OUTDOOR PHONE STORE/RUGGED PHONES AUSTRALIA
TERMS, CONDITIONS & WARRANTY
In purchasing a phone or tablet from us you are buying from our New Zealand-based company, HATM Magazines Ltd (ABN 90 986 204 881), which may appear on your credit card statement.
EFFECTIVE 18 JAN 2020 STANDARD WARRANTY BECOMES 24 MONTHS ON ALL PHONES SOLD FROM THAT DATE
Buying a new smartphone online can be daunting, so we want to make it easier. Our warranty on these rugged smartphones is the best you will get, and here’s why:
OUTDOOR PHONE STORE PEACE OF MIND GUARANTEE:
You will get your phone, usually within days of ordering
Your phone will work
If it has a manufacturing defect within 24 months of purchase we’ll sort it by either repair or replacement at our discretion. This is done via a return to base Auckland or Sydney and is your responsibility. Phones must be packed in their box, then in a bubble-wrapped courier bag. We take no responsibility for damage caused by incorrect return packaging or phones that go missing because the customer failed to use a courier tracking number. While most repairs can be done quite fast, like other mobile repair companies we sometimes have to import parts and these can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks to arrive depending on availability ex-Asia. In some cases parts can be airfreighted in faster for an optional customer fee – usually about NZ$40 – we will give you that option if it is offered by the supplier.
We’ll take the risk, and the hassle, out of buying your new rugged phone
WHAT OUR STANDARD WARRANTY DOESN’T COVER:
- Accidental damage is not covered. No phone is completely indestructible and no manufacturer can control for all the different environmental variables that can conspire to cause freak damage, even to a rugged phone. Drops may not shatter a phone, but delicate electronic components and sensors can still be jarred with resulting glitches or waterproof seals can be damaged. Each shock to a phone stresses the glass, and the glass can subsequently shatter because of a seemingly minor fall. There is currently no technology in existence that removes this risk completely from a phone. Not even US MIL-STD 810G guarantees real world protection all the time. You are buying a phone that is demonstrably tougher than ordinary phones but it is not unbreakable and the customer agrees that they fully understand this.
- Your phone is a computer, treat it like one. Your rugged phone, if dropped from shoulder height alongside a Galaxy S8 Edge or iPhone X, is much more likely to survive the drop than the sleek phones, but in the right circumstances it can break and the phone runs a higher risk of glitching, which will not be covered under warranty. Try to minimise exposure to that risk.
- Accidental damage is, and always has been, an insurance claim. That includes any damage you may cause to the phone while installing or removing sims or memory cards, or inserting or removing the charging cord or earphone jack.
- Power spikes or surges that damage the phone while charging are not covered under warranty. These can be caused by storms anywhere on the power network, collisions with power poles, feedback from ‘dirty’ power appliances like LED or CFL energysaver lightbulbs or even just arcing caused when something is plugged in. In all cases power spikes are insurance events, not warranty events.
- Speaker contamination by iron filings or strong magnetic fields (such as around welding equipment) is not covered. Speakers are strong magnets and because they have to be open to the air for you to hear sound it is impossible to prevent iron filings from entering the speaker cavity. If you work around steel, we recommend carrying your phone in a ziplock bag or one of our All Terrain Cases. If your phone ventures too close to a very strong magnetic field it can sustain damage. In most cases we can replace affected speakers, but it costs.
- Water or other liquid damage is not covered. We can’t possibly know how deep your phone went, how long it was under or other variables. Your phone is designed to resist water under ideal conditions within IP68 tolerances, and it will certainly resist water much longer than a non IP68 phone, but just as your 4WD SUV is not covered by insurance when you take it off road, using your phone in wet conditions remains at your own risk.
- Damage caused by a failure to keep rubber seals closed is not covered, nor is damage caused by exceeding the phone’s IP68 water pressure tolerances, or damage caused by wear and tear to the seals. The IP68 official test takes place in still clean fresh water at a depth of 1.5m, a pressure of approximately 2psi on the seals. Higher water pressure, caused by going deeper or by the force of running water – a hose or a river current for example – will cause your phone to leak. Using an air compressor to dry your wet phone will, in most cases, force water through the seals and wreck your phone.
- Corrosion caused by exposure to salt, chlorinated or other liquids is not covered.
- damage caused by incorrectly plugging USB cables or headphones into the phone, or damage resulting from plugging any cable into a phone that is not fully dry and fully clean. If in doubt, dry your phone in the hot water cupboard overnight and/or in a bowl of dry rice
- damage caused by using a charger or cable not supplied by us. If you go out and buy cheap cables and then your phone mysteriously dies a few weeks later – don’t blame us. Using a generic USB-C charging cable can not only kill your phone, it can cause a house fire. The same warning applies to the small USB-c to Micro USB cable converters supplied for some phones. These are only for use in data transfer and never for using a Micro USB cable to charge your phone. They can cause a fire when misused as charging adapters.
- Wear and tear is not covered.
