Can I Buy and Claim Warranty for a Phone Which Is from a Phone Plan?

• 

  Orqq on 07/12/2020 - 16:34

  +1

  Double check the warranty card, but manufacturer’s warranty most likely is not transferable. Australian Consumer Law protections do not transfer on a private sale.

  Just get your friend to make any future warranty or ACL claims.

  • 

    badinh on 07/12/2020 - 16:49

    -1

    Please correct me if I understand incorrectly:
    - Google pixel has one year warranty from Google, and another year from ACL => two year warranty.
    - At the moment, the phone can only be claimed warranty by my friend; unless he transfers his ownership to me at an Optus brick store.
    - My friend is still the legal owner of the phone even he sells it to me for cash. Technically he can claim the phone lost and Optus/Google may be able ban/block the phone.

    So the best solution is pushing my friend to an Optus store, isn't it?

    • 

      Randxyz123 on 07/12/2020 - 17:43

      -2

      Your friend can get proof of purchase through Optus.

      If there are issues with contract bought phones, going through Google will be better than Optus. You have 2 years through consumer laws, Optus has nothing to do with it.

      Ask your friend to write out a sales receipt.

      Include the colour of the phone, how much, IMEI etc. Specify that it has been sold to you. Just like when you buy a car privately.

      Technically he can claim the phone lost and Optus/Google may be able ban/block the phone.

      Yes. This is a common insurance scam. This is why you get a receipt. If he tries any funny business, go to Optus and show the receipt

      • 

        badinh on 07/12/2020 - 18:15

        -1

        @knick007: Thank you for your comment. I have no idea why you are negged?!

        • 

          Randxyz123 on 07/12/2020 - 22:54

          @badinh: I don’t know either…

    • 

      Presence on 07/12/2020 - 17:43

      +1

      ACL doesn't specify any specific time AFAIK

      • 

        gmail92 on 07/12/2020 - 18:25

        +1

        Exactly; not sure where the assumed "two year warranty" comes from if it is not explicit.

    • 

      Orqq on 07/12/2020 - 22:29

      The ACL has not set period. The manufacturer will give a set period for their manufacturers warranty (which I don’t know the period for the Pixel). The ACL uses gray talk “acceptable quality for a reasonable period” which is very subjective.

      Your friend, the handset owner, is the only one that can claim warranty and ACL protections. Optus won’t transfer ownership of the phone to anyone else. They sold it to him and the their financial transaction is done. They may list you as a new owner in their system for IMEI purposes (so your friend can’t do you dirty and get it blocked) but I’m not sure what their system can do.

      If he sells it to you he is no longer the legal owner, you are. Warranty void and ACL protections gone (transfer of owner and private sale).

      Best solution is not to piss of your friend and get them to submit warranty claims (or a copy of their proof of purchase and lie to the repairer).

  • 

    [Deactivated] on 07/12/2020 - 18:33

    This area is often misunderstood:

    You can't claim warranty against the seller, in this case your friend
    You do have rights to claim warranty against the manufacturer.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 07/12/2020 - 18:45

  Why does consumer laws give you 2 years warranty?

  Mobileciti declares 30 days warranty on their website, i believe, not sure what ebay does….

  A private sale is a private sale, you "may" claim warranty on behalf of your friend, "if he backs you up" but warranty is generally NOT transferrable

• 

  badinh on 07/12/2020 - 23:21

  @Presence, @gmail92, @Orqq, @mullsie, @olilie:
  I know the ACL does not set a clear term for warranty. But Google does:
  https://support.google.com/store/troubleshooter/3070579?hl=e…

  The following applies to Google Products purchased in Australia or New Zealand:
  Google warrants that the Google Product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use as described in the user guide for two years from the date of original purchase by you anywhere in Australia or New Zealand (“Limited Warranty”).

  • 

    Orqq on 07/12/2020 - 23:43

    That’s Google setting out their manufacturers warranty. All manufacturers will do this and give a set period.

• 

  badinh on 07/12/2020 - 23:25

  @knick007, @Orqq, @olilie2012:
  Thank you for your provided information and suggestions.
  Actually I'm a bit surprised that the warranty is not belong to the phone itself but to the person who is the first owner. I don't know "warranty void and ACL protections gone (transfer of owner and private sale)" as @Orqq said. Seriously?

• 

  Orqq on 07/12/2020 - 23:58

  +1

  “Google warrants that the Google Product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal use as described in the user guide for two years from the date of original purchase by you anywhere in Australia or New Zealand (“Limited Warranty”).

  This Limited Warranty is only valid and enforceable in Australia and New Zealand and will apply only if you have purchased your Google Product from Google or its authorised resellers”

  That’s Google setting up to refuse warranty for a product resold through private sale :)

  In regards to ACL - http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/caca20…
  “ "consumer" , in relation to an industry, means a person to whom goods or services are or may be supplied by participants in the industry.”
  Your friend isn’t in the industry. There is also another section that explains it better, but can’t find it at this hour of the night :)

• 

  badinh on 08/12/2020 - 14:37

  • Actually, the friend I said in the first place is not my real friend. I bought the phone from him as a stranger. However, our discussion and then our talk was pretty nice and quite honest; so I call him as a friend => now updated as "the seller".
  • This morning, I called to Optus online, and visited 2 brick stores. All of them confirmed that technically the seller can report the phone lost/stolen. Then he may have a new phone and the phone on my hand will be IMEI-blocked. I felt disappointed and unfair, as I already paid hundreds of dollars.
  • The Optus staff said that buying second-hand phone were risky and nothing they can help. A receipt is a must. Lesson learned.

  • A quick search regarding IMEI blocking leads me to Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA). They also mentioned that:

    Purchasers of second-hand devices – if you are checking the IMEI of a phone you are about to purchase second-hand, please also request proof of ownership from the seller before you purchase the phone. This will help protect you if the seller subsequently reports the phone as lost or stolen once you have purchased it, which will result in the phone being blocked. This is a common scam and unfortunately it is a situation of buyer beware when it comes to purchasing second-hand devices.

    The receipt is necessary to claim warranty from manufacturer Google. I sent some messages to the seller to ask about the receipt, but did not get responses yet. His account may be a fake one.
    From Optus, the warranty time is the contract time e.g. two-year warranty for a two-year contract.

  Now the warranty issue is clear for me. Unfortunately the chance for my new phone to be blocked is practicable.

• 

  [Deactivated] on 08/12/2020 - 14:44

  +1

  Since when do you get free replacement for stolen phones, even if they were on contract?
  Unless they have it insured…

  Yeah, the "friend" didnt seem friendly, but if he is claiming "insurance" on a stolen phone and he s proven incorrect or fraudulent, then it s a blackmark on his credit rating or with the telco, I would assume.

  But yeah everything over $50 needs a written receipt or you risk getting screwed over, even if verbal contract is legally binding

  And a private sale receipt ONLY protects you from being accused of theft, it "may" not give you warranty