Sony Xperia M5 useless phone! Sony warranty and aftercare a joke!!!

<p>January 2016 I upgraded to a Sony Xperia M5 on an MTN contract.</p> <p> From the very beginning I experienced an issue with the phone just switching itself off. Like most other people, I was not up to the hassle of reverting to my old phone, and did not return the Xperia immediately - was still so excited as well about my amazing (supposed) new phone!</p> <p> After about 3 months, I noticed that the phone had developed a spontaneous crack - both in front and in back. Here I want to state emphatically that I took care of this phone and I DID NOT drop or damage it in any way!</p> <p> This was the last straw, and I took my Sony Xperia M5 back to MTN to be sent to Sony for repair. Huge was my surprise when I received an sms from Sony with a quote of about R4500 to repair my SONY XPERIA M5! This when I did not cause any of the issues! Apparently “due to the fact that the phone was cracked, the warranty was void”. After numerous phone calls and exhaustive explanations regarding this issue my SONY XPERIA M5 was returned to me - unfixed!</p> <p> I had no idea where and who to take recourse to, and tried to cope with my SONY XPERIA M5 as is. However, in the last couple of days, the situation became unbearable - especially since my SONY XPERIA M5 switched off while I was in the middle of business calls!!!! I had no choice but to revert to my old iPhone, but I feel cheated and violated by Sony's absolute lack of respect for their clients. </p> <p>Going online and researching these issues of the Xperia M5, I found that nothing that had happened to me was unique. Sony UK has apparently started to reimburse/exchange phones of some of their clients - but also just those that made enough noise.</p> <p> Why did Sony just not admit that the M5 was a dud and retract it? If Samsung got even more of a following by admitting to the issues of the Galaxy 7 Note, why could Sony not do the same? Now I am stuck paying for a SONY XPERIA M5 that I cannot use – an amazingly expensive paperweight!!!! Why is it acceptable that a huge and purportedly reliable company like Sony just brush off their clients like this? </p> **********