[pow wow]

I signed up to a contract about 3 weeks ago on buymobilephones.net for a BlackBerry 9810, £26 on Vodaphone (overpriced for a model that is pretty much no longer sold)

The phone is a nightmare! It freezes constantly, it overheats when using Wi-Fi hotspot, it turns itself off and then won't go back on until the battery has been out for a few minutes, the battery time itself is dire... I've removed all apps and still it freezes!

I think a lot of it is down to the fact BlackBerry's aint great, but I'm pretty sure the phone is dud.. And I don't want another..

If I made enough fuss would the be any chance of switching to another phone/brand? Or am I gonna be lumbered with another crapberry?

[swordman]

if the phone is faulty return it and cancel the contract they can't make you take another phone, this is what I would do rather than trying to change phone/contract

[wilt]

I think you might be out of luck after three weeks, you are well out of the cooling off period.

Not sure what sort of fuss you could kick up, you accepted that contract for that phone - if you thought it was overpriced for that model you probably shouldn't have signed up.

If the phone is actually faulty you can return it under warranty - but you will probably get back another 9810.

Quote:

Originally Posted by swordman

if the phone is faulty return it and cancel the contract they can't make you take another phone, this is what I would do rather than trying to change phone/contract

The phone isn't part of the airtime contract, they can't cancel the contract because the phone is faulty.

[swordman]

of course he can the phone was part of the purchase regardless of whether it was offered free. it is is not fit for purpose and because he cannot use the phone the contract is also not fit for purpose.

[wilt]

I am afraid that isn't how it works.

[legends wear 7]

your airtime contract is not linked to the handset, you are tied into the contract.

but i really dont understand why you would take out a contract on a phone brand you dont like and at a price you think is too high

[finbaar]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swordman

of course he can the phone was part of the purchase regardless of whether it was offered free. it is is not fit for purpose and because he cannot use the phone the contract is also not fit for purpose.

That is not how it works.

I hope the £26 contract was for 6 months, otherwise it was a terrible buy.

[alanwarwic]

If they are CPW I'm sure they have a 30 day policy.

How it applies to contracts I'm not sure but am sure they could swap it for something else.
Be very specific about the problem so that they can pinpoint it as KO.

[legends wear 7]

that site is owned by this company

http://www.a1comms.co.uk/

[swordman]

not so sure about this having had a little look which? have a page on this. everyone seems certain of the facts here so what act is binding?

can't return this under dsr but the sale of goods act will apply.

[wilt]

They can return the phone, but this wont affect their airtime agreement with Vodafone.

And since they didn't pay for the phone...well you can guess the rest.

[swordman]

cost of phone is not relevant in law so thats nothing to do with it

[wilt]

If you return an item that costs zero for a refund, how much money are you going to get back?

[swordman]

your saying the purchase was for two desperate and distinct items a phone and a contract I'm saying don't think that is right.

much in the same way if I was to buy a hoover for example and a free mini hoover came as free gift. In your logic if the free one broke after a day your saying I would not be allowed refund on all items purchaesd. this is not the case the free one is just as much part of the deal as the 'paid' one.

what your saying having had a quick look on interweb seems to be some general concensus on forums it seems but I'm not sure there is much basis In law for it.

anyway if it were me I'd certainly check it out thouroughly.

[wilt]

If it were that easy to get out of a phone contract I am sure it would be well publicised, and we would have waved goodbye to the subsidised phone model long ago.

The OP is entitled to have their phone repaired under the manufacturers warranty, and persuing that is probably the best use of their time. Trying to cancel the contract like this is going to be a very deep rabbit hole, and there is little prospect of getting anything out of it at the end.

[legends wear 7]

The terms of the contract you sign for the airtime, explicitly detail that the handset does not make up part of the contract, the networks do this as without the clause they would be liable for maintenance of the handset for the duration of the contract.