HORRIBLE Customer service and problems with Aura

[Lima7]

Hello everyone,

I have had my Aura HD for two years, always treated the device with care, when one day, it decided to die.

The screen ''froze'' and now, it's only showing black lines almost like a plaid pattern. I tried the reset, factory reset, plugging in, all that stuff. Nothing worked, so I contacted the Kobo customer service.

I had to wait almost 20 minutes to speak to someone the first time. She went through all these reset procedures again with me, only to determine that my device was officially dead. She told me she would forward my e-mail to someone who would review my case and offer me something that would make me happy.

A few days later, I got an email from the warranty options department. They were offering me....... a ridiculous 20$ discount on a Kobo Glo refurbished or on a Kobo Aura 2nd generation.

I tried to answer their email, saying that it was really disappointing since the problem was coming from THEM, not me. I never dropped my device, never spilled water on it, nothing. It's a problem that is coming from their device, they should at least try to fix it...

No answer. One day, two days, three days, almost five days later, nothing. SO I try to call them again! After waiting for 1h on the phone, I still haven't had the chance to speak to someone.

I log onto the live chat. 20 minutes and more later, someone finally answers me. Saying that ''I closed your ticket because our warranty department has already answered you''. REALLY ?

I have been fighting with them for like two weeks now, and nothing moves. It seems like they just don't care about their clients. My device just breaks down like this and they're like ''well buy a new one''.

Has this happened to anyone ? I'm not even sure I want to buy another Kobo device after this whole situation.

[petercreasey]

L, unless your device was still under warranty, your demands aren't justified, no?

[PeterT]

It does sound like a damaged screen. You might want to take a picture of the screen and post it here.

[Lima7]

Originally Posted by petercreasey

L, unless your device was still under warranty, your demands aren't justified, no?

I don't really think so... The device is not broken, it's like an internal damage. How is this my fault? If I had dropped it or broken the screen, or spilled water on it, then yes, it is my fault. But now it's not, which is why I'm a bit surprised they don't do anything.

I don't have a picture of mine but here is what it looks like

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sIUy6r_KtN0/maxresdefault.jpg

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Lima7

I don't really think so... The device is not broken, it's like an internal damage. How is this my fault? If I had dropped it or broken the screen, or spilled water on it, then yes, it is my fault. But now it's not, which is why I'm a bit surprised they don't do anything.

I don't have a picture of mine but here is what it looks like

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sIUy6r_KtN0/maxresdefault.jpg

That curved line in the middle of the image you linked to says screen substrate broken. If your screen has similar looking damage, you would have difficulty getting help if your Aura HD was still in warranty. Given that it is out of warranty, you are SOL.

If you look through this forum (and others), you will find that quite often people have had a broken substrate on their ereader and no idea of what triggered the damage (it was in my backpack and when I took it out, it was broken, etc.).

[JSWolf]

Your Aura HD is out of warranty and you broke the screen. It's not Kobo's fault. My suggestion is to suck it up and buy an H2O to replace your Aura HD.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Lima7

Hello everyone,

I have had my Aura HD for two years, always treated the device with care, when one day, it decided to die.

The screen ''froze'' and now, it's only showing black lines almost like a plaid pattern. I tried the reset, factory reset, plugging in, all that stuff. Nothing worked, so I contacted the Kobo customer service.

I had to wait almost 20 minutes to speak to someone the first time. She went through all these reset procedures again with me, only to determine that my device was officially dead. She told me she would forward my e-mail to someone who would review my case and offer me something that would make me happy.

A few days later, I got an email from the warranty options department. They were offering me....... a ridiculous 20$ discount on a Kobo Glo refurbished or on a Kobo Aura 2nd generation.

I tried to answer their email, saying that it was really disappointing since the problem was coming from THEM, not me. I never dropped my device, never spilled water on it, nothing. It's a problem that is coming from their device, they should at least try to fix it...

No answer. One day, two days, three days, almost five days later, nothing. SO I try to call them again! After waiting for 1h on the phone, I still haven't had the chance to speak to someone.

I log onto the live chat. 20 minutes and more later, someone finally answers me. Saying that ''I closed your ticket because our warranty department has already answered you''. REALLY ?

I have been fighting with them for like two weeks now, and nothing moves. It seems like they just don't care about their clients. My device just breaks down like this and they're like ''well buy a new one''.

Has this happened to anyone ? I'm not even sure I want to buy another Kobo device after this whole situation.

They offered you $20 for an out of warranty device. I would say that is good customer service. They could have just said so sorry but there is nothing we can do.
I would love to get free money for something broke and out of warranty.

[HarryT]

FWIW, Amazon do exactly the same. If a device is out of warranty, you'll be offered a small discount on a new device, and that's it.

A broken screen substrate assuredly is user damage.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

They offered you $20 for an out of warranty device. I would say that is good customer service. They could have just said so sorry but there is nothing we can do.
I would love to get free money for something broke and out of warranty.

Actually, that's not all that good a deal. The problem (as I see it) is the device that broke has a 6.8" and the $20 off is for a device with a 6" screen. Not the same and not comparable. Now if that was $20 off for an H2O, that would beOK. But given the exchange rate, you might be able to get a new H2O from Chapter for less or similar.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Actually, that's not all that good a deal. The problem (as I see it) is the device that broke has a 6.8" and the $20 off is for a device with a 6" screen. Not the same and not comparable. Now if that was $20 off for an H2O, that would beOK. But given the exchange rate, you might be able to get a new H2O from Chapter for less or similar.

I misread his post. I didn't realize the offer was limited to one or two devices. Though at least they offered something instead of nothing. They didn't have to do that.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I misread his post. I didn't realize the offer was limited to one or two devices. Though at least they offered something instead of nothing. They didn't have to do that.

I would have expected maybe a discount on a refurbished Aura HD (if they had any)or a refurbished H2O.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by HarryT

FWIW, Amazon do exactly the same. If a device is out of warranty, you'll be offered a small discount on a new device, and that's it.

A broken screen substrate assuredly is user damage.

Considering neither company has any obligations at all once a device is out of warranty, a discount on a replacement (even if it's restricted) means they are more generous than they need to be. That's what customer service is supposed to do. Giving in to unreasonable demands is not what customer service is supposed to do.

Yes, I work in customer service for a tech company. How did you guess?

[booklover6]

Electronic devices don't last forever....warranty is one year. What company is going to do anything when I product is out of warranty? And warranty only covers specified faults, normally not user damage. E-ink screens are fragile, and damage can show up without warning.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

Considering neither company has any obligations at all once a device is out of warranty, a discount on a replacement (even if it's restricted) means they are more generous than they need to be. That's what customer service is supposed to do. Giving in to unreasonable demands is not what customer service is supposed to do.

Yes, I work in customer service for a tech company. How did you guess?

I have twice gotten a discount and free shipping from a company because 1 I owned several of their products and 2 because I was very nice to the customer service. 2 different companies.
The second one I hadn't even paid retail for one product but it came without a necessary part. I got the part for a discount. Yes, I told them the truth.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I have twice gotten a discount and free shipping from a company because 1 I owned several of their products and 2 because I was very nice to the customer service. 2 different companies.

That would do it.