Samsung S4 / EE complaint - where do i stand?

Litmus

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I've had a problem with my samsung S4 since august now. I've sent a letter of complaint off to EE which i got a response to today, basically saying its not their problem because they are just a network provider not a phone provider, even though my contract is with them, and they provided me with the phone.

So anyway, until i can call Citizens advice back after Christmas i was wondering if anyone could shed any light on what steps to take next? As i'm just sick to the back teeth of the whole situation now and its cost me over £200 paying for a phone that doesn't work.

Here's a copy of my complaint letter.

15/12/2013

Correspondence Department

6 Camberwell Way

Doxford Technology Park

Doxford

Sunderland

Tyne & Wear

SR3 3NX


Dear Sir or Madam

I am writing to complain as advised by the Citizens advice bureau about a long and ongoing issue I’ve had with my Samsung Galaxy S4 mobile phone. In May I received an email from Orange offering me, as a valued and long term loyal customer a free early upgrade to the phone in question. I took them up on the offer and all the arrangements we’re done over the phone. I received the phone 2 weeks later.


My problem first started on the 11th of August, while using my phone it turned off by its own accord and wouldn’t turn back on, even with the charger plugged in there was no response from the phone. I called EE customer services and the representative went through all the standard troubleshooting steps. Half way through these steps the phone started charging again and would turn back on. She advised me if the problem happened again I would need to take into store and they would send it off under warranty for repair. Over the next few weeks the problem gradually got worse to the point I was lucky if I could get the phone to stay on for longer than 10 minutes a day. I took my phone to your EE Cannock store on the 2nd of September and it was went away for repair and was returned to me almost 3 weeks later on the 20th of September.


The phone worked fine for around 4 weeks until the exact problem started happening again around the 19th of October. I rang customer services again and all they could offer was to send the phone off for repair for a second time, which I was far more reluctant to do for a second time. I took the phone to your Cannock EE store during the week and spoke to the same store representative who dealt with the first repair. Again, all he said he could do was send it off for repair. I stressed I was unwilling to go without my phone for another 3 weeks, I told him I was willing to take my phone somewhere where the repair would be done there and then. He advised me that he knew a Car Phone Warehouse branch in Wolverhampton that offered this service. So on the 26th of October I went to the Car Phone Warehouse store, handed over my phone and signed all the repair papers. When I asked when I should return to collect my phone he said it would be a couple of weeks because they we’re sending it off for repair as well! I explained I had been told that they did onsite repairs, however he told me this had never been the case. By this time I was extremely frustrated and let them send it off under warranty repair anyway. My phone was returned on the 9th of November, I went and collected it from Wolverhampton.


By the time I had driven home which is about 30minutes, the problem had already reoccurred. By this time I was in disbelief.


I went straight to the EE Cannock store an explained that my phone had been back from repair for less than an hour and the same problem had already occurred. Again, all they said they could do was send the phone away for repair for a 3rd time and call customer services, I demanded to speak to the store manager who came out and gave the impression he couldn’t get me out of the store quick enough by refusing to answer my questions and repeatedly saying there was nothing he could do at store level and that I should ring customer services. By this point I felt I was being made look like a “problem” customer.


I rang customer services to stress my dissatisfaction about the whole situation when yet again I hit the brick wall. I was told all they could do was send my phone off for repair for a 3rd time, as I’d had my phone longer than 28 days it was no longer EE’s problem as they only sold me the contact and not the phone, and if that wasn’t good enough to contact Samsung directly and sort it the issue myself.


I rang Samsung and explained all the problems I’ve had, and although they said it should be down to EE to deal with the problem, I was free to send it back to them for repair. I raised the customer service ticket with them on the 11th November and my phone was back by the 18th of November. My phone worked for about another 2 weeks until it broke again with the same problem for the 4th time on the night of 30th November.


At the first opportunity I rang EE customer services on the 2nd of December again to stress my dissatisfaction and to ask for a resolution to the long on going issue. By this time I had lost all confidence in customer services, and as expected I got the same response as every other time had called. At the same time I asked for a refund on the line rental. The representative stressed that although the problem was no fault of EE, they would give a complementary 2 weeks refund.

Which equates to £25. Even though I have now spent £200+ since August on a phone that has only worked for approximately 6 weeks.



I am now unwilling to send my phone away for repair for a 4th time as I have lost all confidence that it is even repairable and that it is unacceptable for me to be expected to do so.


I have two resolutions that I feel are fair. The first is to cancel my contract with EE, and that a large proportion of the £200 I have spent on the contract since the problem occurred be refunded to me.


The second, is to replace the handset with a new one and to refund me a much larger proportion of the contract than the £25 which has been given.



I have attached all repair documents with this letter for your viewing. You should have all phone calls made between us logged on your computer system.


I look forward to your reply which can be made via any of the contacts given at the header of this letter, if you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to ask.



Regards
 

Bigmac

Part of the furniture
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Good luck getting a refund. Best you'll get is the contract terminated or a refurbed/new phone.
 

Litmus

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They responded to me by letter today saying, they'll do neither, no refund, no termination and no new phone.
 

BloodOmen

I am a FH squatter
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They responded to me by letter today saying, they'll do neither, no refund, no termination and no new phone.

