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OUTDOOR PHONE STORE TERMS, CONDITIONS & WARRANTY

In purchasing a phone or tablet from us you have certain rights under the New Zealand CGA, and we will meet our obligations under the Act. [For the absolute avoidance of any doubt: if you declare you are a trade buyer and don’t need any kind of warranty cover, so you can purchase at effectively international wholesale plus airfreight, GST and admin fee, with the bonus of NZ parts/service support, then you are agreeing to contract out of the CGA. Because our site deals with many B2B tradies, farmers, engineers, mechanics, factories etc, who need their phones in demanding ‘non-consumer’ environments, we make this trade buying option available based on customer declaration (as it is not practical for us to investigate every customer) and agreement to these terms and conditions. For reference, the 2-year warranty with screen breakage is our full retail price for the units, while the 12mth is the standard manufacturer warranty, and the 24 mth is a discount off full retail for those who feel they don’t want the full service.]

Buying a new smartphone online can be daunting, so we want to make it easier. Our NZ 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, we’ll sort it by either repair or replacement at our discretion. This is done via a return to base Auckland and is your responsibility under the CGA. 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. Remember that ordinary tracked post only covers loss up to the value of $250. If your phone value exceeds that you must use CourierPost. 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.

COVID-19 SPECIAL TERMS APPLY:

From midday 25 March 2020 and for the duration of NZ Government epidemic regulations, all phones ordered will be sent from one of our Hong Kong logistics centres via DHL direct to your residential address where you are locked down. You will be sent a tracking number when your phone ships. Delivery times will be longer because of reduced international capacity and are outside our control. Our Auckland logistics centre is closed. DHL and their agents CourierPost are no longer taking signatures on delivery – instead they are taking photos and GPS readings as proof of delivery (POD). Any POD provided to the Outdoor Phone Store by the courier companies will be deemed as final proof of delivery and no challenge or claim for non-delivery will be accepted. Customers are required to be in lockdown at their homes so courier companies are expecting you to be there. Technical and warranty support is unavailable for the duration of the epidemic regulations. Placing an order on this site means you accept all these conditions of sale, and these COVID-19 Terms override any other terms listed below, in the event there is a conflict.

BUYERS OUTSIDE NEW ZEALAND: For obvious logistics reasons we can’t offer a warranty repair service, but we can still offer accidental screen breakage cover. If you live outside NZ and purchase a phone with the damage warranty, upon proof of screen breakage within 24 months of purchase we will ship one free replacement screen to you. It is your responsibility to find a local mobile repair shop to install the screen, but we can provide instructional videos for them. We can also source other replacement parts to keep your phone operational. For AGM and Blackview models we are your first point of contact. In the extremely unlikely event that your new phone is dead on arrival, we will attempt to resolve the matter for you but you must advise us within 24 hours of delivery sign-off.

HOW TO MAKE A WARRANTY CLAIM INSIDE NZ:

In the first instance create a job ticket by using the “Leave a message” tab on the lower right of the website. Give details of the fault, your order number or invoice, and your contact details. We will advise where to send it. Items not booked via a job ticket and just randomly sent in will not be dealt with. Claims must be notified to us within 24 hours of first occurrence to prevent the risk of further damage to the unit. Failure to make a timely claim may void warranty coverage. Our Ticket system is operational 24/7/365. Please be aware that if no warranty-related fault is found an inspection fee of between $60 and $90 will be charged (depending on complexity of diagnosis), plus return courier charges. If a fault is found but deemed to be non-warranty related we will advise on cost to fix and your inspection fee will go towards the overall job. Invoices not paid within six weeks of issue will result in the disposal of the customer’s phone and removal of any new parts installed

