Meteor bill pay and repairing my phone

Dermighty

hi all,

I signed up for an 18 month contract in November 2009, chose the Nokia E52 for €80 on the €20 euro a month plan, also I was told that I could get an upgrade after 12 months (I wasn't told on paper) which I have been told is now 18 months. I switched up to the €45 a month plan in August 2010.

So my phone decided to go nuts and keep switching itself off etc, randomly locking up, dropping calls, the usual stuff that can happen. It also did not charge for days at a time when it switched itself off it might not be able to turn back on for a couple of days at a time. The outside of the case was damaged by having my phone in my pocket with my keys etc and the top part of the case beside the buttons was cracked (a thin piece of plastic 3 or 4 mm thick) there were also a couple of very shallow dents on the back of the case, general wear and tear stuff. So I went into the store and sent it off for repair, 12 days later I get a call saying that they determined the problem to be physical damage and that it would cost €60 to repair. I wasn't told what was wrong with it.

My issue is that my contract is up at the end of May, and my options are to pay 60 quid to have the 80 quid phone repaired and inevitably buy a new one in May (as I want a phone with mobile internet (that isn't ****)). Meteor can't offer me any sort of discount on a new phone and I was told I'd have to pay pay as you go prices (ie: €470 for a HTC whatever). Personally I feel that the issue with the phone is not a hardware thing (ie my damage) but a software problem which has been well documented on the web (hardly legal documents) on countless forums. I don't expect to get a free phone or anything of the sort but I do feel that Meteor are not really accommodating me in any way with this issue by offering me a new contract with a new phone for a certain price, offering me any sort of discount, repairing my phone for free etc.

I'm not sure how out of line what I'm saying is but I said I'd throw it on boards and see what the general consensus is. For the record I do take care of my stuff as best I can and I haven't rung Meteor demanding anything.

7.Ronaldo

You can take the phone to a third party repair company for a second opinion if you are not satisfied that what they are telling you is true.

When you sign the contract the phone is heavily subsidized based on your predicted spend over the course of your contract. It's not likely they will offer you a second subsidized handset while your still under contract so the only options would be to pay for the repair or buy a new phone sim free.

It may be €60 to have an €80 phone repaired but remember that phone was heavily subsidized so it's actual value is probably a lot more.

drunkmonkey

If your phone is physically damaged they shouldnt be quoting you a repair price, what damage is it? Try another authorised nokia repair center or reinstall the software yourself.