Well, today is going quite well and after the weekend I had, I could do with that.

This weekend I’m off out in Sheffield to celebrate a friends Birthday. Normally, my dad, kind soul that he is, gives me a lift back so that I can have a few drinks. However, I knew that this Friday they were going to be away on Holiday. Just as I was about to get in touch with my brother Alex on MSN to see if he could do it (edited for the sake of brevity)…

14:52:15 Alex: hello
14:52:23 Me: u back now then? weren't you going away?
14:52:27 Alex: dont ask
14:52:32 Me: oh dear :/
14:52:35 Me: What's up?
14:52:51 Alex: I have had the worst day ever
14:52:58 Me: ?? how come?
14:53:27 Me: have you spazzed mum's car into a wall and written it off?
14:53:35 Me: if not, you're *not* having the worst day ever.
14:53:35 Alex: pretty much
14:53:40 Me: SHIT
14:53:43 Me: what's happened?
14:53:52 Alex: well I was going down binns lane

Anyway - the end result of the unfortunate incident is one written-off Toyota Yaris - and my brother being my mum’s slave for the rest of the summer…

An hour later and I’m heading up the A14, back to Yorkshire to help my brother out whilst my parents return from their holiday in France/Belgium.

My parents got back at about 6:45am on the Saturday. As I was awake from 6am anyway and in the knowledge that they’d just driven all night (bar a rest waiting for the ferry) I helped my dad get their stuff out of the car and trailer whilst my mum had a rest. I made sure Alex was up to assist!

Another number that kept ringing me. 08000524264 belongs to EUI Ltd., a part of Admiral Group, who trade as Admiral, Bell and elephant.co.uk.

It reports to be a Courtesy Call number and says that there is no need for me to call them back. STOP BLOODY RINGING ME THEN!. Argh - why do these companies insist on trying to contact me!

Well, they’ve been added to my phone’s block list now. I use an excellent application on my Treo 680 called Call Block from Wish Solutions. It will block calls from specified numbers, private numbers and numbers not in your contact list. It will also log the calls that it has blocked. You can even configure it to pick up and then drop the call, so the caller doesn’t even get through to voicemail.

£7.23 well spent.

Ok, if you want to get hold of me my new address is:

7, Woolnough Road,
Woodbridge
IP12 1HJ

See it on Google Maps.

My land line is 01394 384460.

Well, Expansys got back to me

In correspondence to the points you have made it will not be possible for eXpansys to offer a replacement, nor will we be able to offer a “free” repair.

As the problem with the device would most likely be considered by ourselves as user damage, eXpansys would be under no obligation to offer either a repair (free of charge) or a replacement under these circumstances.

The device would also not be covered by the warranty due to the location of the problem, it is common place within the mobile device industry that the screen is not covered by the warranty, in most cases any problem with the screen of any given device would be classed as a chargeable repair by the manufacturer, in this case it would be Palm.

Although you may feel that the goods were “not fit for purpose” the device would have been in full working order when it left ourselves to be shipped to you.

If you feel as though you are still not satisfied with the decision eXpansys has taken over this matter, then I would suggest you take advise, and pursue this case how you wish.

I have also included a copy of your Limited warranty agreement you’re your reference.

I replied:

Thank you for getting back to me.

Given that Expansys seem unable to fulfil their obligations under the Sale of Goods Act, I will return the device to Palm for a chargeable repair. Unless I hear back from Expansys with an offer to pay all my losses in regard to the faulty device within 14 days, I will make a claim against Expansys for my losses through the small claims procedure at the county court.

Looks like I’ll have my day in court!

I didn’t get a reply from Palm, so I rang them up again. It seems they didn’t receive my picture, so the support agent said he would send me an e-mail and that I should reply to it with the picture as an attachment.

Their e-mail came to the wrong address. Fortunately, I received it anyway (through good luck rather than anything else), and replied correcting them on the e-mail address and my name. They had managed to get my name as “Ford Berex”. Hmm

Anyway, later on, Palm responded;

A cracked screen is an out of warranty case. The out of warranty repair would cost 110,00 GBP.

Not happy, I e-mailed them back;

I understand that normally the display is not covered by warranty repair. In the “Cracked/Broken Display” section on your website it says;

‘Screen “breakages” normally involve cracking of the glass based digitiser and occur when the unit is subjected to physical stresses that are inconsistent with the device’s normal use.’

In this case there has been no “abnormal” use. I put the phone down on the table after making a call and upon picking it up the display was cracked. I live alone, so no one else had touched the phone and there are no pets in my house! As you may be able to see from the photograph, the phone is in immaculate condition (ignoring the cracked display), without a single scratch. The fault was not caused by misuse, an accident or by not following the instructions.

I would like the device to be repaired without cost to me.

