Aura HD Beware Kobo's non-existent return policy!

[graycyn]

Wow, I hate to say something negative, but this needs saying so that other folks are warned.

My Kobo Aura HD has exhibited, to date, glo light flickering (on both low and moderate levels, 4% and 19%), two-page turns, once (during a flickering incident at 4%, this was happening every 3 pages!!!), inability to sync when connected to strong WiFi signal, i.e. sync was rolling for over 20 minutes and nothing was happening and there are no ebooks in the associated Kobo account. The only thing TO sync was my reading life awards/stats. Canceling sync and hitting sync again finally got me an updated sync date.

Another interesting thing, I could not search the book store and get any results! I entered two author names, Elizabeth George (very mainstream) and Dorothy L. Sayers, whose books I *know* are available at Kobo, because I've bought some, and all I get is "0 results found".

Lastly, having disconnected from WiFi, I then attempted to connect again and could not! I was able to connect to the same network with my Galaxy Note with no issue. And this was the strongest and most reliable WiFi hotspot in town.

Anyway, I explain all this to the Kobo CS person, and I indicated that I wished to return for a refund. (I wasn't sure I trusted an exchange process to go smoothly, but I planned to buy another.) She said that Kobo DOES NOT DO RETURNS FOR REFUNDS! So, if you are not sure about whether or not you will like the Aura HD in person, don't buy expecting to be able to return for a refund, even if you get a defective unit!

I pointed out to the CS rep that the Kobo website says that items can be returned within 30 days of the shipment date, which I am well within. She said "That's only for an exchange." OK, but that "exchange" part is *NOT* specified on the website, which I also pointed out.

The upshot is, you only can exchange a unit you aren't satisfied with, and cannot return for a refund. This, I feel, is a very poor policy! I bought a Sony T1 I didn't like the screen on (dark, bad ghosting) and had no trouble returning for a refund.

I will be returning my reader for an exchange, and if I get a second defective unit, I'll give it one more go. Really hoping the exchange goes smoothly though, I like the reader.

[danskmacabre]

Depending in the country you're in you can demand a refund if it's not fit for purpose.

Here's a link to the Australian consumer law
http://www.consumerlaw.gov.au/conten...tees_guide.pdf

Page 7 of that is particularly interesting, as it talks about refunds.
If it's a major fault, as a consumer you have a choice to get a refund, regardless of what Kobo say.

This may differ in your country.

[graycyn]

I don't know what the US laws say on this, but as long as Kobo does an exchange properly and I end up with a device that works as it should, it won't come to that. But trust me, I do plan to go over and take a screenshot of Kobo's return policy in case it should come to the point I need to contact my credit card company on this matter! And of course, I'm keeping note of the serial number of the device so I can check it against the exchanged unit. My trust level drops more than a few notches when I'm told I can't return something for a refund!

The good news is that the CS person did say that if I received another defective device, I could also exchange that, as long as it was within the one year warranty. It just remains to be seen how good they are with exchanges. I'm willing to do that once or twice, past that point, I believe I'd just want my money back.

[Skydog]

Just one more reason I support Amazon over KOBO.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by graycyn

Anyway, I explain all this to the Kobo CS person, and I indicated that I wished to return for a refund. (I wasn't sure I trusted an exchange process to go smoothly, but I planned to buy another.) She said that Kobo DOES NOT DO RETURNS FOR REFUNDS! So, if you are not sure about whether or not you will like the Aura HD in person, don't buy expecting to be able to return for a refund, even if you get a defective unit!

If you you paid by credit card, didn't get what you paid for, you can file a complaint with your credit card and get the money from them. They'll go after Kobo.

Not sure about every country, but in the US, it's illegal to charge someone for something they didn't receive, and "device works as advertised" is part of that. They're not allowed to pass off broken stock as good.

See if you can get an email confirming in writing the "no returns for refunds, even for damaged stock" part. It'll make complaining to the credit card company much smoother.

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by graycyn

inability to sync when connected to strong WiFi signal, i.e. sync was rolling for over 20 minutes and nothing was happening and there are no ebooks in the associated Kobo account. The only thing TO sync was my reading life awards/stats. Canceling sync and hitting sync again finally got me an updated sync date.

Another interesting thing, I could not search the book store and get any results! I entered two author names, Elizabeth George (very mainstream) and Dorothy L. Sayers, whose books I *know* are available at Kobo, because I've bought some, and all I get is "0 results found".

Why do you want to sync with Kobo when you have no books in the account? I don't get it.

Why do you want to search the store from the device? Sounds painful. I greatly prefer to search a store on my PC.

[AnemicOak]

That's too bad. I know back when I bought a Vox I was able to return it without hassle all handled via email.

I've had some horrible experiences with Kobo CS, but that return fortunately wasn't one of them.

[AnemicOak]

I think I'd contact them again and quote the return policy from their site...

KOBO SUPPORT

What is the Return Policy for eReaders?


Getting a refund for your Kobo eReader

If you purchased your eReader from Kobo.com and would like to return it, please contact Customer Care. The return policy is as follows:

Items that can be returned may be refunded up to 30 days from their shipment date.

Promotional discounts have no cash value and are not refundable.

We reserve the right to verify return product information before issuing a return credit (i.e. confirming damaged product).

We are not responsible for any damage that may occur during the return shipment of your order.

Unless we made an error in order processing or shipping, return-shipping fees will apply. For your convenience, shipping charges will be automatically deducted from your refund amount.

Note: Kobo eGift Cards and Kobo Protection Plans are not returnable.

If you did not purchase your eReader from Kobo, please return to the store where you purchased your eReader and complete their refund process.

http://www.kobo.com/help/response/?i..._utmk=84962329


EDIT: Oops, look like you already mentioned the policy. I'd try again with a different cs rep.

