To the Comsumer Court Forum,
This is regarding bad service given to us by Sony Xperia India & its authorised service centre, Krish Electronics (Malad east, Mumbai).
The Smart mobile in question is Sony Xperia ZL.
1) It was purchased at ALFA STORES Andheri (w), (with due taxes paid & a proper receipt/ bill).
2) The purchase date is 16th Sept 2013.
3) The set is very good with a lot of good features & a good camera & a powerful battery
4) In the second week of july 2014, the set started giving problems. The mic was not functioning and battery was getting discharged in half a day(prior to that the battery would last for three days (with moderate to partly heavy use) .
5) The battery which used to get charged in 3 hours also had started taking a long time (almost 6 hrs).
6) So on the 17th July we gave it to Krish electronics located at Malad(E).[They are the authorised Service centre for Sony products.
Our problems started compounding after we gave the set for repairs (at Krish Electronics).
1) We gave the Xperia ZL for repairs at Krish Electronics on the 17th July 2014.
2) First problem was that we were made to wait for almost four hours (our no. being 4th in the line of customers being attended to).
3) We had reached the service centre at 9:50am & by the time our service job sheet was prepared the time was well past 2:00pm.
4) The first four customers were attended to promptly only one of the persons who had been waiting for also 3 ½ hours started creating a furore by shouting & yelling.
5) After that drama done by the person things started moving fast & in 45 minutes we were out of the service Centre.
6) We were getting late for the office & had to rush after getting the service job sheet.
7) Our job sheet was done in 12 to 15 mts flat. (SO WHY DID THEY MAKE US WAIT FOR SO LONG) .
8) In the hurry to reach office, we checked the matter printed on the service sheet, rest everything was okay but we failed to notice the condition of set box where it is mentioned that the set was in scratched condition. This is absolutely FALSE. There was only a very small scratch on the scratch guard, otherwise the set was as good as new.
9) The word “Scratched” presents a wrong impression/ idea on the condition of the set.
10) At around 7pm we get a call from the service centre that the motherboard has gone phut and needs to be replaced with a new one & will be completed in 7-10 days time.
11) Four days later we again get a call from the Service centre to inform us that the part is not available with the Company and replacement could take one month or more.
12) They further went on to say that the company is offering us an option of accepting a refurbished Xperia Z. This option was (we decided after a discussion) rejected by us & we asked the Company (via Customer Care) that Sony should replace xperia ZL with new one as the problem that has occurred is a manufacturing defect. SO IT IS BINDING ON THE COMPANY TO REPLACE IT WITH A NEW ONE AS IT HAS HAPPENED WITHIN THE WARRANTY PERIOD.
13) When we noticed the word and reverted to the service centre and the customer care centre we were told that the set has been sent to Chennai workshop for repairs.
14) I seriously feel this to be a case of cheating.
15) The Customer Care official also told us that our option will not be accepted by the Company.
16) THRICE i TALKED TO YOUR BPO REPS (DURATION OF THE TALKS WAS 3hrs& 25 mts).
17) I sincerely feel I wasted my time talking to them & trying to convince them of the entire episode. They were just refusing to understand what I wanted to convey.
18) I am sure they’ll have the recordings of our conversations (& I have told them to keep all that intact as it would be required at a later stage.
19) Talking to the Cust Care Reps is like banging one’s head against a very very hard wall.
20) Sony has trained them very well to keep all the customers who ask for good service at bay. They are extremely frustrating to have a discussion with. They just keep repeating again & again the same sentences like a tape recorder (playing the songs repeatedly).
21) In fact when I said to one of the reps that expecting good service from any Indian company is a Crime in India he says” Haa sir aap jo bol rahe ho vaakai sahi hai.” He unabashedly agrees to my statement. He and two others also agreed the problem ( on separate calls) has occurred due a manufacturing defect —“sirjee aap ko company apne set ke badle mein nayaa nahi degii—“.
22) I was getting calls from the Service centre asking me/us to accept the refurbished Z piece which could be handed over to me in 4-7 days after we say ‘YES’. When we asked about ZL, the answer we got from them was –“the xperia ZL parts are now available with the company service workshop and will take either one month or may be more…”. When asked about the extension of warranty, as by this we had already time wasted almost a month’ the answer was even if they take over a month for the repairs, there would be no extension in warranty.
