Phones must last length of contract

MOBILE phones ought to last at least as long as the network contracts taken out with them.

This should be a cornerstone of phone sales but firms are all too often not living up to it.

Legally, goods have to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described.

If they are not the consumer is entitled to a remedy.

So when a mobile provider or retailer sells a consumer a two-year network contract and, as part of the deal, a phone – that handset should last at least two years.

Nonsense

This means the warranty/guarantee should be for at least this period. Many network providers/ retailers have been asking why and the answer is simple.

If you sell a two-year contract and the handset to go with it, the handset must last the duration of the contract.

If it doesn’t it must mean the handset was not fit for purpose.

The only circumstances under which this would not be correct would be if the retailer clearly said, before the contract was entered in to: “You have a two-year contract and handset included – oh but the handset may not last two years so you may have to buy a new one mid-contract”.

And I am absolutely sure no retailer has ever said that. Here’s the good news, it appears that Apple have this week decided that they agree with me.

The tech giant announced an extension of all iPhone warranties from one to two years.

Well done, Apple. But it is now time for others to follow.

I’ve seen some providers in these situations argue that because they charged separately for the handset and network charges, what I have said above doesn’t apply.

Nonsense – it matters not how you were charged. The important point is that the phone was sold at the same time as selling the fixedterm network contract.

Unless the retailer clearly stated the phone may not last the duration of the contract, you can reasonably expect that it will.