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apparently an iphone needs to be activated within 2 weeks of its purchase as a part of the contract.

What contract in this case?

Just because a clause is in a terms and conditions document, it can't over rule current legislation. The law is the law, there is no 'opt-out'.

C
 
It is innocent until proven guilty in the UK,

Not quite. If a product develops, displays or manifests some flaw that may be the result of a manufacturing or design fault, within the first six months of purchase then it is for the retailer (in this case, Carphone Warehouse) to prove that there was nothing wrong with the product.

At this time, you haven't entered into a contract with Apple, because you haven't activated your phone. You do, however, have all your rights under the Sale of Goods Act and your claim is that the device is not fit for purpose (ie - the first time you tried to use it as intended, it all went horribly wrong).

It is for Carphone Warehouse to replace, repair, or refund you in full for the product, unless they are prepared to stand their ground and prove to the satisfaction of an organization like Trading Standards that the device is not faulty.

Cheers!

Jim
 
Good luck! Can you possibly post pictures of the damage when you get a chance? The only thing I can think of that could cause something like that is for the battery to have heated up catastrophically but somehow not caught fire -- melting plastic and breaking glass from heat is pretty insane. :eek: Anyway, I haven't seen any reports of that on the iPhone on the net, so it would be good if you could share pictures. Just in case anyone else has this happen to them, there'll be some documentation of the issue out there.
 
mail


mail
 
Can i ask...

..You said that your dad just 'showed' it to people, am i correct?

What exactly did he show, an iphone in its turned off state, cos if i am correct you cant get past the activation screen unless you activate it!

thus you cannot show ANY features other than the hardware in its switched off state..... ....how is that supposed to entice customers to buy/order anything over £500???

the ionly way he could have shown off the phone was to hacktivate* it to be used as an ipod

*NOTE: i am not saying you unlocked it or downgraded basebands/bootloaders all that jazz, just hactivated it for ipod usability.
 
Can i ask...

..You said that your dad just 'showed' it to people, am i correct?

What exactly did he show, an iphone in its turned off state, cos if i am correct you cant get past the activation screen unless you activate it!

thus you cannot show ANY features other than the hardware in its switched off state..... ....how is that supposed to entice customers to buy/order anything over £500???

the ionly way he could have shown off the phone was to hacktivate* it to be used as an ipod

*NOTE: i am not saying you unlocked it or downgraded basebands/bootloaders all that jazz, just hactivated it for ipod usability.

In china our customers wouldnt have held an iphone or anything, it was all a display purpose so customers could see there complimentary gifts. Its more morale rather than encouraging them to place the order.
 
Sorry, you can't post images that way -- you can either save them on your disk temporarily and then upload them as Macrumors attachments, or host them on a site that permits direct linking (Photobucket, Flickr, ImageShack, MySkitch, etc).
 
Sorry, you can't post images that way -- you can either save them on your disk temporarily and then upload them as Macrumors attachments, or host them on a site that permits direct linking (Photobucket, Flickr, ImageShack, MySkitch, etc).

whoops sorrry
 
Its been pretty much covered but be reassured that the retailer (CPWH I believe) is absolutely responsible for the repair/replacement of the iphone under current UK consumer law (non-activation is a non issue as its not a precondition of the warranty). In your place I would make an appointment to see the manager of the store who sold you the iphone, take a witness with me (preferably from the local trading standards office) and present the store manager with the iphone and a copy of the warranty that came with the iphone and ask him to repair/replace the iphone. If possible tape record the conversation. It they refuse then start legal action against CPWH using the online court system at:
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/csmco2/index.jsp
and claim for the cost of a replacement and all associated expenses...its very simple to do.
 
If you challenge Apple regarding this matter, you will win. If they cannot prove that you did something that damaged the item then they have to replace or repair it under the warranty. The whole activation with O2 is just a smokescreen. This would be like Toyota saying that because you installed an air filter, they won't warrant your faulty stereo. They have tried this and lost. In all cases, if you don't break any warranty seals and you don't do anything that can damage the unit via other means, the manufacturer cannot get out of honouring the warranty, try as they may.
 
You would have to try and argue that the goods are not of a satisfactory quality under the sale of goods act. Bear in mind that if it was bought by your father acting as a business certain elements of the act can be excluded.
 
