Repairer damaged the phone but refuses to admit and is being threatening

Hi all,

Let's get down to the story first. 3 weeks ago, I purchased a Sony Xperia Z Ultra outright for work purposes as it means I get a phone and tablet in one. On tuesday, the glass on the phone screen cracked. Please note that the phone was in a case and in my pocket when the magnetic clasp pushed on it and cracked the glass. I took it back to the retailer to see whether Sony would be able to fix it but the retailer mentioned that I would have to get it fixed privately as Sony does not have repair centres in Australia. So after searching online and making a few calls, I took it to a repair shop on Broadway who had competitive but not the lowest prices. As promised, they returned the phone the next day with the new screen installed and charged me $295.80. However, when I got home, the Wifi, Bluetooth, and headset were not working. This was surprising as before giving the phone in for repairs, I had connected the phone with a mouse using an OTG cable and synced the company data off it, printed the cards using the bluetooth printer and factory reset the phone.

I went back today and told the repairer about the problem. They took the phone back in and said they would call me shortly when it was fixed. They close at 7pm and when I hadn't received a call till 6pm, I called them. The guy on the other end said that I can come pick up the phone as the wifi/bluetooth module was broken and there is nothing he could do about it. I went to pick up the phone and the guy showed me the open phone and said the part was missing. I asked him where was the part if it was broken. He said he didn't have it as it could have fallen somewhere when he opened the phone. He also kept saying that I had dropped the phone and the soldered part came off. This is not true as I know tat the phone was in my pocket when the screen cracked. It was not dropped. I treated the phone very carefully by putting it in a case and taking really good care of it. My mistake was being careless about not realising it was in my pocket and applying pressure on the screen as a result.

I told him that I had used the wifi and bluetooth the night before to sync the data off it and he kept saying that I was lying. I asked him to give me the part, which he said he did not have. The phone had never been opened and the repairer was the first one to open the phone. I said if the part was broken then give me the broken piece. He was getting verbally abusive at this point and kept fluctuating between his statements saying that the part was never there and that it might have fallen out when they opened the phone. I then told him that I was going to be forced to report him to the ACCC and I needed his business card. He refused to give that to me and when I asked him politely to borrow a pen to write the name of the repairer on the invoice, he snatched the invoice from me and destroyed it. He then said "get out of my f*****g shop. This is my private property, get the f**k out." He also tried charging me by coming out from behind the counter. If his girlfriend wasn't holding him back, he was sure to have physically assaulted me. I then again asked him, politely, if he could give me the receipt as I needed that as I had paid him for the service. At this point he got really worked up and started pushing his girlfriend away and being verbally abusive. I then left the shop as I did not want to get in a brawl with him.

I can get my hands on a copy of the invoice as I made a photocopy to give in to the office.

Also apart from the cracks on the glass the phone is in absolutely pristine condition. There are no dents, marks or cracks on the phone. If something had in fact broken, it would have stayed inside the casing and well that particular module would not be working.

Now I need your advice as to how to deal with this situation. I haven't had any experience with this before. I am sure that the phone was working fine before I gave it in for repairs as I had used it via an OTG cable and a mouse. The only thing I can't vouch for is the speaker headset as I did not make or receive any calls after the screen was cracked. Also the guy being so violent is pretty shocking.

This is a serious matter so I would really appreciate some useful answers.

Thanks in advance guys!

TLDR Section:
Had my phone screen repaired at a local repair shop. The repairer caused more damage and is refusing to fix it. Instead he is be aggressive verbally and was threateningly charging me out of his shop. If I had stayed a second longer, he would have assaulted me. He also snatched my invoice that was paid for and destroyed it.

Related Stores

iresq.com.au
iresq.com.au

Comments

  • -1

    So exactly how does buying another Sony Ultra Z solve your problem?

    • TBH never buying a sony phone again. I had read about the screen cracking issue before buying it but didnt give much heed to it. Turns out the reviews were correct. The glass on the phone is pitiful.