This morning I got a reply. I was stunned!

I understand your point. Shit happens at times. The problem is that a cracked scren is a cracked screen.

So I’m afraid to say, but its still out of warranty.

Fortunately, I don’t take offence easily, but that is just unprofessional!

So, my next legal recourse is with Expansys, who I bought the device from. I wrote to them this morning;

I have spoken with Palm Technical Support. They have advised me that a cracked display is not covered by their warranty. Whilst I would like to continue taking this up with them, I am aware that under the Sale of Goods Act, the responsibility for goods which are not of satisfactory quality lies with the retailer, so my only legal recourse is with Expansys.

Could you advise me how I can get a repair or replacement of my Treo 680 without any cost to me?

They replied to me;

Thankyou for your e-mail regarding the damaged Palm Treo 680. Having checked with returns eXpansys would not be able to accept this device back for replacement due to the nature of the problem with the item. If the goods have been damaged in any way then the device would only be eligible for repair.

The device would need to be assessed by Palm who would conclude whether or not the fault would be covered under the warranty, As they have informed you that the fault would not be covered by the warranty we see no other alternative than to send the device back to them for anything but a chargable repair.

The return can be handled by eXpansys who will ship the device to Palm on your behalf however the turnaround is normally much quicker if you go directly to palm.

They seem to have forgotten their obligations under the Sale of Goods Act, so I reminded them;

I am not satisfied with a chargeable repair. I will be satisfied by a repair or replacement with no cost to me.

Palm’s Warranty does not affect my rights as a consumer. Under the Sale of Goods Act, wherever goods are bought they must “conform to contract”. This means they must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale). Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety.

I believe that my phone was inherently faulty at the time of sale as it was not of satisfactory quality in respect of its durability. The 2 week old device was placed on a table after making a call and the next time I came to use it the display had a crack in one of the layers.

Also under the Sale of Goods Act it is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible if goods do not conform to contract.

As I have requested a repair or replacement in the first six months after contract it is the seller (Expansys) to prove that the goods did conform to contract.

If you are unable to repair or replace the phone, I may have to try and make a claim against you through the small claims court. That is something that I am willing to do, but I would prefer to avoid.

They’ve not responded yet. I’ll update when they do.

Expansys wrote back to me saying I’d need to get in touch with Palm directly about warranty repair.

I wrote back to Expansys:

Thank you for your reply. I am trying to get in touch with Palm at the moment, although it seems that you have to have an access code for support through that number. I am trying to get the free access code that I am entitled to with the purchase of the phone.

I will get back to you if I have any problems, as ultimately, as the retailer you are responsible for the goods you sell!

No reply from Expansys so far, but then again, I don’t expect one at the moment.

I rang Palm and eventually managed to speak to a human. He took down my details, and asked me to describe the problem. He asked if I had caused the damage to the phone and I said I had not. I explained how I had found the phone damaged and he requested a photo from me. I sent the photo you can see in the previous blog entry.

The last thing I got back from Palm was an automated e-mail:

Thank you for contacting Palm.

In order for us to deal efficiently with your enquiry, please visit our e-service offering at www.palm.com/uk/support

At this location you will find information that may be helpful in resolving your question together with details of how to contact Palm for further assistance.

This is an automated response - please do not reply.
Palm will only respond directly to questions submitted via the e-service offering.

3 hours later… nothing back so far.

I’m not impressed with Palm’s customer support so far.

My new Treo 680 broke.

I put it down on a table after making a call, and when I picked it up there was a crack in the LCD. I didn’t do anything unusual and it was not dropped.

I tried to navigate the palm website to see if I could get it fixed under warranty. Palm’s website is terrible if you actually want to try and get in touch with someone. I eventually found a page telling me that a cracked Display was not covered by the warranty and I could buy a replacement for £110.

As I didn’t do anything to break the phone, I’m not going to pay to have it fixed.

So, last night, I wrote off to Expansys, who I bought the phone from. Lets see what they say. I suspect hassle, but maybe I’m just cynical.

I am leaving the University of Sheffield one month today, 16th March and starting work for @Road on 19th March.

I’m going to be moving in with my friends Amanda, Jon, Nick and Amy.

I just had to ring the police!

At about 9pm this evening, I heard a load of banging from the house next door, which I know is unoccupied. So I look out of the window and I must have distubed them becuase they ran off around the back of the houses to the road at the front.

I had a quick look around outside, and saw no one, but I decided to ring the police and report it.

Five minutes later, four police officers in two cars appear.

With the benefit of torches, it’s possible to see that someone tried to break into my neighbour’s house. They’ve beaten in the door and cracked a window.

I’ll be super paranoid of the quietest creak coming from there now.

Happy Birthday Beezly!