Sony Support <--Terrible service. Damaged Vaio Z, help & advice needed

Hi guys I'm in need of some serious advice here.
In December I purchased a costume made Vaio Z2 notebook from the Sony style website. The notebook however developed an issue with the touchpad, so because I am in warranty I contacted Sony Europe and they took it away and repaired the touchpad, all well and good. However when I got the notebook back I noticed a deep scratch on the left side of the palm rest, near where all the nvidia, windows etc...stickers are.
Now I do not know who is accountable but somewhere along the way of DHL or at the Sony repair centre an accident has happened which has caused the deep scratch. Now as soon as I noticed the scratch which was the day I got it back, I contact Sony and explained the problem to them, it was fine at this point they arranged a re-collection.

This collection was on the 11th Sept, they came and took it, however I heard nothing for 11 days so on the 22nd Sept I contacted there support team asking what was going on. They told that the Sony repair centre said the scratch was already there before hand and that I had two options a bill of £220 to repair/replace the part or accept the notebook back in the condition it is in. I vigorously stood my ground (as anyone would) and explained that I'm not accepting it back until it is repaired as they have caused the scratch and I'm definitely not footing the bill. The agent said ok I will pass this onto the repair centre engineers and will get them to call you in the next 24 hours. Wednesday came and went, I heard nothing. So Thursday after work I rang them again explained the situation, the agent basically told me the same again that the repair centre would call me by today (Friday 25th Sept). They never did so I just rang them again, after complaining angrily to the agent he put me through to the repair centre where their agent told me that unless I foot the bill it won't be repaired and that my Vaio Z will be sent back in the condition it is in and if I don't agree the only option is to complain in a written letter to Sony. I asked to speak to a manager but he said the only root I can go down is a written complaint that's how it works at Sony as it's there policy.

Now I need some advice, I feel really let down not just because of the scratch but the whole team at Sony repair/Europe, it was over 11 days before I had to contact them to find out what was going on, then I got told a Sony engineer would ring me, day after day no one ever phoned me, it was me who's done the chasing, only to be told my only option is to write a written complaint to them and i would get the notebook back in the condition it is in. This is the stage I'm at now.
The notebook cost me £2600.00 which included an extended warranty of 2 years, they have more then made their money from me, I expect better, their customer service has been abysmal.

Peeps where do I go from here other than a letter of complaint...? They, Sony have damaged my notebook why should I have to pay £220 bill when they have done it.
I do not know where to go on this one, so I thought of this forum, as it is full of people who deal with laptops who have experience in these situations. Can anyone lead me in the right direction for support or whom to go too, the help would be ever so much appreciated.

Regards
Aaron

 

Azza21, I would write that letter. You might have to send your letter to Belgium as Sony appears to have pulled their customer services division in the UK.
May be Sony might as they don't appear to want to accept liability do this for as a gesture of 'good will'.

The chances that it happened in transit are very slim. It is basically your word against Sony's.

Sony make very good products but their customer support in the UK is not the best.

Also, may be this is something you could persue with your insurance under accidental damage. If you do this though your premium is likely to go up slightly.

If i was in your position if i didn't get anywhere with Sony i would be looking to replace the part myself. I would buy the part from Sony Services in the US and get a friend to ship it onto me. Before i send any computer in now for service i do take pictures before hand.

Sparepartswarehouse and Nexttronics do ship to the UK.

 

Yes i may have too but as a last resort go down the insurance root, however iam the victim here and i will fight my case. Why should i let them get away with damaging my notebook i paid good, GOOD money for...The thing is i know its not always the case but when i was in retail i was told the customer is always right, its the sort of policy as you said even if they do not agree about the scratch a "good will gesture" should be done. Considering how the way there customer service has also treated me, its not just the scratch here thats angered me it is the whole service provided.

Would someone like citizens advice help?

 

Sorry to hear that. Overall Sony makes nice products, very high quality but when it comes to servicing they don't do very good.

You can try escalating it to higher Sony customer service, and continue to fight it. Yes you are the victim here, however sometimes its "cheaper" and "easier" to just suck it up than to waste time fighting it.

I remember trying to get my laptop serviced and the service center refused servicing, and then Sony told me the warranty was void, then i escalated it to a customer relations officer and he helped me out a lot and got people to fix the laptop.

Maybe speak to one of Sony's Customer Relations?

 

Did you take any pictures of the notebook before sending it in? If you did that would really help. However if you didn't, make sure you tell them that whilst you will want your notebook delivered back to you - you are still disputing the damage they caused.

I know its probably going to be more hassle to dispute the damage, but if that was me I would definitely take it up with Sony rather than buy the part myself or claim my insurance, this would be solely on the basis of principle.

The best way to deal with this is to take a formal approach. Act professionally rather than emotionally, you know that they damaged your computer during their care so you have every right to a remedy.

Start writing a letter to Sony and sending it recorded. You could also try contacting Sony Style, being the retailer where you ordered it from.

 

Send email to SONY'S CEO

 

You should try to get in contact with the support/repair center, speak to someone at a higher up place.

