Meteor - A Terrible Ordeal

Very__Annoyed

Hi Folks. I am new to boards but I felt I should bring this forum thread for the Meteor Forums to your attention.

Firstly, have a read here
http://forums.meteor.ie/t5/Bill-Pay-Plans/Meteor-A-Terrible-Ordeal/td-p/66834

They have now disabled replies to this post.
PS: Sorry if I break any rules by posting this link, please advise if I did.
I posted the link rather than the text itself as it is quite long.

prettyrestless

You've created a lot of this mess for yourself. There was an issue with your handset but because you refused to send the handset away to be checked/repaired so they would be unable to issue you with a replacement without checking it first. Your refusal to cooperate has just caused more hassle for yourself. Not to mention you've probably screwed up your credit rating by refusing to pay your bills. If you'd just agreed to send the phone away and put up with two weeks of minor inconvenience by using their replacement phone, this would have been resolved long ago.

ABajaninCork

You might have better luck posting direct to Meteor here.

Very__Annoyed

As I'm sure you will see in the post, I didn't 'Refuse' to send it away. I simply wanted to know how they were going to compensate me for said two weeks of inconvenience.
I agree, I could have done as you suggested but as has been proved, I would not have received value for money as they simply expected me to take the two weeks of inconvenience on the chin. I say that's not good enough.
You don't agree?

keithclancy

Very__Annoyed wrote: »

As I'm sure you will see in the post, I didn't 'Refuse' to send it away. I simply wanted to know how they were going to compensate me for said two weeks of inconvenience.
I agree, I could have done as you suggested but as has been proved, I would not have received value for money as they simply expected me to take the two weeks of inconvenience on the chin. I say that's not good enough.
You don't agree?

Doesn't work that way, they don't do temporary replacement phones.

Very__Annoyed

Fine. Offer some compensation in that case. Don't do nothing! Surely?

Very__Annoyed

Thanks. Not really interested in talking with them. They have made their ridiculous position very clear.

ABajaninCork

Can you not take this to an Ombudsman?

Mitch epitag

Did you really need a fecking IPhone in the first place ?

ABajaninCork

Mitch epitag wrote: »

Did you really need a fecking IPhone in the first place ?

That's a stupid thing to say. It doesn't help the OP, so why make that comment?

Very__Annoyed

I don't think I can. Because technically they didn't break any rules as such (my opinion) they just simply ripped me off, and are standing by their actions and are blaming me for their actions.

MarkR

Where in your contract does it say that meteor is liable for consequential damages? Have a look here. http://www.meteor.ie/terms_and_conditions/

It isn't covered. I got to the part where you asked how much financial compensation would you be getting, and stopped reading. If the handset isn't working, you send it off for repair. No guarantees mentioned on a like for like temporary handset. No mention at all in fact.

If your handset is so critical to your business, I'd recommend getting a second one. If your phone fell in the pooper, or was stolen, you'd certainly be without it's functionality for a period of time.

Very__Annoyed

Interesting you ask, Yes, I definitely did. All of the features the iPhone offers are very helpful to me on a daily basis. So much so, I signed up to pay €80 a month for said features.

BroLo

Say if your brand new 12 Merc was damaged, and had to go to the garage for 10 days. The garage would give you a courtesy car for the time. Are they going to give you a 12 Merc? Probably not. Same principle applies here in my opinion. You would have access to Internet and calls and texts, what features would you be missing for the 10 days? IMO Meteor are in the right here.

dorkacle

Did you purchase this phone online?

Physically bring it back to the shop if you bought it in a retail outlet.
You bought the phone from them, they should replace it on the spot.
I wouldn't accept otherwise.

zuroph

no interest in talking to them about it, know they didnt break any rules, but still posting it here for our "attention", from a new account.


moan moan moan. Your own fault. your phone was broken, they offered to try fix it.

Pacing Mule

The issue here is the confusion / blurring of the lines between service provision and equipment sale.

