Nov 06, 2014 06:37 PM
31932 Views
(Updated Nov 06, 2014 08:01 PM)
I had the misfortune of buying Asus Zenfone 5 mobile( order no OD40710081568) from FK the day it launched. I was entitled to some freebies, being the launch date like free ebooks and some discount on covers and memory cards. Even after trying hard, I was not able to avail the same. 2 calls to FK toll free number did not help either. But being a small issue, I chose to ignore the same.
The product was extremely substandard and has tremendous heating problems. The phone dies on overheating and wakes miraculously after 1/ 2 hours. One fine day I got the shock of my life to find the screen burnt and completely shattered(photo attached). As it was after 30 days of buying the product FK did not bother at all. After 15-20 calls and lot of mails, there was no support from FK as they insisted that it was a physical damage and that they can do something only if it was a genuine product failure.
Left with no choice, I went to Asus service centre, Thane and after 3 visits, they verified that it was a genuine product failure because of PCB overheating and agreed to provide a screen & PCB replacement. Even after verifying the claim FK did not honour its commitment and washed off its hands from its obvious responsibility.
Later I faced 2 more failures in the phone within next 14 days and had to visit the service centre more than 8 times, wasting lot of time and money. Finally Asus agreed to give a refund, after many arguments over phone and mails. The service centre asked me to return the phone with complete accessories so that they can provide a refund. After providing the same, I was provided a RMA CB certificate which entitled me to a refund/replacement from FK.
It is now over 3 weeks that I have the certificate with me but no refund received yet. I have sent over 20-30 mails and called over 15-20 times to FK, with total time wasted worth 15-20 hours speaking to call centre executives. They are least bothered to help and it is frustrating to explain the details from scratch right from which product you have purchased & order number every time you call. Imagine calling 3 times a day, and having to waste 20 mins per call just for the person to understand your case.
Flipkart service as per my experience:
No clear process defined. First they asked me to go to manufacturer to get the refund. Later they agreed, provided I returned the product. But the product was already handed over to manufacturer, only after which I received the certificate. I had to repeat the same story again & again & again for innumerable times, again to answer the same story next time I called.
Service executives lie to your face: I got the shock of my life from a team of executives who told me that there is not a single mail or call record from me for last 2 months, whereas I was sending 2-3 mails every day(which was acknowledged by Auto reply) and 2-3 calls every day. Even bigger shock was when one person said that I myself cancelled the pick up request for the certificate. I am following up hard for person to come and collect the document, and this person is saying I myself cancelled the pick up!
Every time you call, you receive a message/mail saying your request has been escalated and will be resolved after 5-6 working days. Imagine your issue is not resolved after 3 weeks, you argue with the service centre people day & night, only to be answered by a reply saying your issue will be resolved in next 5-6 days. The 5-6 days never end and just keeps on extending for infinity.
Mails are never answered: After reaching a particular point, you realise no one will answer your mails anymore. You do whatever you want. On calling they will tell u, they have not received your mail.
You cannot edit/delete your review or add a new review of the product you have purchased. I had given a review of the product the second day I received my product. But I wanted to change my review or add a new review highlighting the problems about the product. But you are not allowed to. This is a classic example of what FK really is. On clicking the button of review, you are just brought to the product page, with no option to review. On asking about this on mail, the FK person replied saying you can review only once and cannot alter the same.
Worst part is they keep on fooling you. Your call will be answered by saying, “your issue will be immediately resolved and refund is approved. Kindly wait for a day”. You do not receive any mail or call later and would have to hear the same message next time you call.
They are tying up with Chinese companies and dumping low quality products in India. A same product bought in China and sold in India are completely different.( I observed this on Xiaomi MI3 which was sold by FK & one which was bought from China). Under the exclusive launch tab, with so called FK advantage(which says they assure you of the quality), they are selling products which are not only inferior, but also potentially harmful to customer.
