This may be better suited to off topic - please feel free to move.
I bought a new LG G4 in late 2015 from a parallel importer with a physical store in Auckland (won't name names, but one of the most well known ones). In late March 2017 the phone suddenly failed with the "boot loop" problem that the G4 is infamous for (see http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/lg-g4-bootloop-problem-how-to-diagnose-and-fix). At that point the phone was about 17 months old.
I returned the phone to the retailer a day or two later and asked for a free repair under the CGA. They dicked me around a bit, telling me the phone was out of warranty, and wouldn't commit to repairing it for free. As it turned out when the phone was repaired and ready for pickup five weeks later, they wouldn't return it to me unless I paid a fee (around a hundred bucks). At that point, desperate to get my phone back (and be rid of this stupid shop) I just paid the money, took my phone and left.
Once I got home and put my SIM card in the phone it became clear the problem wasn't fixed at all. Within 10 minutes it had started bootlooping again. The problem is now slightly intermittent, as the phone will occasionally turn on (it wouldn't turn on at all before), but is functionally unusable.
My take is that:
- the phone is well within its reasonable lifespan, which I'd say is 24 months
- the defect is obviously fundamental
- further repair isn't an acceptable remedy, given the length of time it took and the complete lack of success the first time round
Am I on solid ground insisting on a full refund of purchase price paid + repair fee under the CGA? Given how immovable they were the first time around I suspect I'll be committing to arguing my case in the Disputes Tribunal. I'm prepared to do this but thought I'd get a quick sanity check first.
Trusted
