Insurance repair incompetence... - Off-topic

I have mobile phone and gadget insurance included with my bank account and recently had to use it as my HTC HD2 went faulty.
I am a fairly experienced ROM flasher and have been creating my own WM 6.5 based ROMs for a while. When the fault started to happen (signal deteriorating and then constantly searching, sometime coming back after a soft reset, sometimes not) I spent a couple of days trying to resolve the issue myself. This included factory resetting, restoring the official ROM, installing a myriad of Radio ROMs, cleaning the internal GSM antenna contacts etc. All to no avail so I was pretty certain it was a hardware fault.
Lifestyle Services Group are the providers of the insurance and repair services and what a palaver. I sent it back in October and included a detailed description of the fault. It was returned a week later and as far as I can tell completely untouched with a note saying repaired. It wasn't. I contacted them and they apologised and said they would send out a pre-paid envelope and I should return it in this. When it arrived I thought 'oh no' as the pre-paid address had '2nd Return' written on it - obviously quite common for them not to get repaired first time then?
It has just arrived this morning and they have now removed the screen protector but the handset is still faulty It looks like they have tried to make it look like a new handset - one acronym IMEI? I contacted them and they said 'sorry we'll replace it now as it has been returned twice, here is a different department to send it to. Can you put a note in with the repair reference and what the postal cost is so we can refund it'
Now if only the Royal Mail online thing was working.....
Rant over
Andy

It's unlikely to be your insurance company doing the repair so I wouldn't pin the blame on them. They will have a contract with a company, probably OEM, to repair faults. Now you mention HTC; take a look at BBC's Watchdog site and take note on HTC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2011/10/htc_phones.html

In all fairness they have been reasonably quick to return the phone, however it is the total lack of doing anything with it or at least providing a report of what they supposedly did with it that is annoying. I received a generic letter both times I got it back that stated something like 'your phone has been repaired and tested based on the faults you outlined to us' There is no evidence that they have even taken it apart or even a fault report from the engineer who 'repaired' it.
I am sure they receive a lot of handsets that all they require is a factory-reset or a new battery, however I went out of my way to troubleshoot the issue and arrived at the conclusion that it was a hardware fault. I returned it to them as stock and factory reset with a detailed explanation of the fault included so they should have at least taken this into consideration when looking at the fault.
If I get another fault (when I eventually get a working phone back...) I will just say I lost it and put it in the bin rather than go through this again.
Andy

Well i am with LSG and when i dropped my zte blade in coke then claimed they couldn't fix it,i wanted the same phone again as i liked it but nope they couldn't offer me that i was given a crap selection! Was disappointed they couldn't offer the same phone. I just hope they don't do that to me in future!
sent from t'internet

