Furious with Sony Service - Page 3

PHugger · 12-13-2007, 10:36 AM

I have no disagreement with the following:

I treated my 505 well (no abuse)
It doesn't work
Sony assessed the display to be cracked

I completely disagree with the fact that Sony assumes I abused it and that the crack was caused by something other than normal use. If a product fails under normal use during the warranty period I believe that the customer shouldn't be forced to pay for the repair. I feel that charging $270 to repair a $300 reader is outrageous.

Let's say I buy a new car for $30,000. I drive it for a month and the engine fails. The service technician decides that the engine block has cracked and that this delicate part was likely broken because I must have driven it improperly. They believe that I caused the engine to crack by driving the car. If I want it repaired, they will charge me $27,000 to do so.

I suppose that this analogy will also fail to help you understand my situation, but go ahead and repeat your opinion again for the 3rd or 4th time.

PCH

JSWolf · 12-13-2007, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mlove

I just called Sony and they do not yet have an extended warranty on the PRS-505. Now that I have asked for one, the service staff will request one and get back to me in a couple of weeks with the price.

Sony does indeed have an extended warranty for the 505.

2 Year Service Plan $24.99
2 Year Service Plan with Accidental Damage from Handling $44.99
3 Year Service Plan with Accidental Damage from Handling $69.99

JohnsnowNW · 12-13-2007, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PHugger

I have no disagreement with the following:

I treated my 505 well (no abuse)
It doesn't work
Sony assessed the display to be cracked

I completely disagree with the fact that Sony assumes I abused it and that the crack was caused by something other than normal use. If a product fails under normal use during the warranty period I believe that the customer shouldn't be forced to pay for the repair. I feel that charging $270 to repair a $300 reader is outrageous.

Let's say I buy a new car for $30,000. I drive it for a month and the engine fails. The service technician decides that the engine block has cracked and that this delicate part was likely broken because I must have driven it improperly. They believe that I caused the engine to crack by driving the car. If I want it repaired, they will charge me $27,000 to do so.

I suppose that this analogy will also fail to help you understand my situation, but go ahead and repeat your opinion again for the 3rd or 4th time.

PCH

You can be upset, but what has been said before is simple. Sony has the option to (a) fit the bill for your unit because you say you didn't treat your unit abnormally or (b) believe the people they pay to assess damage to the unit. It's not difficult to understand why they are going with option (b). That said, I am sorry that you are having to purchase the Reader again, and I sincerely hope that I don't run into the same problem.

fkasten · 12-13-2007, 11:27 AM

Phugger, you've made the point over and over that your Reader received only regular use - not abuse. That being said, utilize the advise of crusader666. There is no reason to assume, as many on this forum do, that SONY is honorable, competent, and well managed. There can be any number of reasons you're being treated unfairly so far but the reason isn't important. What's important is for you to get what's due you. You're dealing with employees of a huge, faceless corporation. You're only recourse may be ones suggested.

JSWolf · 12-13-2007, 11:32 AM

Try dealing with Sony in a more logical manor. Ask is it is possible for the screen to be damaged in the way yours is without you doing it. Ask them exactly what they think happened and then try to talk to them in a way that they can admit it can happen without it being your fault. See where that leads.

aleandre · 12-13-2007, 03:07 PM

I took the picture HarryT linked to to give an example of a broken screen. I my case too, I don't have the feeling I misused the device in any particular way (although I recall dropping it from a 50 cm height 6 months ago when I got it, but with no apparent consequences), so beyond all arguments in favour of or against Sony's build quality/Warranty, the case is very simple :

- Either they fix this screen under warranty and recognise their best commercial interest in doing so, showing the enthusiast community that they can stand by their product when no obvious abuse can be proven.

- Or they ask me to foot the bill, in which case they can keep the device and forget about me buying any e-ink product from Sony again.

It is not me who would like to market the Ipod of ebooks. I just want an e-ink device to replace the huge amount of paper I have around me, and if these guys are serious about mass market consumption, they should think twice in applying the logic : "we can't see anything on the outside, but the inside is broken, hence you've done it, you have to pay". In my 6 months of ownership, I spent about 50 $ on books bought on Connect, in addition to using the 100 $ voucher on Connect Classics books. Overall, I think I could spend between 200$ and 300$ a year on books, it's up to them to decide if they want my money or not.

