

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#902518 25-Sep-2013 16:09

They'll either give you a new device or a refurbished unit (supplied ex-Asia I believe) as a friend got a refurb replacement for his 4S recently.

@KnightNZ