Faulty genuine apple case - retailer doesn't want to know

[svsaunders]

Hey,

 

Can I get some help here regarding what my rights are the information being passed to me by the retailer seems a little strange.

 

Long and short or it is that I purchased a genuine Apple iPhone 5s leather case from my local O2 store at the end of November 2013 and it starting to discolour very badly and crack even though the case has not been dropped and there are no impact mark it. I returned back to the point of sale with my reciept and showed the store manager who said that it was Apples problem not the retailers so I needed to speak to them due to some manufacturing errors (his words not mine)

 

This seemed a little strange however I left the store and contacted Apple who advised me that my contract was with the vendor not the manufacturer and I needed to speak to O2 -I then explained that both parties were not offering a solution but mealy looking for the chance to blame someone else however I was advised quite convincingly that it was the responsibility of the retailer again.

 

So I go back to o2, show the case to the adviser there who confirms that its faulty however says she cannot exchange it as its the managers discretion and he is not in...

 

So after being back to forth between O2 and Apple as well as involving O2's twitter account who again stand by the notion that its apples problem not theirs I am not further forward and reaching out to the experts.

 

Can someone give me some advise please?

 

Normally I wouldn't bother however this is a £35 case and i feel its quite expensive ...

 

Help please

[sequenci]

Hi.

 

You should go to the RETAILER and reject it under the Sale of Goods Act.

 

Here's some useful information from our old pal Martin: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/consumer-rights-refunds-exchange#goods

[svsaunders]

I thought that this was the case and said that to the manager initially - he basically said it doesnt apply to products with manufacturing defects

[rebel11]

Hi svs

 

Write a Formal letter of Complaint mark it as such. Explain what's happened, how they have let you down and what you want them to do. CC your local Trading Standards into your letter.

 

You could also e-mail the CEO of Apple, lets see where this goes first. Apple would never manufacture faulty products, they actually care about their products.

 

Send it to to:-

 

O2

Mr Ronan Dunne

Chief Executive

ronan.dunne@o2.com

 

 

I thought that this was the case and said that to the manager initially - he basically said it doesnt apply to products with manufacturing defects

[fkofilee]

No sales of good act applies to this... Dont let him fobb you off.

Although i dislike Apple, they do manufacture amazing products and the case is one of them.

 

Rebel does right in saying contact the CEO

[WarrenBuffet]

 

Apple would never manufacture faulty products, they actually care about their products.

 

L]

 

Rebel i would totally disagree with that statement, Apple are notorious for substandard hardware but they will never admit that their products have issues. As an example when they first released the Macbook Air Mk1, many people including myself noticed serious issues with the hinges which snapped without warning. I of course went to one of the apple 'Idiots Bar ' and was accused of breaking hinges and would have to pay for repair

. Did some research and found this was an issue with all Airs and Apple were refusing to acknowledge it as a manufacturing fault.

 

Several months later the petition signed by many thousands forced apple to accept it was their problem and they offered free replacement hinges to all. I went in and asked for my money back having already paid for my hinges to be replaced. I then entered into a heated discussion as to why they would not refund my money and was robbed off by the store.

 

Apple are known as the most unreliable manufacturer within the IT hardware industry who do not give a damn about their customer, all they want is your money for some overpriced sub standard products. ........Rant over.

 

As for OP as you bought from retailer that is where you made the contract and it is up to them to contact Apple ......not you.

[rebel11]

Your perfectly entitled to disagree with me, I would say they don't intentionally go out of their way to make bad products, why would they want the hassle? They ship parts from the US to China for assembly, that isn't great. They need to take responsibility like all manufacturers and retailers.

 

Rebel i would totally disagree with that statement, Apple are notorious for substandard hardware but they will never admit that their products have issues. As an example when they first released the Macbook Air Mk1, many people including myself noticed serious issues with the hinges which snapped without warning. I of course went to one of the apple 'Idiots Bar ' and was accused of breaking hinges and would have to pay for repair

. Did some research and found this was an issue with all Airs and Apple were refusing to acknowledge it as a manufacturing fault.

 

Several months later the petition signed by many thousands forced apple to accept it was their problem and they offered free replacement hinges to all. I went in and asked for my money back having already paid for my hinges to be replaced. I then entered into a heated discussion as to why they would not refund my money and was robbed off by the store.

