How not to treat a customer

[jdhutt]

Just been on a chat session with "Brett" from "Sony Xperia Chat Support" to try and get the yellow tint problem resolved with my phone.

You can see from the conversation below that they couldn't care less about their customers!!!!!

Brett:  Thank you for providing me with this information, Please could you confirm which model of phone you have and which network it is on?

Michael *******:  I have the Experia S Model LT26i running ICS SI Number 1257-5894 and I am on the Orange UK network

Brett:  Thank you, how can I help you today?

Michael *******:  I have the orange tint problem along the bottom of the screen which is more noticeable when the phone has been used and has got warm

Brett:  Okay i'm sorry to hear about that Michael.

Brett:  It sounds like your handset may need to be sent for repair. Which country was your handset purchased in?

Michael *******:  It was purchased in the UK from the orange store in Uxbridge, Middlesex

Brett:  Okay, would you like me to provide you with details on how to send your phone for repair?

Michael *******:  if you could please and also if you could let me know how long the repair would normally take

Brett:  I will now send you a link, please follow this and fill in the form provided. This is to book your handset in for repair. The link will be valid for 24 hours.

Brett:  http://extranet.sbe-ltd.co.uk/CALLCENTER-SE/customer-booking.php?session_id=6DBDF292-5DDE-9C1F-5747-...

Brett:  Once you have filled in the form, you will receive an email which provides you with the address to send the phone to and any other details you may require.

Brett:  The average turnaround time for the repair is 5-7 working days from the day the handset is received at the repair centre.

Brett:  To send the phone away, Place your handset in a Jiffy bag and send it via your Post Office obtaining a Proof of Postage receipt.

Brett:  We don’t need your SIM or battery cover but please send your charger and battery. If the issue is related to your memory card, you may wish to send this for examination.

Brett:  Please include a copy of your proof of purchase. If you don’t have this we will try to validate the warranty via the manufacturing date instead.

Brett:  Please note that if the damage is not covered by the Sony Limited Warranty, there is a fee of £10.00 to have your product returned should you not accept the estimated costs for repair

Brett:  Info on your Sony Limited Warranty can be found by consulting your User Guide or visit our website www.sonymobile.com.

Brett:  I hope this information has been helpful to you. Is there anything else I can help you with in the mean time?

Michael *******:  so I'm supposed to be without a phone for a week??

Brett:  Well, for the average time of the repair, yes.

Michael *******:  can a replacement handset not be issued instead?

Brett:  Unfortunately that is not a service we offer.

Michael *******:  even though it's a known fault with this handset you won't replace it and expect me to be without any phone for a week?

Brett:  We only offer a 2 year manufacturing warranty on your handset for repairs only. Warranty T&C’s can be found here: http://www-support-downloads.sonymobile.com/common/warranty_phones_GB_24.pdf

Michael *******:  It is a known fault that was highlighted several months ago (as soon as the phone was released) - as you can see on the weblink provided it states that "Sony will REPLACE affected phones" http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/2/2920991/sony-xperia-s-yellow-display-issue-confirmation

Brett:  That is not an official Sony Xperia website so we can't confirm the information on there i am afraid. All i can offer is sending the phone to be examined. If you wish to get a replacement then you would need to speak to your point of sale - Orange.

Michael *******:  ok - have a look at these pages :

Michael Coulter:  http://www.xperiablog.net/2012/03/21/some-xperia-s-users-complaining-of-yellow-tint-display-issue/

http://www.xperiablog.net/2012/03/31/sony-mobile-provides-official-response-to-xperia-s-display-issu...

Brett:  Yet again they are not our official websites. I have gave you the information on how we can help you. There is nothing more i can suggest Michael.

Michael *******:  guess it was a waste of time getting a sony mobile phone in that case

Brett:  I have offered a resoloution for this issue. It is personal choice if you do not wish to accept that.

Michael *******:  i'll speak to orange and see if I can get a different make of phone

Brett:  No problem. Sorry you feel that way.

Brett:  I hope the information I have provided is okay. Thanks for using Sony Xperia Chat Support today. Goodbye.

Thanks Sony for not giving a flying f@rt about your customers - Hopefully Orange will do the decent thing and give me a different phone - this person WILL NOT be getting another phone from you ever again

[pixate]

I feel your pain. I too have the yellow tint, but have lived with it for a few months as I was not keen on the prospect of sending it back for an uncertain timeframe (some people have waited weeks) to get it back...

If your phone is less than 30 days old you can take it back to orange, but any time after that it comes back to the manufacturer warranty. The old days of swapping phones is long gone i'm afraid. Even apple are less keen to replace nowerdays. I don't think you'll find another manufacturer doing a better job. Samsung for example are terrible.

I'm not saying it's right, but it is the norm.

[Thommo]

To be fair they are following the letter of the law thats consumer law here in the UK.

They have admitted the issue and have clearly said in one of the links to posted above and I quote

If you have the problem Sony says you should send it to your local service centre who will fix the phone free of charge. See the statement in full below.

Sony Mobile Communications has identified that the display on a limited number of Xperia S smartphones may show a slight yellow tint if exposed to temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius. This is limited to a small number of units and the cause of this has been corrected. Any consumer observing this slight yellow tint on the display of their Xperia S is welcome to contact their local customer service centre and Sony Mobile Communications will resolve this at no cost to the consumer.

I saw no disresepect by the person you spoke to towards you and they are only following Sony's policy

Under UK consumer law if the item has an inherent fault which in this case it does then the item been a phone will be repaired at no cost to you,

Sony are following this law, If it was another issue then 0 to 6 months Sony have to proove that the fault is not inherent, 6 months to 6 years 5 in Scotland you have to proove the fault was there when you bought the item

[jdhutt]

They may be but as this is the only mobile I have and as it is used daily for communication to family, friends and people I work with ther is no way I could be without a phone for "5-7 working days"

[Thommo]

Well here's what I'm doing and will be doing - I'm keeping this phone for now even tho it has the tint issue and when I'm due to and do get my new phone probably next year I'll report the tint issue and get it fixed I may even wait longer because they have admitted it as an inherent fault that way I'm not without a phone and this phone gets repaired ready to be sold on or kept as a backup

But if you still want to send this away I'm pretty sure if you go to a Orange shop (T-Mobile and Vodafone will) they will give you a temporary phone but I'll warn you it's normally 100 years old and has only basic functions like answer and end call and basic txt messages none of this multi media messaging

[Sam]

Unfortunately this is very much standard process, anything that falls outside of a retailers return policy simply needs to be sent to an authorised repair agent to have any required repairs carried out. The length of time can vary depending on the fault but loan phones are something that we are not able to offer.

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[jdhutt]

Just been to the Orange shop near where I work and they are sending a replacement handset out to me and I will have it tomorrow.

Sony customer service 0

Orange customer service 1