Ripped off customer

[Anonymous]

I took out a 24 month contract in October 2011. The handset I chose was a Samsung Galaxy Ace. This has to be the biggest mistake l have ever made. The handset will not hold its charge any longer than an hour. Thus making it useless as I have to keep it plugged in to the mains in order to use it.
At the end ofnmyntether I called O2 tonight to see what could be done. These we're the options I was given after being asked why I had not insured the phone.
1. Pay £91.00 to upgrade my handset early.
2. Go and buy a new battery at my own expense.

Needless to say I was not impressed with this and it is now my intention to contact my local Trading Standard office as well as my solicitor to see what legal remedies are open to me.

I am of the opinion that if I were to not pay my monthy charge then I would be in breach of contract. Therefore if the provider of my service supplies me with a handset that does not last the contract period of 24 months and they refuse to supply me with a servicable handset that I can use the service that I am paying for then they to would be in breach of contract.

Let us see what happens.

[Anonymous]

I think you will find batteries are only covered for 12 months I don't think you will get very far with this but if you think its worth the hassle go for it personally I would just buy a new battery they are fairly cheap

[MI5]

What have you done to try and remedy the high battery drain? What is your usage pattern with the phone?

[Anonymous]

The battery has lasted 18 months they only have a limited number of recharge cycles

[MI5]

I would expect longer than 18 mts tbh. Trying to establish if problem is phone, battery or user.....

[Anonymous]

Yes I agree more info would be helpful here

[Anonymous]

The battery was not good from the start of the contract. I went back into store that suplied it and all they said was they would have to send it away for testing. They did say they would give me a temporary phone but this would not be an android and that I would lose all my data. I was not prepared to do this so left the store. I have been into the same store 6 times since and they are not interested. I tried to persevere but it has now got to the stage when the phone is no longer fit for purpose under the sale of goods act 1979.

[MI5]

You've still not answered the questions I asked above... Are you familiar with smart phones and power consumption saving techniques? What is your expectation of battery life? If you felt the phone was faulty you should have sent it in for repair. There are many ways you can back up your data so as not to lose anything. Continuously mentioning the sale of goods act will not help unless you can help yourself and fully establish if it's fit for purpose or not..... The phone has a 2 year warranty anyway so you can still get it repaired, if faulty, which is what any legal representative would advise in the first instance.

[Anonymous]

I was just going to ask the same how do you know it is not the phone rather than the battery and as MI5 has said it has a 2 year warranty

[Anonymous]

batteries can last longer than 12 months if you look after them & do all the battery life saving tips, the battery in my iphone 4 was brand new when the phone came out & still brilliant 3 years later