 

Hi peeps, big thanks for all the support/advice but unfortunately i'm getting my notebook back with the scratch

Friday, FINALLY (20 days later) one of there engineers rang me and told me in no uncertain terms that they won't be taking liability on the damage as when the notebook comes into the repair centre, the notebooks are checked over visually and he claimed there scratch was already there. He also told me what i already knew, i either have to pay £220 for get a new keyboard or accept it back the way it is.

I'm agree with tricks on this one i'm the innocent party here and therefor i'm not giving in on this. I'm going to take the matter further with Sony, i will start by writing a letter as advised by there support, i will ask about the Sony customer relations, and see what happens.

What has sickened me is the Sony support, in my case its been a complete and utter joke, i feel really let down.

I will keep you guys updated on this.

az

 

I sincerely hope you manage to get your issues fixed by Sony. Please keep us up to date on new developments.

You're definitely not the only one who have experienced receiving a repair electronic item back in scratches when you initially sent it out in cosmetically mint condition. I'll share with you some of my experiences in the following link:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5368565&postcount=9670

 

Generally, sending a message to the CEO will result in routing your complaint to a higher level resolution team member. I would agree that that's what you should do.

This is a difficult situation for both sides, actually. It is entirely possible that everyone you are speaking to is accurately reading the record to you -- because it is likely that the scratch occurred after the main repair and before or during the shipping so that the intake record reads that the computer arrived without visible defects.

On the other hand, Sony has certainly also experienced customers who have themselves accidentally damaged their computers yet claim that Sony repair service did it in an attempt to receive a free repair. So, it is not clear how Sony will resolve the matter.

That's why contacting the CEO with a request for resolution is the route to go. Make sure the letter has a summary paragraph as the first paragraph -- telling what happened and what you want succinctly, and how you feel this is a reasonable request. Then, in subsequent paragraphs give the details of the entire saga with the names of the Sony players involved.

The first paragraph has to state and sell your case clearly because the person doing triage for the CEO's general mailbox won't be reading for "details" but for "routing" purposes.

Good luck!

 

I sent my nieces Fujitsu laptop to Fujistu Siemens in Germany and it came back with a dent on the lid. I contacted them and they were very apologetic about it and set up a return and had the laptop back to me within three-four working days.
I have my doubts if things would have been so easy with Sony in the UK.

It is true though they do record things down.

I think you should try citizen’s advice. If you get nowhere with your letter and with the CEO then you if you wanted could explore this through the small claims court.

I would be hesitant getting my insurance company to fix a Sony laptop if they have no experience.

Let us know how you get on.

 

I've also encountered the Sony service "experience". My Vaio TZ (on which I'm typing right now) developed a problem with the screen backlight (it started going on and off at first and after a while it went completely off), so I guessed it had to do with the screen wiring at the hinge and decided to participate in the inspection program of SONY regarding the Vaio TZs. DHL picked up my laptop (from Greece) and sent it to Germany. After a few days I received a call from Sony telling me that the problem was due to a faulty motherboard, that I was out of guaranty, and had to pay 858 euros to get it replaced (that is 785 pounds or 1,250 USD!!!). I told them that it was really steep and asked them not to repair the backlight but continue with the rest of the inspection program's procedure.
Well, after a few days I received back my TZ (with a few tiny scratches on the lid, but I think I can live with them) and discovered that it had not even been disassembled to be checked!!! They had just sent it back! That inspection program regarding the Vaio TZs must have been a joke! Nothing was done with the protection of the wiring at the hinge or the camera!! (If someday my Vaio TZ burns up, I think that I can (and must) sue Sony, as it is supposed to have passed their inspection program and it has been checked!)
I emailed them but got NO reply. I called them using my service case number and got through to an english speaking guy who told me I had the wrong number (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), so I decided that Sony Service Europe sucks big time and went on and fixed my laptop myself. I was even sent an email from Sony requesting feedback from my service experience, I wrote them about what had happened and ..guess what: I got no reply.
It is not the first time I have to deal with Sony Service and I must say it has always been a "painfull" experience ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=293529 ).
I guess Sony customers in the USA are more lucky. We are just stuck with Sony Service Europe..

 

Hi peeps, some great but rather suprising news. As seen in my last post on here i posted on how the engineer finally rang me and said they wouldn't be replacing the keyboard or accepting liability over the whole affair, and that a re-delivery of the notebook back to mine will be arranged.

Well today DHL dropped off my Vaio Z2 and guess what...

When i opened up my parcel and pulled out my Vaio Z2 notebook, they had only gone and replaced the scratched keyboard/palmrest with a brand new spanking new one.
Absolutely brilliant news and totally, totally unexpected as you guys was all aware i was willing to fight this all the way.

The Sony support (service provided) still niggles at me, but i've got all i wanted out of this farcical, they replaced what they had broke. So i won't be taking the matter any further about there customer service as i don't think it will be worth while now. Hopefully people will read this thread and it will be useful to other people on what to do, heck maybe Sony reps saw the thread and didn't like the negativity impact it gave them, who knows.

Anyhow i want to say a BIG Thank You to all of you whom took the time out to give me advice and support me over this whole affair, i really am grateful and over the moon with the unexpected outcome.

Aaron

 

azza21, congrats on having your issues fixed & I'm very happy for you. That's very cool on Sony's part after making you go through all those trouble.