topic Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on in PCs & Accessories

Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

RoyWilding-PushON — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 15:55:07 GMT

Sony Customer support is awful as is the build quality of its Vaio Fit range of laptops it would appear.

I purchased 2 customised versions of the Vaio fit model less than 6 months ago.

At month 4, one of the laptops developed a fault where the screen slightly came away from the surrounding lid in the bottom left hand corner. It was only very slight and because the laptop functioned without fault I decided to live with it. (I also picked it up off the desk one day to discover one of the screws had just fallen out but let's not dwell on that).

A month later and still less than 6 months old I opened the lid one morning to find the surrounding lid had completely come away and that it requires holding together each time it's opened or I risk it completely snapping in some way.

Having initially struggled to find any way to gain some support through the website (telephone number provided results in automated message requesting case id which of course you don't have until you email for support), I finally gained a case ID and spoke to support.

The support people then emailed me requesting photos of the problem so they could determine whether it was covered by the warranty.

2 days later I was informed that they had agreed to send the laptop for repair and so collection was arranged.

On the 4th day of the laptop being sent I received a call from the repair centre in Warrington (outsourced to flextronics.com) and was told the engineer had looked at the problem but because it was physically damaged that it wasn't covered by the warranty. He explained that Sony support should have explained that in the first place and because of that I had two options;

Option 1 - Pay £185 to have the laptop repaired and returned

Option 2 - Except return of the laptop unrepaired and Sony will cover the costs of transit because it should have been explained in the first place that physical damage is not covered by the warranty

Obviously I am less than happy, I'm outraged.

Yes, it is physically damaged but not by misuse of the laptop in any way by me. I took photos before sending it off to ensure I had dated proof that illustrates the laptop has never been dropped.

I've decided to accept the laptop back (not really given much other option because there's no way I'm paying for them to repair something I think should be covered under warranty) and have been given the Sony customer relations department address who it has been suggested I now need to take up the issue with.

I find it disgusting that a company like Sony can sell laptops for nearly £1000 and the poor build quality means that less than 6 months down the road the consumer is left having to pay their own repair.

The sale of Sale of Goods Act 1979, chapter 54, part 2, section 14, states goods have to be fit for purpose and in this instance I don't believe the laptop sold to me is fit for purpose.

I think the physical damage I'm experiencing is due to a design fault frankly. The laptops lids have been designed to slightly raise the back of the laptop off the surface they're on. The 2nd identical laptop I purchased at the same time shows signs of starting to flex in exactly the same point. There's even reference to the poor quality in this review from PC Pro http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/laptops/384214/sony-vaio-fit-15e

"Build quality is squarely in budget territory. There’s a little flex in the base, but our main problem is with the Sony’s lid. Flex it from side to side and there’s a tendency for the plastic panel to click slightly out of place around the right-hand edge."

So it's on its way back and I'll be taking it up with Sony customer relations which is at the address below for anyone else wanting to make a complaint;

Sony UK Limited

The Heights

Brooklands

Weybridge

Surrey

KT13 0XW

It'll also be the last Sony Vaio I'll be buying having purchased numerous over the years. You've lost a customer Sony.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

sgdavies — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 08:30:07 GMT

Cant Say I blame you, I would also email Cro.en@eu.sony.com, and speak with "Trading Standards", as they should be able to help you with products not meeting the "Sale of Goods Act", I agree with you about the Support line, its really a bit of a joke isnt itm, they couldnt support a "Pee up in a brewery"

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

RoyWilding-PushON — Fri, 31 Jan 2014 09:51:13 GMT

Thanks will do. I'll certainly be contacting trading standards.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

RoyWilding-PushON — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 17:52:12 GMT

Just and update to this incident.

Laptop has arrived back unrepaired but includes a free Sony branded microfibre screen cloth so not all bad.

I've also received an email from the customer relations office requesting information on the case and offering to look into the issue further for me.

I'll let you know the outcome but hopefully someone will recognise this is a genuine fault and do something to address it.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

sgdavies — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 08:43:12 GMT

That is truely unbelievable!, to return a laptop still "un-repaired", I would be truly not happy with them. they are wanting to take mine for so called repair, when I actually am almost 100% sure there is nothing wrong with the hardware, and its the software thats to fault, i know what they will do, a factory reset, back to Windows 8.0, I can imagine it now, "there you go chum, your vaio multi flip is now working fine with no screen freezing", yes, but as soon as i upgrade back to 8.1...... bingo problem will be back, you dont need to be a trained Chimp to understand this. rant over ..

P.S I hope you get more sense out of Customer relations, when I got a reply from them, they "slippery shouldered" my problem onto second level support.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

RoyWilding-PushON — Sat, 15 Feb 2014 14:22:58 GMT

So after 2 weeks of the customer relations office 'investigating' my support issue and multiple prompts from me for a response, they got back to me earlier this week.

Here's the response,

"I have been passed your case from my colleague, Mr McDonald, and the case raised regarding Physical Damage of the unit.

I can advise that our engineer has classed this as such, and I believe that the unit has now been returned unrepaired, as agreed by yourself.