      • The reviews never lie unfortunately :(

  • +2

    A bit OOT too, but this is exactly why I decided to dump my Sony Xperia after 1 year use. Trying to get things fixed on the phone is such a hassle especially with their repair centre not being readily available where you can just walk into (they don't even have any service centre in WA).

    Switched back to iPhone immediately. I've had some fixes on Apple products a few times.. but everytime with maximum 24 hour turnaround in the local shop. No sending it out to some bullsh*t service centre somewhere in NSW or whatever.

    Last time Apple fixed my Macbook, they replaced the HDD for $350. But they did not fix the main problem.. which was apparently in the Motherboard. They then fixed it free of charge… which would've cost me a fortune.

    I'm not into Apple vs Sony vs Android here… but some things are just worth having because of its excellent customer service. Sony is not on top of my list really…

    As far as your problem…. if things didn't get sorted out in your favour, you might want to consider leaving a negative reviews on the net/social media. It may not give you any benefit with your phone/cash… but a bad review is something they definitely deserve to get.

    • +1

      I'm not into Apple vs Sony vs Android here… but some things are just worth having because of its excellent customer service. Sony is not on top of my list really…

      I've had my Z2 repaired under warranty, sure the turn around time wasn't stellar (1 call to initiate [A tuesday], 2nd day for prepaid return postage form to be sent out by their contracted service centre [Wednesday], 3rd day I posted it out [Thursday], and 4th day it showed it was received by the facility [Friday], 1 week goes by without any updates, then on the next Friday [7 days since update] it says repair completed and tracking info sent out. On Monday I receive my Z2 repaired.

      Overall, fairly hassle free, the turn around time is just under 2 weeks.

      Fault with the z2 was I derped and dropped it twice (1.6m without case and 2m drop with official case). No major physical damage apart from a fairly unnoticeable dent in the corner. The camera developed a permanent circular smudge from the 2nd drop (2m drop with official case) when capturing images, again, no glass cracking, so I was very lucky for it to be accepted under warranty.

      Seems to me whoever told the O.P. that Sony doesn't have an authorised repair centre has diarrhea coming out of their mouth.

      Fonebiz is Sony's authorised repair centre, and the only one who can certify the original IP rating of their repaired phones.
      For anyone else who needs a repair for a Sony phone, whether warranty or not, it's probably best to go through the Sony support site to organise it via FoneBiz.

      There's a $40 fee for out-of-warranty inspections, where they will send you a quote for the OOW repair.

  • What did this guy look like?

    • +1

      Really dont want to go on a personal attack. lets just say young and reckless.

  • +4

    Add your review here. Google Reviews Page

    (http://www.truelocal.com.au/business/iresq-mobile-phone-repa…)

    Definitely name and shame such dodgy retailers.

      • Heard about this on the radio today. thats just a pathetic attitude to have, especially in a multicultural society, by a person who is relatively new to the place.

    • link in in the description.

      • +2

        OP! Dude. You've left your review of them on their Google+ page… with your real full name lol then clicking on your Google+ page, you've got your home address posted up for all to see.

        Not cool if the shop owner decides to get revenge for a negative review. Careful, man.

        • thanks. removed that.

  • you should have let yourself to be assaulted so you can take the matter to the police and all. at least you become truly a victim of something.

    • +2

      Yeh and what if he was badly hurt or worse? Not worth it IMO.

      I would suggest to everyone if they come across a dispute to take some sort of recording device and record the situation :)

      • +1

        Yup, just imagine it ended up like this:
        http://www.theage.com.au/national/teenager-daniel-christie-d…

        Is it worth the risk? lol.

      • doesn't need to be badly hurt of course, just need an evidence like black eye or swollen cheek. without physical evidence, there's nothing you can do.

      • the stupid law here is that if you badly beaten but your body somehow managed to heal itself quick or left no bruises, you can't report it to the police. unless you have a video recording which unlikely if you get assaulted randomly. you need to preserve the evidence. seeing is believing yeah.

