We received an email from fairphone asking for old telephones last week, you know the ones we have messing up drawers…
We have two defunct fairphones in our “messy” drawer. There because, despite the original promise of fairphone to repair phones (one of the reasons we bought them way back when fairphone started), fairphone stopped repairing the first spec phones, rendering them useless.
Then they offered to buy them back from us, 150 euros each i believe. But we weren’t fast enough to respond, so they retracted that offer too. Hence we have two useless phones in our drawer
Now they have the cheek to ask for them for free.
Never before has a brand promised so much and provided nothing but disappointment.
I assume the mail said the same as the blog-post above so I moved your post here.
They are far from useless. You can still sell them on the Market to people who need the parts to repair their FP1s. Especially if at least battery, screen or motherboard are still working than those phones are still valuable.
Also: Fairphone doesn’t specifically ask for old Fairphones, but any old phones.
I think I didn’t get that email or simply deleted it because I already knew the blog post.
Some reactions to it confuse me a bit like yours, @stufar. Or someone on twitter complaining about Fairphone wanting their FP1s even though they were still functional.
Was the email text phrased so ambiguously?
One of Fairphone’s goals (in addition to fair materials, good working conditions and long-lasting design) is reuse and recycling. And they are spreading this message at the moment.
How come, quite a few people interpret that as if the company wants to take something away from them? It’s an offer. And it’s not about the FP1 but phones in general.
splitting hair’s and you know it. Fairphone was always about repairing the phones and then they stopped doing it for the FP1s
and heres the text from the email i received… now ive found it rthe promise was 120 euros, not 150
“As another option, If you would like to donate your Fairphone 1 into our program but you’re not interested in getting a Fairphone 2, we can also offer you €120 cash back in exchange for your Fairphone 1”
point is fairphone stopped repairing the FP1s, part of their original offer… repair was also one of their goals… now conveniently its reuse and recycling.
so i have phones that dont work in the drawer
they said theyd buy them back for 120 (sorry not 150). Then they said they wouldnt
now they want phones for free for recycling… (and yes, i know its any phone…but theyre not the only ones recycling phones in this world)
Let’s be honest with ourselves: we’re all kind of hoarders when it comes to old phones. There’s one in the “Messy Drawer,” three in a box in the closet, and another two at a relative’s house. You know - just in case we need a spare.
Deep down we know we’re never using those phones again. In fact, only 15% of the phones produced annually get recovered. Luckily for us, and our planet, we’re making it super easy to recycle them.
By reusing or recycling old phones, we can give them new lives in new homes, or recover valuable materials like gold, copper and palladium.
It starts with the lift of a finger: fill in your details and we’ll send you a free shipping label that will whisk your phone away to a new life. Then sit back and enjoy knowing that li’l bit of extra space in your Messy Drawer is out there doing some good in the world! Start recycling
Thank you for doing your part!
Actually I know that I don’t. There is a big difference between promise something and then just deciding not to keep it (like you make it sound like they did) and expressing goals and doing everything in your power to meet them but not being able to fulfill all long-term goals with the first try (which is what actually happened).
Again: Not a promise. This was an offer and a limited one at that.
limited offers tend to have dates attached to them, to demonstrate they’re limited. That’s the point
You can defend Fair Phone as much as you like fella, the fact is, we are two very unsatisfied customers who having believed and promoted Fairphone to all and sundry feel let down by most aspects of both the product and your customer “service”.
And if i or anyone else express a goal to their client, charge them money for the product/service and then not reach the goal, one can expect a complaint. And generally, compensation is called for.
Get real dude. Your’re a business, so accept the criticism.
I believe that neither @paulakreuzer nor anyone else of the communitymoderators “is a business” *. I’m just reminding you that we communitymoderators have our own mind and when we defend Fairphone it is our own opinion.
That does not pass the giecheltest (giggle test). If I am selling something, and I’m saying it is a limited offer where limited refers to limited time, then that’s meant to inform you that it is a temporary deal. A deadline is not mandatory by law AFAIK, but feel free to cite the relevant Dutch or EU law. Why would they have to inform you how long that offer lasts? In The Netherlands limited offers often have a disclaimer with a * saying “while supply lasts” which is legally sufficient.
The rest of your post is just full of fallacies except for the points regarding Fairphone’s response time on tickets and such. They’re actively trying to transparent about that, and trying to improve it. It is a rather small company. Its not an excuse, but they don’t have the same resources like a company like Google has, so if quick support is important to you perhaps a different phone suits your needs better.
I think you have confused or misread the threads JeroenH
The word “limited” with regard to the offer was never used by Fairphone with regard to the offer, but introduced by the moderator paulakreuzer in an earlier thread.
The rest of the email is all true, i have emails demonstrating it.
I have not once mentioned response times on tickets, you have confused the threads it seems, though you are right, they are very slow.
Thankyou
JeroenH, and as you’ve mentioned it, you are right, a different phone suits me much better. One that works, has a far higher spec and a far lower price.
A good rule of thumb on another forum is: “Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that’s easier to criticise. Assume good faith.”
The ticket times are a common and valid complaint which we see all the time throughout the forums.
With regards to a cashback deal where someone offers you 120 EUR for an old phone, it seems blatantly obvious that such a deal is temporary. It seems you were, as you admitted, too slow and are trying to shift the blame. Why didn’t you return the phones right away? How long are these time tables you’re talking about?
You can always start a lawsuit if you think you’re right. May we know which country you’re from? It is relevant to figure out which jurisdiction applies.
As per your own information it is 240 EUR (2x 120 EUR). Yes, a civil lawsuit shouldn’t take long, and perhaps you even have a legal expenses insurance (I got one, and it saved us ~200 EUR from Vodafone Netherlands the other day with a few hours of work; did cost us a lot of anger but the fact it got resolved fixed that as well). It isn’t just about the money but also about clearing up the legal status. You claim you got better things to do with your time while arguing here on the forums and ignoring important questions like these:
I’m just reminding you that we 
except for the points regarding Fairphone’s response time on tickets and such. They’re actively trying to transparent about that, and trying to improve it. It is a rather small company. Its not an excuse, but they don’t have the same resources like a company like Google has, so if quick support is important to you perhaps a different phone suits your needs better.