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. If you use your phone in salt water you must gently rinse it in fresh water to avoid salt corrosion.
• Corrosion caused by exposure to salt, chlorinated or other liquids is not covered.
• Thermal imaging sensors: The thermal camera sensor on the back of some phones can be damaged by exposure to prolonged direct sunlight even when not in use. Always place phone face up and NEVER take a thermal photo of the sun. Burn-in damage will not be covered by the warranty
• 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.
• If you would like coverage against accidental damage consider purchasing our Peace of Mind Accident Policy at Checkout for $99
• 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.
• Acts of God or State, such as (but not limited to) storms, earthquakes, natural disasters, disease outbreaks, law or regulatory changes that affect either the phone or our ability to meet any warranty obligations.
• Warranty claims MUST be raised with the Outdoor Phone Store in the first instance via email or via 0800 747 007, and claims will be void if you seek help from any third party or you attempt to open the phone without our express prior written 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.

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.

ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE

Further to the exclusions already outlined above, some phones nonetheless carry either First200 accidental damage cover (where we absorb the first $200 in accident repairs carried out by us within 12 months of purchase) or First Breakage 24 month Screen Replacement warranty (where we supply and install one free screen within 24 months in NZ, or just supply one free screen for international buyers). We have chosen to ‘swap out’ First200 coverage in favour of a replacement screen for international buyers, and this swap is not available to New Zealand-based customers

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.

Likewise, if a NZ Customer purchases a phone using the ‘International’ buyer option, the transaction will be fulfilled at the closest NZ option, as the ‘International’ option is not legally valid for phones shipped to a New Zealand address.

GENERAL LIABILITY

The Customer agrees that the Outdoor Phone Store and its parent company are not liable for loss of data, loss of business or any other losses of any kind arising from a warranty issue with the phone.

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 and installation for one breakage incident in the first 24 months after purchase. This is standard with all sales of this model after 30 May 2018. 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.

$99 Peace of Mind 12 Month Rugged Phone Accident Policy Additional to our standard warranty but adds coverage for one accidental or water damage claim for phone repair or replacement within 12 months of purchase. Not applicable to non-rugged phones. Claims subject to an excess payable by customer on acceptance of the claim as follows:

On rugged phones costing $600 or less: Excess payable is $200
On rugged phones costing $601 to $999: Excess payable is $300
On rugged phones costing $1000 to $1400: Excess payable is $500

If you choose to purchase our $99 policy you have a 14-day cooling off option where you can change your mind about buying the $99 policy and cancel it for a refund of your $99 – provided no claim has been lodged in that period.

Decision as to repair or replacement of the damaged phone under this policy is the Outdoor Phone Store’s.

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 six weeks 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.

Spark and Vodafone 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 $60 re-stocking 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.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YOUR NZ WARRANTY AND THE “MANUFACTURER’S WARRANTY” I AM BEING OFFERED ELSEWHERE?

There are two ways you can get caught by this. Firstly if you are buying from an overseas wholesaler, or secondly if you are buying from an NZ reseller who thinks they can get away with offering the “Manufacturer’s Warranty”.

You probably can’t send a phone back if you bought it from overseas: There are a million fly by night online retailers trying to sell you all manner of goods. With fashion that’s not a problem, and generally we all love choices, but smartphones contain lithium ion batteries and that makes them “dangerous goods” for air cargo purposes.

Unless the seller has an IATA dangerous goods export licence you may not even receive the phone you ordered or it may have to come via slow surface mail (“Free Shipping”).

Secondly, if something goes wrong with the phone you purchased from another online retailer, you may not be able to make a warranty claim or get it repaired (regardless of the 12 month manufacturer’s warranty it came with). Why? Because to send it back overseas from NZ you are now required to either have a dangerous goods export licence yourself, or to send it as restricted goods under international express courier (about NZ$150). You can no longer send phones by registered mail or economy courier. It is full price express courier or nothing. Then if the overseas retailer insists the phone is OK and sends it back, you are up for a repeat exercise and a very expensive courier battle.

