[Resolved]  Videocon — AC maintenance guys damaging and using aged parts to scam customers

Address:

Gautam Buddh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh

One of the biggest mistakes of my life - bought a Videocon AC as I was looking for a budget model, and after the first year, it has been nothing but a complete NIGHTMARE. 1st Experience: The AC stopped working after 1 year so I registered a complaint by calling Videocon "Customer Service". The complaint was assigned to this OUTSOURCED service agency called 'HI-TECH SERVICES'. The guys first took a good week or so to visit, and when they finally came, they said they need to take the AC to their workshop. Then began another period of despair and wait. After 2 MORE weeks, and a FEW HUNDRED calls to the service agency, I was informed that they will need another couple of days as the part required is unavailable. 3 WEEKS, no progress. I called after 2 days to get the update, no response on any of the mobile numbers i had, the landline mentioned "did not exist". After several rounds of heated arguments, the AC was finally delivered (by the owner of the agency in his personal car as the agency had no transportation vehicle. Nevertheless, the AC came back completely tattered. The front plastic grill was broken, the airflow swing was broken, the icing on the cake: they had COMPLETELY ruined the cooling coil, flattening out the gaps due to which ice started to form on the AC. By the time i received the AC, it was pretty much the end of the season and i had no energy left to go through the TORTURE again, so left the issue unattended. 2nd Experience: This year, in April, the compressor went bad so I called customer service, requesting a replacement of the cooling coil as well as the compressor. The request was again forwarded to an OUTSOURCED agency (headed by Mr. Om Vir), which is by far the MOST INCOMPETENT PROFESSIONAL ENTITY I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. The agency took 34 day (yes, THIRTY FOUR!!!) to bring back the AC. During the period, i called the pickup guys as well as Mr Om Vir at least a BAZILLION times, but to no avail. Nevertheless, when the AC arrived, once again, the outsourced lunatics managed to show why Videocon is the MOST PATHETIC company of home appliances and consumer electronic. The apparently "new" cooling coil was damaged in one corner, and none of the buttons on the control panel was working whereas they were working ABSOLUTELY fine when they took the AC. Just to mention, the panel was dangling with just ONE screw...!! (another great example of proficiency) The total bill was 5600. 4000 for cooling coil, 1600 for gas, the compressor was covered under warranty. I pointed out the problem of the control panel to the delivery guy (Vijay), who said there is some problem with PCB and he will come back "later" to check it. Yes, after 34 days, the guy had the audacity to say he will come back "later". Suspecting he will never actually return, i paid 4000, and asked him to collect the balance once the problem with PCB is fixed as it came into being during the fateful 34 days my AC spent in their pawn shop. As expected, he never returned, stopped answering calls, and that was the end of the line. 3rd Experience: 2 months down the line, the apparently "new" compressor stopped working, so i called up customer service once again and this time, i dived straight into a HORRENDOUS game of passing the bucket. The request was again forwarded to Mr. Om Vir's agency so i called up customer service, told them the awesome experience i had with Mr Om Vir's agency and requested the complaint to be forwarded to a company-owned service center. Another hallmark of incompetence, the guy had absolutely no clue about how to direct service requests, but was generous enough to provide me the number of a service manager Mr Manjit Singh who happens to be the only sane individual representing the company in the NOIDA/Ghaziabad region. I called him up, told him the entire story (about the cooling coil which was damaged by Hi-Tech as well the PCB which was damaged by Mr. Om Vir's agency). He called this guy called Ankur (another HIGHLY incompetent and unprofessional employee of Videocon) in conference and asked him to take care of the problem. After 2 days, the AC was picked from my property with a commitment that it will be delivered either in "1 or 2" days. Of course, it never happened. Called up Mr. Ankur innumerable times and every time i was presented with a new excuse for the delay, ranging from "kawad" to "rain" and everything in between. After a few days, Mr. Ankur started to ignore all my calls, as well as disconnect them on some occasions. In fact, on many occasions, i