What do I do with this talk about worst luck ever

[justinbarrow]

It all started when my Sony Ericsson Xperia x10 mobile phone would not charge and the phone still being under warranty sent it off to be fixed, However they said my warranty was voided as the phone was a NON UK handset so I got the phone back and tried to get it repaired locally but it was main board damage so I decided to sell on Ebay as spares.

Someone bought the phone for £70 which I thought was good going until the following happens...

I get an email from the Sony escalations team which says they made a mistake and the handset is a UK handset and will replace with a brand new one providing I send back the old one arrrrggghhhh

What can I do now i have sold the bloody phone now and they admit their mistake!!! here is a copy of their email that I got...

"Dear Justin,

We are sorry to hear of the issues you have experienced with your X10 handset and the subsequent need for repair.

Our repair centre have advised that there is a fault with their system and that the handset was actually a UK handset as has been diagnosed as non UK by mistake by both us and our repair centre.

In order to resolve the issue you are experiencing we would be happy to replace the handset for you if you were to return this to our service location so that we can exchange the handset upon receipt.

Please complete the attached repair form which includes the address to send your handset to. Place your handset in a Jiffy bag and send it via your Post Office obtaining a Proof of Postage receipt.

Once we have received this we will ensure that the phone is replaced and get the exchange unit despatched out to you, please note that you do not need to return any of your accessories with the phone, including, the SIM card, memory card, battery or back cover as we would be replacing the handset only.

Should you require any further assistance in the mean time, please do not hesitate to contact us on 08705 237237 quoting your reference number above with any additional queries you may have."

Words fail me talk about the worst luck in the world.

[jrw]

Try and get the handset back, failing that send them back a snotty but professional email stating that you were forced to sell the phone as spares or repair due to them being unwilling to do anything and you would be happy to pay £70 towards the cost of a replacement phone of a different model.

See where that gets you, failing a satisfactory response email various different addresses at Sony Erricson (PR Manager usually works well) and failing that a recorded letter to the head of PR or CEO marked private and confidential will usually get the desired response

I am the king of getting results from companies when it comes to warranty and or Sales of Goods Act issues and the only advice i can give you is perseverance is the key

[justinbarrow]

Try and get the handset back, failing that send them back a snotty but professional email stating that you were forced to sell the phone as spares or repair due to them being unwilling to do anything and you would be happy to pay £70 towards the cost of a replacement phone of a different model.

See where that gets you, failing a satisfactory response email various different addresses at Sony Erricson (PR Manager usually works well) and failing that a recorded letter to the head of PR or CEO marked private and confidential will usually get the desired response

I am the king of getting results from companies when it comes to warranty and or Sales of Goods Act issues and the only advice i can give you is perseverance is the key

Some good advice there, I have emailed the person I sold the phone to asking to buy it back (they will think what a lunatic I am lol) but im not hoping for much with this. I will email Sony back on Monday as they admit a mistake and why would I keep a non functioning phone that from what I was told was beyond repair as it was a non uk model.

I still have the reports etc. what was sent back with my phone, But I tell you something everything seems to be going wrong at the moment lets just say I am not liking single magpies right now. The wife bought a pumpkin and this morning it had leaked all over and turned bad so that was even a disaster lol.

Will keep you posted, Has anyone else on here had similar experiences with Sony or their Repair Centres, its a joke.

[GentleGiant]

How old was the phone?? Most electronic goods have an international warranty that has to be honoured by all registered dealers, plus (sometimes), an extended warranty in the country of sale. If it was purchased inside Europe they are legaly bound to honour any warranty the selling country applies (EU law).

I wouldnt tell them you got £70 for it, I would just tell them you have disposed of it, and are not very happy with Sony. How long after refusing to fix the phone did they send the letter about the mistake?? The longer they waited, the stronger your case against them.

[gallego1968]

I would say you threw it away so you don't have it anymore as they said there is nothing they can do. You have the reports so that they should send you a new phone anyway.

[justinbarrow]

How old was the phone??

I wouldnt tell them you got £70 for it, I would just tell them you have disposed of it, and are not very happy with Sony. How long after refusing to fix the phone did they send the letter about the mistake?? The longer they waited, the stronger your case against them.

The phone was purchased 6th July this year and I got told it was beyond economical repair as it was a NON uk handset on 22nd October this was when they said it was a foreign phone.

I would say you threw it away so you don't have it anymore as they said there is nothing they can do. You have the reports so that they should send you a new phone anyway.

I have everything stating that the handset is foreign and that it is beyond repair and that I should send it to the country of origin for an in warranty service.

They will love it when I say I got rid of it, who would keep a phone that's dead and useless after being told it would cost to much to repair as the main board needed to be replaced. Thats when I thought I would sell it for spares. :(

Am i better emailing them back or calling their customer service number as I dont think I will be able to speak to somebody high up if I called their call centre.

I hope in the end they will still honour it and send me a new phone as I still have my original proof of purchase and what would they do with the phone anyway, would they just bin it?

What a situation to be in, Thanks everyone for the advice

[justinbarrow]

Well I have emailed them with the advice on here, basically said it was not my fault that the repair centre had mis diagnosed the Phone a non UK and that I have now disposed of this. I have also sent them copies of the paperwork I have from the repair centre.

I hope they can do some goodwill gesture of some kind - Will keep you posted but to be honest im not holding out for much. I have contacted the guy who bought my phone to ask if he wants to sell it me back but he hasn't got back in touch, Probably thinks I am mad.

[Republic]

Tbh I'd be getting Sony to replace it free of charge - that's the target anyway . You got a reciept and was instructed the phone was good as dead - why should it be your fault and who would keep a dead phone (let alone an expensively dead phone).

[GentleGiant]

What he says, and if that doesnt work, mention WatchDog or your favourite national newspaper.

[eccleshill]

I would say you threw it away so you don't have it anymore as they said there is nothing they can do. You have the reports so that they should send you a new phone anyway.

I think this is the best approach but don't lie, just be economical with the truth.

Tell them you no longer have the phone. They told you it couldn't be repaired so you disposed of it.

[justinbarrow]

Cheers guys, I phoned and explained to consumer direct about this and they said although Sony may refuse to replace the handset a Judge at a small claims court would look at it with a different view and favour my situation if it went as far as small claims. I have the receipt in my name and all the emails and paper work stating that the phone was beyond repair and it was non UK and then the email saying it was an error on their system why it was miss diagnosed as non UK.

I was advised to wait for the response via email for now to see what comes of that and if they wont replace it then I have to send a letter via recorded delivery to someone high up to say how I would like this to be resolved and give them 14 days to reply.

Apparently I have to ask them for the address as its not very public knowledge and they seem to prefer email contact so that may be a task to get a name and address. I will keep you posted though on what happens next.

I have a Samsung wave 2 at the moment as a stop gap which I have to admit seems to run a lot quicker that the previous handset. If I can get something sorted with Sony such as a replacement then I will pass the Samsung onto my son.

The only way I would of kept the phone is if it was a handset on a contract and tied into a minimum term, because it was purchased as sim free I decided to get rid with me being told its beyond repair. Thinking of it though I am glad that it wasn't on contract as I would be even more gutted.

Edited 31 October, 2011 by justinbarrow

[Kablam]

did you try ringing the person who e-mailed you? I find person to person contact always better.

[justinbarrow]

***UPDATE***

I got a call day from Sony escalations telling me the woman who offered me the replacement handset has now left the company and asked me to explain everything all over again, I asked if they had all my emails and reports they said yes but just needed me to clarify the issue.

Anyway it ended up with being put on hold and being told that its a strange set of circumstances and in all fairness the Sony guy did say its becoming a bit of a farce and is passing it even further up the ladder saying he would like to give me a replacement handset but needs to go further so he asked if I could email my proof of purchase so I have, why did they ask for this now? as they will know when my phone was made from the repair centre reports.

He asked me why I discarded the phone to which I explained that I made numerous calls to both Sony and their repair centre who both said they couldn't help me any more and that the handset is beyond repair so I came to the conclusion that if Sony couldn't fix the phone then nobody could so thought why should I keep it. I also went on to say that as both Sony and the Repair centre could not turn the handset on due to its fault that my data was still on the phones memory(things like texts and personal numbers) so thought its been rendered useless what else was I expected to do.

Anyway he updated the file and promised me that someone high up is going to look at it again tomorrow (Friday) and the person who called me will ring me on Saturday to give me an update I just hope its news I want to here or there will be fireworks.

How do you guys think it will end up, do you reckon they will fob me off or sort something as they have now asked for my Proof of Purchase which I have sent. Its been a real headache for what is an expensive handset or should I say was an expensive handset.

[gadgetman]

Years ago I had a sony VCR which went wrong and was attempted to be repaired 5 times.

Eventually Sony replaced it, but only after a lot of strongly worded letters. Eventually a new top of the range VCR turned up one day unannounced with a deeply apologetic letter.

The whole saga left me with a very low opinion of Sony, and I havent bought or considered one of their products since.

[GentleGiant]

The fact they havent fobbed you off yet is a good sign, as is asking for the PoP. I am betting you will get a replacement phone sent to you, although I wouldnt count on a brand new one just yet.

I do have one concern, the person you sold the phone to may be able to get at the personal info stored on the phone, so I hope there are no banking passwords, or information that could be used to try and take over your identity stored on there.

[justinbarrow]

The fact they havent fobbed you off yet is a good sign, as is asking for the PoP. I am betting you will get a replacement phone sent to you, although I wouldnt count on a brand new one just yet.

I do have one concern, the person you sold the phone to may be able to get at the personal info stored on the phone, so I hope there are no banking passwords, or information that could be used to try and take over your identity stored on there.

I know what you mean, as for data on the phone i never went on internet banking or purchased anything through paypal if i went on eBay. the passwords that are stored where the phone automatically logs on is for things like Facebook, eBay things like that.

Will keep you posted, Thanks everyone.

[Republic]

I know what you mean, as for data on the phone i never went on internet banking or purchased anything through paypal if i went on eBay. the passwords that are stored where the phone automatically logs on is for things like Facebook, eBay things like that.

Will keep you posted, Thanks everyone.

Change all the passwords that you would have used from the phone then mate, I'd suggest before sending off the phone but it's a bit late for that .

[GentleGiant]

wot he says

[justinbarrow]

Update - Sony called me today to apologise for the error caused on behalf of their repair centre and have now agreed to send me a new replacement handset by courier which should arrive either tomorrow or day after.

I am just relieved that it has been sorted out, Thanks for the help everyone

[gadgetman]

Great result.

[Republic]

Success !

[GentleGiant]

Kudos to Sony, for not trying to wiggle out of making things right for you.