Apple says my o2 contract iPhone 4S is refurbished!

[Anonymous]

Sometime middle of last year I took an iPhone 4S contract with o2, and still under warranty. My phone has died; I guess it has because of charging issues.

On o2 customer service advise, went to Apple store and they have told me that my phone has a component which is not genuine, which implies that is refurbished and issued me with a letter saying the same, and I don’t have any reasons not to believe them. Needless to say that I never had my phone repaired, in fact I have 4 iPhone in my household, and two of them are under warranty.

o2 store took my phone and sent to the repair office, and today I’ve received a text message from them saying that my iPhone is not covered by warranty, and want to give me a quote for repair. To say that I went ballistic is the understatement of the year, so spoke to the customer services that were unable to help me in anything.

Basically, I’ve paid for a new phone and didn’t get one, and they want me to pay them on the top to repair a refurbished one which I didn’t order in the first place!

I’m logging my official complaint as a formal process to get to the Communications Ombudsman Services, and ready to get to courts if needed.

Anyone here has been in the same situation before?

Thanks

[perksie]

Use the Complaints Review Service here:

http://service.o2.co.uk/IQ/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,Kb=Companion,question=ref%28User%29:str%28Mob...

[Anonymous]

If the customer has had the phone for a while, and Apple/O2's repairers both think its been tampered with, how would O2 be expected just to take the customer's word for it that no-one has tampered with the phone.

For O2 to do anything about it, customer would have to prove he hasn't had the phone tampered with.

if it was just o2's repairers saying it we'd all say take it to apple, but if apple are saying the same thing there must be something in it.

[perksie]

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@Anonymous wrote:
If the customer has had the phone for a while, and Apple/O2's repairers both think its been tampered with, how would O2 be expected just to take the customer's word for it that no-one has tampered with the phone.

For O2 to do anything about it, customer would have to prove he hasn't had the phone tampered with.

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How could the customer do that, I would expect detailed information on what part wasn't original?

I'm sure we've seen this in the forum before but I don't remember the outcome.

[MI5]

Somebody recently reported am iPhone which no longer had any sound and apple reported back that the speaker was missing !!! The OP said the phone was working fine until it stopped so couldn't understand how the speaker could have been removed.

[Anonymous]

If it is under six months old the problem is with o2 not apple they sold you the phone and its down to them to prove it wasn't faulty when they sold it to you its all in the sale of goods act

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi,

My last converation with an 02 employee regarding sorting out issues with iphones resulted in me being told they send all iphones direclty off to apple only. How true that is i dont know.

If Apple are stating that your iphone has been opened up and a non authentic part has been used, then 02 will take that statement into account and go with that.

When you opened up the contract and picked up your iphone originally from 02 was the box sealed !

The obvious problem here is that both apple and 02 will most likely keep with the outcome that the handset has gone faulty due to a non authorised enginner has carried out work on it.

Ask 02 to clarify what the part in your iphone is non authentic and for copies of any supporting pictures of the internal parts as this may help your complaint.

If you keep up with your complaint then maybe 02 will look at doing something as a Customer Service gesture.

The Sales of Goods Act goes thro alot of things that support both the consumer and business alike. One of the sections most people recite is the part about the item being fit for purpose and performs what it is designed and described to do.

Unfortunatley if they stick to their guns they could counter with that the item was fit for purpose, but has been affected by unauthorised wor=kmanship and non authentic parts.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

For those of you who don't know and Pablo is definitely one of them, when you take an iPhone for warranty repair into Apple (Genius bar), they have a 2 tier procedure to check if your iPhone handset has been opened or not: typically they have a tool, which includes a magnifying lens like, and they check if the “Phillips screws” have been opened as a first stage. That test is performed before you, and if you don’t pass that test, that is it, you don’t go any further. If you pass that test, then they take your handset into their workshop, open it and check for a laminated films over the inside parts, to check if they have been opened.

This film can only be deployed in an environment like “Certified by Apple” workshops, which in our language are “Apple Certified refurbishment workshop”. They are legal, apple compatible, but apple warranty doesn’t extend to them, because they don’t necessarily use apple genuine parts, but they are fully compliant with the packaging requirements.

I’m told that typically o2 would refurbish handsets, sell them as new ones as a cheap version to supply iPhones handsets, to increase revenue.

It’s just that this time around, they’ve got the wrong guy!

[Anonymous]

Hi VanHelsing

Now that's interesting regarding your last post. Learn something new everyday. Can you provide a link to where your information has come from regarding how apple repair and confirm non tampering etc.

I'm sure this information will be of use to others if this arises again.

What have 02/Apple said when confronted with this information ?

[Anonymous]

You don’t really get this information from anywhere, until unfortunately something like this happens to you.

One thing I’m sure though, is the dodging practice of o2; they will try everything to convince you that you are the one to blame: from physical damage found, till water damage, etc. Likely for me, I went first to Apple and the only thing they have found and documented is the fact that the telephone has been refurbished.

Funny thing, but last try from o2 was the following: when my phone died I borrow my wife’s o2 iPhone, put in my SIM card and forward all my phone calls to a business o2 phone I have, just in case.  o2 customer services (very hysterical) told me that they went through their computer records and by tracking the IMEI numbers, and the date I’ve bought my phone they have found out that the handset they have sold me is the one I have used to make calls forwarding, and NOT the one I have been using for the last few months and was complaining about , and problem solved; verdict: I’ve been trying to flog them a fake handset!

Generally speaking, it does sound very convincing! The only problem with that is the fact that months ago in the very same day, I did actually bought two (2) mobile phones from o2: one for me (the one which is refurbished), and another for my wife. An impartial reading of any computer records would have shown that.

When I did mention that to them, they’ve said: “Oh, we see!..Can we put you on hold?”  …47 minutes later, I just hang up the phone; the all call had a duration of 73 minutes, because they would go away everytime “to consult the manager” or "the technical guys"; so shame on o2!