Their attitude assumes the customer is guilty, or even worse, lying, and I can't see how this is suppose to help their market share, especially now that we see seemingly a lot of these e-ink screens going bad.
Sony being allegedly the biggest contender still in terms of market volume, it is no surprise that the number of users complaining about the screens of their PRS seem to go up remarkably in the forums at the moment. What worries me is that if the other e-ink devices show the same weakness, I fear for the success of these readers worldwide.

I wonder what kind of warranties applies for the Kindle or Bookeen, for instance. Or, what Irex does with the 8 inch screen of the Iliad, presumably more fragile than that of the Sony Reader ?

On a more general note, e-ink devices are over for me until they come with better warranties/more robust screens

.

skk06 · 12-13-2007, 03:30 PM

I believe that you are not misusing your Sony Reader. I have read reviews on several different brands of Readers and it seems as if many of them do have fragile screens which luckily in the large scheme of things does not affect a larger number of customers but of course there will always be some at the farthest extremes who are unlucky enough to end up with a broken or faulty screen. i think the manufactures will continue to work to improve the products.

mlove · 12-13-2007, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Sony does indeed have an extended warranty for the 505.

2 Year Service Plan $24.99
2 Year Service Plan with Accidental Damage from Handling $44.99
3 Year Service Plan with Accidental Damage from Handling $69.99

Thanks for the information. I will call Sony again with the information you posted. Odd that the person I spoke with said that there was nothing on the computer for the 505.

WookieReader · 12-13-2007, 04:35 PM

I hear your pain, but after several days of research, I finally bought the Sony PRS-505 two days ago. Just getting into this. I bought it from a SonyStyle store.

At the point of sale was given 30 days after Christmas for full refund along with a 'Christmas receipt' for that purpose, and offered what JS Wolf has described, and as I will call the 'extended' and 'accidental' warranty. I turned both down as I usually do, but did ask and was told I could get either with the receipt in the next 30 days. I'm going back to get the 'accidental' in this case. The comments here have easily convinced me to do so.

I studied in-depth the iRex ILiad, the Bookeen Gen3, Sony and Kindle. I would imagine Amazon would have some extended warranty options for the Kindle, but I did note nothing of this kind for the Gen3 and definitely not the iRex. I only mention this since those forums detail in depth the achilles heel of electronics firms - customer service.

In your case, either you were made aware of extended service as we all are and turned it down, or were not aware of it. I would respectfully disagree with you on flaming Sony and assuming their repair people are intentionally wanting to drive off customers. Does your situation stink. Definitely "yes".

Are you a victim of poor quality control - who knows? Inadvertent handling - who knows? Were you offered the 'accidental' warranty - again, 'who knows', but given the 3 pages of sensitivity of eLink screens on this forum, anyone would be crazy not to spend $4x. dollars for substrate protection if you choose to pay for it. It is a tragic situation all around...

Barcey · 12-13-2007, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Of course I accept that you disagree with me, PCH. We are all entitled to express our views here. I am simply saying that Sony's technicians are undoubtedly better equipped to diagnose faults than you or I are, and that you have no logical reason to disagree with their assessment of the problem.

I agree with you Harry that the Sony technician is better qualified to diagnose what the fault is and they've done that. I disagree that they're better qualified to diagnose the cause of the fault. If there is obvious damage to the case with a hairline crack leading to the screw where the screen is cracked then they have a very strong case. I think that PHUGGER is much more qualified to diagnose if he abused the device. I don't believe the technician can say with 100% confidence that for example the screen wasn't installed with too much torque in the screws, there wasn't a slight defect in the glass before he received it or there was a slight warp in the case that put tension on the glass. I'm just giving these as examples, in my opinion Sony has very good build quality and design but any company can run into quality issues. If Sony couldn't prove to my satisfaction that none of these things were possible I would be writing the letter to the CEO myself.

mlove · 12-14-2007, 09:18 AM

If you buy it from Borders, it is very difficult to purchase the warranty, which you are not offered. At one point I was transferred to Maytag warranties. If you are persistent, you can eventually get the right person. Kind of like dealing with AT&T on cellphones.