- Our warranty does not cover software glitches in the Android operating system. These are most often caused by malware and viruses or apps and downloads over which manufacturers have no control and which frequently auto-update without warning. Remedies can include uninstalling suspected apps or in worst case scenarios factory resetting the phone itself. Users should ensure they set up proper backup procedures on their phones to ensure important data is safe in the event the phone has to be reset.
- We do not warrant that the new Bluetooth security and powersaving protocols released by Google in the Android 7 or 8 operating systems are backwards compatible or stable with any or all Bluetooth devices that you may own or use. See our FAQs page for further details.
- We do not warrant against glitches that may be caused if the customer downloads a wireless update from the manufacturer or Google to the phone. Just as with updates from Apple, Samsung and Microsoft Windows that can cause malfunctions, so can updates from other phone manufacturers. We expressly advise against automatically installing updates, and recommend that customers email us first BEFORE applying an update so that we can advise them of any known side effects. If we have to reset a phone caused by failure to follow our advice, there will be a charge.
- The Customer is responsible for backing up any and all data stored on the phone. We take no responsibility for data loss caused by a fault or as a consequence of repair.
- The Android OS version on your device cannot be upgraded or flashed and any attempts to modify the default OS will void the warranty.
- Warranty claims MUST be raised with the Outdoor Phone Store in the first instance via email or via 1800 123 983, and claims will be void if you seek help from any third party or you attempt to open the phone without our express prior authorisation.
We will meet our obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act but phones used in business are not covered by that Act. If you are buying this phone for a business or workplace environment, or you rely on it to make business calls, you agree that the Consumer Guarantees Act does not apply. For Australian customers, Australian consumer law applies and nothing in these terms and conditions takes away any rights you may have under that law.
MAKING A WARRANTY CLAIM
Claims must be lodged in writing via either the Leave a Message tab at the bottom right of this screen, or via our email address.
Claims must be lodged within three days of a defect appearing, as continued use of the phone in some circumstances may cause escalating damage and consequential damage arising from failure to report will become the customer’s liability.. If our diagnostics detect that false or misleading information has been provided the warranty claim will automatically be VOID. It is impossible for us to meet our responsibilities for other customers in a timely manner if we are sent on diagnostic wild goose chases because a customer has not made a true disclosure about events surrounding the fault.
The phone must be express couriered to an address we specify, either within Australia for simple repairs, or to Auckland for faults requiring complex diagnosis.
You will not have to pay in advance for the phone to be inspected, but if the fault is not found to be covered under either warranty or the law you WILL have to pay for either repairs (which we will quote in advance), or a non-warranty inspection fee of $90. If the warranty claim is accepted your phone will either be fixed or repaired, and returned to you at no further cost. If the warranty claim is not accepted, you will have to also pay a return courier fee of either actual cost or $50, whichever is the lesser. If the non-warranty repair can be completed within the inspection fee, it will be, as the inspection fee goes toward repair costs if you opt to repair.
It is possible that repairs may require a full factory reset which will erase user data on the phone. BEFORE sending the phone customers MUST backup photos or other important data like calls and text messages or third party app data like fitness apps.
BEST EFFORTS
While we will make our best efforts to provide the exact model you ordered, at times the exact colour or model variant may be out of stock. In such cases we will substitute a variation of equal or greater value at no extra cost to you. If this is not suitable you have the right to return the supplied unit for a refund or exchange within seven days of receipt only if the phone has not been turned on, unpacked or used and its box and contents remains pristine and packed. If our diagnostic system detects that you have factory reset the phone before returning it to us we will refuse to accept the return and you will have to pay a $50 inspection and courier fee before we give it back to you.
WRONG SUPPLY
We’re human, and sometimes packing mistakes happen. If the model you receive is not the one you ordered [different colours are not covered as specific colours may no longer be available] and there’s no explanation why, you have the right to return the supplied unit for the correct one within seven days of receipt only if the phone has not been turned on, unpacked or used and its box and contents remains pristine and packed. If our diagnostic system detects that you have factory reset the phone before returning it to us we will refuse to accept the return and you will have to pay a $50 inspection and courier fee before we give it back to you. If you unpack it or use it you are deemed to have accepted the phone. If we accidentally supplied you a cheaper phone we will credit you the difference in the event you choose to keep it. If we accidentally supplied you a more expensive phone and you choose to keep it, you are not liable for the extra price unless we discover the error first and request a return.
WEBSITE ERRORS
In purchasing from us the Customer agrees that the Outdoor Phone Store reserves the right to cancel a transaction and refund your money if it cannot supply an item for the purchase price you paid during Checkout, either because the item is unavailable and is wrongly listed as ‘in stock’, or if a website glitch has caused a pricing error.
These terms are subject to change without notice.