The bottom line is that if the phone physically destroyed itself the first time you tried to put it in the cradle, Apple should take care of you. This is a safety hazard issue. And how do you know it wouldn't have happened when you first went to activate it when it was first purchased? What if it had been bought as a present and sat around for a while before you used it? Don't get too involved in the specific legal issues involved, etc. Just call Apple (or if you're not an adult, have an adult do it) on the phone, and be polite but firm. Escalate to the next level, repeatedly, if necessary. Keep it simple. You put the phone in the cradle to activate it, and it melted. That's not supposed to happen. End of story.
 
The bottom line is that if the phone physically destroyed itself the first time you tried to put it in the cradle, Apple should take care of you. This is a safety hazard issue. And how do you know it wouldn't have happened when you first went to activate it when it was first purchased? What if it had been bought as a present and sat around for a while before you used it? Don't get too involved in the specific legal issues involved, etc. Just call Apple (or if you're not an adult, have an adult do it) on the phone, and be polite but firm. Escalate to the next level, repeatedly, if necessary. Keep it simple. You put the phone in the cradle to activate it, and it melted. That's not supposed to happen. End of story.

(im 18)
but there are some scratches on the back from when dad to it to china etc, so its looks like its in used cod, they refuse to do much
 
Another suggestion?

Take it to O2!

Tell them it was a gift you turned it on to activate it and sign up to a contract and it caught fire or whatever happened!?

Tell them it was bought from O2 but you don't have a reciept as it was a gift and you can't get it!

They will immediately send it off to their third party repairer for repair who will send u a new one.

Much easier!

O2 really don't check the phones they will just see its damaged and get it sorted.

As a guy who is looking for a solicitor job I can tell you however the Sales of Goods Act does protect you here and if all else failed your'd get it sorted.

Try O2!
 
If you challenge Apple regarding this matter, you will win. If they cannot prove that you did something that damaged the item then they have to replace or repair it under the warranty. The whole activation with O2 is just a smokescreen. This would be like Toyota saying that because you installed an air filter, they won't warrant your faulty stereo. They have tried this and lost. In all cases, if you don't break any warranty seals and you don't do anything that can damage the unit via other means, the manufacturer cannot get out of honouring the warranty, try as they may.

Let's just be clear here. Under UK law its the retailer, CPW in this case, who has primary responsibilty, as has been said previously. Bringing Apple into the situation at this stage would be counterproductive. Going to another retailer, Apple or O2, and saying that it came from them, is a lie, and brings the rest if the case into doubt. If CPW goes bust before satisfying the claim, then by all means go to Apple. But use the law as it is writ. (weak pun)
 
After ringing again he says he will get in contact with HQ "the big bosses" to find out where to send the broken phone.

Then what will happen is they will send a brand new boxed iphone, i will take that, put the screwed phone in the box and send it back to apple.

However he said in the above process he will need my card number just incase i dont send the phone. so therefore im going to give him my card which has like 50 p in it just incase.
I have a case number, so it looks like im actually getting somewhere.
 
Morning:
Took it back to apple and they said we cant do anything, you have to take it up with apple care.
So i did and spoke to a supervisor, got a case number, he told me to take pictures and email them to him, he passed them on to an engineer who shoud reply either today or tomorrows latest. Then they will send a courier?

What the hell is it with CPW and Apple (both in Meadowhall Sheffield)
Where do i stand if he says they cant take it in for repair or replacement??

Evening:
Ok so i rang apple and immediatly asked to see a supervisor, explained what happened so far, he was so helpful, he gavve me his email address to which i sent the piccys, all good, he sends them to the engineer, he then rang me back saying he got a reply, they said it was very unusual basically and said that they would want the phone.

So he says he will get in contact with HQ "the big bosses" to find out where to send the broken phone.

Then what will happen is they will send a brand new boxed iphone, i will take that, put the screwed phone in the box and send it back to apple.

However he said in the above process he will need my card number just incase i dont send the phone. so therefore im going to give him my card which has like 50 p in it just incase.
I have a case number, so it looks like im actually getting somewhere.

What changed since this morning then? As fas as I can see there is no difference between your first post and this evening's post.

Glad it worked out though. ;)
 
Morning:


Evening:


What changed since this morning then? As fas as I can see there is no difference between your first post and this evening's post.

Glad it worked out though. ;)

Whoops the fact he has pretty much agreed where to send a new phone, however tommorow i will get him to fax this iinfo.
 
I guess the proof is in the pudding dude.....

Congrats on the efforts, the photos put all doubts aside, fingers crossed that it was a one off incident.

As for the line from the warranty page, i think that needs to be made clear to ALL apple, o2 and CPWH employees who have told customers where to go with an un-activated phone!

Bring on PWNAGE!!!!!!
 
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