JSWolf · 12-14-2007, 09:31 AM

We do have house insurance and if either of our readers break, we would be able to get it replaced for a co-pay of $50.

HarryT · 12-14-2007, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

We do have house insurance and if either of our readers break, we would be able to get it replaced for a co-pay of $50.

That's a point I made in my original reply, Jon. Most house insurance policies cover you against accidental damage, on payment of a small excess.

mrkai · 12-14-2007, 08:24 PM

Why is it Harry, in virtually every case discussed on these boards on almost any subject, you assume the customer is trying to rip off some company?

Books, readers, whatever...the "customer is dishonest" seems to be your slant.

What is the source of this bias?

I'm very curious.

Pretty much everyone here is taking it as read that there was no abuse here, but you seem to be...less than willing to accept this as fact. Why?

JWez · 12-14-2007, 08:30 PM

I bought mine from CompUSA. In less than a week one corner of the screen fritzed. I can tell you it wasn't dropped or twisted. They replaced it, no problem. I used to buy from them because they had a good policy of doing that. But...

12-13-2007, 03:07 PM	#36
aleandre Member Posts: 21 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Rijswijk ZH, Netherlands Device: Sony PRS-500, Cybook Opus, iPad	I took the picture HarryT linked to to give an example of a broken screen. I my case too, I don't have the feeling I misused the device in any particular way (although I recall dropping it from a 50 cm height 6 months ago when I got it, but with no apparent consequences), so beyond all arguments in favour of or against Sony's build quality/Warranty, the case is very simple : - Either they fix this screen under warranty and recognise their best commercial interest in doing so, showing the enthusiast community that they can stand by their product when no obvious abuse can be proven. - Or they ask me to foot the bill, in which case they can keep the device and forget about me buying any e-ink product from Sony again. It is not me who would like to market the Ipod of ebooks. I just want an e-ink device to replace the huge amount of paper I have around me, and if these guys are serious about mass market consumption, they should think twice in applying the logic : "we can't see anything on the outside, but the inside is broken, hence you've done it, you have to pay". In my 6 months of ownership, I spent about 50 $ on books bought on Connect, in addition to using the 100 $ voucher on Connect Classics books. Overall, I think I could spend between 200$ and 300$ a year on books, it's up to them to decide if they want my money or not. Their attitude assumes the customer is guilty, or even worse, lying, and I can't see how this is suppose to help their market share, especially now that we see seemingly a lot of these e-ink screens going bad. Sony being allegedly the biggest contender still in terms of market volume, it is no surprise that the number of users complaining about the screens of their PRS seem to go up remarkably in the forums at the moment. What worries me is that if the other e-ink devices show the same weakness, I fear for the success of these readers worldwide. I wonder what kind of warranties applies for the Kindle or Bookeen, for instance. Or, what Irex does with the 8 inch screen of the Iliad, presumably more fragile than that of the Sony Reader ? On a more general note, e-ink devices are over for me until they come with better warranties/more robust screens . Last edited by aleandre; 12-13-2007 at 03:10 PM.

12-13-2007, 04:35 PM	#39
WookieReader Member Posts: 22 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Weldon Spring, Missouri Device: Sony PRS-505, Iliad 2nd Ed/iPhone	Frustration I hear your pain, but after several days of research, I finally bought the Sony PRS-505 two days ago. Just getting into this. I bought it from a SonyStyle store. At the point of sale was given 30 days after Christmas for full refund along with a 'Christmas receipt' for that purpose, and offered what JS Wolf has described, and as I will call the 'extended' and 'accidental' warranty. I turned both down as I usually do, but did ask and was told I could get either with the receipt in the next 30 days. I'm going back to get the 'accidental' in this case. The comments here have easily convinced me to do so. I studied in-depth the iRex ILiad, the Bookeen Gen3, Sony and Kindle. I would imagine Amazon would have some extended warranty options for the Kindle, but I did note nothing of this kind for the Gen3 and definitely not the iRex. I only mention this since those forums detail in depth the achilles heel of electronics firms - customer service. In your case, either you were made aware of extended service as we all are and turned it down, or were not aware of it. I would respectfully disagree with you on flaming Sony and assuming their repair people are intentionally wanting to drive off customers. Does your situation stink. Definitely "yes". Are you a victim of poor quality control - who knows? Inadvertent handling - who knows? Were you offered the 'accidental' warranty - again, 'who knows', but given the 3 pages of sensitivity of eLink screens on this forum, anyone would be crazy not to spend $4x. dollars for substrate protection if you choose to pay for it. It is a tragic situation all around...

