# Incompetent Phone Repair Shop



## Matt B (Apr 8, 2007)

So before everyone says its my own fault - I know but you just trust that someone with a phone repair shop would actually know what they were doing.

So my eldest drops her iphone 5 that we got her for xmas and the screen smashes, no bother, its still working so it looks like it just needs a screen. My wife asks one of her friends who says the little local phone shop fixed her phone no problem so off she goes to the shop. The man looks at the phone and checks it over, says thats straightforward screen swap come back in an hour. So my wife comes back in an hour and he says actually its not working with the new screen in, come back on Friday as we are going to send it to our repair centre.

So Friday comes and the guy just gives my wife the phone back and says that when the phone was dropped it has damaged some chip behind the screen, that the broken screen was holding it all together and when they took the screen off it has been damaged beyond repair. No problem he says, just take it to the apple shop and they will change it.

So my wife goes to the apple shop, tells them that the phone was dropped and could they fix it. No problem they say, come back in an hour. When my wife goes back they say to her that someone else has been in the phone as there are screws and components missing. Sorry we wont touch it now you are on your own.

So i take the phone back to the first shop and have it out with them, tell them i am not happy that they appear to have actually killed the phone during the screen replacement. I told them about the apple shop saying there are parts missing. Ok he says we will have another look at it - give us it till Friday.

Friday comes and i go back to the shop and they just hand me the phone and say, yeah there was a screw missing and we have put it back and it still doesnt work. So i am pretty much at the end of my tether and tell them that I believe they botched the repair and broke the phone and they are now just trying to blame the original damage. Again i just get stone walled, "so what am i supposed to do with this phone now" and the bloke just goes - sell it for parts!! I nearly chinned him but just walked out of the shop.

Moral of this story - well there are several.

But mainly make sure your dozy 13 year old daughter buys a decent case for an expensive phone. 
Get phone insurance
Dont use the shitty phone repair shop in my home town.


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## Lollypop86 (Oct 26, 2013)

Could you not have claimed under household insurance?

Phone shops sounds dodgy as fuck though and unlike Apple to be unhelpful

J
xx


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## corradoman (Sep 11, 2010)

No help to you i know, but i had the same with our local local repair shop that is registered with Nokia to do repairs, I took the wifes Lumia in as it was not charging and wouldn`t register the sim, only a few months old phone, and they said no probs we will fix it! when i went to collect it they said they had sorted the non charging, Update! and bent yes bent :roll: the sim card holder to accept the sim and it was now fine. after taking it home within 10 mins it was doing the same, so took it back and after 2 more attempts have blamed us saying we have damaged it and denying that they have bent the sim holder!! Now it is left to us to send the phone back to nokia who will probably say that the phone was damaged by us!!! best thing to do in future is just send the phone back to the manufacturer


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## Shug750S (Feb 6, 2012)

I never bother with getting my own mobi fixed. I just have a contract sim (only £13 a month)and buy a reasonable but cheap handset. If it goes wrong, bin it and buy another another handset for £30-£40. Only use it for calls, texts and checking mails.

Luckily I also have a work mobile which I just give back to IT who swap it for another handset if anything goes wrong.


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## brian1978 (Jul 10, 2013)

I know its no good to you now but.....

I have samsung phones and tablet. If I were to break the glass on it its really easy to diy repair them. The screen glass is glued on and comes off using a hairdryer and a guitar plectrum and a little patience. You can buy replacement gorilla glass screens for about £10 and they come with everything you need to do a diy repair.

Not sure if apple phones are as easy but cant see why not.


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## Fizzleh (Jan 22, 2014)

Surely you should have taken it to apple first? they have a fixed price for replacing smashed screens, can't remember it off the top of my head. I don't trust these small phone repair shops at all


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## Stueyturn (Jun 29, 2011)

brian1978 said:


> I know its no good to you now but.....
> 
> I have samsung phones and tablet. If I were to break the glass on it its really easy to diy repair them. The screen glass is glued on and comes off using a hairdryer and a guitar plectrum and a little patience. You can buy replacement gorilla glass screens for about £10 and they come with everything you need to do a diy repair.
> 
> Not sure if apple phones are as easy but cant see why not.


I do my own too, I've done 3 screens on a 4s which is a bit fiddly as you have to remove all the internals to get the screen out.
Haven't had to do my 5 yet (fingers crossed) but from what I hear it's an easier job than the 4s.


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## brian1978 (Jul 10, 2013)

Stueyturn said:


> brian1978 said:
> 
> 
> > I know its no good to you now but.....
> ...


Smashed screens sound more difficult. Ive just replaced the cracked glass which just pulls off after melting the glue that holds it on.


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## Pugwash69 (Jun 12, 2012)

I dropped my Nexus 4 last weekend. I was most annoyed after criticising the kids for dropping phones. :? 
The worst thing about modern phones is that the touch-sensor is bonded to the screen, so although mine still switched on and displayed perfectly (behind the cracks) I was unable to unlock it. I did remotely do a factory reset though through google and plan to sell it on ebay. Buyers seem to have a thing for broken phones?
Google were selling the Nexus 4 off dead cheap before the Nexus 5 came out. Argos seem to sell it still for about £400!!
I bought the Nexus 5 for £300 instead next door at a well known seller of car phones.


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Just write the company a legal letter claiming damages under the sale of goods act sent recorded delivery. Plenty of legal template letters on legal and consumer forums to use. Key points are that it was working, they said they could repair it and you have evidence of incompetence with the missing screws etc. If it went to the small claims court you'd win and they will likely cave in rather than risk an appearance in court, as they also know this and that it will cost them more than the cost of a brand new phone to go down that route, with court fee, their and your expenses to pay etc.

From what I hear iPhone screens break easily and from past experience they are a pig to repair but that's no excuse for someone offering a professional repair service. They can't behave like they are your mate "having a go" with no liability - don't let them get away with it. Be confident in knowing your rights and they will back down.


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## DPG (Dec 7, 2005)

Fizzleh said:


> Surely you should have taken it to apple first? they have a fixed price for replacing smashed screens, can't remember it off the top of my head. I don't trust these small phone repair shops at all


Think it's about £100 for a refurb replacement.

My nieces have dropped 3 in the last year.


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## Matt B (Apr 8, 2007)

Fizzleh said:


> Surely you should have taken it to apple first? they have a fixed price for replacing smashed screens, can't remember it off the top of my head. I don't trust these small phone repair shops at all


That is most definitely the moral of the story


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