"Irish" Samsung and Carphone Warehouse

irlande

Hey everybody,

I've got a pretty interesting issue here and I was wondering if anybody else had stumbled across it. I'm sure as you all know the new Samsung SGH F-480 Tocco has been very well marketed as the "worlds first Irish language mobile" by the networks, the irish media and obviously Samsung themselves.

So, holding an interest in gaeilge and technology, I decided to buy one.
Naturally, you can imagine my disappointed when, unlike all of the advertisements (including those in the specific carphone warehouse I purchased it in) the phone had no Irish language feature in the firmware, was simply not listed. Which, was interestingly unlike the display models I'd be using before.

Having discovered it, I went back to the store on the monday (2 days after purchase) and explained the situation. They said they'd happily replace the phone, accepting the "not sold as advertised" issue. Not a problem!

Returned on Thursday (5 days after purchase) with my box, case, all accesories, proof of purchase and of course, the phone! Refund was done and all, then I thought "hang on, lets be safe" so I asked if I used the charged battery of the first phone in the one I was given. Alas, no gaeilge on the replacement either. And, alas! no gaeilge on the other 3 Samsung Toccos they took out of the store room to check for me.

So, now I'm thinking this is more than an isolated case and simply not one phone with wrong firmware. More so, the entire line (at least in carphone warehouse) incorrectly advertised.

Was told they'd call me last Friday or Saturday after having a replacement couriered in. Heard nothing, went in store today (11 days after purchase) to investigate and was informed that they still had nothing to offer me and they "hadnt gotten any reply from head office" and that if I want a refund, meteor could easily fine me up to 300 euro for switching my simcard back to pay as you go. (I had to switch to bill pay to get the phone, apparentally the need to take the sim back too if I get a refund.)

Would I be right in my natural assumption that the concept of an "Honest Mistake" of a product not being sold as advertised is erased when the issue is brought to the attention of the store in question who have no replacement to offer and continue to sell the product in question, knowing its not containing a key feature of its advertisement?

I'm well aware that its a relatively minor missing feature in the sense that I'm sure NOBODY else had complained about the lack of irish considering the small size of the irish language community who'd be purchasing touch screen phones , but really I just want my phone to do what I bought it to do and was wondering if anybody could shed some light on my rights on the matter?

Cheers.

dudara

I would think that "Not fit for the purpose intended" would apply here.

i.e. they sold it as being suitable for people who wanted to use an Irish language interface, it didn't provide an Irish interface, therefore not fit for purpose intended.

In such a case, you are entitled to a replacement, repair or refund. The problem here lies in the fact that it is pretty much standard in the mobile phone industry to attempt multiple repairs/replacements before refunding. An Irish language interface should be a simple matter of a software upgrade.

Perhaps contact the Consumer Association and they might be able to offer further advice.

Sam Vimes

you can generally return a contract and phone within 14 days without penalty

CSOC

Hi

My understanding is that the Tocco was marketed by Meteor as the first Irish language phone. I bought one and have been quite happy with the Gaeilge T9 texting and having the entire UI in Irish. However earlier this year I got an upgrade to another Samsung (Galaxy Ace Plus with Meteor) only to find that it didn't have Irish on the languages list. Imagine my surprise!

I complained to Meteor to no avail (they were evasive, I found). I called Samsung and they confirmed that all of their Galaxy range of handsets have Irish! Confused, I did some research and found that mobile phones are 'localised' by the provider, i.e.: Meteor, Vodafone,etc.. with their own settings. This is called the CSC file. You can find your CSC code by typing *#1234#. Meteor's CSC for the Galaxy Ace Plus is "METLA1" which includes many european languages, including Hungarian (Magyar), but not Irish!

However, if you buy a Samsung from Carphone Warehouse today, it will have Irish!

dudara

Zombie thread - closed

dudara