Here’s the Problem with “Facebook Repairs”

Who’s Really Behind that Business?

Almost everyone in the digital repair business has a Facebook page nowadays. There are two types of company on Facebook; the first are legitimate companies with employees and premises- like ourselves- who use it for customer relations and marketing (alongside their presence elsewhere online).

Then there are those who only have a Facebook page- conducting almost all their business through it- and little sign of their existence otherwise. It might not surprise you to find out that most of those aren’t proper companies at all, but typically someone who decided to make a bit of extra cash on the side, working informally from their kitchen, bedroom or whatever after a day’s work at their proper job.

Anyway, nice cheap price, so who cares? How could it possibly go wrong?

Let us count the ways…

They Can Vanish Overnight, Along With Your Phone

It’s quite common for these “companies” to just disappear from Facebook overnight, or to stop responding.

There are various reasons this might happen, but a common one is due to the fact that- as mentioned- these are simply informal side jobs for the people involved. They start with the odd repair, then things get busier due to their low prices (helped by the use of the cheapest parts and lack of overheads or taxes to pay).

At this point they discover phone repair is a lot harder to do reliably and consistently when the number of faulty repairs returned to them goes up and they don’t have enough time in the evening to handle those and repair the other phones. The backlog- and complaints- mount up, and since they’re only popular because they offered dirt-cheap prices, they’re not making enough money anyway.

Maybe they really did intend fixing your phone- along with everyone else’s- at some point, but couldn’t deal with the backlog and complaints. Or maybe they didn’t. Who knows?

At best, you have no warranty on a somewhat dubious repair. If you’re less lucky, they still have your phone. Where exactly is your phone, and are you going to get it back?

Less Reliable Service

For most of the standard repairs we carry out, we’ll have it done the same day or- if it arrives too late- possibly the following morning. We even offer guaranteed services and will be clear if it’s likely to take longer than this.

On the other hand, if you’re relying on someone carrying out repairs at home in their spare time after work- it might be a few days. Or it might be a lot longer. Don’t expect reliable service.

Poor-Quality Parts

Genuine and high-quality phone parts are expensive. (There are tales of less scrupulous merchants swapping out genuine parts in people’s phone- without their knowledge- for cheaper ones, then selling on the former for good money.)

“Facebook” businesses may have low prices because they generally don’t pay overheads (nor taxes, for that matter). But it’s also due to their using the lowest-price, bottom-of-the-barrel parts, typically sourced from eBay. Unlike us, they won’t have established relationships with distributors, so they won’t be sure what they’re getting.

Easy to Cover Up Bad Reviews on Facebook

Genuine businesses tend appear on multiple sites- Yell and Google, for example- and their reputation can be clearly seen.

If a company exists on Facebook alone, it’s much easier to cover up poor reviews there.

Always investigate how long a business has been going for and what their background is like. And don’t take their own contact and background information on Facebook at face value- it’s easy to fake.

Are They Capable Of Fixing It?

It’s probably safe to say that someone making money on the side via Facebook is likely to be much less experienced than a long-established business with professional premises and specialised repair equipment.

Most of these people can repair a screen and maybe solder the most obvious components, but your average have-a-go amateur masquerading as a professional business quickly finds themselves in trouble if anything goes wrong or the fault is less than straightforward. On top of which, they probably don’t have the microsoldering repair equipment required to carry it out, or the skills to use that equipment even if they could afford it.

Dubious Warranties

How much is that alleged warranty they’re offering really worth? How long is it for? Are you going to be able to claim on it when something goes wrong and they become mysteriously non-responsive or disappear altogether?

Do they have a complaints procedure? Probably not.

Conclusion

It’s up to you to decide whether these companies are worth the risk. We’d say not, and while you might think we have a vested interest in the matter, it’s worth considering that legitimate businesses such as ourselves pay for taxes and overheads- money which goes back into the local economy.

The choice is yours!