Three are ignoring my complaints about broken contract phone - how to approach this?

[martinRPS]

In December (2017) I bought a phone, on 24 month contract from Three. 3 months later, some of the pixels died, leaving me a big 'stain' on the screen.

I took it into the store. The sales assistant told me they would not replace the phone or arrange any kind of repair. They said that my only options were to:

1. Claim on Three Rescue (insurance)
2. Return the device to Samsung directly

(I could claim on Three Rescue. But I resent doing so as it carries an £80 excess charge. The cover is intended for accidental damage, not faulty goods)


I understand that the CRA 2015 obliges the retailer to repair or replace, particularly in the first 6 months. Therefore I wrote to the store manager stating this, and asking for a repair or replacement. Despite being sent by recorded delivery, this letter was completely ignored and I received no response.

My 6 month slot for the CRA is coming to a close. Could anybody advise me on the best approach now?

---

The Letter I Sent

I purchased a Galaxy Note 8 on contract from your store in December 2017. In February 2018 an area of the screen became defective with a number of pixels showing a different colour (as if there were a paint smudge on the screen).
I visited the store (xx March 2018) with a view to getting a replacement / repair. A staff member told me that your store would not attempt to resolve the issue and that my only options were to claim on insurance (with an claim excess fee of £80) or to contact Samsung directly.
I do not believe this response is adequate under the Consumer Protection Act, particularly given the timeframe of events. I have always been happy with Three until now, but find this fob-off very disappointing.
Please would you reconsider and resolve the issue to my satisfaction by:

1. Providing a replacement device from the store
2. Providing a replacement device via Three Rescue, but waiving the excess fee
3. Releasing me from my contract without penalty so that I can use another provider who will value my custom and treat me better

A response by email at your earliest convenience would be appreciated.

[R0b]

Hello

First of all, there is no such thing as the Consumer Protection Act but there is the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Second, where did you send the letter to, was it the shop or their head office or some other address?

Between day 31 and day 180, where there is a problem with the phone it is presumed to have been inherent at the time if was supplied, unless the trader can prove otherwise. So the onus is on Three to prove, not yourself, that there was a fault (unless within the first 30 days).

It is irrelevant as to whether your coming up to the six month mark, you've sent them a letter so they should be on notice. Three are clearly fobbing you off by saying you should claim on insurance or go to Samsung direct - they are the supplier of the goods and therefore responsible.

Now, in terms of your options, you could claim on the insurance and then invoice Three for the £80 but whether they pay up is another story which means if you really want to push it you can issue a court claim for the recovery of that sum.

Another option is to draft another letter, take it to the shop and ask to speak to a manager about your faulty phone. You can hand him the letter where the contents will be something along the lines of you having tried to obtain a repair or replacement phone, but the sales person you last spoken to had point blank refused to offer that and you also attempted to contact Three by letter but which they ignored. The letter will therefore serve as notice that if they don't offer a replacement or repair then you will take that refusal as a repudiation of their obligations under the Consumer Rights Act and further action will be taken i.e. legal proceedings. Your letter should also say that a copy has been sent to head office / the executive team of Three so that they are aware of the situation.

Take a note of the manager's name and if he/she still refuses you can use their name as evidence. Just for added measure, you could take a note of the time and day that you enter the shop and after 25 May send a subject access request for the CCTV footage, which of course will show you handing over the letter to the manager.

Really depends on how far you want to go. If it were me, I'd probably say that if they don't repair or replace you will source a replacement yourself and invoice Three directly for the cost of doing so.

If you opt for the letter route and want any feedback prior to sending, post it on here.

[martinRPS]

Thanks for your advice (again) ROB.

So I write another letter, copy in head office / customer services, and threaten to source a replacement myself and invoice them for cost of doing so.

• Presuming they do FA and I source a replacement myself, am I better off doing that via the insurance, or just buying a new one outright?
• Can I invoice them for the replacement BEFORE buying the new phone? Because if the court doesn't side with me for whatever reason, I might be struggling for $$$.

[R0b]

Write a letter, you could send it to the CEO of Three who probably has an executive team that deals with this sort of thing but you can find his email details here (which is probably the better option than writing to the CEO). https://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=ceo-9629

Whether you buy a new phone or go via insurance is difficult to say, both arguments on either side. On the one hand, your phone is nearly new and would have had a 12 month warranty attached to it but on the flip side, it's going to cost a lot of money to by a new one, and vice versa reasons fr buying a refurbishment.

There is a general rule (though not a legal one but more of a moral type rule) that you should mitigate your losses wherever possible. I would perhaps be leaning towards going via insurance as its cheaper and if you did bring legal proceedings, Three might not feel that its commercially viable to dispute an £80 cos whereas they may have more reason if were are talking about a £600-£700 phone.

You can't invoice someone for money that you've not lost, so I am afraid you would need to source the phone first and then evidence what you have done. Arguably you could also look to claim loss of use of the Three service (if any) because of their refusal to repair or replace the phone on a pro-rata basis.

If you didn't want to spend money either way, you could make a formal complaint to Three and then follow up with the Ombudsman but that's likely to take much longer, up to 8 weeks for Three to respond and then at least a few weeks more when you go through the Ombudsman. The decision is not binding so you could still go to court if you weren't happy with that decision but that is simply the long drawn out route.