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Warranty Claim on damaged item

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  • 26-07-2013 6:30pm
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,704 ✭✭✭


    Hey guys I have a galaxy s4 and the screen got cracked. I have been having signal issues, poor battery life and frequent crashes before the screen was damaged. Can I claim these against the warranty or will they just tell me to get lost since the screen is damaged. Any advice is appreciated


Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 13,381 ✭✭✭✭Paulw


    Signal issues may be a provider issue rather than the phone.
    Battery usage may be down to the apps and usage of the phone, so not a fault.
    Cracked screen is all yours, so they won't entertain that.

    They may check the phone under warranty for the other issues, but you will be without the phone for a few weeks, most likely.

    Have you discussed the issues with your provider already?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,097 ✭✭✭djdunny


    Doylers wrote: »
    Hey guys I have a galaxy s4 and the screen got cracked. I have been having signal issues, poor battery life and frequent crashes before the screen was damaged. Can I claim these against the warranty or will they just tell me to get lost since the screen is damaged. Any advice is appreciated

    unfortunately not, warranty becomes void when theres physical damage on the phone. even if the problem is not related to the damage.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,704 ✭✭✭Doylers


    Paulw wrote: »
    Signal issues may be a provider issue rather than the phone.
    Battery usage may be down to the apps and usage of the phone, so not a fault.
    Cracked screen is all yours, so they won't entertain that.

    They may check the phone under warranty for the other issues, but you will be without the phone for a few weeks, most likely.

    Have you discussed the issues with your provider already?

    Three know about he signal issues already. They were the ones who suggested sending it to them


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,704 ✭✭✭Doylers


    djdunny wrote: »
    unfortunately not, warranty becomes void when theres physical damage on the phone. even if the problem is not related to the damage.

    well thats that i guess :(


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,997 ✭✭✭✭Del2005


    djdunny wrote: »
    unfortunately not, warranty becomes void when theres physical damage on the phone. even if the problem is not related to the damage.

    The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services act trumps warranties. A cracked screen shouldn't affect/cause the other issues so bring it back to the shop. Be polite but firm and have a copy of this


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,704 ✭✭✭Doylers


    Del2005 wrote: »
    The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services act trumps warranties. A cracked screen shouldn't affect/cause the other issues so bring it back to the shop. Be polite but firm and have a copy of this


    I read though the link, is there any part I can quote directly ? I see it says
    i have no grounds for redress if
    You broke or damaged the product
    I can see them saying look at that and telling me to get lost. I assume that line applies in the case of you cant claim on what you broke specifically in my case the screen but I can the signal issues.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,233 ✭✭✭sdanseo


    Del2005 wrote: »
    The Sale of Goods and Supply of Services act trumps warranties. A cracked screen shouldn't affect/cause the other issues so bring it back to the shop. Be polite but firm and have a copy of this

    I treat all my customers with huge respect but if someone started waving a copy of that in front of me I'd begrudge dealing with them any further - as a professional, I'd do it anyway of course. It's any half-decent salesperson's job to know the law. We quote company policy which is always (in the huge majority of companies at least) in line with the law.

    By all means quote it but don't come in to a shop with a ream of paperwork and slam it down saying "I know my rights". Explain your position politely and you'll get the same treatment back. If the sales assistant won't budge at first, they're not going to at second, third or fourth attempt, so don't argue with them. Ask for a manager to back up stated policy, or escalate the issue through the proper channels.

    As regards warranties, if the product is damaged the warranty is void, there is no middle ground. This is in accordance with the Sale of Goods and Consumer Protection acts - a retailer has every right to presume that the faults are caused by the physical damage to the device, or to reasonably charge for inspection to prove otherwise.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,373 ✭✭✭✭foggy_lad


    sdeire wrote: »
    I treat all my customers with huge respect but if someone started waving a copy of that in front of me I'd begrudge dealing with them any further - as a professional, I'd do it anyway of course. It's any half-decent salesperson's job to know the law. We quote company policy which is always (in the huge majority of companies at least) in line with the law.

    By all means quote it but don't come in to a shop with a ream of paperwork and slam it down saying "I know my rights". Explain your position politely and you'll get the same treatment back. If the sales assistant won't budge at first, they're not going to at second, third or fourth attempt, so don't argue with them. Ask for a manager to back up stated policy, or escalate the issue through the proper channels.

    As regards warranties, if the product is damaged the warranty is void, there is no middle ground. This is in accordance with the Sale of Goods and Consumer Protection acts - a retailer has every right to presume that the faults are caused by the physical damage to the device, or to reasonably charge for inspection to prove otherwise.
    So what would you do if your shop had a three repairs before replacement policy and a customer asked for a replacement or refund after the first repair??

    A retailer may only charge where a defect has been proven to be caused by physical damage/misuse. up to that point it is up to them to prove the cause of the damage and pay for all investigation.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,233 ✭✭✭sdanseo


    The three repairs policy is fairly standard as far as I can tell. It gives a shop a second shot at repairing something where the first repair failed - if an item is seen a third time it should be exchanged. Also, while not always possible, it's always the best policy to give temporary replacement hardware to customers also depending on what they're sending away. Always good customer care.

    As for charging for inspection, my stance would be this, both as a consumer and a retailer: if something goes wrong with something you've bought (let's say it's a laptop, I don't work with computers but it's an arbitrary example) then you should notify the retailer right away. If you subsequently drop it and smash in the laptop's screen, and haven't complained to the retailer about the pre-existing problem first then you can't reasonably expect them to fix it. That's just common sense to me.

    Let's say it's a laptop malfunctioning, shop sends it for repair, it gets fixed. Customer gets it back and drops it, smashes the lid, brings it back with the original problem. There'd be no issue fixing the original problem then, but of course not the screen. But if it's brought in smashed with no prior knowledge of the genuine fault, why should the retailer have to pay to distinguish between the factory fault and faults caused by the physical damage? The process of identifying the cause of the fault is going to either going to cost more, or it's going to be impossible to tell if it was there before the damage occurred. In either case, why should the retailer be out of pocket because you were careless and dropped your computer?


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