I ordered a new battery for my Fairphone 1 because my old one only holds less than a day. I got the new one delivery to Austria with DHL and although there are two labels saying that the package should be handeled with care because it contains a battery, one corner is totally smashed. The label although says that you should not use the battery if damaged. The package was delivered to my mailbox, so I could not refuse the package at delivery.
I now did not even open the package and immediately wrote to fairphone but I don’t get a reply. Does anyone know what is the best way to proceed? I do not want to phone them because a far as I see there is only a number in the Netherlands. I also could not find any possibility in the online shop to send a parcel back.
Any recommendation how I can quickly get a new, undamaged battery? I am already a bit angry anyway as I had to pay 13,5 EUR for the delivery of a battery worth 18 EUR.
It’s a pitty that DHL didn’t handle the package more carefully, but from your description it doesn’t sound like the damage is so substantial that the battery may be damaged too.
The battery has many layers of packaging to keep it save - thus the high delivery fee. I’d open the box and see if the other layers are damaged too and if not I believe it’s save to use the battery.
It’s unfortunate that you didn’t know that the #austrianfairphoners have a small box with spare parts - otherwise you could have had a battery without the delivery fee.
Probably you are right, that the battery will not be damaged inside the package. But I also don’t want to accept this delivery as a matter of principle. If the delivery costs are higher because the package has to be handled with care, in my mind they should not come away with this and maybe fairphone should use another shipper:
