topic Why am I accused of damaging my ereader? in eReaders

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

Dissatisfied — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:33:54 GMT

I bought an ereader to take on holiday. The first day I tried to use it after travelling with it, carefully protected, in my hand baggage the screen was scrambled. A reset failed to work. The day after returning from holiday I took it into the Sony Centre from which I bought it and was told that there was impact damage. I do not see how this was possible because it was carefully packed. In fact I could not see the damage they referred to. However the Centre said that I could pay to have it repaired though it would be cheaper to buy a new one.

I do not accept this. I believe that there was a manufacturing flaw which only became apparent after air travel. There was no suggestion that they would investigate possible faulty manufacture. It was apparent that I was being accused, tacitly, of not looking after my property.

I will be contacting Sony for a response and if this is unsatisfactory my Trading Standards authority.

I am extremely disappointed that no investigation or recompense was even offered

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

carpetmojo — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:27:54 GMT

Sadly, this seems to be typical of Sony's response on screen, and other problems, certainly in the U.K.

And I would seriously doubt the Sony Centre staff are technically qualified enough decide the matter anyway.

Employees apear to have a "default" mode answer, which is "it must be your fault, whatever's wrong with it, and you must have been mistreating it".

From what has come up here in the past, Sony will agree to investigate the reader, then once they have their hands on it, tell you it is not covered by Warranty , give you a quote for how much it'll cost,(huge), and then charge £28/£56..(cant remember) anyway, whether you agree or not, to get it back.

The Sony centre seems to forget your contract is with them, it's their problem, and obviously have never heard of the Sale of Goods Act.

Threaten them with that, and the Small Claims Court.

They should be coping with all the hassle, not you.

Do the phrases Customer Care, Customer Loyalty, Consumer Law, or commonsense, actually get covered in whatever training these people get, I wonder ?

(And if it does get sent back, make sure you have extensive photographs of it's condition............. )

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

StartTheCar — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:39:42 GMT

Sorry carpetmojo, I have to disagree on your verdict on our "typical response" on issues like this.

Certainly when it comes to Reader screens we take a very open minded view and, more often than not, look to give our customers the benifit of the doubt. Its worth remebering that these screen are unlikly to simply break, there would have had to have been some sort of external force or presure. The trick (for want of a better work) is to judge if this this force should have caused the resulting damage.

As you can imagine, this is going to differ from one case to another and be open to interpritation. It is therefore impossible to provide anyone with a difinative "default" answer other than accidental damage would usually not be covered under the guarantee; which I feel is fair.

I cannot speak on behalf of the Sony Centre, but I would be surpised if they are not aware of their obligations and the supplying retailer, although I do agree that the customer should not be doing all the leg work on something like this.

As always, I am happy to help where I can and will certainly ensure any Customer Service issue is dealt with fairly.

Best regards
Lee

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

carpetmojo — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:12:48 GMT

Lee - I am delighted - at last a reply in the Forum from Sony Service itself, & on topic..

(Although Specialist-convergence has popped in now and then)

If you care to take the time, there are many, many instances on this Forum of people having had problems, and recieving a lot less than helpful responses from Sony. And it seems at times even getting a bad response is progress from getting none.

When I first joined the Forum, I was astonished at some of the things I read - the stylus question popped up a number of times in that period, I remember. But it really made me nervous.

Now I love my 650, don't know how I did without it, and I think it's a great piece of kit, but it doesn't prevent me feeling bewildered at some of the posts on this - and other - Forums worldwide.

It seems at times that Sony don't know what to do with their readers ! It's many people's choice for it's engineering and features, despite no WiFi etc..., and it's high price.

But sometimes one wonders.... The strange lack of product, and conflicting information about availability and sales strategy, is pretty bewildering, from all over the world.

And, sadly , numbers of owners have said they would never buy a Sony anything again after their reader experiences.

Ummm... and I think you might be surprised at how unclued-up some of your sales staff are about the SoG act, and consumer's rights generally......

So it is fairly obvious something is going badly wrong sometimes, certainly regarding this product, and it's interesting that I think this is the first time, in my experience, a direct "official" reponse to a post, on the UK Forum has arrived.

So it would be great if a regular read of the Forum was on someone's "ToDo" list at the start of the week ?

