Customer service or what?

I've been quiet blogging here as most of my blogging is done on my phone. I do it at home between appointments, on the run and at night. the last 3 weeks though I haven't had my phone. I bought a Samsung Galaxy 4 on a contract with Virgin and within 3 months I was having battery issues. the store checked it out and said it needed repair which would be 3 weeks....or I can take it to the repair centre 40mins away and it would be quicker. After trying for a week to get there I ended up going back to the store and having them send it away. The battery at this stage was boiling hot and bulging in the phone and wouldn't work unless plugged in. Not good for a phone only 4 months old.

After 2 weeks I had my phone back, well for 24 hours. As soon as I got home I noticed the phone was still hot, to the point my hand was going red. I took the battery out and realized it was the actual phone and hard drive this time not the battery. That night thee phone stopped working altogether and when I woke up it had a dead little android man on screen and it said to reboot. Oh great. My calendar with appts, my photos from Beyoncé and more were on there.

Being a Sunday I took it in store and they tried rebooting it. I said it also had a broken volume button which was working when sent away. The staff couldn't do anything and they6 said it would need to be repaired again. I said no I wanted a new handset. It was a major fault and the repairs hadn't even seen it or tested it when they had it. Plus they send it back with a broken volume button. The staff had no idea what to do and weren't trained in consumer law. They even had a copy of it in store but said they had to get a manager to step in. The next day the manager wasn't working so I rang Department of Consumer Affairs and they confirmed:
http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/consumerprotection/Content/Consumers/Buying_goods_and_services/Consumer_guarantees/Problem_with_goods.html

Major problems with goods

If there is a major failure with the goods, you can:

• reject the goods and get a refund;

• reject the goods and get an identical replacement, or one of similar value if reasonably available; or

• keep the goods and get compensation for the drop in value caused by the problem.

You get to choose, not the supplier or manufacturer.
A major problem with goods is when:

• a reasonable person would not have bought the goods if they had known about the problem. For example, no reasonable person would buy a washing machine if they knew the motor was going to burn out after three months;

• the goods are significantly different from the description, sample or demonstration model shown to you. For example, a person orders a red bicycle from a catalogue, but the bicycle delivered is green; 

• the goods are substantially unfit for their normal purpose and cannot easily be made fit, within a reasonable time. For example, a ski jacket is not waterproof because it is made from the wrong material; 

• the goods are substantially unfit for a purpose that you told the supplier about, and cannot easily be made fit within a reasonable time. For example, a car is not powerful enough to tow a consumer’s boat because its engine is too small – despite the consumer telling the supplier they needed the car to tow a boat; or

• the goods are unsafe. For example, an electric blanket has faulty wiring

My phone covered several bases and having been tested by staff and seeing it could not be rebooted DOCEP agreed it was a major fault and it was my right to decide repair or replacement. for 5 years I worked in a large electrical store and for part of that I was supervisor of the returns and service department. I knew consumer rights and the stores responsibilities and no matter what the store policy is the law trumps it. Frustrating that Virgin staff had no idea what I was talking about.

After confirming that I rang Virgin customer service and it took an hour and being put through to a supervisor.....in the Philippines who also didn't know consumer law to be told they would have to refer it on. I would get a call in 3-5 working days. In the meantime I have a tiny loan phone that can barely make calls and text and I'm paying for a service I'm not using.

I went in on Tuesday and spoke to the assistant manager. He confirmed he had been through a similar thing with another Telco and he had to complain to the ombudsman to get a resolution. He agreed I should get a new phone but that Virgin won't do anything unless forced. Um great way to represent your company.


So off home to speak to the http://www.tio.com.au/ who can intervene on your behalf. DOCEP also has a process to follow and if they find Virgin won't cooperate they can prosecute or fine them. They are in each state and follow the Australia wide consumer laws. http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/consumerprotection/Content/Consumers/Buying_goods_and_services/BuyingGoodsAndServices.html

Within 24 hours of making the complaint with the TIO Virgin had called me back and I am now trying to return their call. In the meantime it's been 4 weeks paying for a phone I can't use and having the stress of speing to people who can't or won't help.

Customer service is almost non existent nowadays and it seems they rely n consumers being uninformed and happy to accept whatever "help" they offer.

Be  informed and stand up for your rights!!

I will keep you updated on what happens next.