Thanks I will get in touch with him.

Hi, I have heard of that before. My phone is water damaged but is in perfect working order.

Up until this evening Apple had always been a brand that I trusted and had always had confidence in purchasing products from them. I have had my Iphone 5 for just over 2 years now and a few months ago I started to notice serious problems with the battery life. It would show that it still had 20 percent charge and then suddenly just run out. I got caught out quite a few times because of this. I decided that I needed to get the battery replaced. After some research I was really pleased to discover the following; https://www.apple.com/uk/support/iphone5-battery/ Apple has determined that a very small percentage of iPhone 5 devices may suddenly experience shorter battery life or need to be charged more frequently. The affected iPhone 5 devices were sold between September 2012 and January 2013 and fall within a limited serial number range. If your iPhone 5 is experiencing these symptoms and meets the eligibility requirements noted below, Apple will replace your iPhone 5 battery, free of charge. Eligibility If your iPhone is in working order and exhibits the symptoms noted above, use the serial number checker below to see if it is eligible for this program. Finding your iPhone serial number is easy. See how. Replacement process Choose one of the service options below to have your battery replaced. Your iPhone will be examined prior to any service to verify that it is eligible for this program and in working order. Please call your service provider to confirm that battery replacement service is available on the day you visit them. Apple Retail Store - Make an appointment here. Apple Technical Support - Contact us. To prepare your iPhone 5 for the battery replacement process, please follow the steps below: Back up your data to iTunes or iCloud Turn off Find my iPhone Erase data and settings in Settings > General > Reset > Erase all Content and Settings Note: If your iPhone 5 has any damage such as a cracked screen which impairs the replacement of the battery, that issue will need to be resolved prior to the battery replacement. In some cases, there may be a cost associated with the repair. Additional Information Apple may restrict or limit repair to the original country of purchase. For iPhone 5 devices purchased in EEA member countries, service is available in other EEA member countries. If you believe your iPhone 5 was affected by this issue, and you paid to replace your battery, you can contact Apple about a refund. This worldwide Apple program doesn't extend the standard warranty coverage of the iPhone 5. The program covers affected iPhone 5 batteries for 3 years after the first retail sale of the unit. I tapped in my serial number and I was really pleased to discover that my phone was one of the models that was affected. I therefore booked an appointment at the Genius Bar in the Apple Store at Lakeside for 8.50 this evening. We arrived on time and spoke to one of the advisers who checked my name off on his Ipad and asked us to take a seat. We then sat there for over ten minutes seeing loads of their staff coming in and out of the repair area but not one of them acknowledged us. Eventually Richard asked one of them how much longer would we have to wait and we were told that someone would be with us in a few minutes. A young man came out and I explained to him the problems that I had been having with my phone. I also informed him that I had checked on their website any my phone had one of the serial numbers that are eligable for a free battery replacement. He then advised me that he would get one of the repair staff to have a look and would be back with us in a few minutes. When he returned he had a rather serious look on his face and told us that he had bad news as the water damage indicators on my phone are red and this would mean that they would be unable to replace the battery and my only option would be to purchase a replacement phone for £179.00 !! I was fuming. I pointed out the fact that my phone is in perfect working order and the only reason I came to the store this evening was due to the fact and that Apple had stated that the battery that had been supplied with my Iphone was faulty. I was then told that they could not carry out any work on my phone due to the damage. I then asked them if they were prepared to simply give me a new battery which I could get replaced elsewhere but they refused as it was against their rules ! I then asked to speak to the Manager who told me exactly the same thing. However, he was prepared as a gesture of goodwill to reduce the cost of a replacement phone to £120.00. I told him that I was not willing to accept this and I asked him to show me where it stated that the battery could not replaced. The Manager then pulled up another document that quoted their policy on changing batteries. I then pointed out to him that this was not referring to faulty batteries that had been recalled by Apple. As you can see from the document in bold above it makes reference to a broken screen but there is no mention of water damage. I think that their Customer Service is a total disgrace !!!! .

