Aura HD Kobo Customer Service--**** you!

[ottdmk]

Major, were I you, I would seriously count my blessings. Your unit had physical damage. The warranty specifically does not apply to physical damage. The company is doing you a favour. They have only your word that this isn't your fault. Yet they're ignoring their own policies to help you.

Yeah, they screwed up on the replacement unit. But considering that if they went by policy they shouldn't have done anything for you at all, I would consider cutting them a break. This way you aren't out a $169CDN (+ tax) investment.

[Major General]

I have a unit that failed. It wasn't dropped, or abused. There ARE other people who've reported the same thing. It was a hardware failure, NOT physical damage--the unit had NO PHYSICAL DAMAGE. I have to talk them into honoring their warranty, they send me the WRONG replacement, and IM the one who should cut THEM a break? You have to be kidding me.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

I'm not sure why there's a second thread. Was the first one closed? Major General it seems that you are suffering from First World Problems. It's unfortunate but I think you'll survive. Just think about that poor starving kid in Africa who ALSO just received a Kobo Glo rather than an Aura HD. He can't even eat the Glo. It seems like everything is going to work out for you in the end and it's a shame that the people at Kobo have made a mistake but it does sound like your previous Kobo suffered some kind of physical damage whether you are aware of that happening or not.

[Danger]

The screen WAS broken, THAT is physical damage NOT hardware failure. It was NOT like that when you opened the package and turned it on and you were using it for some period of time before the screen appeared in that condition. THIS IS NOT A WARRANTY ISSUE pure and simple. Whether you think you did something to it or not, you did. Didn't have to be dropped or abused, just had to have the device twisted to cause the screen to crack.

Yup they sent you the wrong device for a device they did not have to replace in the first place but they are doing what they can (opps its the weekend go figure) as soon as they can. Count yourself lucky they are replacing it at all and stop your damn whining.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Major General

I have a unit that failed. It wasn't dropped, or abused. There ARE other people who've reported the same thing. It was a hardware failure, NOT physical damage--the unit had NO PHYSICAL DAMAGE. I have to talk them into honoring their warranty, they send me the WRONG replacement, and IM the one who should cut THEM a break? You have to be kidding me.

Going by the image YOU originally posted, your screen had physical damage. Get over your insistence that there was no physical damage when you supplied an image typical of a broken substrate — as you were informed by several posters. Are you still trying to argue that a broken substrate is not physical damage?

To quote from Kobo's warranty: "This Limited Warranty does not cover:
(a) damage or malfunctions caused by accident, misuse, neglect, abuse, acts of God or other external causes;"

It seems fairly obvious that you were not covered for physical damage so Kobo obviously took your word that you had not dropped, twisted, sat on, crushed or otherwise knowingly or unknowingly caused the damage to the Aura HD's display and bent company policy to replace your damaged unit.

Yes, Kobo screwed up when they shipped you the wrong replacement unit. You have never screwed up in your life?




Regards,
David

[PeterT]

Loved the G & S patter song from The Pirates of Penzance.

[paola]

Major General, one way the screen can get the damage as for your device is e.g. if you ever happened to handle it from a single corner - the larger the device, the higher the risk that this can damage the substrate. This is a weakness of e-ink screens, which is why most companies don't cover that kind of damage (including Amazon, but they do have an excellent customer service and extensive bookshop, so they'd rather keep you as a customer than risk you switching to the competition: you won't be able to read amazon books on non-kindle e-ink devices legally in most countries). So I think you've been lucky that they accepted to replace your Aura HD in the first place.

Moving on then, I also agree that if they made a mistake and sent you the wrong item they should not expect you to return it at your expense (but did they say that?): on the bright side, you have a glo on loan for the week-end, so you are not without a device (did they tell you not to open it?), and who knows, you might end up keeping it in the end.

You will have realised that what must have irritated a lot of people is the violence of the title of your thread when after all, regardless of whether or not you realised it, the damage must have happened after you received it, and Kobo agreed to a replacement. At the risk of sounding patronising, if you search the forum you will find a lot of horror stories of devices just "left there" and then found with a broken screen. It is not gremlins, but unfortunately sometimes the damage takes a while (even days) to appear. There is a very instructive post on this by a guy who repairs e-ink devices, but unfortunately it is in Italian!

[ShellShock]

I have some sympathy for Major General. Perhaps during manufacturing the device was unduly stressed but this did not show up until later, after he had received the device. After all, if damage may not show up until after several days of the original cause, why not until after several weeks or months? Perhaps someone in the shop dropped it? Unless the customer admits to being the immediate cause of the damage, it is good customer service and PR (but not good finances) for the manufacturer to replace the device. Kobo have to compete with Amazon in this, so they have weigh up the pros and cons.

Or perhaps the reader was stressed when Major General put it into the case? Is hardware acceptable that can be so easily damaged?

I happened to drop my Aura HD yesterday, about 2-3 feet onto carpet; it is in a slim fit case and fortunately there is no sign of damage....yet! Fingers crossed!

[paola]

or maybe we should ask Esquire:

Beware, may be painful to watch :-)

[PeterT]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiQBEPwEYMc

(Can;t get the wrapper to work here)

[robko]

Now that's the eink screen tech we need!! I assume the challenge is to increase the size of it.

[paola]

Originally Posted by PeterT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiQBEPwEYMc

(Can;t get the wrapper to work here)

thanks Peter, I see know the video does not work in my link

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Major General

If you saw my previous thread, then you know I had an issue with a malfunctioning screen on my Aura HD.

Threads merged. Please do not start new threads on the same topic when the old thread isn't very old.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by paola

thanks Peter, I see know the video does not work in my link

Fixed.

[speakingtohe]

Give the guy a break. He's upset. Perhaps he is overreacting, perhaps not. If he is he should surely be granted the unlimited tolerance for mistakes that Kobo seems to merit. Seems fair.

Helen