Kobo customer care (or lack of)

[John F]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Perhaps that the Kobo Forma was discontinued over two years ago? Even if you purchased one of the last Forma's sold, unless you paid for the extended warranty, your Forma would no longer be in warranty.

Are you stating that your Kobo Forma is still in warranty? You paid for the extended warranty?

Have you tried opening it up and re-seating the cables? There are enough YouTube videos though adding battery replacement to the search string will eliminate most of the unboxing videos.

Out of curiosity, I still see Formas for sale, for example blue proton is still selling them on Amazon U.S. Does Kobo still need to honor the warrenty?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by John F

Out of curiosity, I still see Formas for sale, for example blue proton is still selling them on Amazon U.S. Does Kobo still need to honor the warrenty?

Considering that Blue Proton also states that the Forma is not discontinued by manufacturer? BTW Kobo Canada was selling the refurbed Forma for $189.99 Cdn (~$139.80 US).

[John F]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Considering that Blue Proton also states that the Forma is not discontinued by manufacturer? BTW Kobo Canada was selling the refurbed Forma for $189.99 Cdn (~$139.80 US).

Does it being discontinued matter as far as warranties go? I seem to recall that Kobo was selling Formas at a discounted price once the Sage came out and the Forma was "discontinued"?

I assumed Blue Proton was an authorized dealer. Should people who purchase from Blue Proton be worried about warranties?

I'm ignorant on warranty law, so I'm curious.

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by hermano

.....but they claim they have no authorised repair facilities.

That would be the most worrying bit to me - no authorised repair facilites, now maybe Amazon is the same, but when a company says this what they are really saying is no matter if your device is five years old or five days old if it breaks it gets chucked away.

Yes Kobo can be fixed (from what I've seen, I don't own one) but I'm guessing that if they have no authorised repair facilities if you do fix one it would not be an authorised repair so if it was still under warranty that warranty would then be void (?)

I just had a problem with a new Paperwhite, Amazon replaced it with no fuss, but what happened to the faulty one? in the bin?

I think companies need to be forced to make goods that are repairable as the mountain of junked e-waste is just getting bigger and bigger

[DNSB]

Depending on where you are the rules can differ. Locally, once a device is discontinued, the end of sales date kicks in. Once the base warranty period has been exceeded (i.e. end of sales date plus 1 year), trying to register your device for warranty purposes may not work though most manufacturers allow a grace period of 6 months to 1 year after the end of sales before no longer accepting registrations for warranty purposes.

A purchase made from Blue Proton should have the usual warranty terms but Ghu alone knows how purchasing a discontinued item that is at least 2.5 years old is going to be treated for warranty purposes.

Much of this is based on the experience of one friend of mine who purchased a 55" Sony TV from a local retailer a couple of years back. The TV had been discontinued by Sony about 3 years before (2018/9? model in early 2022) and was put on sale along with a bunch of other found in warehouse devices. The price was great but when he tried to register on Sony's site, he was informed his TV was not eligible for warranty coverage. OTOH, he was still able to download the latest firmware update and install it.

[foosion]

Originally Posted by John F

Does it being discontinued matter as far as warranties go? I seem to recall that Kobo was selling Formas at a discounted price once the Sage came out and the Forma was "discontinued"?

I assumed Blue Proton was an authorized dealer. Should people who purchase from Blue Proton be worried about warranties?

I'm ignorant on warranty law, so I'm curious.

In the US, there's a one year warranty from the date of original retail purchase from an authorized dealer. They'll repair or replace with a new or refurb unit, perhaps another more valuable model. https://www.kobo.com/userguides has warranties for many countries.

I don't see any limits relating to a product being discontinued, but I might have missed something.

[PeterT]

I seem to remember many years ago (back at the time of the original Kobo with Bluetooth and the Kobo WiFi) that some repairs were done by Celestica in Toronto.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by foosion

In the US, there's a one year warranty from the date of original retail purchase from an authorized dealer. They'll repair or replace with a new or refurb unit, perhaps another more valuable model. https://www.kobo.com/userguides has warranties for many countries.

I don't see any limits relating to a product being discontinued, but I might have missed something.

From what I find on Kobo's web page, Blue Proton shows as a authorized dealer. See Where to buy.

OTOH, after a quick chat with Blue Proton's online assistant, I suspect that no one there knows any more than we do.

[Cootey]

Originally Posted by hermano

I have been in discussions with Kobo last few days about my Forma which developed a fault. Single vertical and single horizontal line visible when refreshing page.

Similar fault has been widely reported on this and other forums where consensus seems it is caused by loose cable to the screen. I can categorically say mine was never dropped or suffered any other trauma.

Kobo customer service have been very unsupportive. They refuse to even take a look at it. I do not want a replacement but if a simple fix is possible then that is what I was asking for.....but they claim they have no authorised repair facilities.

I do not have the tools, dexterity or skill to open it up and try myself (others have successfully).

