Date:29/10/2011.
The Chairmain / Managing Director,
Nokia India Pvt Ltd.,
SP Infocity,
Industrial Plot No.:243,
Udyog Vihar Phase I, Dundahedra, Gurgaon,
Haryana - 122016.
Re.: a) Nokia Phone E-72.
b) IMEI No.:***********
c) Microphone not functional.
d) Software error / phone hangs.
Dear Sir/Madam,
With the reference to the above, with great pain I have to write to you. In the last week of June 2011, my phone microphone turned faulty suddenly while talking on the phone. I sent the phone to the shop from where I had originally purchased the phone (Phone Shop – Coloba, Mumbai) to have it repaired since I was given two years warranty by Nokia. The shop returned the phone stating liquid damage.
On pressing further with them on the matter, they washed their hands off the entire matter, stating its Nokia policy, I could go to the care centre at Opera House, Mumbai for the same. (This was after while pitching for sales, their sales person was very insistent, that they charge more as they are the official Nokia store, small repairs they only do, and they will provide all services in case of any problems. This much for their services, My sincere suggestion to Phone Shop, stop committing things which are beyond your capacity just to get sales. Stop fooling customers, that you can take care of minor repairs.)
Further, on my further visit to Nokia Care Centre, I was in for a shock, with what happened. They claimed that the phone was spoiled due to liquid damage, and that the warranty was void. And inspite of this if I wanted to have the handset repaired, then I would have to pay over Rs 4,000 to have it repaired.
They refused to listen that it was not that I had dropped the phone inside a liquid or something, it was due to perspiration. They refused to repair it under warranty. Infact a common sight that I saw at the repair centre was that majority of the time, it seems Nokia wanted to avoid getting repairs done under warranty, so as to avoid the costs thereof, and fleece the customers by saying liquid damage and charge obscene amounts of money.
The centre manager there refused to listen to me, refused to hear any of my complaints. Reluctantly i got the phone repaired outside at a much reasonable rate. However I had the software issue of the phone hanging everytime I charged the battery. The email software and the phone would just hang.
This error was there even before the phone got spoiled, but due to the cumbersome process of taking a backup and not having a replacement or a backup phone, I had ignored to get the software updated. However since I was already set back by a week without this phone, I thought to get the software updated as well this time, after the repairs.
Another rude shock, the Nokia Care centre, told me, that due to my phone being liquid damage, the phone is now out of warranty and even software updates are charged, I was taken aback, but the centre manager was extremely rude, and refused to listen to me stating i could leave the centre, if i did not want to pay. When I asked him to give me the address of Nokia India, he refused, that he was under no circumstances obliged to. When I stuck my ground, he lied that he did not have, as Nokia India does not give their care centres the addresses. When I asked him to call up his superior, he again initially refused, it was only when I told him, that as a consumer I have fully rights to talk to his superior, if I am not satisfied with his services, and the mood at the care centre was again not in his favour he just called up someone who claimed to be his superior, and cited helplessness and said I could complain to consumer court as well, but he could not be of any help and I would have to pay for the software upgrade. I was made to pay for the upgrade.
However after paying for the upgrade, it functioned well for a week, and after that I got an alert for the latest version on my phone, I updated it to the latest version and now its back to square one, the phone again keeps hanging. Hence the problem is when you update the phone from the internet, this error comes (as I started getting the error initially as well after my first update). So the problem is in the defective updates that Nokia provides through internet.
What has software being faulty go to do with the repair of the microphone, and as i browsed through the various forums and complaints on the internet, it seems this is the common problem even in New Phones.
Your Care centre also provide me with a faulty address (proof of which I am attaching herewith for your reference). Is this what we expect from a company like Nokia. To cheat customers, to fool them.
If I am not reimbursed my repair charges and the charges for the software updates, I would be constrained to take up this matter to higher authorities, including consumer forums. I feel Nokia is unduly taking advantage of the Indian laws being lengthy and hence they can get away with any shoddy services.
I have a contention, If you claim that phones can get damaged due to perspiration, did you mention that please do not use the phones if you perspire. Did you put up a caution that is mandatory? Kindly do from now on, in all your products so that consumers know that how Nokia wants to avoid giving the warranties on their products. If your phones get spoiled due to perspiration its due to your faulty designs that you allow the sweat to go inside the phone, if we are talking on for a long duration, it is but natural that some amount of body heat is generated and due to which sweat is but a natural process. If your phones cannot withstand, please put a notice that if you take it near your ear and if you perspire, warranty expires. Its like telling that if you buy a car, and if you take it on road, if you drive on a bad road, warranty of the car expires ? Have you heard of such a thing. This is exactly what Nokia is telling.
Also incase of phones even if we perspire and the phone gets damaged, Nokia maintains telecom towers which are exposed to torrential rains, extreme heat and climatic conditions. How is it that it is able to secure those, and even in those climatic conditions the towers do not get damaged, but their phones gets damaged by perspiration as well ? Is it because in case of towers the other side is an equally big corporate, with financial and legal power to counter Nokia, so that it cannot slip out from its obligations so easily as it can in case of small consumers ? Because the corporates would not give them repeat orders again and not renew the existing ones, incase they avoid giving warranty like this. But in case of small consumers, it can keep fooling them, is it right ?
I would like to have an answer to all the queries raised by me.
Also I am attaching herewith the documents that I have received at your care centre as proof.
It would be good if Nokia resolved this problem at the earliest, and my phone also gets repaired immediately without any further delay
Thanking You,
Yours faithfully,
Hitesh Mayani
Encl. As above, list of documents, as mentioned on page 2, list 1 to 5.
CC. to : 1) Nokia India Pvt Ltd
HDO ,Wing "A,
Floor No.1 Opp Hindustan Lever Office,
Glenmark Tower western
Express Highway Andheri(East),
Mumbai-400099
Tel. +[protected]
2) Harmony Audio (Bombay) Pvt Ltd.,
Anjali Bldg., Gr Floor,
French Bridge, Opera House Junction,
Mumbai – 400 007.
Tel No.:2387 0904 / 3205 6921
3) Phone Shop.,
3, Kartar Bhavan, Arthur Bunder Road, Colaba, Mumbai - 5,
Tel No.:2387 0904 / 3205 6921
Aug 13, 2020
Complaint marked as Resolved