Related

Diamond Touchscreen stopped working...problems with 3 Denmark RMA

Hi all,
My touchscreen stopped working a week ago, no new installations, no new changes. It just stopped responding to the clicks on the screen, in the middle of a phone call. Resetting did not help, Hardreset neigher... as I got stuck at the first time boot screen where the WM wants to calibrate the touchscreen and you have to click on the displayed marks. I bought it 7 month ago so I decided to RMA it. After flushing my data, i delivered it to a local 3 butik. Since I had no doubts about the competence of the tech guys at the service center I left the Dutty Rom installed, instead of reverting to the original 3 rom.
Today, after a 3 days repair estimate they sent me a repair offer for almost 700$ for just reinstalling the original ROM since they are absolutely sure this is where the problem lies (prolly they thought Dutty ROM was magically working for months, until the magic depleted?).
So they are sending me my Diamond back, so that I could reflash it with the original 3 and RMA it again..
Has anyone else experienced this "fun"?
I guess I'll stay away from 3 next time. (Good marketing, decent people, but really awful service)
Same problem. Today returned from service. The screen has been changee. No warranty, it was 111 €.
My touchscreen stopped working, soft reset didn't help. I didn't try hard reset, so maybe it's not the same, but when I removed the battery for the moment it started working. Try it
Kemot320 said:
My touchscreen stopped working, soft reset didn't help. I didn't try hard reset, so maybe it's not the same, but when I removed the battery for the moment it started working. Try it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, i did try that as well, no luck. looks like there is a hardware problem.
s.magus said:
Same problem. Today returned from service. The screen has been changee. No warranty, it was 111 €.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
s.magus, what do you mean no warranty? isn't there a warranty from HTC? Which country did you buy the phone it, and when did you buy it?
unless there is an evidence of a physical misuse (broken screen or etc.) aren't they supposed to repair on their own expense!
I have warranty, but the service does not repair it under warranty. They say, it is the users fault. Too much pressure on the screen.
The saga ends tonight
Well, there have been some developments..more of complications.
Here's the short chronology of the RMA.
1) repairman refused to look at the phone, since he said there was a wrong software. and returned the phone. they charge 44$ if their repair offer is not accepted.
2) I reflashed back to the original 3 Rom, but left the Hard SPL in (overestimated their honesty)
3) repairman refuses to look at the phone, since he said there was a wrong software. and returned the phone. this time they tried charging 49$ claiming the prices went up. I did not have any agreement with them (the paper I signed when I delivered the phone says 44$), so I did not care about what happened to their prices, I pushed on 3; 3 pushed on them, i will pay 44$ again. 3 Denmark is paying the 5$ (They are "pleased" with their repair partner)
I can't blame the repairman (I guess his doing his job)
HTC said they are not obliged to service the phone under the warranty, but the support guy shared that they do not prohibit the repair center from servicing the phone either, even if the software is different, as long as the software does not look like the error causing factor, so the choice is on the repair shops discression.
Well in case of the Number1Service (which 3 Denmark uses), I know a guy who claims his board was replaced there (screen artifacts, but replacing the screen did not help), even though he was using a coocked ROM.
There're only two explanations i can see here.
1) the repairman was smart to see that the cooked rom could not have been an issue
2) The touch module costs 19$ to buy for people like us (and a lot cheaper for the repair centers/HTC), so perhaps it was not worth looking into an issue, since they could easily get 50$ if they did not repair the phone. The repair center is not a part of HTC, so they can play both ways (either get paid by HTC, or get paid by the user)
Be warned, don't put high hope on the service people if you are on a cooked software. If you have an RMA to go through:
- Flash your original ROM back
- Flash the original SPL back
HTC will take any chance to play it's "warraty void" trick. Perhaps it's a common case for other manufacturers as well, but I don't have any experience with those.
Even in Russia (which people sometimes underestimate in terms of the legislation), if you can not get the goods serviced under the warranty due to the warranty being void, the manufacturer is required by law to analyze and prove that the factor voiding the warranty is the actual cause for the problem observed in a serviced item.
The repairshop kindly offered to waive the 44$ fee if I left the phone for their "recycling". I appreciated their offer, but I requested the the phone back.
Has anyone else serviced their phone with a cooked ROM under the warranty?

Warranty Woes - help please!!

recently my camera failed and the x1 went back to Sony, I've now had an email saying the phone is unrepairable and I have to pay £10 to have it returned unfixed.
I called them up and they say the mainboard is bent and not covered under warranty. The case is perfect, the screen is perfect and the phone has never been dropped etc.. They said this can happen even when the phone is in a pocket or bag but classed as accidental damage so not covered. They also said it's not a replacement part and I would need to buy a whole new phone, even if I was happy to pay for repair myself.
Is this right? Do they have to prove it was dropped? Is there no way of getting this fixed even if it costs me? Who can I complain to about this?
Thanks for any advice you can give..........
What country do you live in? And has this issue happened within 6 months?
If in the UK, you may be covered by 'The Sale of Goods Act 1979' if you believe the phone was not of satisfactory quality (plus a few others reasons). However as far as I know, this would protect you from the seller, not SE.
Put simply, goods are expected to last a reasonable amount of time within normal usage (which i would argue means keeping within your pocket). If it breaks within 6 months, it is the sellers responsibility to prove that it was fit for use at the time it was sold (very hard for them to do if others are working fine). After 6 months you have another 5.5 years (4.5 years in Scotland) where you are still protected but it your responsibility to prove the goods were unfit at the time of sale.
Might be worth a shot. Info can be found on the website for BBCs Watchdog TV program: http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/consumer_advice/consumer_law_sale_of_goods_emp.shtml
thanks for that, unfortunately i've had it for about 9 months so SOGA won't be easy for me to prove. I just cant get how they say it has been damaged by me, there's no signs of dropping, the phone is absolutely mint! I'm very mad indeed
the same thing has just happened to me with vodafone in the uk.
phone was sent back to the service centre as some of the keys on the right-hand side of the keyboard were working intermittantly which i believe is a common issue.
the phone was returned to me with a blurry picture of what may or may not be the inside of my phone saying that the phone had been damaged and was not covered by warranty. my phone has never been dropped and has been very well take care of. :-(
I have asked that they escalate my complaint and I'll be getting a call back tomorrow but I don't hold out too much hope. Not quite sure what too do after that but I wont stop there, considering the cost of the phone originally it's taking the p***
sounds shocking. Good luck mate and what country are you in?
I have just picked my phone up from an o2 store after sending it off for repair, the keys only worked intermittently (as previously posted) along with a few other issues. I received t.he handset back with a "Beyond Economical Repair" diagnosis, claiming that i had somehow bent and cracked the motherboard due to physical damage. I had to instead claim from o2 insurance costing me £25. I think in the future its much better to contact Sony Ericsson directly.
I'm in the UK and today had a call back from the escalations team who just confirmed what I was told yesterday, basically bent board, not our problem, buy a new one. They will send it back for free though which I'm supposed to be grateful for.
I'm now going to take it to their director of support, when you look at the 1000+ posts about the cracks and another 2 replies in this thread about the 'bent mainboard' the manufacture of this phone is questionable to say the least and goes a long way to prove the sale of goods act 'unfit for purpose' rule. I'm happy to take this to civil court if needs be........I'm a principals man and I'm seriously pi**ed...
Can you send it back to Sony? Sony repaired my damaged screen/cracked casing for free in about 7 days
i think it depends on country, in my they even charge me changin the case, becouse "they didnt get any input about cracks in case". i show them xda thread with numeros complaining and no luck, had to pay...
I recently sent the phone back to change the keyboard and upgrading of firmware. I had to wait 3 weeks for a keyboard cos they went out of stock for it.
They even changed my cover that had some scratches without even me asking. Also the D-pad was changed cos of some peeling.
I thought that they gave me a reburbished set so I checked the IMEI, its ok. They even offered me an extended warranty program where I pay around 70SGD and it covers even accessories like headphones and such for a one-to-one exchange scheme.
This is SE Singapore Support.

Problem with HTC Support (and the N1 phone) - Need advise

Has anyone been able to dispute a repair charge and does anyone know if there would be charges if the power button was not working?
I just want to share my story and am wondering if investing $400 of repair charges on top of a $530 phone is worth it.
4/7/10 - Purchased N1 (Compatible with 3G on AT&T U.S.) from Google Webstore.
6/7/10 - Begin having 3G data & phone signal loss in New Orleans. Contacted AT&T and was told they were having tower issues in the area. Spent one week using 2G instead.
6/13/10 - Went to AT&T store to check on service. Got a brand new SIM card that worked on another phone. At this point, carrier issue has been ruled out
6/14/10 - Phoned N1 support, performed a master reset and then got transferred to HTC for warranty support. It was either replacement or repair. Chose replacement option.
6/17/10 - Received replacement phone and shipped my original phone back to them the very next day.
6/23/10 - Received email for a $196(!) repair quotation. Phoned into HTC support and was told that it was a customer induced motherboard damage. I asked for more details on the damage & charge, and customer service said that they need information from the "warehouse" and get back to me. Never heard back from CS.
7/10/10 - New replacement phone shut off by itself and could not be powered back on.
7/11/10 - Called N1 support and performed master reset which did not work. Got transferred to HTC support but a case cannot be opened because the previous case was still outstanding. The customer serivce rep confirmed that the case notes stated that I had called for more information, and they were supposed to get back to me. I was told that I need to talk to a supervisor for further support and they do not work on weekends.
7/12/10 - Called HTC support and spoke to a supervisor. Basically she told me that my options are
my options are either to pay the $196 and close the case or wait up to 48 hours to get the details back from the "warehouse". Either way, no replacement can be processed until the previous case is closed. I was told that there is no way to:
1. Get the open case closed temporarily so a replacement for my current issue can be dealt with.
2. No other person beyond the supervisor(s) I can talk to.
3. No way to escalate to the wareshouse to speed up 48 hours needed on getting the previous repair details.
4. No one can do anything else for a customer who is going through an exception situation.
5. No clear instructions on how to dispute a repair quotation.
All customer service reps sounded pleasant but HTC has procedures that do not support customer satisfaction. Here are somethings that I find completely unsatisfying. Neither phones have been rooted, tempered with, dropped, or water damage on neither device.
1. First let's talk about 2 defective phones.
2. Sending repair quote to customers demanding payment without more information is unacceptable.
3. Blaming customer for self-induced damange while there is a known 3G issue for the N1.
4. Not getting back to customer on repair details is also unacceptable.
5. Not being able to open more than one case is absurd. In my situation, we're dealing with 2 different issues but for some reason, one is related to the other in the system.
6. Where is the repair charge dispute process documentation?
7. The is no exception to the "normal" escalation process is a huge gap. Basically I was told that after the supervisor level, it goes to the "warehouse". No one can talk to the wareshouse without going through the 48 hour escalation process.
8. Tell customer that damage maybe water related when the battery has no record of such.
You studiously do not deny self induced damage.did you break it? We're not here to play guessing games.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Hi
I faced a similar situation as you. My power button went wonky and I sent it in to HTC for servicing. It was a very tiring ordeal for me.
The HTC support (in Singapore) kept insisting that my motherboard needed a replacement and they wanted to charge me for it as I had an unlocked bootloader and was unable to claim warranty.
I kept arguing with their phone support that I just wanted my power button fixed and I was skeptical that that required a motherboard replacement. They kept insisting that I needed to replace my motherboard in order fix the power button.
As I was getting nowhere with phone support( I spent 3 days arguing with them) I made a trip down to their service center to try to speak to the engineer actually servicing my phone.
Had a similar argument with the CSO there who repeated the same BS to me and finally said she will go inside and have the engineer come out to explain further. So I waited. After several minutes (of which i believe she was informing him that there was an angry customer outside), she emerged alone and said they will wave the charges for the button repair.
Do you know what disgusts me the most about this entire ordeal?
When i finally received my phone back from them, they repaired my power button but my boot loader remained unlocked!
They did not need to replace my motherboard!
IMO, HTC simply wanted to replace the motherboard cos I had an unlocked bootloader. What better way to make easy money then to milk me with an unnecessary but expensive repair simply cos I voided my warranty. It' s unethical and personally, HTC has lost any future business from me.
It ironic as I bought my phone from Google.
caysman said:
You studiously do not deny self induced damage.did you break it? We're not here to play guessing games.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm putting my money on an unlocked bootloader
No I have not unlocked or rooted neither phones. My replacement N1 received the Froyo push. I did not even install it myself. Seriously there was no tempering, dropping, or water damage on neither device.
I would agree that HTC is passing repair charges to customers because it makes good business sense. It'll be highly unlikely that I am going to purchase another HTC phone.
TangBiz said:
All customer service reps sounded pleasant but HTC has procedures that do not support customer satisfaction.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly my thought. I've had my phone repaired for almost a whole month now and I still have no hope of getting it back.
The customer service is nice but they are absolutely useless. Everything regarding the actual status of the phone has to be initiated by the escalation team or warehouse, and I highly doubt that they give a **** of the customers.
TangBiz said:
No I have not unlocked or rooted neither phones. My replacement N1 received the Froyo push. I did not even install it myself. Seriously there was no tempering, dropping, or water damage on neither device.
I would agree that HTC is passing repair charges to customers because it makes good business sense. It'll be highly unlikely that I am going to purchase another HTC phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Has this been resolved?
If you haven't unlocked the bootloader, then there's no reason to charge you for the repair. Definitely talk to a supervisor and don't be afraid to insist that the phone if fully covered under warranty and they need to replace the unit or repair it.
I guess HTC support is 50/50, i've read that many HTC sends over a new phone the next day i guess it depends on certain malfunctions they do that. You should find out on what malfucntions do they send phones right away, and claim that as the problem.
KidTech said:
I guess HTC support is 50/50, i've read that many HTC sends over a new phone the next day i guess it depends on certain malfunctions they do that. You should find out on what malfucntions do they send phones right away, and claim that as the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting my rooted/unlocked phone repaired for free. So yeah, it really is 50/50!
My headphone jack started wigging out and thinking there was a headset plugged in when there wasn't. I also explained that I started to see dust coming in underneath the screen in the bottom left corner.
I opted for a replacement. I got it the next day. New one is great. Bootloader was unlocked and no charge was issued.
I would be livid. How old was the original phone with the "broken motherboard"? April? Well all hardware defects are covered up to 1 year. If the phone casing shows no physical signs of abuse yet the motherboard is broken... then that is a ringer that it is a manufacture defect.... especially if you'd had the phone for 2 months.
If there are no signs of physical damage and the water sticker is clean then you have full entitlement to your warranty. This includes motherboard replacements.

Be aware of the fraudulent Chinese company Fascardtech!

