HTC Repair Bill!

Psymonkee · 4 May 2011 at 22:14

Hi,

Waaaay back in November 2009 I got myself an HTC HD2 on an 18th month contract. The good news is I can upgrade in 12 days

Bad news though: My HD2 broke - the USB socket on the phone came loose and wouldn't charge the phone. I rang HTC and booked it in for repair and today I got an email regarding the outcome of their findings.

Apparently the phone is damaged in a way that is considered 'out of warranty work' and they will not repair the phone for free. They have determined that the damage requires a new mainboard at a cost of £184.61!! :eek:

According to the call centre person I spoke to any damage to the the USB socket is classed as 'Accidental Damage' and is fully chargeable to the customer! :mad:

To say I'm annoyed would be an understatement. I have asked for this to be escalated but I'm not exactly hopeful....

Surely if the phone cannot last its warranty period (confirmed as 2 years) without it breaking then it is unfit for purpose.

The call centre rep even had the nerve to suggest I'd inserted the cable the wrong way round and perhaps broken it when forcing the plug in.

I'm very unimpressed by their 'service' and shall be considering other options before ANY HTC phone ever again. Pathetic

/rant

randal · 4 May 2011 at 22:17

Ask for phone to be returned, recoup as much money as possible hocking on the bay, buy iPhone, *enjoy a better life.

*may or may not happen.

/dons flame suit.

"andy" · 5 May 2011 at 03:11

SE replaced 2 phones with broken USB ports for me under warranty... both times within the week and i was given a new handset rather than just a new mainboard. apple do the same

try kicking up a fuss and blame it on poor design .make sure you tell them that its put you off their brand

a local phone repair place might be able to solder the port (or a new one) back on properly

MikeHunt79 · 5 May 2011 at 04:35

I'd check if this is a known issue, if others are having this problem also you'll have more chance of them fixing it for free.

"andy" said:
a local phone repair place might be able to solder the port (or a new one) back on properly

Those little usb ports can be a pita to solder, so if you do go for this option, make sure you go with someone who knows that they are doing.

gurusan · 5 May 2011 at 04:39

randal24 said:
Ask for phone to be returned, recoup as much money as possible hocking on the bay, buy iPhone, *enjoy a better life.

*may or may not happen.

/dons flame suit.

iPhone...really? The iPhone 4 is 1 of the most overpriced POS phones ever released....AND it's old already and has a fail camera.To encourage someone to get one is crazy IMO. That said, the HTC service seems pretty crappy and that has me worried a little as I have a HTC Droid Incredible and the USB is wearing just a tad.

Richdog · 5 May 2011 at 07:14

gurusan said:
iPhone...really? The iPhone 4 is 1 of the most overpriced POS phones ever released....AND it's old already and has a fail camera.To encourage someone to get one is crazy IMO. That said, the HTC service seems pretty crappy and that has me worried a little as I have a HTC Droid Incredible and the USB is wearing just a tad.

Its hardly a "POS phone", statements like that scream fanboy. Its a good phone with great software that is slick and smooth. Camera is also better than most smartphone/HTC efforts. And I say that as a hardcore Android user.

To the OP, get a Samsung Galaxy S II, it's the clear choice at the moment... amazing phone in almost every aspect.

gurusan · 5 May 2011 at 07:16

I got my HTC phone for free with a 2 year contract and the camera is far, far better than the iphone 4, image quality, resolution, zoom, autofocus and light adjustment...Not to mention the many benefits of the Android OS....oh yeah and I can hold it anyway I please and not see any reception drop...

Streeteh · 5 May 2011 at 07:21

How the hell did this turn into a HTC vs Iphone debate!?!

Psy - as people have said, first research if it's happened to other people. If it has, take note of where and when and use it to your advantage. Play the 'Sony and Apple repair this sort of issue for free' card and generally be a pain in the arse.

I'm sure i'm stating the obvious when i say don't get angry, just be annoying.

stoofa · 5 May 2011 at 08:43

Streeteh said:
How the hell did this turn into a HTC vs Iphone debate!?!

Psy - as people have said, first research if it's happened to other people. If it has, take note of where and when and use it to your advantage. Play the 'Sony and Apple repair this sort of issue for free' card and generally be a pain in the arse.

I'm sure i'm stating the obvious when i say don't get angry, just be annoying.

How?
Because some/most iPhone 4 owners never pass-over any opportunity to actually tell the world they have got one and how amazing it is - see second post.