If a retailer sells you a product that develops a fault your consumer rights are to bring that item back and request a repair, replacement or refund (which the retailer can offer any one of) If you're not happy with the offer then you can take a case to the small claims court and see what happens. However the SCC are most unlikely to find against a retailer who has made a reasonable offer / attempt to remedy the situation. As with most other electrical goods the retailer has to have the unit assessed / tested to ascertain the fault and then react to the findings of that assessment. The retailer is not under any obligation to provide a loan replacement during this process and a period of a couple of weeks would be considered reasonable to do this. Take for example you report a fault with your lawnmower and the retailer need to get Flymo's engineers to look at it (picking them as I know this is their retail procedure) You would not normally expect a replacement mower in the mean time. If a diamond becomes loose in an engagement ring that requires a couple of weeks repair time - do you expect a replacement / loan ring ? You don't of course.

Then you have the mobile service that you as a customer are signed up for. You sign up to a monthly contract which allows you to use the providers network. You agree to pay a set amount for this. You can use any phone you want with this service not just the phone you purchased at the time and this is the distinction. Nowhere in your contract do Meteor or any provider link the service in any way with the sale of the phone other than they both start / occur at the same time. They are in reality two seperate services / agreements under consumer law.

So the bottom line here is Meteor are under no obligation to provide a loan phone (I gather they did offer this to the OP as a compromise after originally stating the didn't do so) The demand that the loan phone be the same as the phone being assessed and compensation etc is never going to be enforced by the SCC. Refusing to pay the bill is only effecting your own credit rating. You really would have been better off sending the phone off IMO.

Very__Annoyed

Regardless of whether or not it says it in my contract, is actually irrelevant. This is not a contractual or legal matter. It baffles me why people automatically jump to a piece of paper for solutions such as this.
I signed up on the basis that I as a consumer will get value for money. That simply was not the case. I didn't 'simply stop reading' as you out it either, in we'll aware of what the contract states.

The entire basis for my point on this (as it says in the post) is that I feel that even though Meteor can't control a problem with my handset if it arises and they have to send it off for repair, they must not then take no responsibility for the disruption to the service which was caused as a result if this issue. I would agree with your point if I had bought the phone directly from apple, and then signed up to Meteor. In that instance, they would have no hand or part to play in resolution of handset issues however the current deal means they are middle men between the suppliers if the handset and myself. I pay them for an agreed service each month (which includes the handset) however when something goes wrong, they essentially say 'we will send it off for you but that's it, no compensation for the disruption. And that, to me, is totally unacceptable.
What would you have done in my position? Sent the handset away and keep paying your bill as normal? That wouldn't be fair in the slightest on you. Do you not agree?

jordainius

Taken from your post on the Meteor forums;

I instantly stopped payment on my bill with the aim of this speeding things up

What a stupid and arrogant decision. I've no sympathy for you. You have brought so much of this on yourself.

Very__Annoyed

The specific functionality if the phone itself is what made me sign up to this price plan. The fact that a lesser handset was offered means a diminishing of the paid for service by default. That is not necessarily the case with your example. That's essentially the main point I'm making regarding the replacement handset.

zuroph

Very__Annoyed wrote: »

Sent the handset away and keep paying your bill as normal? That wouldn't be fair in the slightest on you. Do you not agree?

and used a replacement phone. So im down some features for a week or two. They are under no obligation to have a pile of iphone 4s to lend out to people who break their phone.

zuroph

Very__Annoyed wrote: »

The specific functionality if the phone itself is what made me sign up to this price plan. The fact that a lesser handset was offered means a diminishing of the paid for service by default. That is not necessarily the case with your example. That's essentially the main point I'm making regarding the replacement handset.

actually, the price you're paying covers the cost of the handset , and the amount of calls, texts and data you can use. you'll still have a handset after its fixed, and the data, texts and calls can be used on a different handset. so no loss there.

Very__Annoyed

No, I don't have any interest in talking to them on here about it because they refuse to accept they have not given me value for money.
And yes, my argument doesn't revolve around the contract and its terms it's about good old fashioned value for money. Something very hard to find these days. I don't know about you but personally I expect any company that I pay top dollar to, to bend over backwards to keep me as a customer. Especially when a problem arises. None of this was in any way my fault. The solution is not as simple as you suggest.

Pacing Mule

Very__Annoyed wrote: »

Regardless of whether or not it says it in my contract, is actually irrelevant. This is not a contractual or legal matter. It baffles me why people automatically jump to a piece of paper for solutions such as this.
I signed up on the basis that I as a consumer will get value for money. That simply was not the case. I didn't 'simply stop reading' as you out it either, in we'll aware of what the contract states.

The entire basis for my point on this (as it says in the post) is that I feel that even though Meteor can't control a problem with my handset if it arises and they have to send it off for repair, they must not then take no responsibility for the disruption to the service which was caused as a result if this issue. I would agree with your point if I had bought the phone directly from apple, and then signed up to Meteor. In that instance, they would have no hand or part to play in resolution of handset issues however the current deal means they are middle men between the suppliers if the handset and myself. I pay them for an agreed service each month (which includes the handset) however when something goes wrong, they essentially say 'we will send it off for you but that's it, no compensation for the disruption. And that, to me, is totally unacceptable.
What would you have done in my position? Sent the handset away and keep paying your bill as normal? That wouldn't be fair in the slightest on you. Do you not agree?

You're still missing the point and viewing the phone sale and service provision as being the same. In your position I'd have pushed for a loan phone (on the basis that the sim card is unique in size) and have been happy with the offer when it came up. I wouldn't have demanded further compensation and I certainly wouldn't have cancelled my payments. It's counter productive in the long run and only hurts you.

zuroph

Very__Annoyed wrote: »

No, I don't have any interest in talking to them on here about it because they refuse to accept they have not given me value for money.
And yes, my argument doesn't revolve around the contract and its terms it's about good old fashioned value for money. Something very hard to find these days. I don't know about you but personally I expect any company that I pay top dollar to, to bend over backwards to keep me as a customer. Especially when a problem arises. None of this was in any way my fault. The solution is not as simple as you suggest.

you're paying installments on a phone that at the end of the contract you are free to do with what you wish. You've got an expensive piece of kit and getting the chance to pay for it bit by bit. the service from meteor hasnt changed in anyway, and they've offered to get the handset fixed.

They cannot reduce your bill for you while the phone is away, as your contract needs to be paid to pay for the product (which has malfunctioned at no fault of theirs) which you will still have when it is repaired.

Very__Annoyed

A stupid decision to stop payment when an issue is not being resolved by your supplier? Haha fair enough.

Procrastastudy

OP is entitled to a repair or replacement without significant inconvenience under SI introduced a few years back. While he's made a pigs ear of it he was in the right in many ways.

zuroph

Very__Annoyed wrote: »

A stupid decision to stop payment when an issue is not being resolved by your supplier? Haha fair enough.

they were offering to resolve it. you were refusing to let them.

prettyrestless

Very__Annoyed wrote: »

The solution is not as simple as you suggest.

Perhaps not, but I honestly don't think its as complicated as you are making it out to be.

Very__Annoyed wrote: »

None of this was in any way my fault.

The original issue with the handset more than likely wasn't your fault, but the fact that its dragging on so long is.

Basically you have two options.

Keep refusing to send it for repair and keep using a faulty handset, which will probably break once you are outside of warranty and you will be left with nothing.

Or suck it up, send for repair and have it sorted in two weeks, perhaps with some sort of goodwill gesture from meteor if they feel inclined to provide one. However, as you have stopped paying your bill thats probably gone out the window.

prettyrestless

Procrastastudy wrote: »

OP is entitled to a repair or replacement without significant inconvenience under SI introduced a few years back. While he's made a pigs ear of it he was in the right in many ways.

He was offered a repair by Meteor which he refused. If they couldn't repair the phone they would have replaced it. Meteor are not in the wrong here.

Procrastastudy

prettyrestless wrote: »

Keep refusing to send it for repair and keep using a faulty handset, which will probably break once you are outside of warranty and you will be left with nothing.

Manufactures warranties / BS that most retailers try and pull doesn't trump statutory rights

prettyrestless wrote: »

Or suck it up, send for repair and have it sorted in two weeks, perhaps with some sort of goodwill gesture from meteor if they feel inclined to provide one. However, as you have stopped paying your bill thats probably gone out the window.

Or option three he could take it to the SmCC.