Can they just do this?

[Dieu]

Hi. In October, I purchased a refurbished iPhone 6 from MusicMagpie. I've always been pretty careful with it; it's never been water damaged and the screen is completely intact, with no major drops.
Recently it just suddenly stopped working, and wouldn't charge up. I sent it back to MM, as it was still within their 12 month warranty period.
They emailed today, saying that on inspection, there were no manufacturer's defects, and that the fault was 'clearly caused by accidental damage of some kind'. Well, that's news to me ... and it seems conveniently vague!
There was absolutely no further explanation given, and they're sending it back to me exactly how it was.
I'm disappointed and rather dissatisfied with this outcome. How can they prove that it's accidental damage, when to my knowledge I never caused damage to the phone, and generally treated it carefully. What's to stop them from saying the same thing to any customer?
Any advice? I don't want to have to just suck this one up. And could really do without an added expense right now.
Thanks!

Might be worth taking it to an apple shop for another opinion

Thanks. Or I've got a SimplyFixIt nearby. Not sure Apple would give me the time of day, if bought secondhand.

I had a similar issue with MM but before I sent it to them I’d taken it to an Apple store and had a report which said what the problem was. They replaced it, no problem.

How independent is their independent advice? Get your own report. If faulty, they will have to pay for repair, replacement etc. and refund the cost of the report.

I would ask them to specify the faults they have discovered and why those particular faults have led them to that conclusion.

Have a look at their warranty wording and try and justify why you fit the criteria.

I should imagine their default position is to fob off customers. Pursue it. iPhones aren't cheap, even second-hand ones.

Have a look at their warranty wording and try and justify why you fit the criteria

Even if there was no warranty, the phone's not old and should be expected to still work. I'd challenge them under the Consumer Rights Act.

Thanks all. I do feel fobbed off. And it was the 'clearly caused ...' that really pissed me off. Clear to whom exactly?

Would be different of course, if I'd sent it back with a cracked screen. Then it would be clear enough!

I think MM can be a bit cheeky, I haven’t bought phones from them before but I sold them 2 old iPhones - an SE and a 5c. They were sent off in the same box.

First of all they said the 5c was not in the condition I’d said it was, but weren’t able to say why. Again, very vague! It was a bit tiny bit scuffed up on the back but screen was perfect and the phone itself worked fine. But they dropped the offering price after that and I begrudgingly accepted new amount which they paid into my account.

Then weeks later there was no mention of the SE, despite the fact it was in the same box. It wasn’t until I emailed them and magically they offered the cash!

I had the same with Vodafone. A 6 month old phone developed a technical fault but because it had a tiny mark on the back, which was not connected to the fault, they refused to fix it under warranty.
I ended up buying a new phone elsewhere for the same cost as they quoted to repair and then switched the SIM. I preferred that to giving Vodafone and money for it.

Hmm, yes, but funnily enough they're completely on the ball when it comes to taking customers' cash.

No, they can't just do this. I don't have any knowledge or experience of MusicMagpie; but you have purchased a warranty.
on inspection, there were no manufacturer's defects, and that the fault was 'clearly caused by accidental damage of some kind'. what kind of damage, liquid?, a bang where connections came loose (easily fixed), fried circuitry? What specific damage? Don't accept this, chances are no-one even looked at the innards of the phone. Ask for a replacement.