Lyn gets a new mobile after a close call

A CUSTOMER of O2, Lyn Clark thought either her product warranty or insurance cover would save the day after her smartphone broke down.

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When neither could provide her with another £250 Sony Ericsson Xperia handset she turned to Crusader instead.

Our appeal to her phone opera- tor worked. Lyn has a replacement but it was a close call as O2 says its gesture is a “goodwill one only”.

That came as a surprise to Lyn, 36, from Kent, who thought she had done everything to protect her expensive phone by taking out a two-year agreement and backing it up with O2’s Gold plan: cover that costs her £4.99 a month.

“I’ve always thought insurance was a good idea as I rely so much on my phone,” she explained. “I’ve been with O2 for several years and had no problems before.”

Three months ago when her mobile kept losing connection for hours at a time Lyn assumed she would get a replacement under her warranty. She was mystified by the examination report. “It confirmed the phone was a write-off because of ‘liquid damage’,” she said. “Although that was vague it invali- dated the warranty. I was advised to claim on my insurance instead.”


Lyn Clark

When Lyn called she was asked how the damage had occurred. “I was truthful and said I really didn’t know.

Because I couldn’t give a rea- son the claim was ruled out, which doesn’t seem fair.”

O2 also confirmed this was the reason why Lyn was turned down, saying: “Our insurers refused the claim because she could not provide any details of when the phone was damaged. We then took the decision to provide her with one in these exceptional circumstances.”

With the cost of phones running into hundreds of pounds the case for insurance grows, says Kate Murphy of comparison site “Most people could not afford to replace theirs should it be stolen or damaged beyond repair.”

Buying insurance through net- work providers can be more expensive but is more tailored to the type of handset being insured, she said.

“Buying through a home insurance policy excess levels tend to be lower. However should you make a claim you would lose any no-claims benefits and may face a premium increase at renewal.

“Choosing insurance from stand- alone insurers can be cheaper than from a mobile provider but more expensive than adding it to your home cover.”

“Insurers like to have causes of damage,” said insurance expert Mike Powell of Defaqto, which publishes a list of rated mobile cover plans at

“It’s not just enough for a consumer to check the key aspects such as accidental damage, break- down, loss and theft,” he added.

“They need to look at the limits of the cover, including that for accessories, overseas use and the often relatively short time allowed to report unauthorised calls.

“They must also be clear about what is excluded.”