used to get call waiting, but he never had the decency to call back, let alone taking ownership of the issue. Calling Mr. Manjit Singh was the only option so i resorted to it after about a week of waiting and he actually helped to get the issues resolved. But now we had a new one on hand - though the compressor was under warranty, someone had to bear the cost of PCB, which I completely denied to accept as 1 - the part was damaged by the "company's people" at their "own workshop", not at my premises, and 2 - i had just paid 4000 for cooling coil which was also damaged by the representing Videocon. Another couple of days went into the debate and finally after about a fortnight, i received a call from this guy called Rajkumar saying that the AC is repaired and under testing, and that the bill is 4200. The breakdown: 1200 Gas (I was asked to pay 1600 for gas by Mr. Om Vir's agency. Another testament of how the of Videocon are scamming people) 400 Capillary 450 Transportation (was never before charged for "transportation" by any of the other service providers.) 350 Service (the cooling coil was "new", and the AC clearly DID NOT require any service, but nonetheless.) 1800 PCB I again called Mr. Manjit Singh, who got Om Vir into a conference call as he said someone has to pay for the PCB. On the conference call, Mr. Om Vir CLEARLY AGREED" that the PCB was damaged at their workshop, but demanded the outstanding 1600 (imagine paying twice for gas and still, having to spend the entire summer without AC). I pointed out the disparity in the gas pricing, so Mr. Singh honored the words of Mr. Rajkumar and the final amount was decided to be 2400: 1200 Gas, 400 capillary, 450 transport, 350 service. Although the last two charges didnt make any sense, but i still agreed to pay. FINALLY, after a while, i received a call from Mr. Rajkumar that the AC will be delivered in a couple of hours, which again did not happen. Rather, a guy came carrying a bill, saying that as per the "company's new policy" i need pay the bill upfront if i want my AC back (stealing was now a thing of the past, these guys have upped their game to be absolute DACOITS!) Fulfilling the demand was out of question considering the experience i had with the company and their repeated confirmation of heinous incompetence. So, i called up Mr. Singh and he facilitated the delivery. The request was closed on 2 Aug 2014 (GHA[protected]). Experience 4: On the 11 Aug 2014, (9 days after i received the AC) the AC went completely dead. Called up customer service, registered a complaint (GHA[protected]). The technician came, checked the unit, said that the PCB is faulty and needs to be replaced, and that i need to pay for the replacement. Please note that the installed PCB was apparently "new" and lasted 9 days. I called up the only person i thought knew right from wrong - Mr. Singh but this time even he refused to help. Said i need to pay for the replacement or else he cant do anything about the issue. He said that the best he can do is to get me some kind of discount. He shared one number of Mr. Saifi who said that he has no information about the approval of any discount and that the replacement cost will be 2800 (earlier, Mr. Rajkumar has said that the cost of PCB is 1800. Another testament of how they are scamming people.) I called up Mr Singh again and he said that someone will call me in a while to update the price. Hasn't happened so far. The last resort, i called a local repair service provider and got the PCB fixed. Charge: Rs. 1000. Here is a summary of how Videocon is scamming people: They take the equipment to their workshop, damage some parts, and unless they are getting paid for the replacement, they install used parts with barely any life left in them and charge customers for all subsequent replacements. Take a hint: New Compressor (replaced under warranty) Life: 2 months New PCB (replaced under FOC): Life: 9 days Cooling coil - damaged by Videocon/Hi-Tech - customer billed 4000 for replacement PCB replacement damaged by Videocon - FOC replacement lasted 9 days - company denies service warranty - customer being asked to pay 2800 for the replacement. Cost of gas: agency 1: 1600, agency 2: 1200 Cost of PCB: 1st instance: 1800, 2nd instance (after 9 days): 2800 Cost of transportation/service: agency 1, 2: ZERO, agency 3: 450 Forced service cost. Thinking of filing a lawsuit for financial fraudulence, mental harassment, and any other charges my lawyer suggest, if this complaint doesn't get an apt response. A word of advice to everyone out there: NEVER, EVER buy anything by VIDEOCON. The service people of the company are as pathetic as its products. The products might be cheap, but carry NO value.