OPTIONAL ACCIDENT COVERAGE:
Blackview BV8000 and BV9500 Screen Warranty In the case of our Blackview BV8000 Pro and BV9500 phones, we provide an optional FREE screen replacement for one breakage incident in the first 24 months after purchase. This is standard with all sales of these two models. This warranty applies to a single screen incident and is not a warranty against any other accidental damage the phone may have suffered. We offer this because of our unique access to the Blackview parts catalogue and our decision to support these models as our flagship rugged phone. This coverage is additional to our standard warranty, and not available on any other phone.
NON-PAYMENT OR DISPUTED PAYMENTS
In the event that the customer fails to pay for goods and services received they agree to absolute liability for not only the goods or services billed but also any legal costs involved in recovering the debt, and a $100 use of money fee to cover our administrative time in chasing such debt.
In the event that the customer pays through Paypal or their credit card provider and then challenges payment and loses through the Paypal or credit card arbitration process, the customer agrees to absolute liability for a $100 administration fee plus any legal costs incurred in recovering such sum. In the first instance disputes should be raised with the Outdoor Phone Store helpdesk so we can solve your problem, rather than incurring the expense and time disruption of a third party investigation.
Service repairs not covered by warranty are payable by the customer before phone can be returned. In the event that such repairs are not paid within three months of invoice, the phone will become the property of the Outdoor Phone Store and may be sold to defray expenses or disposed of.
MISLEADING OR DECEPTIVE STATEMENTS
To properly diagnose faults and provide warranty or CGA service, we need to know what your problem is and how it happened. If you make a statement to us that is determined on the evidence to be misleading or deceptive it will void your warranty.
RETURNS POLICY
Please choose your new phone carefully. We put as much info as we can on the site about their specifications, weight, dimensions etc, and extensive photos and videos so you can get a clear picture of what these phones are like. Under the CGA we are not obligated to refund or replace a phone just because a customer decides they have made a wrong choice, that it is too big or too small or too complicated, or that the phone doesn’t have the precise features or quality of features they need or that it doesn’t perform as well as a different phone. These are RUGGED phones – they are built tougher than the average bear. They wouldn’t be tough if they were as dinky as your current i-Something.
The big telco’s refuse to allow a return once the package has been opened. We are not quite that strict, but if you load your details and/or a sim or memory card into the new phone, or if there is evidence in the BIOS history that you have used or factory reset the phone after we have shipped it to you, then it definitely cannot be exchanged or refunded. Provided the phone has never been used and its packaging is in mint condition, we may allow you to swap or upgrade to one of our other phones, or at our sole discretion we may take back and refund. In such cases the shipping is non refundable and we charge a $100 re-stocking tech inspection fee to put the phone through tests to ensure it is in mint condition and undamaged.
Our policy is authorised under the Consumer Guarantees Act as the Ministry of Consumer Affairs website notes:
Common situations
Reason for return
John buys a large-screen smart TV which has the ability to surf the internet. John buys the TV expecting he just has to turn the TV on and he’ll be able to connect to the internet, without realising he also needs a connection through one of the ISP providers. This is not covered under the Consumer Guarantees Act.
Partner doesn’t want the smartphone
Mary bought a smartphone for her partner from a big retailer, and it is not what he wanted. Can she return it? No, unless the retailer has a returns policy that allows this.
These terms and conditions are subject to alteration by the Outdoor Phone Store from time to time without notice. Please print a copy of these terms and retain them for reference.
HOW RELIABLE ARE THESE PHONES?
In five years of importing thousands of phones and tablets, we have physically had to replace about thirty phones. Some of those were dead on arrival, some were missing vital parts (like a sim card dock). Either way, we sorted it.
The reality is we have all owned smartphones and computers, we all know that over time they get glitchy and slow as their memories fill up. Downloading apps can cause crashes and clashes.
International surveys have shown, surprisingly, that Apple customers have more reliability problems than Android users, but of the Android phones the latest study says “Among Android vendors, Samsung, LG and Motorola are the least reliable brands, with the failure rates of the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge hovering around the 9 percent and 8 percent marks respectively. The three-year old Galaxy S5 is also one of the less reliable devices, with a 5 percent failure rate.”
So if you are worried that buying a lesser known phone is a risk, so too is buying an Apple or a Samsung. The difference is that we’re a kiwi business that prefers to avoid selling dud phones so we use our expertise to personally test and trial the brands we sell. We are far more interested in reliability than possibly even our customers are. For you it is one phone; for us it is a fleet of phones.
Farmproof: “The phone you sent me is fantastic!” – Nigel L, Auckland
Tradeproof: “This phone is awesome!” – Vasily K, Auckland
Teenager-proof: “It didn’t smash when my friend threw it on the concrete!” – daughter
Lifeproof: “New phone is great, It’s 16:20 and I still have 73% battery! My other phone would be half way through its second charge already.” – Richard M, Dunedin
If your phone has a manufacturing defect, we’ll either fix it or replace it
If your phone has a software glitch – even though warranties including ours don’t cover Google’s Android system – we will nonetheless talk you through possible solutions from our knowledge database where we can
You’ll get updates from us on tips, tricks and alerts about useful new apps