I bought a HTC Desire from Phones4U just over a year ago. It was severely faulty at the time of purhase, and I notified Phones4U of this within a month. After some mucking around on the part of Phones4U, I had two repairs carried out by HTC, neither of which fixed the problems. Throughout the year I have tried many many times to get a replacement or refund, citing the Sale of Goods Act 1979. I have consulted with a lawyer and there is no doubt that I am entitled to a refund and compensation for my costs. At every stage I have been given misinformation (like "only HTC can give a refund", which HTC deny) and have been fobbed off with various excuses (like "we can't repair your phone since it's already been repaired once"). This is a very brief description of a problem that has taken over 30 hours of my time and £70+ of costs in trying to resolve.
I have just given up though, after a call to Phones4U head office today, in which I was told that Phones4U will only ever give a refund within 28 days of purchase, even if the reason for it being after 28 days is that they delayed sorting it out. This is incorrect; the Sale of Goods Act doesn't mention 28 days anywhere, and says that the seller must repair the phone as quickly as is cost-effective and at minimal inconvenience to the buyer. I mentioned this, but I was told that I have interpreted the Act differently to Phones4U.
Unfortunately, the time investment needed to claim a full refund through the small claims court, or to report this action to Trading Standards, would just not be worth the compensation I would get. I've already put over 30 hours of my time into this and have only managed to get a £60 cheque as a "gesture of goodwill", which is actually less than the expenses I have directly incurred. I'm out of pocket £229 on the phone itself since it is now almost completely non-functional.
What I've decided would be more time-effective and satisfying, is to warn others that Phones4U does not trade legally, and to advise potential customers to buy from a more reliable source, such as eBay or some guy down the pub.
Thanks for reading,
Ben
I have just given up though, after a call to Phones4U head office today, in which I was told that Phones4U will only ever give a refund within 28 days of purchase, even if the reason for it being after 28 days is that they delayed sorting it out. This is incorrect; the Sale of Goods Act doesn't mention 28 days anywhere, and says that the seller must repair the phone as quickly as is cost-effective and at minimal inconvenience to the buyer. I mentioned this, but I was told that I have interpreted the Act differently to Phones4U.
Unfortunately, the time investment needed to claim a full refund through the small claims court, or to report this action to Trading Standards, would just not be worth the compensation I would get. I've already put over 30 hours of my time into this and have only managed to get a £60 cheque as a "gesture of goodwill", which is actually less than the expenses I have directly incurred. I'm out of pocket £229 on the phone itself since it is now almost completely non-functional.
What I've decided would be more time-effective and satisfying, is to warn others that Phones4U does not trade legally, and to advise potential customers to buy from a more reliable source, such as eBay or some guy down the pub.
Thanks for reading,
Ben