23) The SONY India Corp was dealing with us as if we were fighting for a Rs.1000 – 1500 worth mobile. When asked the Cust Care person says “we can’t help.. the company decides and you have used the mobile phone for 9months…….” . SO DOES IT MEAN THAT THE 12 MONTH WARRANTY DOES NOT HOLD GOOD IF WE HAVE USED THE MOBILE PHONE FOR 9 TO 10 MONTHS (WHICH I FEEL IS LESS THAN A YEAR & 1 YEAR = 12MTHS, HOPE I AM NOT WRONG).
24) The service centre also went to the extent of telling us point blank that the set will not be replaced with a new one even if we are prepared to pay the difference in the price of ZL & Z. Later when I pestered him a lot he gave me the mobile phone no. Of Mr Dhawal Dharod (Area Service Incharge) in Mumbai. This was on the 03rd of August 2014.
25) I called him up & spoke to him and on hearing what I had to say he said we can give you a new Z or new Z1 if we agree to pay the difference.
26) Mr Dhawal told us that we need to pay an amount of atleast Rs.4500 for new Xperia Z (without extension in warranty) and Rs9500 or more for Xperia Z1 with a warranty for a year from the day of receiving the set.
27) Everything is quiet after that for a week before I get a call from the Sony Call Centre (from North India) from a person whose name is Utsav (He refused to tell me his surname).He called me on 09757147968 ( I was in Pune then) Call timings 6:29 pm to 07:10 pm. Problem not resolved as Utsav too was just repeating what other Call Centre persons were saying.
28) When I said to him “I am going to complain to the Consumer Court Forum….” his response was “Aap jaisaa theek samjhe……lekin aap ko company nayaa piece replacement mein nahi degii yeh to pakkaa hai…”.
29) When I talked about paying the difference amount to get a replacement of Xperia Z he said I can avail of that option & the company is prepared for that. He went on to say “you pay the difference amount of Rs.4000 to Rs4500 and get the New Xperia Z along with a one year guarantee from the date when you pay the difference and acquire the new Xperia Z. We will inform the service Centre and you may collect the Xperia Z model from Krish Electronics…..”
30) I have managed to record our conversation of the duration of 3-4 mts when I managed to get another phone from a person standing next to me.
31) Within three days I get a call from the Krish Electronics Service centre that your Zl is ready you may come and collect it. I was surprised because they had in clear & unambiguous language made it very clear that I can get my set (or any ZL for that matter) only after a month. Where did they suddenly get a refurbished ZL From?.
32) The same Service centre was very confidently telling me that ZL is not available because the production has been stopped & its parts are not available anywhere.
33) So, when I asked them how they managed to repair the set so soon, the reply was “It is not your set … the set we are giving you is a refurbished set.
34) When I asked them about arranging the new Xperia Z to be given to me on the payment of the difference, their response was “… we have received no such intimation from Sony Corp India or the Sony Call Centre…….”.
35) Now they are calling me almost every day forcing me to take away the refurbished ZL set.
36) Once we accept it everything will end and won’t be able to stake claim to other options we are looking at.
37) What is going on? Four versions —- one from the Service Centre, second from the Customer care personnel , third from Mr Dhawal Dharod, & fourth from the Sony care Call Centre. And now the service centre is forcing us to accept the refurbished Xperia ZL.
38) I have sent a mail to SONY INDIA asking them to send my Xperia ZL set to Krish Electronics in as it is condition from Chennai workshop (I have mentioned Chennai workshop because I was told by Krish personnel that the sets are sent to Chennai for repairs)
Mobile : SONY Xperia ZL C6502
Purchased from : ALFA Stores Andheri West, Mumbai , Maharashtra
Date of purchase : 16th September 2013. Time of purchase : 20:58 hrs
Invoice No. : 004384 PAID via Credit Card : no. 4617………………….46 HDFC BANK
Total Amount Rs.28050.00 Vat : 3050.00
IMEI No. 355387050218199 SI No. 1270-6841
WARRANTY CATEGORY : In warranty
GIVEN FOR REPAIRS ON : 17th July 2014
Service centre : KRISH ELECTRONICS, Malad (e), Mumbai
Service Job Sheet no. W114071701400 Dated : 17th Jul 2014.
PLEASE ADVISE US ON WHAT I SHOULD DO & HOW TO PURSUE THIS MATTER FURTHER.
SHANTANU / NIKHIL KARNAD
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