Good service keeps customers, as I have found over 30-odd years in my business.

So well done for diving in ! Thanks.

Now, next, doing something about the non-speed of the site..................................:smileywink:

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

Cymraes — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:53:20 GMT

You are so right about the problems with my Reader putting me off buying other Sony products. The software is a particular issue. I'm looking for a new MP3 player, and was put off the Sony Walkman by the thought of having to do battle with the software.

It's a pity because Sony products always used to have a reputation for being of high quality, plus I always felt inclined to support a company that supported jobs here in South Wales. But the Reader Experience has put me off.

I'll stick with the Reader until it dies (which may be some time, especially as I now know how to turn it off properly!) but much as I love it, I'm unlikely to replace it with another Sony product.

Message was edited by: Cymraes

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

carpetmojo — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 20:06:00 GMT

Yup, that's the other huge problem with the 650 (and I presume the 350 ?) - the software is awful, non-intuitive, and especially difficult to anyone non-techy, who you would think would be a huge market.

I've thought before now I've mastered it, then up pops another strange configuration. But the very basic getting going is terrible, and the manual equally bad.

A lot of users simply use Calibre, and other programmes if you use interesting sites like Singapore and Philly.

Come on Lee, who designs the "easy to use aspects..................... ? :smileymischief:

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

specialist-convergence — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 08:25:55 GMT

Hi I believe all our Walkman products now operate on Drag & Drop or Windows Media Player, Sony no longer has any software requirements and supports most of the generic Audio formats and some even support iTunes.

Accidental damage is always difficult to support, but the service centre will advise only if they have clear evidence of impact or clear indication of a crack rather than a failure of the screen.

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

bluewarrior — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 20:47:05 GMT

I have had the exact same experience and dreadful customer service from the Warrington shop who dont know the Sale of Goods act and made me feel I had no option but to accept the possibility of a repair when I have hardly used the thing and they accused me of sitting on it !! As if .

They said they had never heard of this happening before that the screen should fail so I was relieved to hear that someone else had had this experience

They also said it could take weeks to get it back and seemed completely unmoved by the fact that they had sold a faulty product and that I was entitled to a replacement or a refund as it was less than six months since purchase.It should be fit for purpose It is portable and described as a pocket edition so it should be reasonably durable I took care of it and only used it twice Its only got one book on it.

I am going to complain further and will try to get a replacement or refund as I think it is a matter of principle. I have always bought Sony but this has definitly put me off.

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

SteveF48 — Mon, 09 May 2011 14:14:10 GMT

The response of the Sony Centre is, unfortunately typical of customer service organisations in the electronics industry. The Sony people who look at this forum are very helpful, but it seems every time a piece of electronic equipment develops a fault the standard response is accidental damage.

I had that problem with:

A Panasonic camera, though I eventually managed to persuade them to honour the guarantee.

A Tamron lense, same again.

A Fujitsu-Siemens Pocket Loox, which I failed with. They said that I'd dmagaed the SD card slot by inserting the card incorrectly (SD cards can only be inserted correctly), demanded about £50 more than the original cost of the PDA to repair it, plus £56 just for looking at it. To add insult to injury they claimed to have lost all correspondence. DON'T buy a Fujitsu laptop!

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

Lockwood999 — Wed, 11 May 2011 10:23:21 GMT

Having the exact same problem with sony. My PRS600 wouldn't power up so Comet sent it to Sony for repair. When it left Comet it was in good condition with just a slight scratch to the back cover. Sony are now saying it is a terrible state with a loose cover and a dent to the top. I have been so careful with it, it has been my prized possession since Christmas. Neither Comet nor Sony want to know, I can't believe it.

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

carpetmojo — Wed, 11 May 2011 22:08:41 GMT

Lockwood, it's the usual advice - your "contract" is with Comet, they are the ones who should do everything necessary to put things right, especially as it is such a recent purchase.

I can't comment on the condition thing, but if you've only had it since Christmas, and you've taken care of it as you say, it would be good if you can get Comet to refute the Sony claims. Obviously they must have details of the reader before they sent it to Sony. They must have relevent paperwork somewhere.You showed it to someone in store about the power problem ?

They are who you need to approach for verification. If they support you, then something very strange is going on at Sony .

But Comet are liable for your faulty item under the Sale of Goods Act - so they should want to know ! You are entitled to refund or replacement in most cases.

If they flat out refuse to help, tell them you are claiming against them under the terms of the S o G in the Small Claims Court for cost of replacement and costs if they don't sort things out.

Perhaps Lee, or specialist convergence can advise ?

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

StartTheCar — Thu, 12 May 2011 08:17:16 GMT

I am a little out of my depth when it comes to the Sale of Goods act as I haven’t worked in a retail or sales environment for more than a decade.

A diagnosis accidental damage is always tricky, especially as it is almost always impossible for us to provide an explanation how or when the damage occurred.

With this in mind, the Engineers work on the facts that are presented to them and will base their final diagnosis on the condition of the product as they find it. If there is any damage, beyond the control of Sony to avoid, then a guarantee repair cannot be carried out.

If the Readers screen was fine when you left it with the retailer then, as Carpetmojo suggests you really should address it with Comet, who should have made a note of the Readers condition before they took it off you.

With regards to the Sony Centres, as they are not owned or operated by Sony but are totally independent, issues regarding their service would also have to be addressed with them. While I concede my knowledge of the contract of sale could be better there is really no excuse for a retailer to not know it.

Regards
Lee

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

joannecrawford — Sun, 22 May 2011 08:06:17 GMT

I just found this forum and just wanted to say how disappointed I am with Sony regarding e-readers. My screen on my e-reader scrambled so we followed instructions but couldn't be fixed by resetting. I sent the product back to Sony to find out that it will be £28 to send it to an engineer, then £56 to have an engineer look at it. Also, the screen was cracked - it wasn't when it left me in its original packaging!

At 14 months old I am aware I am out of manufacturers warranty and to be honest if thats the product life then it was money wasted on it. So I will take my money and buy a Kindle - I don't think it will show any worse performance.

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

jemtred — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:03:35 GMT

I am so depressed reading this as the same thing happened to me. My lovely PRS-350 was tucked up in a padded bag whenever not in my hand but one moring the screen refused to work and could not be reset. I bought it from WHSmiths who spent ages looking at it then told me that it was damaged by me. It really was not. I have no idea where to go from here as I know I didn't cause any damage and I am now seriously out of pocket. The machine is still in warranty and I was hoping Sony would help and I will contact them and see what they can do but hope is fading. I am going to research the OFT to see what they can suggest.

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

carpetmojo — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 22:01:59 GMT

Jemtred - Smiths cannot just fob you off like this, your contract is with them, they have to sort it out, and they have to be able to prove it was your fault, particularly if it's under 6 months into warranty, otherwise it's the "fit for purpose" clause.

The Small Claims Court they would not want to go through, but have a chat with your local advice unit in Trading Standards, they will help a lot.

Again, they have to prove yoy damaged it.

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

danutza77 — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 15:03:42 GMT

Dear Dissatisfied Customer

I have bought an Ebook PRS 900 last year from the US. for about 10 Months it worked just fine,although I didn't used it that much.one day I wanted to read something at home, and when I wanted to open it ....surprise:The screen had a broken appearance, with vertical and orizontal dark lines.I did't travel with it, I don't have children in the house, nobody touched the device since the last time I used it.

I searched the internet about this problem and found out that a lot of sony ebook readers have had this problem ( I don't think that all of them were so clumsy to damage the device, or are they?of cource,according to Sony they are).

I tried several times to do a hard reset.I didn't succed.Because I don't live in US it is impossible for me to take the device to a sony center to get it fixed.I tried to take it in London (they cheked it and confirmed that the screen is not broke or was not dameged) but they said the model it is not available in UK so they can do nothing.

This device was my first Sony, but to be onest I would never ever "touch" another sony device again. My sister in law bought 3 years ago a Sony TV (she lives in Germany) , which had to be replaced after a year,then she bought a Vaio, and again she had to take it to had it fixed three or four times and before I bought the ebook she advised me never to buy a Sony product because they are not that good as they advertise, but I didn't listen.