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12-13-2007, 10:36 AM	#31
PHugger Connoisseur Posts: 94 Karma: 8443 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: NJ Device: Kindle 3G, Sony PRS-505	I have no disagreement with the following: I treated my 505 well (no abuse) It doesn't work Sony assessed the display to be cracked I completely disagree with the fact that Sony assumes I abused it and that the crack was caused by something other than normal use. If a product fails under normal use during the warranty period I believe that the customer shouldn't be forced to pay for the repair. I feel that charging $270 to repair a $300 reader is outrageous. Let's say I buy a new car for $30,000. I drive it for a month and the engine fails. The service technician decides that the engine block has cracked and that this delicate part was likely broken because I must have driven it improperly. They believe that I caused the engine to crack by driving the car. If I want it repaired, they will charge me $27,000 to do so. I suppose that this analogy will also fail to help you understand my situation, but go ahead and repeat your opinion again for the 3rd or 4th time. PCH

12-13-2007, 11:27 AM	#34
fkasten Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 400020 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook	Phugger, you've made the point over and over that your Reader received only regular use - not abuse. That being said, utilize the advise of crusader666. There is no reason to assume, as many on this forum do, that SONY is honorable, competent, and well managed. There can be any number of reasons you're being treated unfairly so far but the reason isn't important. What's important is for you to get what's due you. You're dealing with employees of a huge, faceless corporation. You're only recourse may be ones suggested.

12-13-2007, 11:32 AM	#35
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,970 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Try dealing with Sony in a more logical manor. Ask is it is possible for the screen to be damaged in the way yours is without you doing it. Ask them exactly what they think happened and then try to talk to them in a way that they can admit it can happen without it being your fault. See where that leads.

12-13-2007, 03:30 PM	#37
skk06 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Nokia	I believe that you are not misusing your Sony Reader. I have read reviews on several different brands of Readers and it seems as if many of them do have fragile screens which luckily in the large scheme of things does not affect a larger number of customers but of course there will always be some at the farthest extremes who are unlucky enough to end up with a broken or faulty screen. i think the manufactures will continue to work to improve the products.

12-14-2007, 09:18 AM	#41
mlove Cat-loving cyclist Posts: 28 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Champaign, Illinois Device: Sony PRS-505, IPhone	If you buy it from Borders, it is very difficult to purchase the warranty, which you are not offered. At one point I was transferred to Maytag warranties. If you are persistent, you can eventually get the right person. Kind of like dealing with AT&T on cellphones.

12-14-2007, 09:31 AM	#42
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,970 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	We do have house insurance and if either of our readers break, we would be able to get it replaced for a co-pay of $50.

12-14-2007, 08:24 PM	#44
mrkai Bit Wrangler Posts: 181 Karma: 415 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: Sony PRS-505	Why is it Harry, in virtually every case discussed on these boards on almost any subject, you assume the customer is trying to rip off some company? Books, readers, whatever...the "customer is dishonest" seems to be your slant. What is the source of this bias? I'm very curious. Pretty much everyone here is taking it as read that there was no abuse here, but you seem to be...less than willing to accept this as fact. Why?

12-14-2007, 08:30 PM	#45
JWez Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Nook Classic, Kobo Aura HD	I bought mine from CompUSA. In less than a week one corner of the screen fritzed. I can tell you it wasn't dropped or twisted. They replaced it, no problem. I used to buy from them because they had a good policy of doing that. But...

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