After this investigation I, nor my colleague, would be able to offer further assistance in this case."

Well that was an indepth investigation wasn't it? So the investigation that took 2 weeks consisted of contacting the engineer who first assessed the situation and getting him to repeat his opinion.

Sony you are an absolute joke.

I've asked them to point at where in their warranty it states phyiscal damage is not covered and I've now contacted trading standards.

I'm going to stick some YouTube videos up showing the fault on the laptop and the other laptop which is showing early signs of the same fault as well.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

sgdavies — Sun, 16 Feb 2014 10:18:18 GMT

Hi Roy, Truly unbelievable, no wonder Sony a broke, and they selling VAIO, if they got cowboys like this working for them, they even got Ronald McDonald in to investigate! Sony are turning into the Fast Food of Tech JUNK!!!!
P.S they not solved my touch screen freezing issue either, so as far as im concerned , the laptop is not for for purpose either, i might contact Trading Standards also, as my communication with Sony Support has now broken down.
P.P.S I will be interested to see your YouTube videos.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

esugih — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 17:40:07 GMT

I have had a similar problem to yours. The bezel on my Vaio Pro 13 has become detached from the lcd panel, something which happened within days of receiving the unit. After a quick search on the internet, it became evident that this is a build quality issue which affects many other users of this model, and apparently other devices too.

Have since sent it back, and after phoning in daily for updates I have been told that the required part will take months to arrive. I have made it clear that this is unacceptable and am still awaiting resolution. One of the most annoying things is that they NEVER call back when they promise to.

I could have re-stuck the bezel myself, but since I had only had the computer for a few days I thought it would be best to send it back. Turns out that was a mistake.

Dot.: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

Agnieszka_J — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 18:42:42 GMT

Hello Roy,

Sorry to hear about your problems and I just wanted to let you know that we have escalated this issue to Sony Support. A member of their team will endavour to contact you as swiftly as possible.

I hope it gets resolved soon.

With kind regards,

Agnieszka_J

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

RoyWilding-PushON — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 07:15:17 GMT

@esugih I feel your pain.

The bezel on mine came away initially (slightly warped away from the screen in the bottome left corner), but I decided to live with it given it was only a slight asthetic fault. Wish I hadn't because it wasn't long after that happened when the bigger issue occured.

I've considered glueing mine as well but there's something structural (albeit plastic) cracked inside and I suspect it'll just keep breaking.

Good luck with your issue, what options have they offered other than waiting months for the part to arrive?

Dot.: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

RoyWilding-PushON — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 07:13:45 GMT

Thanks Agnieszka_J I appreciate that although I've already been through the support process and spat out the other end so I won't hold my breath.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

esugih — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 12:51:01 GMT

Interesting to hear. I've been pushing for a replacement, as Sony has agreed that waiting is unreasonable. However, alternatives have not been forthcoming.

Dealing with Sony's customer support has been a terrible experience so far. No one is willing to take responsibility or propose a solution. They seem to have forgotten that I am the customer and that I have paid good money for a computer which I now don't have. I also have a job to do and cannot afford to spend hours chasing them up for a solution.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

craig40c — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 18:52:18 GMT

Customer support is the worst i have ever encounted, i purchased a laptop for the best part of £1000 and have nothing but problems, two days after i got it back from repair the screws were falling out as they had not even tightened them.
It is best to by pass customer service and just go straight to the complaints department as it appears to be the only time i get an answer from anyone.

I have had mine back about six weeks and now it is not working again....... I really need to look at getting my money back really

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

iagibso49 — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 21:01:39 GMT

Awful ... but it's not just laptops.

The quality of Sony's TVs have now falled way behind Samsung.

The audio quality of its surround sound amps is far worse than competitors.

Perhaps, it's just the PS4 that's keeping some remnant of Sony's former reputation alive.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

RoyWilding-PushON — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 21:13:14 GMT

I've put a little video together to show the fault. Take a look at it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWRyBU8wI-Y

I'd be interested to get your opinions as to whether you think they should repair that under warranty or not.

I'm waiting on citizens advice getting back to me who apparently now act as trading standards advice for consumer goods in the UK.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

iagibso49 — Thu, 27 Feb 2014 22:27:32 GMT

It's not physical damage. It is an inherent design fault and manufacturing standard that is not fit for purpose. You are therefore entitled to repair or your money back.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

RoyWilding-PushON — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 11:32:47 GMT

Not according to Sony unfortunately

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

sgdavies — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 13:54:35 GMT

Just seen your video on YouTube.

Looks to me like a design fault, trading Standards all the way! Not fit for purpose.

yes looks like CA handles this now. Good Luck.

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

RoyWilding-PushON — Fri, 28 Feb 2014 13:57:44 GMT

Thanks @sgdavies I'll let you know the outcome

Re: Sony Vaio Fit - Poor Build Quality, terrible customer service, warranty not worth the virtual paper it's written on

Thalamus. — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 12:27:44 GMT

Hi RoyWilding-PushON,
Can't promise a favourable outcome but I have spoken to one of my contacts and somebody WILL be in contact to discuss this with you..