Dispute with phone repair company
Discussion
Hello all, after a bit of advice for a colleague (we'll call him Dom).
On the 15th Dec he sent his son's 64Gb iPhone off to a independent mobile phone repair company to have the screen replaced. On the 16th Dec their systems show the device as being received with an IMEI matching the device he sent and an orange SIM, all tickety boo so far. On the 22nd Dec having heard nothing, he phoned the repair company who informed him that the device was dead on arrival and had been given to a senior technician to fix. After a lot of toing and froing they returned the device on the 30th Dec.
Now the real problem starts.. whilst trying to restore the device Dom noticed that the new device was a 16GB iPhone and it now has a different IMEI.
Having assumed a mistake had been made he rang them and informed them of this. The customer care agent agreed that a mistake must have been made and that they would sort it out.
After chasing them on the 5th they have said that a mistake hadn't been made and because the device was dead on arrival they had entered the IMEI that was on the SIM tray and it wasn't the real IMEI of the device he sent.
Obviously Dom is pretty certain of the device he sent them and apart from the screen it was working when it was sent. After "discussing" this with them they have asked for proof of the device he sent.. so far he has provided a screenshot from iTunes that shows a backup was made the day before matching the IMEI they received and a photo of a text message from Orange confirming that the IMEI has been used with the SIM card that he sent to them.
After receiving this they are now saying that this does not prove anything and he has more than likely swapped the SIM tray from another device, i.e. he is trying to fool them into giving him a better phone than he sent...
Dom has phoned Orange again today and they have stated that they have an entry in their system showing his sons SIM connecting to the network (and the location) on the 20th using the IMEI of the device he originally sent, now anyone that is still reading this will note that they had the SIM at this point... Orange are sending this information to him in the post.
Does anyone have any advice as to how to proceed with this?
p.s. we've considered frozen sausages but they are on an industrial estate with very little grass to hammer them into
On the 15th Dec he sent his son's 64Gb iPhone off to a independent mobile phone repair company to have the screen replaced. On the 16th Dec their systems show the device as being received with an IMEI matching the device he sent and an orange SIM, all tickety boo so far. On the 22nd Dec having heard nothing, he phoned the repair company who informed him that the device was dead on arrival and had been given to a senior technician to fix. After a lot of toing and froing they returned the device on the 30th Dec.
Now the real problem starts.. whilst trying to restore the device Dom noticed that the new device was a 16GB iPhone and it now has a different IMEI.
Having assumed a mistake had been made he rang them and informed them of this. The customer care agent agreed that a mistake must have been made and that they would sort it out.
After chasing them on the 5th they have said that a mistake hadn't been made and because the device was dead on arrival they had entered the IMEI that was on the SIM tray and it wasn't the real IMEI of the device he sent.
Obviously Dom is pretty certain of the device he sent them and apart from the screen it was working when it was sent. After "discussing" this with them they have asked for proof of the device he sent.. so far he has provided a screenshot from iTunes that shows a backup was made the day before matching the IMEI they received and a photo of a text message from Orange confirming that the IMEI has been used with the SIM card that he sent to them.
After receiving this they are now saying that this does not prove anything and he has more than likely swapped the SIM tray from another device, i.e. he is trying to fool them into giving him a better phone than he sent...
Dom has phoned Orange again today and they have stated that they have an entry in their system showing his sons SIM connecting to the network (and the location) on the 20th using the IMEI of the device he originally sent, now anyone that is still reading this will note that they had the SIM at this point... Orange are sending this information to him in the post.
Does anyone have any advice as to how to proceed with this?
p.s. we've considered frozen sausages but they are on an industrial estate with very little grass to hammer them into
ging84 said:
forgot the link
http://www.imei.info/
thanks, we know its a valid IMEI as Orange have confirmed that it has been used with the SIMhttp://www.imei.info/
HorneyMX5 said:
Tier mistake, they don't want to fix it and are trying to dodge it. The phone will only ever output it's proper IMEI to itunes and the network (Orange), changing the Tray" makes naff all difference.
SMall claims court time.
They are saying that the tray they received had the IMEI of the 64GB phone but the phone was actually a 16GB one with a different IMEI, so they are disputing that the 64GB one was sent to them. SMall claims court time.
Would the police help with this? Its essentially theft? (I realise if they did it would be very very low down on their list of priorities)
Time to set out everything in writing by recorded delivery. Demand the return of the phone and if they cannot do that they should be offering a replacement. Add that unless they are willing to do this they should regard your letter as a letter before action.
From what you have said action via small claims court should be an easy win.
From what you have said action via small claims court should be an easy win.
All that jazz said:
Do a quoted search online for the full name of the company and another one for their website address. It's a good way of finding complaints about them from other parties and may provide some clue as to whether it's a genuine mix up or they make a habit of doing this.
They are a newish company but the majority of reviews are positive so it appeared to be a genuine mistake. Now that they are accusing him of trying to pull a fast one and they've changed their story a few times I'm sure they are trying to cover something up.Sounds like they've lost/damaged/sent the phone to someone else.
I would sent them a recorded letter, outlining that you will give them 14/21 days to return or replace your phone (attach proof of size, model IMEI etc..) otherwise clearly state you will start court proceedings against them.
I would sent them a recorded letter, outlining that you will give them 14/21 days to return or replace your phone (attach proof of size, model IMEI etc..) otherwise clearly state you will start court proceedings against them.
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