Mobile phone - problems with equipment

A case study in which the consumer has issues in getting repairs completed on a mobile phone.

Issue

The consumer complains that they were experiencing problems with their mobile handset where the signal was poor and the person they were calling could not hear them, but they could hear them.

The consumer says that the provider has checked the handset over and repaired this three times. This is in addition to several replacement SIMs.  As part of the fault reporting, the provider gave a loan phone which worked well with their SIM.

The provider said that as the handset has been repaired three times, they would need to contact the manufacturer but they are saying that the provider should deal with it.  The consumer feels like they are being passed around and would just like a working phone.

The consumer requested a new make and model handset to continue their contract.

Provider response

The provider acknowledges the issues that have been experienced and facilitated a repair on more than one occasion as well as sending replacement SIM cards to try and resolve the matter. They do not know of any known reason why the handset keeps becoming faulty and did suggest the contact with the manufacturer. However as a resolution, the provider has offered to send the handset for repair again.

Our decision

When we looked at this case, we reviewed the evidence provided but also considered the Consumer Rights Act.  The Act states that a provider must be allowed one chance to repair or replace equipment if this has become faulty.  We were satisfied that the provider had been afforded this opportunity but that the handset remained faulty.  On that basis, we decided that the contract should be cancelled without penalty.  This would allow the consumer the opportunity to upgrade to a different handset with the provider, or change provider.  We did not consider that it would be fair to require the provider to provide a different make or model of handset as this is not included in the Act.

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