This has put me off buying Kobo in future ( this is my second Kobo). Although I prefer their software etc the lack of support when things go wrong means I will have to look elsewhere.

I find it hard to understand why they do not offer repair services?

I’ve contacted Kobo CS quite a bit. I’ve had an unusual amount of glitchy problems over the years from missing purchases to model specific database corruptions. The CS experience is dependent on the competency of the employee you receive. Most of my experiences with Kobo have been positive, but quite a few were user hostile with CS reps who made the situation worse than it needed to be. So I feel for you. CS support *anywhere* is a crapshoot. Kobo isn’t unique in this.

But I don’t have that problem anymore. A few years back I changed my approach, especially with Kobo. When I encounter a pedantic, PEBCAK-minded darling, I hang up and call back. It’s worth the wait to get another agent.

That being said, Kobo doesn’t do repairs. When your device is covered under warranty, and the CS agents can’t fix your issue, back up your device and push for a replacement. That’s it. As other have mentioned, the newer models now have Kobo authorized repair pages on iFixit, but there are a lot of YouTube videos out there to help you repair your older device. It may be new to you, but it’s an older model built with the old disposable product mentality.

But if it’s under warranty, push for a replacement!

[JSWolf]

The problem with buying a Forma now is that if you do need to claim on the warranty, you may not get it replaced. So you'd end up with a with either a different Kobo or a discount on a new one and IMHO, there's no Kobo that can replace the Forma. The Sage is not it.

[hermano]

Originally Posted by Cootey

I’ve contacted Kobo CS quite a bit. I’ve had an unusual amount of glitchy problems over the years from missing purchases to model specific database corruptions. The CS experience is dependent on the competency of the employee you receive. Most of my experiences with Kobo have been positive, but quite a few were user hostile with CS reps who made the situation worse than it needed to be. So I feel for you. CS support *anywhere* is a crapshoot. Kobo isn’t unique in this.

But I don’t have that problem anymore. A few years back I changed my approach, especially with Kobo. When I encounter a pedantic, PEBCAK-minded darling, I hang up and call back. It’s worth the wait to get another agent.

That being said, Kobo doesn’t do repairs. When your device is covered under warranty, and the CS agents can’t fix your issue, back up your device and push for a replacement. That’s it. As other have mentioned, the newer models now have Kobo authorized repair pages on iFixit, but there are a lot of YouTube videos out there to help you repair your older device. It may be new to you, but it’s an older model built with the old disposable product mentality.

But if it’s under warranty, push for a replacement!

Could not agree more. Instead of pedantic I am getting condescending and patronising. Speaking to me as if I were a child.

[foosion]

Originally Posted by hermano

2 year warranty in UK. Also may be covered by Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Just to be clear, are you covered by the UK warranty?

Did they offer to do what the warranty requires, which is to replace with a new or refurb unit if the problem is due to defects in materials and workmanship under normal consumer use for two years from original retail purchase? They could repair at their option, but that's clearly not an option.

Does the 2015 Act require them to do more?

[hermano]

Originally Posted by foosion

Just to be clear, are you covered by the UK warranty?

Did they offer to do what the warranty requires, which is to replace with a new or refurb unit if the problem is due to defects in materials and workmanship under normal consumer use for two years from original retail purchase? They could repair at their option, but that's clearly not an option.

Does the 2015 Act require them to do more?

In answer to your queries:

I believe I am covered by UK warranty.
Kobo refuse to accept defect responsibility, despite me pointing out others with same/similar issue.

They refuse to even look at my Forma.

The 2015 Act may require them to do more. Consumer law in UK states Goods must last a reasonable time which has been defined as anything up to six years. This is dependent on type of goods and cost. I would suggest a £200+ ereader should be expected to last beyond 2 years.

[foosion]

Originally Posted by hermano

In answer to your queries:

I believe I am covered by UK warranty.
Kobo refuse to accept defect responsibility, despite me pointing out others with same/similar issue.

They refuse to even look at my Forma.

The 2015 Act may require them to do more. Consumer law in UK states Goods must last a reasonable time which has been defined as anything up to six years. This is dependent on type of goods and cost. I would suggest a £200+ ereader should be expected to last beyond 2 years.

I can understand refusing to repair. As others have noted, it's often easier or cheaper to replace rather than repair.

Refusing to honor a warranty is very disturbing. If it's within two years of the original UK retail purchase and it's a problem that appears to be a defect under normal consumer use, then they should deal with it. If it's a problem others are having, it would at least prima facie appear to be a defect.

Let alone any issues under UK law (I have no familiarity).

Not at all good.

[DNSB]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here. So a couple of questions:

• Was the Forma purchased less than 2 years before your first contact with Kobo about your problem?
• Do you have a proof of purchase? A dated purchase or gift receipt for instance from an authorized retailer. Currently the list shows Rakuten Kobo, Amazon (UK), Argos and Currys PC World. I am not certain what the list would have shown when you purchased your Forma.

If so, you are covered by warranty. Contact Kobo and be prepared to be pushy.