Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

Ofcom says mobile contracts should ditch inflation-related price rises

UK telecoms regulator Ofcom wants to ban inflation-related rises in phone and broadband contracts. Instead, it says any potential mid-contract price rises should be set out in pounds and pence.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Thursday, September 18, 2014

The HTC One pink/purple camera saga: part 2

Mark Bridge feels marooned by a high-street mobile phone retailer

Mark Bridge writes:

Well, I wasn't expecting that.

Here's what happened. Following my online rant about the customer service I'd received when I suffered a problem with my HTC One, I wrote to Carphone Warehouse.

This was, I felt, pretty straightforward.

I explained the problem, reminded the company of its legal obligation and asked them to fix the phone. Next, I checked on the company website and sent my letter by recorded delivery to the address for "any complaint that's not about insurance": PO Box 375 in Southampton.

And then I sat and waited for an answer. And I waited. And waited.

After a couple of weeks, I'd heard nothing. Very disappointing. I checked the Royal Mail website to see if my letter had been delivered. Yup. Signed for by Ray.

So I prepared my legal case against Carphone Warehouse. I wasn't naive enough to expect a brand new phone after a year... but I did expect the camera to be fixed. I needed to know how much to claim, which meant finding out how much HTC would charge me.

The simplest way, I thought, was to phone HTC's customer service number. The person who answered my call was familiar with the problem - not a common thing, he said, but he'd had a few - and told me it would be covered by the manufacturer's warranty as long as there was no sign of misuse.

I asked how long the warranty lasted, expecting the answer to be 12 months. "Two years", I was told. What? Yes, two years. And a courier could collect my phone tomorrow, if that was okay.

Image

Sure enough, a courier collected my phone as promised. A week later my phone returned. Fixed.

Did I discover what actually caused the HTC One purple camera problem? No, although the 'overheating' theory seems plausible. Did I ever get an answer from Carphone Warehouse. No. Over a month later, I'm still waiting. That's very disappointing. Would I recommend HTC? Based on their product and their customer service, I definitely would.

And yes, I could have contacted HTC first and not had the hassle with Carphone Warehouse. I wouldn't even have minded if the Carphone sales advisor had told me to contact HTC because they'd fix my phone for nothing. Instead, I'm feeling let down by my chosen retailer. I think they've let HTC down, too.

Print
Author: The Fonecast
3 Comments
Rate this article:
3.6

3 comments on article "The HTC One pink/purple camera saga: part 2"

7
0
Avatar image

Marius

10/18/2014 11:34 PM

Hello,

I have a similar problem with my phone. Did they send you a new one or did they just fix the camera?


0
0
Avatar image

Mark

10/20/2014 8:45 PM

They just fixed the camera. The phone was over a year old, so I didn't expect it to be replaced with a new one.


0
0
Avatar image

Fiona

10/28/2014 1:19 PM

Thanks for this useful article. I have the very same problem with my HTC One that I bought in March this year. It is currently with Carphone Warehouse for repair. However, tracking the repair online I've discovered that they can't repair it and I'm just waiting for a phone call from CPW to tell me I can come and collect it. I'm trying to predict what they're going to tell me so that I can prepare my defence. I'm going to stand my ground and bring all my assertiveness skills to the fore but if all else fails it looks like I have a fall-back position with HTC. Watch this space.......

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Recent Podcasts

From higher licence fees to lower roaming charges... and much more mobile industry news

Podcast - 16th October 2013

Product news in today's podcast includes Samsung's curved-screen smartphone, an HTC phablet and an update for Windows Phone 8.

We're also talking about malware, roaming charges, Ofcom's licence fees, a drop in mobile revenue, BT's MVNO and a project that sounds... well... silly.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

The ups and downs of the mobile telecoms industry

Podcast - 9th October 2013

In today's podcast: Samsung's profit, UK mobile ad spending and Vertu's smartphone range are all increasing.

Meanwhile HTC's profit and the proportion of children with mobile phones are both going down. Discover the background to these news stories - and plenty more - in our regular weekly broadcast.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Accidental app purchases, increasing in-train coverage, Amazon announcements and much more

Podcast - 2nd October 2013

Today's podcast starts with a gentle warning to app developers from the Office of Fair Trading.

We then move on to Amazon's new tablets, HTC's sale of its Beats Electronics stake, Twitter's emergency alerts, UK government plans to improve mobile broadband on trains, customer complaints and the growth in adult content for mobile devices.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

The future of ring-back tones: we talk to Florent Stroppa of OnMobile

Podcast - 27th September 2013

Ring-back tones offers consumers yet another way to customise their mobile phone service. Yet despite this - and the revenue opportunities that can be generated - many network operators don't provide ring-back tones.

In today's special feature we talk to Florent Stroppa of OnMobile to discover why the UK doesn't really seem to be bothered about ring-back tones... and whether the next-generation of interactive ring-back services could change this.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Two tablets for Microsoft, one tablet for Tesco... and a headache for BlackBerry

Podcast - 25th September 2013

There are big changes on the horizon at BlackBerry. We talk about the company's potential future and also look at the recent tablet announcements from Microsoft and Tesco... plus the rest of the week's mobile news.

There's also a special report from IAB2013 about the sometimes awkward relationship between mobile devices and the television industry.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First1213141517192021Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«April 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
25262728293031
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293012345

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement