Posted on 03/17/2015 9:56:26 PM PDT by EinNYC
I'd like to hear some opinions about this fine example of "customer service" I recently experienced at the hands of LG Electronics. I purchased a non-smart cell phone from a vendor on Amazon. It was advertised as new, and arrived in the original sealed box. After a few months, the phone's camera stopped working. The battery door was stuck and could not be opened. And the shift key was on the fritz, leaving you with entire sentences in upper case at random times. I contacted Amazon, who contacted the vendor. Two times they contacted them and two times there was no reply. Secure in the knowledge that I had plenty of time left on the 1-year warranty, I contacted LG and explained the issues the phone was having. They sent me a return authorization number and a free shipping label to send the phone to their Texas repair facility. After 3 weeks and hearing nothing, I contacted LG and gave them the return authorization number.
"Oh, we're sorry. We only have the battery and the back cover of the battery compartment," the lady said.
"WHAT?????? I sent you the entire phone, wrapped in multiple layers of bubble wrap, in its original box within an outer box!"
"Well, that's all we have of your phone. We will look around."
A week later, I called back and they had found the phone. But would they repair it now? No. They needed a "Proof of Purchase".
I printed out and scanned the invoice one gets when logged into their Amazon account and on the page of an item you purchased. Then I sent it to LG.
"We're sorry. We do not accept this as a proof of purchase."
Excuse me? This is the only invoice Amazon ever provides. I called Amazon and had them call LG to verify I had purchased the phone when I claimed to have.
And now the phone will be fixed? Oh noes. Now LG demands I supply the phone's MEID number.
"But you have the physical phone! It has the MEID number inside the battery case!"
No. We need it from YOU."
I had to call my cell phone service provider. The Tier 1 tech went into this whole dogma-read about how they could not release that number to me. I roared into the phone that he'd better get a supervisor on the phone, pronto. Finally, a supervisor was located and put on the phone. I finally, after much wheedling, got him to give me the MEID number of my phone. Great! NOW I could give this to LG and get my phone fixed.
Oh noes. Now I called LG to find out when I would get my phone back repaired.
"Oh, we cannot repair your phone. Our techs (who lost it and then found it, recall) found that your phone was refurbished/tampered with/had water damage. We can repair it for money, though."
The phone was purchased as new and certainly looked it.
I contacted Amazon and told them this sorry tale. Either their vendor had lied about the new condition of the phone or LG was playing for time until the May 2015 end of the 1-year warranty period. I told LG where to put my phone (hint: the sun never shines there) and filed complaints with the NY Attorney General and the NYS Dept. of Consumer Affairs.
Typical
Hello, my name is Peggy.
Gray Market electronics are difficult when they fail.
Seems your gripe is with the vendor and I think Amazon.com has some sort of buyer protection.
I’d get on them.
Until then, seems you’re out of a phone.
Thatz cold man. LOL
Dude is out of a pbone amd no service he still has to pay for...
Why would you but just go to the local Verizon, T Mobile, etc., and buy a phone there. Cheaper, and they ask have impeccable customer service. Buying an unlocked phone off of EBay is only a couple steps above buying a phone from some guy in Times Square.
I've got a Pan/Tilt camera with security issues. Doesn't matter to me, and I know about it.
Caveat emptor seems to be the phrase to pay attention to.
That and if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.
I look for what I need first, and not the $$s.
/johnny
The end of the Apple,extended warranty was coming up on my MacBook Pro, so I decided to take it in for an annoying small slightly dim spot on the screen. A week later, I got the machine back with a brand new display.
Always look at those vendor ratings before you buy something on Amazon.
I hope you removed your SIM card before sending them the phone.
It certainly is not the service you would get from Apple. Grin!
I used to buy things from amazon but the last few times were stinkers so I’ve stopped. Too bad... it used to be a reliable marketplace.
I think you will be better off contacting Amazon customer service about this (they have a pretty good way often of getting their vendors to respond a whole lot better than this)
and
then in future
buying the Sold By Amazon items, preferentially..especially if they are the kind of things that may require customer service. Amazon really does a good job of standing behind the stuff it sells you (its some of the vendors on Amazon that can be less helpful at times)
amazon tells its vendors to fix customer complaints or else get booted off amazon site, when a vendor is generating too many complaints to amazon
go for Amazon
Did you use your American Express Card. If so call them. They should be able to help.
I misspoke when I said EBay, and I agree with you that Amazon is several steps above EBay. But even with Amazon you have to check closely to make sure you’re dealing with Amazon itself or with a reliable vendor.
I did not buy a phone from a Verizon store because they didn’t sell the phone I wanted and they only sold phones with plans. I already had a great cell service with no contracts and much cheaper than Verizon.
Amazon is conducting an investigation. I have a feeling they will refund the cost of the phone to me, because it was their vendor who never responded to their query. Amazon has always been very responsive to me.
Ah, but I found a great little phone on eBay that was only used twice—really. Works great and only $30. It was bought as an interim phone while I waited on LG to fix my other phone. Might become my permanent phone.
I recently bought a surface Pro 3 with the keyboard and docking station. On Amazon it would have been three different vendors. I bought from Microsoft instead. It was a little more but I figured if I had any problems it would be a lot better just dealing with Microsoft.
New in box from a vendor that I knew had problems. I was glad to get the price, but problems were on me.
Otherwise, it sounds like fraud if the guy buys something as new-in-box and gets something different. Then, Amazon needs to pay. That's just fraud, plain and simple.
/johnny
Heck, I took a client to the Genius bar with a MacBook Pro that was two years out of warranty that wouldn't boot. They came back and said it was unrepairable. . . my client said she couldn't really afford a new one but was reaching into her purse for her credit card when the Genius said, give us a few more minutes. Fifteen minutes later he came back with a BRAND NEW MacBook Pro in a box, and gave it to her, and said:
"Sorry about taking so long. We had to transfer all of your data from the dead one. Here you go. No Charge."
She about fainted! At that time a new top of the line MacBook Pro was around $1999, and hers was four years old, out of warranty and they were giving her a brand new one!
He then said, "Sorry, but we'll have to keep your old one as an exchange. Do you mind? We have already transferred all your data and formatted the drive. If you like, you can watch us smash the drive, if you feel it is necessary." She declined.
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