Still doubtful? Here’s a sample of what others are saying on the web:

“After numerous emails (no phone support) I finally got a return ticket. Well that turned to a farce too as the phone had to be returned by normal postage and the local postal service refused to ship a phone. Said I’d have to use an express delivery company. Well the supplier refused any delivery other than standard post. So now I’m left with a US$500+ phone that’s not worth the postage. Never again! – Kirsten

“And finally, unreliable [name of Asian superstore deleted so we don’t get sued] – I had to send the device two times, as first they have send me back the device in exact same condition. I have sent it once more, after providing them a few videos with the GPS problem reproduction they said they will send me a brand new one – of course they have sent me exactly same broken device back, unfixed and did not even had slightest decency for reimbursing for the costs of 1st return. They have explained that they rely on the producer tests after repairs while they state on their page they perform a Quality Control before sending back, and that seems to be a lie. I do not recommend using they services as I have never been treated so badly by a seller.

WHAT ABOUT IF I BUY ON TRADEME OR FROM AN ‘NZ’ ONLINE STORE?

Most NZ resellers don’t offer genuine NZ warranties: Chances are you have zero effective warranty protection if you buy on TradeMe, where sellers are drop-shipping from Asia and offering only the Chinese warranty – which means you’ll go through what Kirsten and Nick experienced above.

Here’s an example of someone who came to us after buying a cheap Blackview on TradeMe sold ‘new’ but which turned out to be a unit that had been returned by a previous owner as ‘faulty’ and which died on the new buyer:

“Great, thank you for your assistance. Lesson learned, don’t buy phone off TradeMe.”

Or another:

“Sorry but i did not buy this from you, purchased it on Trade me ,from A company called XXXXXX in [Auckland], I am wondering if the fone i purchased is a fake, there any way to tell? As i stated in my review, bought this for my son and have had nothing but brain damage…”

Many other NZ online stores are simply overseas resellers who have purchased NZ domain names, and unless they offer a genuine NZ warranty with an NZ address, and they explicitly say they will handle the warranty in NZ, you are still stuck if something goes wrong.

If you are not being charged GST in the price that’s another good sign the seller is either based overseas or is not selling enough phones in NZ to trigger the GST requirement; the first option we’ve covered already, and the second simply means they may not sell enough phones to be able to cover warranty work.

HOW RELIABLE ARE THESE PHONES?

In five years of importing hundreds of phones and tablets, we have physically had to replace about ten 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.

PRICING (why cheap online versions are not the great deal they may appear)

“I saw a cheaper version of this phone online – why are yours more expensive?”

ANSWER: Because we are a commercial importer of smartphones, we HAVE to pay import documentation fees and import GST on border crossings. We are also required by law as a GST registered NZ-based company to charge GST on all sales. On the plus side, any phone you buy from us is tax deductible for NZ business use and GST-claimable. Most importantly, under the CGA we are required to provide parts and service the phones. All of this costs.

If you import privately, you may also be hit with fees totalling up to $100 by the courier for Customs clearance where applicable and then import GST above that. On a $400 phone that is up to a further $150 before it is released to you.

Most importantly, however, the phone you privately purchased at a wholesale price from overseas will come with a ‘return to seller’ 12 month warranty. While this may be reassuring initially, you will quickly discover it is almost impossible to send a smartphone overseas now because of the Samsung Note 7 exploding batteries fiasco. It will cost you around $150 to do so, with no guarantee that the overseas reseller will accept your warranty claim. Even if they do, warranty repairs in Asia can take up to six to eleven weeks.

All of this means that a ‘cheap’ phone with a “12 months manufacturer’s warranty” may not have a warranty at all for your purposes, even if purchased from another NZ online seller.

Our pricing includes GST, an NZ electrical safety compliant charger and a retail margin consistent with other bricks and mortar businesses in NZ, which covers all documentation and operational costs of providing you with your new phone and also gives you the best protection under a genuine NZ warranty (because we are taking on that risk ourselves, see above) and after-sales assistance where we can. (try getting that from an overseas reseller). You heard about our phones because of our marketing efforts, and national advertising is not cheap.

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!”
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 – IN NZ

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

You won’t have to worry about what’s above…