‘Waterproof’ phone that wasn’t
Q. I purchased a Sony XZ Premium mobile from Spark in December, 2017 for $1200. It had a two-year warranty. It developed battery problems preChristmas 2018. Spark sent it to Telegistics in Auckland, who reported that it had been damaged by water, thus invalidating the warranty according to Sony. The repair cost quoted on telephone by Spark Moorhouse Christchurch was $300. This turned out to be $350 as they neglected to add GST. This mobile is the third Sony Xperia I have owned, purchased primarily because of the advertised fact that they are waterproof to some international standard. It has been treated exactly the same as the other two Sony Xperia mobiles I have owned which performed faultlessly. How can a device be sold, advertised as being waterproof when it is quite plainly not? I hasten to add that the device has never been immersed in water, or had a drink spilt on it. Any moisture contacting the device has been minor splashing.
A. I took your question to Spark.
A spokeswoman said the way a phone’s water durability is graded is through an ingress protection rating (IP). Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium has an IP water rating of eight – which means the phone can be submerged in fresh water for about 30 minutes no deeper than 1.5 metres. ‘‘We can also confirm that the Xperia XZ Premium was advertised as water resistant, not waterproof,’’ she said.
‘‘Warranty guidelines for water damage are determined by each individual manufacturer. For Sony, the warranty guidelines outline that if the device passes a pressure test, but water damage is found then it’s confirmed that the physical phone is not faulty, and the water has entered the phone through an alternative way, such as improper use. For example, if the sim tray hasn’t been inserted correctly.’’
She said that in your case, the damage was identified in the circuit board and battery, which indicated the phone was not faulty and water damage occurred through another means.
‘‘While the correct process was followed in line with Sony’s warranty guidelines, we can appreciate this is a frustrating situation and will therefore offer the customer a refund for the repair costs.
‘‘All the customer needs to do is return to the Spark store where they had the repairs administered and the store manager will process a refund.’’
Q. I currently own one house in West Auckland bought in 2017. I have lived there for a year-anda-half, alone. The mortgage is so expensive I had considered renting out the entire house, and renting a bedroom in someone else’s house closer to work for me. With all the new tax rules coming in, would I be liable for capital gains tax? I don’t own multiple properties, so I would hate to be taxed when I eventually sell this property … ideally to buy something better in the future, maybe when I start a family and meet someone. Although this is my only property, it would technically turn into an investment property, right? If I spend more time living in it than renting it out, is it still counted as a family home?
A. You could hypothetically be caught by the bright-line test, which taxes income on capital gains on investment properties that are bought and sold within five years.
You bought this property after the rule was introduced.
But I checked with an accountant who told me that as long as you do not end up renting it out for more than 50 per cent of the entire time you own it, it will remain your primary home, and won’t be subject to that tax.
So, if you were to move out today, you could rent it out for a year-and-a-half before you’d be subject to the bright-line test. Or hold it for another three-and-a-half and the test would not apply at all.
But if you hold it as an investment property long-term, you could eventually be captured by a capital gains tax (if one were introduced). Under the proposals from the Tax Working Group, gains from the time the policy was introduced would be captured, assuming you were still not living in the house at that point – and even if you did not own another home.
Do you have a consumer or personal finance question you’d like an answer to? Email susan.edmunds@stuff.co.nz