 

Apple are known as the most unreliable manufacturer within the IT hardware industry who do not give a damn about their customer, all they want is your money for some overpriced sub standard products. ........Rant over.

 

As for OP as you bought from retailer that is where you made the contract and it is up to them to contact Apple ......not you.

[Conniff]

Demand they either change or refund for the case as it does not conform to contract, (you can claim damages for breach of contract), because it does not match the description, is not of satisfactory quality and is not fit for purpose.

 

It is the retailer and not the manufacturer who are legally obliged to resolve the matter.

[porkyp1g]

Warrenbuffet, do you have any facts or links that back up your unrealiabilty claims of apple?

[WarrenBuffet]

Warrenbuffet, do you have any facts or links that back up your unrealiabilty claims of apple?

 

I do, Google 'Problems with Apple Products' another great site for Apple repairs and tare downs is ifixit.com

 

If you need demonstration of Macbook Air hinges just type Macbook Air hinges problems into Google and among other issues with this product was the speaker cable which in manufacture Apple folded at 90o angle causing prematue failure. Motherboard issues were another. The list goes on and on, if you have an apple product and wish to know of its numerous problems? Simply type the product into Google followed by manufacture problems and grab a glass of wine and spend the next few hours reading horror stories of Apple sub-standard products and poor customer care.

[sequenci]

Whilst I appreciate that some Apple products have their faults, I would imagine that their fault ratio is far, far less than other brands. I dropped my macbook pro onto a train platform not long ago - it's got a bit old dent but it still works fine. Oh, and I would argue that their customer care is far, far superior than most brands too. I guess it's all about like-for-like comparison.

[porkyp1g]

Exactly...... if you could google search any manufacturer and you will find unhappy people with any brand. You can't please everyone, but you are looking for a percentage of units per 100,000 or so that fail. Apple won't have many. Don't get me wrong, in terms of reliability they aren't top, but they are a long away from the worst. They are very durable and I have seen some laptops take a huge licking and keep on ticking.

[WarrenBuffet]

Well if you compare on a cost basis after spending £1,400 on a Macbook Air i could have bought a superior unit for half the price. The only thing that is great about Apple is their Marketing Dept as their software and hardware is miles behind their competitors. Their customer service is questionable to say the least in that non -apple hardware is not useable on their machines and this is deliberate as they expect you to renew all hardware when you buy a Macbook.

 

The 'Idiots Bar' that their stores all have are a joke also, when my sound/speaker cable gave up the ghost i told them it was the cable and they replaced the motherboard !!? Just remember that while your apple product remains in warranty you have to tolerate these people as you do not pay for repairs, but once your warranty expires ifixit.com is your friend and avoid apple store at all costs as they will have you over a barrel with cost of replacement parts.

 

Oh, one other thing just remember that you can buy the same product in USA for half the price you pay in UK.

[red-ed]

Be warned - Apple don't care about SOGA. I quoted it and they told me they only follow Apple policy and followed it with a threat (we are so big we always get our way). In my view this organisation has become arrogant because of success. I am planning to take them to the small claims to see if their policy will work with the judge.

 

Ed

[Conniff]

I thought that this was the case and said that to the manager initially - he basically said it doesnt apply to products with manufacturing defects

 

Lol - What other sort of defect is there.

[sequenci]

I can't remember the last time I found ANYONE using a non-apple machine within the creative industries. I do, however, think they are expensive for what you get. That said, my macbook doesn't crash, ever.

 

You can get pretty much ANYTHING cheaper in the states - though the import taxes do sting you a fair bit.

 

I have found their customer service very good personally. I don't go in their shops, They're not really my kinda thing. Their staff have got to be better than the twonks in Curry's though!

[rebel11]

The bigger they are the harder they fail, you just need to look at the big companies that have hit the buffers over the last 10 years.

 

Companies that live on their name and forget how they made their name are doomed. It could all be over in a blink of an eye.

 

That's were the consumer needs to do research and then act on that research in a determined way.

 

Be warned - Apple don't care about SOGA. I quoted it and they told me they only follow Apple policy and followed it with a threat (we are so big we always get our way). In my view this organisation has become arrogant because of success. I am planning to take them to the small claims to see if their policy will work with the judge.

 

Ed

[sequenci]

Back to the original post - I really hope that the OP has gone back to press the retailer - it's their issue to fix.

[Conniff]

Yes, this is only between you and the seller, no one else.