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Why do you want to sync with Kobo when you have no books in the account? I don't get it.

Why do you want to search the store from the device? Sounds painful. I greatly prefer to search a store on my PC.

That's my feelings exactly. I'm surprised the browser on the Kobo Glo is as good as it is for just a quick browsing of books if you're looking for something to read in a pinch. But it's still MUCH nicer to do that browsing on the PC. And I always have plenty of books with me so I'm never in need of having to buy a book right now because I have nothing to read. And I prefer to do all my book purchasing from my PC where I can organize my purchases in Calibre.

[bookwurm70]

Originally Posted by graycyn

Wow, I hate to say something negative, but this needs saying so that other folks are warned.

My Kobo Aura HD has exhibited, to date, glo light flickering (on both low and moderate levels, 4% and 19%), two-page turns, once (during a flickering incident at 4%, this was happening every 3 pages!!!), inability to sync when connected to strong WiFi signal, i.e. sync was rolling for over 20 minutes and nothing was happening and there are no ebooks in the associated Kobo account. The only thing TO sync was my reading life awards/stats. Canceling sync and hitting sync again finally got me an updated sync date.

Another interesting thing, I could not search the book store and get any results! I entered two author names, Elizabeth George (very mainstream) and Dorothy L. Sayers, whose books I *know* are available at Kobo, because I've bought some, and all I get is "0 results found".

Lastly, having disconnected from WiFi, I then attempted to connect again and could not! I was able to connect to the same network with my Galaxy Note with no issue. And this was the strongest and most reliable WiFi hotspot in town.

Anyway, I explain all this to the Kobo CS person, and I indicated that I wished to return for a refund. (I wasn't sure I trusted an exchange process to go smoothly, but I planned to buy another.) She said that Kobo DOES NOT DO RETURNS FOR REFUNDS! So, if you are not sure about whether or not you will like the Aura HD in person, don't buy expecting to be able to return for a refund, even if you get a defective unit!

I pointed out to the CS rep that the Kobo website says that items can be returned within 30 days of the shipment date, which I am well within. She said "That's only for an exchange." OK, but that "exchange" part is *NOT* specified on the website, which I also pointed out.

The upshot is, you only can exchange a unit you aren't satisfied with, and cannot return for a refund. This, I feel, is a very poor policy! I bought a Sony T1 I didn't like the screen on (dark, bad ghosting) and had no trouble returning for a refund.

I will be returning my reader for an exchange, and if I get a second defective unit, I'll give it one more go. Really hoping the exchange goes smoothly though, I like the reader.

I'm not sure if that is true or not. I contacted Kobo because I wanted to return my Aura and the CS told me that I could not return the item for not liking it, only for defect. I asked to chat with her manager and she said no managers are on chat, I'd have to call. Never got around to calling, but got an email later that my incident had become "Tier 2". The tier 2 CS said that I had been given misinformation. Of course I could return it in the first 14 days for a refund. I have it in writing.

Not sure if I will or not. I like it, just not the hard plastic bezel. I'd get a Glo instead, if I do.

[haydnfan]

I had the same wifi problems (connection issues) with my glo post 2.5.1 update. The solution was a factory reset, no more wifi problems.

I agree that the search engine is terrible and the non-aggressive pricing as bad. Honestly I'm still buying from amazon (mostly), and side load onto the aura. I refuse to see the ereader purchase as buying into the ecosystem, I'm just buying a device.

[guitarizt]

They should give you a refund if what was posted was true about the 30 day refund policy. I can see some companies only giving returns, but in the US they have to explicitly state that.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by booklover6

Why do you want to sync with Kobo when you have no books in the account? I don't get it.

Why do you want to search the store from the device? Sounds painful. I greatly prefer to search a store on my PC.

I wanted to sync to preserve my reading awards, which is something I've kind of enjoyed about the Kobo. As CS told me I have to do a factory reset before returning, sync seemed a good idea. As for searching the store, yes, I would normally use my PC, *IF* I were at home. I wasn't AND I had a sudden itch to see if there were any new books by a favorite author available.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by haydnfan

I had the same wifi problems (connection issues) with my glo post 2.5.1 update. The solution was a factory reset, no more wifi problems.

I agree that the search engine is terrible and the non-aggressive pricing as bad. Honestly I'm still buying from amazon (mostly), and side load onto the aura. I refuse to see the ereader purchase as buying into the ecosystem, I'm just buying a device.

The reset did fix the WiFi issue, though I am not going to test it further now that the new firmware 2.5.2 is out as I DON'T want that upgrade! In addition, I've not seen the glo light flicker since doing the reset though as that was an intermittent problem, I may not have done enough night reading to have it crop up again. Two-page turns are still happening but I could live with that.

The upshot is that I may test the reader a little longer before deciding to return. The screen is perfect, lighter than my Sony T1, no pinholes in the glow layer or any other problems, so it's hard to let go of that. If the glo light flickers again, I will return for sure. I may also speak with another CS representative or possibly through email, to see if I get a different response on the matter.

At the least I'd want to know if a replacement would be a refurb and, since this is supposedly a limited edition, how exactly would they replace during the warranty period if the edition sells out before then?

[booklover6]

Originally Posted by graycyn

I wanted to sync to preserve my reading awards, which is something I've kind of enjoyed about the Kobo. As CS told me I have to do a factory reset before returning, sync seemed a good idea.

Ok, as a new Kobo user, I didn't know one would want to sync for that. I've seen some awards pop up on my Mini. But I don't turn wifi on so I guess when my Glo gets here, it will have it's own set of awards.