IPhone Faulty on Monthly Contract - O2 Hopeless

[Anonymous]

My son phoned 02 today as his iPhone is almost unusable after Apples latest upgrade. Apple have admitted the problem to my son but claim they are working on it.

So he phoned 02 where we pay £35 a month. They said tough the phone is out of warranty and to contact Apple. I can't find the contract anywhere in My 02...not surprising on the worst website in the world.

But this can't be right can it ? The phone is almost unusable and we have no phone and no service yet still have to pay £35 a month. Don't 02 have a responsibility to provide a service to a phone they have supplied that isn't broken but no longer functons properly on their network (or any other to be fair )?

[perksie]

I'm sure others have had this problem too, why not try a post in the iPhone Technical forum, where you may get some help to fix it?

[Anonymous]

Thought about that but there is no fix as Apple have messed up with their latest firmware upgrade..which they admit. The issue is contractural in that )2 are denying any responsibility to the phone. Regardless of what the problem is because "it is out of warranty". To me its not even a warranty issue. in any case section 2.5 of the contract states

"2.5 If you bought your Equipment or SIM Card directly from us and it is defective, not in accordance with any description given to you by us, not reasonably fit for purpose or it develops a fault you will be able to return it for repair and, if appropriate, replacement or refund. Please contact Customer Services for details. You should call us as soon as possible if any of the circumstances above apply to you to ensure that you are able to exercise any rights you have.
Alternatively, if you experience any difficulties with your Equipment within your warranty period, you can contact the manufacturer for replacement or
repair under the manufacturer's warranty service detailed in the User Guide(s). This does not affect your statutory rights."

note the section in bold makes no reference to warranty and the second section only in reference to an alternative method of getting it fixed. Clearly stating that if your phone under a monthly contract develops a fault send it back to 02 "for repair and, if appropriate, replacement or refund"

[perksie]

If Apple messed up the upgrade then surely your grievance is with them, have you tried your nearest Apple shop for their help?

I know how you must feel but the day I purchase an Apple product is the day you will see pigs flying.

I wish you luck and can only suggest the above and writing to the O2 Complaints Review Service, the address of which is in your terms and conditions, which may not apply because you added new firmware where there was an option for you to refuse this update.

My point being the phone is not faulty, Apple's software evidently is.

[Anonymous]

I'm not a an Apple fan either...nor is my son anymore.

However it doesn't matter who caused the problem, in this case Apple, the contractural responsibility is with 02 to rectify it. Or so the contract says. At least for the duration of the current contract.

Which begs another question...why can't I see when my contract ends in My 02 ? Or is it hidden...?

[jonsie]

At this stage, as perksie says, I would cut O2 out of the equation and go to your nearest Apple store. Make an appointment with one of the resident geniuses at this link :: http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/geniusbar/

If they don't repair it or offer a solution, then you've always got your first option of challenging O2. TBH I don't see how O2 can be held responsible but I'm certainly no expert on the complexities and legalities involved in this issue.

Personally, I think the onus is on Apple to resolve a situation caused by their own software and that is where I would be heading, no matter how near or how far you are away from one of their stores.

Whichever option you choose, I hope you get the situation resolved asap.

[Anonymous]

Certainly appreciate the advice guys. Thank you.

Yes, contractural issues are something that I deal with most days. I don't think 02 were actually suggesting they want nothing to do with it...they can't ref contract...but my son now tells me they too suggested trying Apple first....then come come to them which actually makes sense of course. Apple..are well..Apple...but we have a store where I live so I think a rollback of firmware would be in order....

Can anyone tell me where to find my contract end though please ? I can't see a "Tariff Summary" in my 02... ?

[Anonymous]

When situations like this have arisen before, the retailer has not been held responsible in law. As far as I know its never been tested with a mobile phone case, but I don't see how it would differ.
So I would echo the comments about contacting Apple.

[Anonymous]

But it has. Responsibility for a phone/sim supplied by a carrier transfers to the customer including ownership BUT responsibility for defects, fit for purpise etc etc stays with the carrier. They are not many case studies because its never been a problem of any magnitude. To be fair 02 replaced a phone 3 years ago that was out of "warranty" The point in law is that supplied the phone as part of a contract that lasts 18 months...they don't exclude the phone from support in their contract. In any case the Sale of Goods Act would apply... and that lasts 5 years and definately is the responsibility of the supplier.

But I'll see what Apple Store do and what 02 say when I go back to them and post it here.

[perksie]

That isn't quite right, in law the liability resides with the retailer for the hardware, but in your case you chose to download an update from a third party, Apple, which caused the problem.

I don't see how O2 could be held responsible for this, other than making a goodwill gesture, which the law doesn't require them to do.

If I buy a new pc and mess it up by installing the wrong kind of software, the manufacturer would not accept responsibility and nor should they.

Apple should put this right as they supplied the software that caused the problem.

Please let us know how you get on at the Apple store.