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My girlfriend bought a new Samsung A7 phone in Spain. At first she wanted to go for a cheaper one, but was approached by a clerk which presented her A7 2018 version. The clerk specifically said that the phone was waterproof up to 1m in water. Girlfriend was naive (didn't read the manual or googled it) and bought that A7 2018 phone instead. Few days later she tried the 'waterproof test' (Don't ask me why...).

The phone got damaged and stopped working. She took the phone to the store to see if it can be fixed within the warranty. Few days later, an email was received that the damage caused is not covered in warranty (water damage), and that fixing it will cost more than a new phone.

I told her that the odds of getting it fixed for free are close to zero. She got tricked by clerk but cannot prove it.

I want to confirm that here. Are there any laws in EU which could be used in favour of this case?

Small note: The phone was bought in MediaMarkt - multinational chain specified for selling electronics

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  • You might add the information from Putvi: The 2017 model was waterproof and should have survived being put in a bathtub, but the 2018 model of the phone is not waterproof and shouldn't be sold as waterproof. So there's nothing wrong with the phone, but something very wrong with what the clerk told her.
    – gnasher729
    Commented May 3, 2019 at 22:20

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Assuming she can prove what the sales clerk said, she is entitled to a replacement.

EU consumer law creates a warranty that an item will be fit for the purposes which the vendor states it is fit for. The vendor stated it was “waterproof to 1m” - so it must be.

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  • The first nine words of this answer are probably going to be the most crucial issue.
    – Acccumulation
    Commented May 2, 2019 at 22:05
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International Protection Marking is what designates how waterproof a phone is. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/sep/08/how-waterproof-iphone-7-samsung-galaxy-s7-smartwatches

The A7 is not waterprooof. The 2017 model is IP68 (waterproof up to 1.5 meters). The 2018 model is not. He had it backwords or just assumed it still applied to the newer version. https://www.gadgetsnow.com/compare-mobile-phones/Samsung-Galaxy-A7-2017-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-A7-2018-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-C7-Pro-vs-Samsung-Galaxy-C9-Pro

The warranty is probably not going to cover intentionally dunking the phone even if the salesman was wrong. The warranty is probably for accidental damage. You need to read it and see if non accidental damage is covered.

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"Waterproof up to 1 meter" probably means that if you take the phone, and very gently put it on the bottom of a one meter deep pool, it may survive. That phone will adhere to some standard that says exactly what it means. JUMPING into a pool will not be covered, because when the phone hits the water there will be considerably more water pressure.

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  • Thats actually what she did. She put it very gently in a bath thub. But after checking the manual for that phone I found out that it says it should avoid contact with water. Therefore the clerk is spreading misinformation
    – Dino
    Commented Mar 2, 2019 at 20:50
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Under EU law, she is entitled to repair or replacement or, if not possible, to reimbursement.

The clerk's error is the seller's responsibility, not Apple's. Address your claim to the MediaMarkt subsidiary.

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  • I went there to fill a complain and they gave me an email where to send the complain. It's been like a month already and I still got no answer back.
    – Dino
    Commented May 2, 2019 at 9:53
  • It's obviously not Apple's responsibility, because it was a Samsung phone.
    – gnasher729
    Commented May 3, 2019 at 22:13

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