Skip to the last couple of paragraphs if don't have time to read much  

As you may have already read here i purchased a brand new Serene around a month ago, and did not like it for a number of reasons.

Tried to return / exchange it, didn't happen, felt too guilty.

Now i have a problem that has been established when the phone went in to be checked out, and the store phone (wish is what i saw and based my judgment on the phone) was lent out while it was gone.

This was a different phone! The finish was what i remember, like the Beosound 4, beautiful, soft just really lovely. The sound of the open-close motor was actually a pleasing sound, and very different to the inconsistent whine that the is Serene i bought has.

 Getting to the point here, It was proposed to the store that this Serene is to be replaced with the store demo model as this was clearly a nicer unit with impeccable build and function. The manager at our favourite dealer turned it around to say that the issues experienced here are a good thing... EH?! Get a grip!  And that the Serene cannot be swapped with a pre-loved unit as there is a health issue.

 Now my question is, how is this a valid excuse? I'm not thick, i know you could eat someones ear wax and nothing would avail, so please someone advice me on this awkward complication.
 

I would insist on replacement or refund if you are not happy. I had mine refunded when they couldn't make it work in the way it should - no questions. I did have a very good relationship with the then manager though and it was he who suggested this. If yours is not working as it should, it should be replaced or you get a refund - they have tried fixing it and failed. Your next recourse would be consumer law.

Make sure you get a replacement phone or a full refund and do not even consider letting the dealer have the last word for one moment. You have rights as a customer. If the sale of goods do not meet your satisfaction then you are entitled by law to either a replacement product or a full refund. This is of course UK legislation that follows the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and obviously does not apply to Australian law. However, you will find this is pretty uniform in most countries so contact your trading standards (or equivalent) offices and follow this up immediately. You should have taken these measures earlier as the longer you leave it the more difficult you make it - but not impossible, so don't worry. Your first step will most likely involve writing a letter to the dealer stating that you are unhappy with the goods, clearly explaining your reasons why and asking for the full refund that you are enititled to, making refernece to the applicable legislation. You send this letter by recorded delivery to ensure a staff member signs for the letter; the recorded signature in the post office system then serves as evidence of your first attempt at contacting them should this end up in court. You may need to write several letters, at which point if you hear nothing back then you go to Court with it. If you have a faulty product and you have followed the trading standards advice exactly then you cannot fail to win your case, plus all administrative costs. Even if your product is not faulty you can still win your case on the grounds that the product has not met nor lived up to your expectations. It is highly unlikely a retailer would want to let it go to Court and at some point they will settle up, although they might want to take you round the houses a few times just to inconvenience you because its the best they can do but ultimately they will have to pay up. I am suprised and saddened that it is a B&O retailer that is taking this approach as normally their reputation is such that something like this would never happen. You usually expect this kind of bad customer service from inexperienced and cowboy retailers, of which there are many I am affraid. B&O have an interest in maintaining the best possible relationship they can with their customers. My advice to you David is to fight this all the way. I would be livid if I had been treated they way you have. Contact your trading standards office now. Don't delay. Keep me posted.

Simon.

Ok, well persistence was what i was planning thanks , i just want to know, if anyone knows what the protocol is with mobile phones being a health issue when used by another person. Sounds like a big wad of BS to me. I though exchanging the phone with the store demo was a very simple and straight forward request. I also did not think that penny pinching was a good idea when it comes to B&O customer service.

I'm about to spend another $3000 to buy an ex demo  BS1 with stand and grille, but if this Serene doesn't get sorted out instead of being shrugged off, then what kind of fool would i be to empty (and i mean really empty I"M NOT RICH) my pockets, as much as we love our dealer there? Grrr!

I have had REALLY bad luck with brand new B&O products. Every product i've bought there has been defective. What are the odds?

Dave, yes you have had a lot of bad luck it seems! I don't like the sound of your dealer at all but I am making that judgement purely on what you have said about him so far. He does not sound like a good representative for the B&O brand at all. With regards to your question about the mobile health risks ... of course it is complete rubbish, how can you even take this seriously? He is fobbing you off - and you are letting him do it! If this is the kind of thing you are being told by your dealer then I am truly at a loss as to what to say! Look, go in their, put your foot down and assert yourself. Tell him that the service you have received so far has been pretty poor and that you are completly dissatisfied. Do not spend anymore money until this situation with the Serene has been resolved. Its up to you David. If you accept a bad service then that's really sad. Get it sorted once and for all. Refund or replacement, its as simple as that. There is no compromise. If you don't get it then you write to B&O directly. If you still get no response then you write to the media (TV, radio, papers etc.) with your story. We used to have a program called That's Life in the UK several years ago that actively encouraged people to write in with stories of bad customer service received. Up to you how far you want to go with it but it doesn't sound to me that you have explored many of your options so far. All the best, once again.

Simon.

My actual dealer is an awesome guy who has been a brilliant rep for the products and the company because he seems genuine and is helpful. I wish he was at the other store here in Adelaide.

It's their new manager who transferred from South Africa that has brought a different attutude to the table. I thought i was being too demanding at B&O but i have had bad luck with the products. It doesn't help that i'm a young person (i look even younger).

 

Dave:

I have had REALLY bad luck with brand new B&O products. Every product i've bought there has been defective. What are the odds?

 

So have I!!! The only things that have worked well are speakers. Maybe it is something to do with living in the land of OZ! I have had a defective BC2, BS3, Beolink Wireless, and to top it off 2 Serenes that are linked with my BC6000 and interfering with the phone books to make all three phones virtually unusable. You can read of my plight in other threads. 

 

To be fair my dealer has been very good in trying to rectifying the problems - but I still have a long way to go before satisfaction sets in! 

 

Good luck. 

I can't sleep :'(

 I'm intend to call the store first thing in the morning to see what i can achieve through a diplomatic discussion, but i'm not entirely sure what i'm going to say. If i can't sort out a satisfactory solution, what is the next step? Do i have to email struer and wait for days on end? Or would there be an Australian head office that i could call...

It seems so simple.

- Paid (alot) for a product
- Discovered quality issues that were not present in the in store unit
- Requested to exchange for a unit that does not possess these issues

Done. Why have we been fobbed off by the manager? Cost cutting? Attitude? I could outwardly make assumptions but that probably would not be wise. So i'll say right now that I am perplexed.

One very large miagrain later but i will get to the bottom of this.

 

Dave,

You go in with your Serene and state that it is not satisfactory, you therefore want a full refund or a replacement. You say that there is no other option other than these two, and ask what they are prepared to offer you. You don't leave the shop until you have are satisfied with their response. In the event that they refuse you then you do as I suggested earlier in the thread, and contact trading standards in Adelaide. Since you mention that you have a very good relationship with the manager then it makes sense to talk to him directly and not deal with the new person from South Africa. This is your first step. We'll take it from their if need be.

Simon.

PS Thanks for your PM, this message is my response to both. Now, get to it!

All sorted, motor being taken from the demo model and put into this Serene. Weird but it works, i think we have different consumer laws here, a phone is classed as a personal products and can't be re-sold.

Who made that rule? Did somebody get sued for an ear infection?! Hah!

I feel silly for getting my knickers in such a twist.