Be aware of the fraudulent Chinese company Fascardtech! I purchased a smartphone a year ago from Fascardtech and and the phone has never worked properly. The sound would not work unless I had my finger pressed against the back cover. Everything else seemed working. I returned the phone for an exchange/repair. About a month later I was told that the phone does not work at all and guarantee does not apply! I was shocked since everything beside the sound worked when I sent the phone back.
A month of an exhaustive e-mail communication followed. At the end Fascardtech suggested to either repair the phone for $80 or send it back to me for $22 without any repairs.
Despite my huge disappointed with the customer service I agreed to the $80 repair cost.
About three months later I have received an e-mail update reading the phone returned from repair and has not been fixed and is therefore being sent for a repair once more.
One month later another e-mail came claiming 12 month warranty period is over and the phone has not been fixed. Meanwhile another damage somehow happened to the phone, the display cracked but they are willing to send me a new phone, even a newer model, if I pay a fee.
At this point I finally understood that there is no point to continue in this nonsense and that the company is fraudulent! However, they sent my phone back at the end - with missing cover, screws and other components. After difficulties I booted the system, which seemed to be functional, although the sound system was again not working. I have also found data of another person hence I assume the phone has been switched.
Please be aware of the highly unprofessional manners of Fascardtech, make yourself a favor and stay away!
marekpesko said:
-snip-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Woah.
Thank you so much for the notification - I will definitely avoid buying from Fascardtech for sure!

General Be careful with Samsung UK warranty repairs!

HI all, unfortunately I had to send my S21 Ultra for warranty repair, in normal circumstances I would not bother writing a post, things can brake but what I have faced today is just shocking.
I have a contract with EE, they offered me that they might fix it, but if I want I can go with Samsung, and they even advised second option which is ok as Samsung knows how to fix their phones, right? Well, not really.
Issue with my phone was quite simple, buzzing vibration motor - hardware issue for sure, as when I pressed the back during vibration the buzzing noise stopped. Not sure what was wrong exactly, maybe faulty motor or something loose etc. It is not a case. I have described it as best as I could on Samsung chat and was happy when DPD collected parcel.
Now is the funny and most important part
In UK there is company called TMT First, and they fix them for Samsung(at least they have done it in my case).
Once they received the phone I received an e-mail with some details and information regarding phone Symptoms, exactly "Symptoms - ON/OFF".
Well... It was strange so I did quick chat with Samsung, and they have assured me that probably that's what engineers put as a description but I should be calm as they have information about vibrations, also they have an access to the chat we had regarding issues. Ok fair enough, maybe battery died before they received it. No problem.
Yesterday received e-mail with information that the phone is fixed, great! Hold down, in e-mail I could notice something similar "Symptoms - Power".
Again another quick chat etc. explanation that phone has been definitely fixed and engineers will not send it back without proper checks, they even provided phone number to contact that company directly, as it was after 5PM they have been closed.
So I rang them up this morning, and the lady said "We did software reset and that's it", I kindly asked what about original issue with vibration motor, has it been fixed/replaced - "vibration motor was not checked".
Seriously Samsung? You have huge company, we pay a lot of money and customer care looks like a rubbish!
I asked the lady, if they still have the phone is there any chance that engineer will check it again against buzzing vibrations etc. explained all again. She said he will, but after checking google reviews they always say that but they do not fix the phones.
Of course Samsung chat/phone customer service are unable to help as "phone will be fully tested before I get it", and if they not fix it I will have to go through that once again.
I came back to Samsung after 8 years, had issues with other devices etc, and never ever seen something like that.
Thankfully EE said if it's still broken after they send it back they will fix it, so keep in mind next time before you send your phone for warranty repair.
Well, well, these kind of things just happen every now and then. Maybe the people at TMT First are overwhelmed (who knows how many repair contracts they have and how many phones they get daily), maybe the engineer in charge had a bad day, there could be a lot of explanations.
The only thing you could and should do is get your phone fixed, give TMT First bad reviews on all relevant platforms and then report your bad experience to Samsung.
Good to hear that nothing has changed regarding Samsung UK warranty and after sales support, still rubbish.
My brother went to one of their Samsung service centers with an issue regarding shut downs. In a nutshell he received his repaired phone back with another defect. Basically after a long process they did nothing to help him. Samsung USA is similar, one just goes round in circles and nothing ever gets done.
Nowadays I usually buy from a reputable reseller and try to solve my issues with them directly.
I hate to say it, but I appreciate amazon's way of doing things (mostly replace or refund).
"Happy" to see that I am not the only one... But I would prefer to make a topic "Samsung UK warranty repair is very good" instead.
According to my case as the device is less than 6 months old I am going to contact EE today as they are the retailer, I have to find out who takes responsibility in this case as I will ask for phone replacement if the repair is unsuccessful. But probably I will have to go EE warranty repair first.
It is really sad, that we customers are treated like that. I thought Samsung is much more relevant in such things. I am not blaming them that something broke down. Those things happens, but for gods sake, we pay so much for those things and when we demand our rights they do not care.
I am going to report it on Samsung members as well - maybe we got much more people with similar issues.

Categories

Resources