Do not buy a phone from GiffGaff, utter ineptitude. **RESOLVED**

Do not buy a phone from GiffGaff, utter ineptitude. RESOLVED

topher

I got a Nexus 6 from GiffGaff Monday. Within 5mins of opening it I discovered the battery had exploded and the back panel breaking off. I immediately take photos, contact support and follow the procedure to send it into their repair centre. Fast forward to today, without contact I get the same phone back and a letter claiming it is not covered by their warranty!

Their support staff look into this, and they conclude I need to contact...GOOGLE to get a replacement. The device isn't even manufactured by Google, it's a Motorola device. Additionally, GiffGaff are the seller, and they have a legal obligation to replace it. What a total joke. At this point I think my only solution is to take legal action. For a phone I just **bleep**ing purchased from them. Amazing.

Do not buy a device from GiffGaff, they are not a capable device retailer.

**Update**

GiffGaff have sent me a new phone, and it's in working order. It's a shame I had to put pressure outside of their support system (Twitter, Complaints etc) to get them to fullfil their obligation as a retailer. However, I hope this incident leads to better policies internally for them and in the end they did the right thing.

Cheers GiffGaff.

gindygoo

I've just contacted an educator on your behalf, look out for a pm (private message) hopefully they'll get things sorted for u!

Good luck,

Charlie.

regandeddie

Seems like you're not the only one...http://www.androidauthority.com/nexus-6-backplate-defect-581037/

Could be a wider manufacturing fault, hope you get sorted out.

cps15966

That seems pretty appalling to me @topher

Hopefully you'll get an immediate replacement for this once giffgaff Ed's get involved.

If it was me, I would be asking for a replacement and not a repair.

Check your legal standings with it if you get no joy, see here for your rights as a consumer.

I hope you manage to get it resolved with gg amicably.

topher

I've had no luck with the agents despite raising it with an Educator (thanks for that by the way).

They insist I must send this brand new phone to Google, who aren't even the manufacturer. Craziness.

I've now raised a complaint with the Retail Ombudsman. Seems like a good last resort.

cps15966

@topher wrote:
I've had no luck with the agents despite raising it with an Educator (thanks for that by the way).

They insist I must send this brand new phone to Google, who aren't even the manufacturer. Craziness.

I've now raised a complaint with the Retail Ombudsman. Seems like a good last resort.

I really hope you get this resolved and genuinely feel sorry that you are having these issues.

Good luck with it all.

wilpatgala

Good for you Charliem nice to see someone stepping in like that to help out, well done.

ukchattyman

If they playing silly you play silly cancel any direct debits or your card for further payments and if it went to court it would be laughed out of it given the situation

topher

I'd do this, if it weren't for the fact the credit agreement is between me and RateSetter. I called RateSetter and they won't cancel the agreement without GiffGaff's approval.

I feel this will ultimately end in a small claims court. They will lose easily of course, because they're not upholding their legal obligation as a retailer in any meaningful way. How can they be so incompetent...mind boggling.

woodyuk

According to some info that i found,Motorola are dealing with replacement Nexus 6s with the same problem because it's a know fault.

http://tech.firstpost.com/news-analysis/motorola-to-replace-defective-nexus-6-devices-with-undone-covers-250293.html

The quickest way to contact them may be Twitter @motorolasupport

topher

I'm not sending a phone I just bought from GiffGaff to a manufacturer. It's giffgaffs responsibility to give me a refund.

https://www.gov.uk/accepting-returns-and-giving-refunds

I appreciate you're trying to help though.

topher

Repairs and replacements
If a customer has ‘accepted’ an item, but later discovers a fault, you may have to repair or replace it. The customer can still reject the item after it’s been repaired or replaced.
A customer has accepted an item if they’ve:
told you they’ve accepted it (having had enough opportunity to inspect the item before confirming they’ve received it)
altered the item
You must repair or replace an item if a customer returns it within 6 months - unless you can prove it wasn’t faulty when they bought it.

Online, mail and phone order sales
Online, mail and telephone order customers have the right to cancel for a limited time even if the goods aren’t faulty. Sales of this kind are known as ‘distance selling’.
You must offer a refund to customers if they return goods within 14 days of receiving them.
You must then refund the customer within 14 days of receiving the goods back. They don’t have to provide a reason.

It's still within 14 days, and the phone was faulty on arrival. This has nothing to do with Motorola, Google or any Warranty. They must refund me for this phone.

sarge7

@topher . I would be rightfully annoyed if a retailer tried to fob me of .
I've worked for a few retailers who's verbal policy was to play shenanigans with a consumer who did not know their legal rights but i've not worked for one as foolish to try to abdicate from their responsibilty re Retailer/consumer contractual obligation .
Seems most bizarre behaviour considering faulty goods will be returned by gg to the supplyer for full credit .

jimfraegala

Strange since my own experience was brilliant.

Jim

woodyuk

As I mentioned to you at Twitter,this sorry state of affairs shows a breathtaking level of incompetence on the part of the giffgaff phone sales department.

There is an inherent and very well publicised fault with the N6 which is causing the batteries to expand and split the glued on rear cover away from the back of the phone.As a "professional" phone retailer who stocks the N6 you would expect giffgaff to be aware of this issue and be ready to instantly replace any handsets that show this fault.

Motorola themselves have fully acknowledged that the problem exists and are replacing any faulty N6s without question so all that giffgaff have to do is return your faulty one to them and they will receive a replacement to restock with.

As much as I understand and respect your wish for giffgaff to resolve this problem for you which they quite rightly should,I would be tempted to deal directly with Motorola because several reports that I've read say that many users are on their third or fourth N6 with the previous ones all developing the same fault so if you have established a relationship directly with Motorola at least you know that any further issues will be dealt with instantly and you won't find yourself in this ridiculous situation again.

ian011

While at first glance it may appear to be 'easier', there are several problems inherent in dealing directly with the manufacturer.

If the manufacturer swaps the phone you will no longer have in your possession the unit that your credit agreement covers. This may or may not become an issue at a later date.

If you ever have to deal with giffgaff for a further warranty or other issue, and you return the exchanged unit to giffgaff they are highly likely to reject the unit as being 'not sold by giffgaff' as they will have no record of the exchange or of the new serial number/IMEI.

If you have taken up insurance cover, that policy likely covers a single unit with a known serial number/IMEI. The policy likely won't cover any replacement unit issued by a third party - even the manufacturer - unless the new unit has been issued with the same serial number and IMEI as the old unit.

llw

Oh dear, I do hope you get this sorted quickly one way or another.

Good luck, Lily 🙂

dannyownz

ask them on Twitter and see if they can offer any help. Sorry to hear about that and hope you get it sorted soon.

topher

Update

Cheers GiffGaff.