Myshra · 5 May 2011 at 09:30

Quiet fanboys. It looks like a company policy to basically charge for all USB related items which sucks then considering the port is designed to take an extreme amount of wear over it's lifetime so needs to be built exceptionally tough but when it fails, basically bricks the phone. I'm not so sure the apple & SE thing is going to pan out so well (it's their company policy you're against really, not a competitors) but I'd consider writing a letter to a company bigshot (head of UK for HTC would be a good shout) telling them their repair centres are being underhand.

edscdk · 5 May 2011 at 09:33

if the socket is broken you broke it (unless there is a known issue), consider yourself lucky if they fix it for free, but its not unfair for them to say its OOW...

randal · 5 May 2011 at 09:53

Calm down fella, there was a liberal dash of sarcasm in that post if you'd bothered to take it for more than face value.

HTC make great phones, as do Apple. Horses for courses, HTC make well spec'd, functional and highly configurable devices with a fantastic user community for support and development. Apple also make well spec'd, easily accessible, and well integrated devices which as well as being objects of desire are excellent at what they do. For what it's worth, I sold a 3G for a Desire, and now the Desire has made way for a 4. 3G was too slow as was EOL and Apple had forgotten it in the development cycle, Desire was good to start but I hate the text input and lack of integration with OS X.

To further clarify, each device has it's advantages and disadvantages. I would say neither is head/shoulders above the other. It just happened that the Desire suited me better as a PC user, and the iPhone better as an OS X user. End of.

gurusan said:
iPhone...really? The iPhone 4 is 1 of the most overpriced POS phones ever released....AND it's old already and has a fail camera.To encourage someone to get one is crazy IMO. That said, the HTC service seems pretty crappy and that has me worried a little as I have a HTC Droid Incredible and the USB is wearing just a tad.

I'd take the iPhone 4 camera over the Desire's any day. The Desire took awful pictures Thanks to the plastic shield on the case getting scuffed. Nothing like that as yet on the glass covering the 4's camera.

Also see above, there was a just a smidge of tongue-in-cheek advice about my post.

Father Ted · 5 May 2011 at 10:08

See, that's the thing about posting on an internet forum, without the ability to read your mind it's impossible to tell wehter your being tongue in cheek or serious.
So why be surprised at some of the replies?

Psymonkee · 5 May 2011 at 10:20

edscdk said:
if the socket is broken you broke it (unless there is a known issue), consider yourself lucky if they fix it for free, but its not unfair for them to say its OOW...

But why won't the socket (which I need to use daily!) last the 2 years of the warranty? Shoddy build quality is why.

I'll be pursuing this and being as much of a pain as I can for certain however.

Luckily my contract is due an upgrade in 11 days so the SGS2 is a very good possibility of being my new phone!

randal · 5 May 2011 at 10:40

Father Ted said:
See, that's the thing about posting on an internet forum, without the ability to read your mind it's impossible to tell wehter your being tongue in cheek or serious.
So why be surprised at some of the replies?

See your point, but given how much the "versus" topic has been done to death on here I would have thought that my glibness would have been fairly obvious. Makes no odds to me, I have no side either way.

mattyprice4004 · 5 May 2011 at 11:00

Any damage to connectors usually isn't covered by warranty, as their is no way for them to see if the damage was done by someone mashing the USB lead into the phone with the elegance of a dinosaur on steroids or not.

After 6 months it's down to you to prove you didn't do that, which is difficult.

alex24 · 5 May 2011 at 11:18

Which operator? My operator will cover the phone if it's out of manufacturer warranty for the duration of the contract. In the past they've also dealt with the manufacturer on my behalf. Did you go directly to HTC or to the operator first? If you explain to your operator (who I assume are hoping you'll renew your contract soon?) what the problem is and how it wasn't your fault, they may well side with you and just replace your handset or pay the repair bill.

krooton · 5 May 2011 at 11:25

I've been an avid HTC fan and owner for the past 5 years, but the IP4's camera beats anything HTC has offered over the years.

Psymonkee · 24 May 2011 at 02:06

Fanboy arguments aside I received and interesting email today....they are repairing my phone FOC and returning it by the end of the week...curious but happy news!

1pudding1 · 24 May 2011 at 05:41

Who was your 18month contract with? I was with O2 and HD2, exactly the same time, and I ended accidently chucking my phone on the floor of a squash court from the balcony above. Screwed the screen up, but went to an O2 store, told em it just broke, and they sent it off the be fixed as I was still in my contract period. Worth getting your phone straight back and trying the contract provider?