argghhh
I purchased an iphone4 last Saturday in London, UK.. I have been experiencing signal problems since turning it on. I work in the centre of London, which apparently has 99.9% 'good' signal coverage.. I live just outside London, and apparently live right next to a 3G signal mast.. so in other words, I should be getting an excellant signal whereever I am.
I initially called my network provider, Vodafone. As previously stated, I was told the issue was not the network, they directed me to the shop I purchased the phone from, The Carphone Warehouse. I initially called them and was told that they were aware of a signal 'issue' and that if this was an on-going issue for me then they would replace the handset, like for like. They said I needed to bring the phone into any brach of The Carphone Warehouse, where upon a staff member would inspect the phone and if it was seen to be faulty, would replace it for me at no charge.
This morning I went to my local branch (Haywards Heath) to discuss the situation. The staff member was very helpful and was fully aware of the problem (he didn't even bother looking at the phone, he simply took my word for it). He explained that he would be happy to give me a replacement but unfortunetly was out of stock. I asked him if I could instead get a refund and cancel my Vodafone contract, he explained that Vodaphone is the only UK network which will now allow you to cancel a contract, unless their network is so poor that they are unable to offer a service, thus being their fault and not mine. As this was not the case, I was told that I would not be able to cancel the contract or receive a refund. I asked about my statutory rights and was told that this did not apply to the purchase of the iphone4 only to the contract itself. So as long as it wasn't the actual Vodaphone network which was causing the problem, then they have no obligation to end my contract. So despite having a phone which doesn't currently work, I'm still expected to pay them £35 per month for the next 18 months!.
The member of staff sensing my increasing fruastration, suggested he call The Carphone Warehouse himself just to clarify the position. Upon calling them he was told that in fact I was not entitled to an exchange or cancellation of any kind, and that they were aware from Apple of a 'problem' with the attena, but that this was not considered a 'fault' at this time. They were unable to clarify the difference between a problem and a fault.
As I was by now rather annoyed, the staff member suggested we call the complaints department of The Carphone Warehouse, which we did. He then handed the phone to me. I was greeted by a rather unfriendly and unhelpful member of staff who spoke to me like I was an idiot, telling me that there is nothing wrong with the iphone4 and that it must be an issue with my network. He also reiterated the fact that I was not entitled to a refund, cancellation of contract or replacement phone. I explained that I was in a Carphone Warehouse store (to his apparent shock) and explained that I had been instructed to attend a shop so as to show a member a staff the problem I was having. He asked to be passed to his colleague (perhaps as he didn't believe what I was saying). Having spoken to him, the phone was passed back to me. He then suggested that perhaps the phone just wasn't working in the store, and if I was outside, perhaps it would work better. I asked him why then was I don't over the phone to bring my phone in to be checked?, he didn't really have an answer for this and continued to tell me that he was not aware of a fault with the phone. After a 15 minute conversation with this man I was getting no where so asked to speak to the manager he kept going off to speak to. He eventually, after several times of asking put his manager on.
The manager, simply repeated everything he had said, and basically gave me the impression that I had no other option than to put up with the poor reception, and that it was not their responsibilty anyway but that of Apple's.
Upon returning home I called Apple's Brighton shop and was told that they were aware of an issue that some people were experiencing, but that this could be elliviated by purchasing an Apple 'Bumper', I explained that I already had one, and that it had not fixed the problem. He also said that they had had very few complaints regarding signal problems, and that perhaps I should speak to my network provider.. sigh
He suggested I book in to see a 'Genius', I explained that I had already booked an appointment, Monday 5th July 11:30am. He then made me aware of this recent Apple press release and that it appeared that the problem would soon be rectified with a software update (unsure how a software update can fix a hardware issue?). As he was unable to give me any further suggestions, we ended the call.
Upon reading the press release, I see that it ends by saying that if customers are not entirely satisfied, then they can get a full refund!. I wish I'd known this when I was speak to the Apple guy.
I then called both Vodaphone and The Carphone Warehouse to ask if they would honour this offer by Apple, both were unaware of the press release so unable to comment. Vodaphone did however say that I had 7 days to return the handset if I wasn't happy with it, or 28 days if I was having signal problems (this completly goes against what I was told by The Carphone Warehouse). Having again called The Carphone Warehouse, they then said if I was to go to the actually shop in which I purchased the phone, and they acknowledged that I appeared to be having a signal problem, then they 'may' replace the phone, but would under no circumstance cancel the contract or give me a refund.
So, thats where I am at the moment. Sorry for the long post but thought it might assist someone to hear of my experience, or perhaps I might get a suggest or two as to what I should do next.
on the iphone?
