[Resolved]  Vodafone / Apple iPhone — Defective Phone

My friend visited the Vodafone gallery at SV Road, Opposite Irla Fire Brigade, Andheri West on the 26th of December 2008 sometime during the evening with the intention of buying an iphone. December 27 2008 was my birthday and she intended to gift the phone to me on my birthday. After a very nice and convincing conversation with the staff at the gallery, she purchased the phone. The sales staff there convinced her that if there are any concerns regarding any defects in the phone, it will immediately be replaced. The iPhone being an Apple product and the store being a Vodafone gallery, she took the word of the sales staff there and did not bother to check the phone before buying it.

Fast forward to 12:00 am, while all my close friends and I are engaged in the celebrations of my Birthday, she gifted the phone to me. After a lot of praises for the beautiful packaging we opened the box and took the phone out. I inserted my Sim Card but the phone would not start (I am a Vodafone user, my card is from the Hutch days.) It would take me to an emergency calls only screen and show an icon of a lock at the top. Not just that, my display would go on and off like an old fluorescent light tube that needs to be replaced. I thought the phone must be low on battery so I put it for charging. In the meanwhile, my friend called Vodafone support to check why I am unable to use the phone. We spent a frustrating half an hour on two calls with two very incompetent customer service representatives (the first one probably hung up on us, the second was totally lost). On our third call, the representative asked us to visit the Vodafone store. I didn't give it much thought, however I could see that the friend who gifted me the phone is visibly upset. We cheered her up and continued with our celebrations.

On December 27 2008, in the afternoon sometime, we visited the Vodafone store. The representative there told us that he needs to activate the phone so that I can use it. He did just that and came back to us with the phone. The sight of those pretty icons on the phone dissipated our displeasure about the fact that the sales representative, at the time of the sale did not inform the buyer that the phone needs to be activated at the store. He handed the phone over to me and I could see that thing happen again. The phone would switch off on its own and come up again. He told us, this is happening because the battery is low, it wasn't. I had charged the phone for close to 4 hours that day. Another friend of mine uses the iPhone and he… should I say, 'informed' your sales representative that the phone does not behave like this when the battery is low. The Vodafone iPhone 'Expert' told us that they will have to update the software to the latest version in order to make it work and that it would take him another 20 minutes to do that. We did not have that much time since our plan of celebrations did not include spending an hour at the Vodafone gallery. We informed him that we will come on the following day. He assured us that if they are unable to fix the phone on Sunday, they will give me an immediate replacement. I repeated the mistake my friend had made and took his word at face value.

Fast forward to Sunday December 28 2008 evening, we went to the Vodafone gallery where the iPhone 'Expert' took the phone with him and said he will fix the problem for me. I waited there for about 30 minutes before he came back with my phone and a form. He asked me for the bill which I presented to him immediately. I asked him if he is processing the replacement to which he said that he is. I had a look at the form he was filling; the form was titled 'Repair request form' or something in those lines. This is when the warning bells started ringing. When I asked him if I will get the replacement immediately, he started giving me ambiguous answers before conceding that I will have to come back on Monday December 29, 2008. I asked to speak with his manager. Two gentlemen stepped out from a cabin to talk to me. They started giving me a whole load of bollocks about policies, procedures etcetera. When I asked them to give me a new phone immediately, they said that they do not have it. That surprised me. When I asked them if they are trying to tell me that if today I come in with intent to buy an iPhone; would they not have it? They said they have more phones but they cannot give any of those to me and that if I come on Monday I will get the phone. I asked why they can not just give me a phone from their inventory; they said that the phone that will come on the following day for me would be a 'swap' phone. When I asked him what is the difference between a 'swap' phone and a phone from their inventory, he told me that there is none. But still he would not give me a phone from their inventory. Upon further probing, he informed me that the phone that I would get would not be a box packed phone. This is where I lost it. I asked him what is the assurance that the p[hone that he gives me would be a new phone? He did not have an answer. I asked him if they will be able to give it to me in writing that the phone is a brand new phone, they said no. I again asked them if they will be able to give me a fresh piece from the inventory, they refused. I asked them for a refund, another no. The gentleman there Mr. Sunil Naidu said that he will update the software now and give me my phone but it will take about one and a half hour and that he would not leave before the update completes. He asked me to come once again on Monday to take the phone back. I was mighty pissed and frustrated by now and said okay. While stepping out of the store we spotted a sign which said 'Happy to Help', I could not help but gently laugh at the irony.

December 29 2008 when I called Mr Naidu in the morning to ask if I can pick up my phone, he informed me that I cannot. He said the phone is not working and he is still trying to fix it.

I think now I know why the residents of Mumbai prefer to buy phones from stores like Alfa etcetera and not Vodafone gallery. This has been a terrible experience for me and all the other people involved. My family has been using Vodafone services since the Max Touch days and this is how you choose to reward your consumers for brand loyalty. I am at a point where I don't know if I even want any phone, repaired, swapped or brand new from Vodafone anymore as I am seriously considering just taking the money back from you, switching to Airtel and buying an iphone from them. I intend to inform all my friends and family about this screw up and totally dissuade them from buying anything from a Vodafone gallery. Moreover, I intend to blog about this and register a complaint at the consumer forum.

I am sure you guys feel lucky that you are not in a western country where my friend who bought the phone would have been suing you for causing embarrassment to her at a party where many other guests were present and the emotional discomfort that you have caused to all o[censored]s.

Mr. Naidu has informed me that there is nothing he can do for me apart from giving me a swap phone. He tells me it is not in his power to do anything else in this regard. Upon asking him to direct me to the person who can help me he did not give me any lead. He did not give me his superior's number when I asked for it. He would not give me any email addresses of people who can take the decision either since he is not 'authorized' to do it.

In all the iPhone promotional communication, Vodafone does not communicate that the cost of the phone is around INR 30, 000 + stressful hours at the Vodafone gallery and on the phone with majestically incompetent Vodafone customer service representatives. Then why am I paying this price? This is not what we had bargained for.

Then we were called by Mr. Sunil Naidu on Monday who informed that the phone is fine now and we can pick it up. I took the phone back from the vodafone gallery on Monday evening and it seemed to be working fine.However, later I noticed that it is acting weird. I would pull it out of my pocket and it would have a screen that said slide to power off the phone. I did not even press the power switch and still it showed me that. Then, I was typing a text when that screen came up again. I didnt give it much thought then and ignored it. Then on wednesday night it happened again a couple of times. After that stopped, I saw that the riunger volume is decreasing on its own accord. I could see the bars go down without even touching the volume button. When I tried to increase it, it would increase as long as I held the button and then decrease again when I released it. After a while, it started doing the opposite. I showed the same to my friends who I was celebrating the new years eve with and they suggested that I get the phone replaced. Honestly, I didnt want to go through the ordeal of going and banging my head on the wall called vodafone gallery again so I thought Ill wait for a day and see if it happens again. Today I got late for work, thanks for my great iPhone. I had set an alarm on it, but the ringer volume magically decreased in the night and I didnt hear the alarm ring. I am terribly distressed at this point and I do not know what to do. They are refusing to give me a box packed phone as a replacement. They say they will give me a 'swap phone.' I do not know what a swap phone is, but from my experience working for Dell, I know that replaced electronics are usually refurbished items which are 'as good as new' but not new. So they would not give me a box packed phone and they would not give me a written guarantee that the swap phone they are giving me is a new phone either. Now I am turning to you for help. I believe that since we have paid for a brand new box packed phone, it is my right to receive a bix packed phone and not some swap phone.