LG Warranty, a letter to Linus

[Mug]

1 minute ago, mcfly said:

I still don't see how that would PROVE to LG that the warranty is still valid. It's unfortunate and frustrating but I really don't see how Linus would be able to help you. It might not have been a problem if warranty wasn't voided by the drop, but I really don't see why would be lawfully required to provide you with any service to the device. I feel like a responsible company SHOULD provide you the service, but I don't think any laws are being broken here.

On the responsible company bit: I agree, that's the part that I thought Linus may be able to help me with (this being a problem with his sponsors).

 

Back to law though, the Sale of goods act 1979 says:

14 Implied terms about quality or fitness.

(1)Except as provided by this section and section 15 below and subject to any other enactment, there is no implied [F15term] about the quality or fitness for any particular purpose of goods supplied under a contract of sale.

[F16(2)Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory quality.

(2A)For the purposes of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances.

(2B)For the purposes of this Act, the quality of goods includes their state and condition and the following (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—

(a)fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied,

(b)appearance and finish,

(c)freedom from minor defects,

(d)safety, and

(e)durability.

Breach of this act is bad news for LG. They sold me a product with a defect which has now showed which they by law have to deal with it even if it's not covered by warranty.

[MilfShake]

Thing is the bootloop happened after you dropped your phone. There is no way to proved that the bootloop is because of the fault in LG assembly line or your fault dropping the phone causing the internal components to be loose.

 

If you bought it brand new and did no damage to it, then you can blame LG.

 

If a profit-driven company sees that you are in the disadvantage side and have no proof to backup your claim, they won't spend time or resource to fix the problem that is not theirs.

 

You can try to phone different LG centre and lie about the phone not dropped, though.

[Julian5]

@LinusTech

[Dionyz]

35 minutes ago, MilfShake said:

Thing is the bootloop happened after you dropped your phone. There is no way to proved that the bootloop is because of the fault in LG assembly line or your fault dropping the phone causing the internal components to be loose.

 

If you bought it brand new and did no damage to it, then you can blame LG.

 

If a profit-driven company sees that you are in the disadvantage side and have no proof to backup your claim, they won't spend time or resource to fix the problem that is not theirs.

 

You can try to phone different LG centre and lie about the phone not dropped, though.

Then it's up for them to decide. Meaning they should take the phone, and come to a conclusion if it's the fault of the user or them. They shouldn't be building defective products, and saying "Eh you have cracked your camera. I am not going to help" that's retarded.

 

On a daily basis I drop my phone, and it still works, so it shouldn't be a issue with the warranty.

[1823alex]

41 minutes ago, MilfShake said:

Thing is the bootloop happened after you dropped your phone. There is no way to proved that the bootloop is because of the fault in LG assembly line or your fault dropping the phone causing the internal components to be loose.

 

If you bought it brand new and did no damage to it, then you can blame LG.

 

If a profit-driven company sees that you are in the disadvantage side and have no proof to backup your claim, they won't spend time or resource to fix the problem that is not theirs.

 

You can try to phone different LG centre and lie about the phone not dropped, though.

This is true but I really don't see how a short drop onto carpet is gonna fuck up an entire motherboard of solid state storage and tiny capacitors. The wording is quite broad too does this mean if I say my v10 slid off my couch onto my carpet my warranty is void when clearly that won't break any phone? If so that's bullshit. I hope @LinusTech is able to try and fix this or at least tweet it out. I also hope it gets resolved in general some way maybe try calling in again and don't mention the camera or the fall and see what they say.

[Mug]

3 minutes ago, 1823alex said:

This is true but I really don't see how a short drop onto carpet is gonna fuck up an entire motherboard of solid state storage and tiny capacitors. The wording is quite broad too does this mean if I say my v10 slid off my couch onto my carpet my warranty is void when clearly that won't break any phone? If so that's bullshit. I hope @LinusTech is able to try and fix this or at least tweet it out. I also hope it gets resolved in general some way maybe try calling in again and don't mention the camera or the fall and see what they say.

Trouble is there that they've got my arm twisted because I tried to go through the online service initially (it was too slow so I called them up) which meant that I had to register my phone (IMEI, S/N etc) so when I call up again, they know that it's me, the guy with the cracked camera lens and the voided warranty.

[1823alex]

1 minute ago, Mug said:

Trouble is there that they've got my arm twisted because I tried to go through the online service initially (it was too slow so I called them up) which meant that I had to register my phone (IMEI, S/N etc) so they know that it's me again, the guy with the cracked camera lens.

