Phone warrenty - upfront payment required for replacement.

[rpguk]

I purchased a Nexus phone direct from Google which stopped working with what appears a common fault (Red light of death).

I spoke to them on the phone and was advised instructions would follow by email.

The email came with a link to order a new one - apparantly the money would be authorised from my card and released within 21 days assuming the damaged phone is returned.

Now this was firstly a bit frustrating as I was waiting on a replacement card from my bank so couldn't pay it. I emailed them to tell I couldn't do this and was told in quite a patronising way that they'd wait for me to save the money and there was no other option.

I have a card now and can pay it but I'm a bit miffed to be honest.

Can they really demand this? Seems to run counter to my assumptions of what the law would state.

Essentially I need a fairly large deposit (>£150) to be lodged for 3 weeks in order to excersise my rights for a replacement to a defective phone.

I appreciate that this speeds up the process and now I have a replacement card I'll no doubt just go along with it but not everyone would have the funds available.

Just curious as to others thoughts really.

[Butter Face]

Seems entirely reasonable to me.

The other alternative is that you send them you phone before they send you another, most people would moan about this mine IME.

[rpguk]

I understand that but surely this should be offered as an extra service rather then the default.

I'm curious as to the legal case for requireing a consumer to be down £150+ for 3 weeks in order to get a replacement.

[petergukM500]

What do their T&Cs say? Did you read them before purchase?

Seems entirely reasonable to me. Ensures you send the phone back. Some members of the public have been known to be dishonest and tell porkies or don't do what they promise to do...

[chriscpritchard]

The money is put on hold so not actually taken out of your account (so you still get interest on it). When I got my replacement from google it never even appeared on my statement or online banking!

[Eclassy]

Completely reasonable.

What stops a chancer from ordering 2 phones from Google with a prepaid credit card and after 7 days call up Google and ask for replacements as they both dont work.

If Google send out replacements without putting a hold on some money and the chancer doesnt send back the 'faulty' phones, he gets 2 for the price of 1

[98elise]

chriscpritchard said:

The money is put on hold so not actually taken out of your account (so you still get interest on it). When I got my replacement from google it never even appeared on my statement or online banking!

This is what happened when my Nexus 7 died. I sent the old one back and no money was taken from my account.

I was initially a bit unhappy with the process, but it was very quick and simple. I guess it makes it very efficient for people who have genuine issues, and hard for scammers.

[Osito]

Be aware that if you do let them have your credit card details, this may affect your credit limit. Even though the money is not actually deducted from your account, it may be deducted from your credit limit. Not everyone does this, but I did have it happen with a purchase from Amazon.

[speedking31]

Eclassy said:

What stops a chancer from ordering a phone from Google with a prepaid credit card and after 7 days call up Google and ask for a replacement as it doesn't work.?

If Google send out replacements without putting a hold on some money and the chancer doesnt send back the 'faulty' phone, he gets 2 for the price of 1

Why does it have to be 2 phones?

Anyway, I thought they could block phones remotely. So surely they send the replacement with a block on which is only released when the faulty phone is received. After all the actual real cost to them of a phone is probably about a tenner, so not much risk.

[Eclassy]

speedking31 said:

hy does it have to be 2 phones?

Anyway, I thought they could block phones remotely. So surely they send the replacement with a block on which is only released when the faulty phone is received. After all the actual real cost to them of a phone is probably about a tenner, so not much risk.

As a chancer you want to maximise your gain and Google will only allow you buy 2 (Nexus 5s when they came out) at any one time on the Play store with your google account.

They can block phones from working here but not abroad. I believe there are place on Tottenham Court Road where IMEIs can be altered so even a ''blocked'' phone can still work in a country where it has been blocked.

Sending back the phone before a replacement is sent to you is a good idea if you are happy to be without a phone for up to 2 weeks.

[Stoofa]

I personally wish all companies would offer this service - means you get a replacement nice and quick.
I first encountered this as an option around 15-20yrs ago when I had an Intel P90 processor with the "floating point issue" - credit card details taken and then a brand new CPU with me a day later.
Western Digital did the same with the return of a hard drive - allowed me to try and copy from the failing drive to the new one.
I too own a Nexus 5 and if it ever needs replacing then this would be the preferred option for me.