Bet anything you want Citizens Advice help get the contract killed tbh.
 

Litmus

Resident Freddy
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All i want is a working phone really, unfortunately there inst much of an alternative 4g provider other than EE.
 

soze

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Samsung offer a 3 strike policy on getting a "different" phone, it will not be new it will be a refurb. If you have Samsung documentation for the 4 repairs speak to them directly prove it has been in 4 times and request a replacement.

EE will continue to be next to useless. There appears to be a battle between the Networks and the Manufacturers about who should foot the repair bill. The way I see it you are paying for a service which needs hardware to work, if you are not on a SIM only deal they should be forced to either give you a loan phone or refund you for the time you cant use the contract. As it is after the 30 days you lose a lot of options.
 

Litmus

Resident Freddy
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EE will give me a loan phone, i had one the first time. But i'd rather not bother, i use my work phone and have to keep swapping sims at the moment.. They bang on about how they provide you with a loan phone to cover their arses to make it look like there trying to help. But in reality its like if you took a full HD 3d surround TV back to currys and they lent you a black and white tv while your's was away for repair.

But yes, i'm finding that the hardest part at the moment, no one will take responsibility for actually sorting it out, other than just constant repairs. Samsung are just as useless, i rang them on the 2nd decenmber to report it broke for the 4th time... They said they would pass it on to the escalation team who would ring me back within 3 to 4 working days. 7 days later i ring them back after no reply, the guy on the phone assures me they are dealing with it.... another 7 days later i ring back to ask if the escalation team had gone on strike. So he puts me through to someone there, and they recommend sending it away for repair xD
 

Gray

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I would suggest trying to find the email address for the CEO of EE and raise complaint there...

When I worked at o2 I do remember issues like this and I had no problem setting a replacement up after repairs not working...

Half the time I'm unsure if they even test the phones after "repairing" them
 

Bahumat

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Can't you cancel the contract because the service does not meet what you were sold?
 

Litmus

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EE claim to only sell the service not the phone, something you only find out when something goes wrong. As there's nothing wrong with the service they provide its not their problem, therefore their not at fault according to them.

Its all a great load of bollocks really
 

Zenith.UK

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Your phone is still within warranty.
You have a documented history of problems with the device.
You have documentation that it has been sent for repair multiple times.

EE are trying it on. Your contract of sale is with them as they provided the S4, and not the manufacturer. If they try to pass you on to Samsung, remind them that the Sales of Goods Act 1982 states that purchases must be "satisfactory quality" and "fit for purpose". You have documentary proof that the device is faulty and has been sent off for repairs, only for the fault to recur in a short time. The device is clearly NOT "fit for purpose" and under the SOGA 1982, you DEMAND a replacement. If the EE drone tries to fob you off, just make a note of their name and ask for the call to be escalated to their supervisor. If their supervisor doesn't give you any joy, ask to speak to THEIR manager, and so on and so on until you either get a satisfactory response or you run out of people in the chain of management in EE.

http://eecomplaints.co.uk/home.html have a number of horror stories about EE, and even some template letters you can use to hassle their CEO.
I suggest you make use of them.

http://www.which.co.uk/technology/phones/guides/mobile-phone-problems/returning-your-mobile-phone/ also has some good points.
 

Litmus

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Yea, i have read though the electrical sales of goods act and highlighted a load of points, i tried to show the EE store manager a few when i went in after the 2nd time it broke, but he wouldn't even look. Some of the points a highlighted were clear as day i think. But for some reason EE believe it doesn't include them, they some how think because they've made their own rule up that after 28days it isn't their problem they are above the law.


the last phone call i made to them i asked to speak to someone who i could make a complaint too and he said there wasn't anyone(even thought it says in EE's on complaints procedure to try this avenue first). I asked to speak to his supervisor/manager and he said there was no point i would just get the same answer, and advised me just to complain in writing. I will just have to wait for Citizens advice to reopen and take it further.
 

Litmus

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Faulty mobile handsets
Your mobile handset will normally have a manufacturer's guarantee that you can claim on if your phone develops a fault during the guarantee period. But it won't be covered if you've caused the damage yourself or misused the phone.

Regardless of the manufacturer's warranty, under the Sale of Goods Act the retailer is obliged to offer a refund, repair or replacement if your mobile handset develops a fault within a certain time period. Your options depend on what's happened and how old the mobile handset was when it developed the fault.

Generally speaking, if the fault develops within six months the law assumes that the fault was inherent in the phone unless the retailer can actually prove otherwise. After six months, you may be required to prove you didn't cause the fault, for example by mishandling the phone. For more about this see the Which? guide to dealing with faulty goods.


That paragraph pretty much nails it for me, how they can deny that is beyond me.
 

Access Denied

It was like that when I got here...
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Get Ofcom involved tbqfh. You've got records of all the repairs, you've got records of correspondence. Use Ofcom like a giant club and beat EE around the head with it.
 

Nate

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Go in to that store, and make a lot more noise. If you start to put other customers off buying a product from them, maybe they'll start paying attention to you. Stand near the point of sale and don't let them take you away to a quiet corner :D
 

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