[ags_rule]

I'm currently on a 24 month contract with O2 from Carphone Warehouse, which included a free Sony Ericcson w980.

Unfortunately, this phone is the most unreliable one I think that has ever been released. I've had it for 12 months and it has broken 4 times with EXACTLY the same problem - it just turns off entirely at random, and won't turn back on again. It just done it again today and I'm at my wits end. A quick Google search reveals that this is a common problem with all of these phones, some sort of software fault. There is no known fix, and everytime it happens, all of your phone memory is wiped.

It's driving me absolutely insane. So my question is what are my rights in regards to either terminating my contract with O2 and/or getting a new phone from Carphone Warehouse? I don't want the same one again as I know it'll suffer from exactly the same problems as it's a software fault, not hardware.

Thanks for any help!

[prking]

You can't cancel your contract. But you have the right to a repair or exchange of the handset. You could have rejected the handset, but too much time has passed.
SonyEricsson handsets have a two year warranty, so in theory you should have no difficulty getting the handset repaired at Carphone Warehouse and won't have to prove the fault was present at manufacture.

[ags_rule]

I can repair it myself using PC Suite but it's a pain in the ass, as everytime it happens I lose all my data, and have to put on over 4GB of music again.

The phone is NOT fit for purpose. Surely I'm covered under the Sale of Goods Act for that? I mean it has broken four times!

[prking]

Yes you are. But as I said, the manufacturers warranty offers more than the Sale of Goods Act.

[ags_rule]

Guess I'm stuck with it then. Shame, as it's a great phone when it works, but it's just too unreliable. Last Sony Ericsson I'll ever buy, used to be a great company, but two bad experiences in a row now.