So, in conclusion I don't think that you did anything wrong to your ebook,because otherwise why my ebook has the same problem , even if it hadn't been moved 1 cm or touched by anybody. I really think that Sony knows there is a problem with the screen of these devices (they even say that it could appear some time lines on the screen,etc check http://www.kb.sony.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&externalId=C1008817&fes=true&mdl=PRS900 ) the but it is very convinient for them to say you did something wrong, because you can not prove you didn' t do anything.

And if they knew that there might be problem, why didn't they write that in the manual? I am so dissapointed with Sony and I am telling anybody I know never to buy anything from them.

(Please excuse my English, I am not a native English speaker)

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

cloakers — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:12:41 GMT

I am also very dissatisfied with the customer service at sony reader froze when i tried to charge it , and then completely went altogether, i have only had it 9mths it is still under guarantee.....I took it back to the shop , they sent it away to sony support. after a couple of days the message i had from the shop was, it is water damaged so it is not covered by the guarantee....my reader has never ever been near water!!!it is always on the bedside table ..i can categorically say this ...then to add insult to the imnjury i was told it would cost£35 to return my reader to me!!I said to them" so you are in effect holdingmy reader to ransom unless i pay £35?In the end they said they wouldwaive the £35 because i was so unhappy...I have taken advice about all of this ...I am a pensioner and i cannot afford to pay£149 for somethingthat is not fit for purpose under the sale of goods act 1979...I have e mailed someonehigh in the organisation , i had a quick very polite reply saying they would look into it .. I will let you know how i get onThere are others who have been told thier readers are water damaged and they have been nowhere near water, i would say there is a fault in the reader itself

Kathy

Why am I accused of damaging my ereader?

Lamby1984 — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:27:06 GMT

Hello :smileygrin:

I would like to take this opportunity to point out a few things, and put across the shop workers view point for a change. This rant isn't directed at any one single individual on this thread; it's directed at the majority, and is relevant to the topic.

Sony Centre's are owned and operated by private companies.
Staff have absolutely no interest in ripping off anyone, and are not bias toward Sony in anyway.
Sony Centre staff are trained to very high standards, and as a result have come out as the number 1 independent electrical retailer chain in the UK as judged by ERT magazine.
Staff know the restrictions of Sony warranties, and if we can use a loop hole to help a customer we will.
Sony Centre employees are extremely well versed with the sales of goods act.
They will always get an item repaired under warranty or in the event it's suspicious, staff will refer it to Sony Central service where they X-RAY, and check for corrosion on internal electrical components. Our companies do not get charged to do this, so why on earth wouldn't they?
Sony Central Service engineers are always more that happy to provide photographic evidence to back up their diagnosis upon request, and they often include it with your product when returned.
A significant proportion of people who visit Sony Centre's have bought their Sony products from online retailers for the sake of often only saving a couple of pounds resulting in Centre's closing all over the UK. Remember we aren't owned or operated by Sony.
If you've purchased an item from an online retailer and it's gone wrong why not try getting it repaired by them?
Sony Centre staff have seen thousands of cracked LCD screens, E-Ink displays... It's never the customers fault.. Well I'm not embarrassed to say I've dropped an iPhone before and smashed the screen. Accidents can and will happen.
They are not subhuman ignoramuses just because they work in retail, and they do not take joy in telling people that they can't help them when they've cleary cracked their screen. Sony Centre's aren't charities they're businesses.
If you buy a delicate electrical product don't assume it's invincible and you can throw it on the floor and do the Macarena on top of it. Always follow the operational instructions provided in the manual.

Finally. If you stick an E-Reader in the bottom of a suitcase, pile a load of luggage on top, throw it in a car/taxi/coach, place it on a luggage trolley, check in your luggage onto a conveyor belt at the airport, where a baggage handler throws said suitcase onto your plane only for the process to repeat itself on your return flight.

If you ask me that's an awful lot of opportunities for you're reader to get damaged without you noticing the event.

There is a symptom that affects a small number of E-Reader's where the screen appears corrupted. Black lines appear from the edge of the screen; and Sony Central Service will identify this upon investigation and take necessary action often replacing the reader.

This is a cracked E-Ink display. You can clearly see where the impact/compression has occurred. Notice how it affects other brands too?

Please respect shop workers, and get a grip on reality.

Regards.