No, because the case was in the small claims court.

Thank You.

Today was the final hearing and we won. Audi Harold Wood were ordered to pay £5000 plus additional expenses to my stepson. Audi instructed a solicitor just a few days before the hearing of 12 July so they were respresented by a Barrister. It is very difficult in the small claims court to go against a Barrister and this case was adjourned as the other side protested that there was not enough time for the case to be heard in the time that was allocated. I tried to raise several issues at the time but the other sides Barrister kept butting in. It had already been established at the hearing in April that Audi did have a contractual agreement with my stepson. However, their Barrister was now disputing this fact and saying that it was Balgores that we should be claiming against. It was even written in the directions that we could bring another party into the claim. Despite this option, we decided to stick to our guns and carry on with a claim solely against Audi Harold Wood. It was also agreed that a new hearing date needed to be arranged with a whole day allocated to it. A few weeks later, we received notification that a hearing date had been set for the 16 October. We now knew that unless we also instructed a Barrister, we would have very little chance of success. We therefore made the decision to not have our independent expert witness attend and just rely on his witness statement. We then used the money that we would have paid for our expert attending court to put towards the cost of instructing a Public Access Barrister. Under the Public Access scheme, members of the public can instruct a Barrister directly without having to have a solicitor. This can save a substantial amount of money. You just have to ensure that you are able to present your case in a clear and concise manner and if you are unsure of anything, their clerks are always on hand to assist you. We decided to instruct Ian Stebbings from 1 Greys Inn Square Chambers. We cannot thank Ian enough, he is a brilliant Barrister and a really nice and approachable man. I would recommend him to anyone. I will add more details about the hearing later as we have some serious celebrating to do !

Just an update, the hearing on 16 October 2012 was only part heard. The final hearing will take place on 22 November 2012.

I just received a message from Helios, the answer is yes and yes to both questions. I am really sorry as I cannot reply to you directly as I have not yet wrote enough posts to allow for me to reply to personal messages. Kind Regards Lorraine

I would wait and see if you are covered on your home insurance first. If you are then this will be rally good news as you should get solicitors who will in turn instruct a Barrister for the hearing. As this would come under your insurance then you will not have to pay. If you do not have cover you would have to pay for a Direct Access Barrister. My partner and I recently instructed one and for a full days hearing and reading the papers it cost approximately £900. Because our claim is in the small claims court, even if we win we cannot claim this cost back. If the case has been allocated to the multi track, if you are successful you will then be able to claim the costs back from the other side. What part of the country are you from ?

Hi, do you have any legal representation or are you defending yourself? You can instruct a Barrister via Direct Access, they would be able to represent you in court and look through the merits of your case. This is a cheaper alternative to using solicitors and would put you on an equal footing with Accident Exchange.

The hearing of 12 July was adjourned. The final hearing is 16 October 2012. I will update this posts next week with details of the final outcome.

Hi and thank you for your comments. However, I must say that I agree with the Judge regarding the fact that Audi had a contractual agreement with my stepson. I thought long and hard before making this claim and as far as I am concerned my stepson contacted Audi and they informed him that they would deal with everything on his behalf. When he asked should he contact his own insurance company he was advised that he did not need to. The man who initially inspected the car was dressed in Audi Corparate clothing. The fact that Audi sub contracts is a matter for them. We have now received notification that this case will be heard on 12 July 2012 and I will update this thread with the final outcome.

Yes, the expert that we appointed took several photos.

Just wanted to add that I have not heard anything further from Martin Sander's office, they advised me on 11 April 2012 that they were passing this matter to their Legal Department to review.

Had the case management hearing today and the Judge advised us that she was satisfied that Harold Wood Audi had a contractual agreement with my stepson. She also stated that we were correct in bringing this claim against Audi Harold Wood and not any of the other parties concerned. We are now awaiting a hearing date and I will update this post once we receive notification from the court.