Touch Ian says no replacement on another bad Kobo!

[Shushan]

Okay, I wrote in before on the woes we had with a lemon WiFi Kobo, which was replaced with another refurbished WiFi lemon..and then another...

~ and then they sent us a -refurbished- Kobo Touch 5 months ago which we have dearly loved. We'd specially gotten the KT its own extra-protective case. with extra padding etc

In spite of this gentle treatment, in the Doctor's waiting room, he found while powering it on that the KT suddenly had 1/4 of the screen freeze...

When he got home the bottom of the screen (another 1/4) was now only flashing in whites and blacks. So its another progressive screen failure, despite our efforts to keep it safe. It ran great until then. It still connects to the computer etc.

So I emailed on the next day, and received no reply, not even an automated one. After a couple of days I sent the email again. Tonight I decided to call

After a lengthy wait, someone called Ian tells me that the warranty is not extended when you get the new models, but is still running out when they are sending you all those lemons, so they won't help.

I had seen a thread in here that said the warranty was from the last one they gave you, which is why I am posting.

Ian claims this is wrong and gives me this speech that a Fry's wouldn't extend a TV warranty if you had to exchange it for being a lemon.

[I replied that a Fry's would have given you a new tv back when you returned a lemon, and not a refurbished model that had already been returned for being a lemon - and you could only hope had been truly fixed.]

Any rate, this is now their policy, according to Ian.

& given the high rate of lemons from this company, you can bet I won't be buying another one.

[HarleyB]

In my experience the warranty on any product starts when you purchase the original product. If you get a replacement product during that period the warranty is still counted from the origianal purchase.
So if your product has a one year warranty it is one year from the original purchase date.

If you had a significant amount of time without the use of your product due to the multiple faulty replacements and you are just out of the warranty (ie you were without your product for 2 months and you are now only 1 month out of the warranty period) then as a good will gesture I think it would be nice if they could extend the warranty.

But is a broken screen (which is what is sounds like you have?) covered by warranty anyway?

Sorry about your Kobo - I would cry if mine broke....

[scoobertron]

Depending on where you are, it might be worth checking the consumer legislation covering this kind of thing. In the UK, the sale of goods act covers items for at least 6 months (or longer depending on the expected lifespan of the product). I am not sure if this counts for refurbed items, but I would imagine that it is within the spirit of the act.

[kaikara]

Being covered from the initial date of purchase is normal. So is getting a refurbished product. They can't give a new one out everytime there is an issue. If you wanted to be covered for longer you should have bought the extended warranty.

[Shushan]

I originally bought a WiFi Kobo for DH at a Borders with extra warranty, and it died in less than 4 months of gentle usage. Screen developed these funny bars etc. I didn't pursue it immediately because I thought the chain closing meant I was out of luck but folks here told me otherwise, and they were right. After dealing with their unwieldy & inefficient (but polite - then) 'tiered' system eventually I found Kobo would exchange it if I covered the shipping & insurance to Canada. Sadly the refurbished they sent was also a lemon (screen issue - lines & bars again in weeks), and so was the one after that. At least we were given a domestic address the last time!

As the warranty was at the defunct Borders you could say they were being 'nice' in honoring it for awhile. However, its not-so-nice to send me back readers that were doomed to fail in weeks no matter how gently we treated them!

Refurbished is only fair if it really IS fixed!

I was paying pretty high shipping & insurance, and we were feeling burned until they sent that Kobo Touch, since I had paid out enough just returning those rotten units to have bought a Kindle or Nook (which would still be working!) - and this is beyond the purchase price

The refurbished Kobo Touch that came in March was an upgrade that made us willing to forgive all the nonsense we'd gone through before - until this week, when it broke too (That's 5 months of gentle use. A new record!) DH took it out of its out-sized extra protective case in a waiting room and found 1/4 of the screen was frozen on the 'powered off' image. When he got home, and powered up it up again, half the screen was now unreadable, as another quarter only changed from dark to light areas.

I know DH was treating it extremely gently. The day it failed it was in its tough case, carried in a bag of soft clothes, in case he was admitted to the hospital.

I don't honestly know if the screen is 'broken' - there's no exterior damage and it hadn't been dropped or anything like that (no walls or tables involved!). The battery had just acted up again two days before, so I am going to see what I can do with the factory reset that's on the threads here somewhere or maybe even try taking out the battery and putting it back before I give up entirely. I am convinced there's any easy fix for it, though I may not be able to provide it.

Part of my irritation was the lack of sympathy and unhelpful attitude of their rep - he bordered on rude. He wouldn't even suggest the other reset, or repair service, or anything...then asks me 'if there was anything else he could do to help.' Cheeky!

I've seen plenty of other irritated customers threads looking up its issues, and a few noted that customer service and support for it were less generous than before. I could see that happening if there have been many returns.

Anyway, for listening. At least sharing with you guys made me feel a little better. I'll get him a Sony, Kindle or Nook next time there's a good deal in my range - and that will be that.

[robko]

What kind of "tough case" do you have? This sounds like a case where the screen (or more accurately the whole Kobo) was twisted or bent which cracked the screen. Drops and bangs are less damaging than twisting (very thin sheet of glass that forms the backbone for the e-ink screen doesn't take well to bending or twisting). Most cases I've seen will probably protect the screen from something being dropped on it or a point pressure on the screen, but if you can flex the case at all it won't protect it from fatal twisting/bending if you put it in a purse or backpack or briefcase. So even if you treat it very carefully that might be why you're still getting damage (especially considering the number of bum screens you've had).
And yes, Kobo customer service generally ranks up there with the worst of them, but as others have said paying shipping and getting a refurb are par for the course for warranty. Ironically I bought a new watch tonight for $12.99 and happened to read the warranty info and it says they want $8.50 to cover shipping and handling if I ever need to use the warranty .

[Shushan]

I don't doubt you. This may have become customary practice, but its deplorable just the same. As is your watch 'warranty'... Hope your watch gives you good service before croaking because you and I know that such warranties are hardly worth the paper they are printed on. You are really depending on the manufacturer to give you a good product in the first place.

The case is actually a leather-ish one for an ipad with reinforcing boards in it and extra padding. It happened to have a pocket on one side that holds the Kobo Touch perfectly still. No, it shouldn't have been bending. And get this...two of the three Kobos that died had gone from being held nicely to sitting still in the case on a shelf...where they died unmolested by anyone or anything, not even our playful kitty who definitely wanted to pounce on them (that's why it stayed out of his reach when it was unused.) No dust, no drops, no visits from Bender... but they are gone just the same.

He hadn't ever gotten around to carrying the WiFis anywhere before they croaked. He's been watching me carrying around my Nook Touch for the last 10 months in its tough case with no issues and finally decided to try taking his Kobo Touch to lengthy waits only in the last month or so, but only in its case, and he was still being extra careful when this happened.

btw..the factory reset didn't fix it. So now on to Plan B