        • +5

          actually the law is that a verbal assault is also a crime.

          i am a fairly large guy and could have easily taken him if he attacked but that defeats the entire purpose. i wanted my phone fixed, not my adrenaline rushed. besides i would rather resolve the matter without any nuisance as such…

  • Can I ask, was this repairer called PhoneInc? lol

    • +1

      No they go by two names. Their website is www.iresq.com.au
      the shop name is Mr Flash Computer, mobile repair. No board on the shop though. just a yellow board with an internet printing etc sign.

      • Seen this place before, used to be an Internet cafe.. Still looks dodgy as.

      • Complete Cleaning Inside & Out of Device

        Well, you can't accuse him of not being thorough! :p

        Experienced Technicians

        Experienced in?…

  • Count it as a loss man. Dunno why you want to get involved with someone who resorts to violence over $300. Its obvious the guys dodgy and not all there.

    It ain't worth it, u should let it go.

    • I understand wheat you are saying but when you pay $750 for a phone and $300 for repairs, it does amount to much more….especially on a limited salary.

      • How did you pay $750 for a Z Ultra?

  • +20

    I got a call from Fair Trading today They will contact the repairer tomorrow and try to resolve this. Lets see what becomes of it.

    • +1

      goodluck

  • Decided to be cheap and got my iphone 5 repaired in Malaysia ($50 rather than $120 at my local repair store). Initially after the repair everything was perfect, however a day later the righthand side of the digitizer stopped working. They tried to refuse the repair saying it was my fault (I only travelled back to Malaysia 2 weeks later and had notified them of the problem and when I would return), however after much yelling and screaming, the screen was fixed once more by them and it is still working fine.

    Moral of the story, there is none. You win some, you lose some. However given you paid $300 for the repair, I think you are definitely losing here.

  • +1

    what is the address of this shop? boycott it everybody

    • it is in the description.

  • I would not advise going to the CTTT either. I went to the CTTT once beause i was advised to make an application by a lawyer. The lawyer told me that the judge would hear both my side of the case and my landlord's case (it was a property related issue) then make a ruling.

    This did NOT happen. The judge simply asked my landlord what the issue was, then looked at me and asked when i would start complying with the law. I was shocked as i had been the one to file an application against the landlord, and the judge was simply accepting my landlord's statement at face value. The rest of the hearing was him shouting rudely at me to sign a form without reading it, then when i requested time to read the form before signing it, he rolled his eyes and tried to reschedule the hearing date.

    When i objected, he rudely told me to take a seat while he heard another case. I was again shocked when the judge was very nice and polite to the two ladies who came in next, which was a complete change from i had just experience. This hearing proceeded according to the format the lawyer had described to me, which was hearing both sides of the story and since both parties wanted to reschedule it in order to get more evidence, the jduge was happy to do that for them. After that hearing was over, he gave me a brief explanation of the form and i had no choice but to sign it as the judge clearly did not want to hear my side of the story and wanted me out of the room ASAP.

    My landlord was smiling widely as he did not even need to defend himself and i didnt even get the chance to tell my side of the story or explain why i had filed my application (i had done so because my landlord was being very threatening and doing things like disabling the internet to try and stop me from finding a new place to stay, in addition to demanding i vacate the premises in 3 days).

    When i called the lawyer and told her what had happened, she couldn't offer any explanation as to why the hearing had not proceeded according to the format she had described but wasn't enthusiastic about pursuing the matter…and i had to find a new place to stay on short notice so i had no choice but to drop the whole thing.

    • +2

      i pretty sure the judge know the landlord (in your case)

    • NCAT or the CTTT is a nightmare of everyone involved. I would NEVER recommend it, but sometimes it is unavoidable. The purportedly informality and lack of procedural direction makes NCAT a horrid place to seek any relief in my opinion, and this consideration must be weighed against any cost savings approaching NCAT instead of the Local Court sitting in either Small Claims or its General division.

  • +1

    Get an Apple

    • +1

      Pink Lady, Grannysmith or Fuji?

      • +1

        Red delicious. Definitely Red delicious apples.

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