Ahh ok. What would happen if you contact amazon and ask for a replacement because of the bootloop issue maybe ask for a replacement and if that replacement still has the issue just send that new one into Amazon.

[bgibbz]

Honestly, if this was an issue out of the box (which unfortunately you can't prove it is) I think that it is pretty ridiculous that they are forcing affected users to go through this whole warranty process in the first place. If this is a known about issue they should have a recall service put in place, where customers are given a period of time to get it fixed free of charge, and with a lot more ease then sitting on a phone with some customer service rep reading off a script. 

[Mug]

1 minute ago, 1823alex said:

Ahh ok. What would happen if you contact amazon and ask for a replacement because of the bootloop issue maybe ask for a replacement and if that replacement still has the issue just send that new one into Amazon.

Yeah that's a good point, I shall try that before I pay LG their blood money for replacing this damn hairline crack.

[Mug]

2 minutes ago, bgibbz said:

Honestly, if this was an issue out of the box (which unfortunately you can't prove it is) I think that it is pretty ridiculous that they are forcing affected users to go through this whole warranty process in the first place. If this is a known about issue they should have a recall service put in place, where customers are given a period of time to get it fixed free of charge, and with a lot more ease then sitting on a phone with some customer service rep reading off a script. 

Exactly, it's such an irresponsible thing for a company to do, makes me wonder whether @LinusTech and @Slick know about this absurdity

Look at all the people with the same issue, and so many of them have had to put up with warranty nonsense from LG.

https://www.reddit.com/r/lgg4/comments/4dibyz/bootlooped_post_your_info_here_megathread/

[Nineshadow]

Seems normal to me. I'm used to all of this stuff because I live in Romania. Almost all resellers/carriers act like this. Even some people at official repair centres, but that was a bit less common for me.

 

Did you talk to an official LG Service Centre, or to whomever you bought the phone from?

 

Nevertheless, in such situations I found being extremely insisting the best technique.

[Mug]

1 minute ago, Nineshadow said:

Seems normal to me. I'm used to all of this stuff because I live in Romania. Almost all resellers/carriers act like this. Even some people at official repair centres, but that was a bit more rare for me.

Did you talk to an official LG Service Centre, or to whomever you bought the phone from?

 

Nevertheless, in such situations I found being extremely insisting the best technique.

Yeah, I talked to the LG service centre twice and the LG out-of-warranty centre once (number was provided to me by the LG service centre)

[bgibbz]

4 minutes ago, Mug said:

Exactly, it's such an irresponsible thing for a company to do, makes me wonder whether @LinusTech and @Slick know about this absurdity

Look at all the people with the same issue, and so many of them have had to put up with warranty nonsense from LG.

https://www.reddit.com/r/lgg4/comments/4dibyz/bootlooped_post_your_info_here_megathread/

Unfortunatly, it is not just LG. Many companies are enforcing increasingly absurd warranty policies. I bought an apple watch a while back, and it arrived with a large crack in the screen from shipping. I brought it into the apple store, and they said that "Cracks wern't covered under warranty" and "We can verify it was cracked on arrival".  My friend sent in his samsung phone in for a warranty check while he still had 2 weeks left on his warranty. 3 weeks later they mailed it back and said that the warranty expired before they could conduct the repair. 

[positivePXL]

3 minutes ago, bgibbz said:

My friend sent in his samsung phone in for a warranty check while he still had 2 weeks left on his warranty. 3 weeks later they mailed it back and said that the warranty expired before they could conduct the repair. 

Dayum.

[positivePXL]

If we mention @LinusTech and other LMG members like @Slick in our posts, when their inbox gets flooeded, you think they won't have a choice but to give you the time of day?

[Mug]

1 minute ago, positivePXL said:

If we mention @LinusTech and other LMG members like @Slick in our posts, when their inbox gets flooeded, you think they won't have a choice but to give you the time of day?

I hope so, yes

Linus keeps saying that he wants feedback on sponsors, well here it is

[mikat]

brb, tweeting this at linus, luke and nick

[Mug]

5 minutes ago, mikat said:

brb, tweeting this at linus, luke and nick

Thanks mate

[Kryptyx]

I guess I can throw a bucket of water on my PC and when the manufacture tells me I voided my warranty I can complain to Linus to get it resolved? I just find it frustrating that you think you are special. Even if LG USA made the claim, you already got a reply from LG UK that it holds no merit with them. They are separate divisions. Take this as a lesson learned and don't buy an LG phone. Just try to be a little more careful with your next device and all of this could probably be avoided.

[Nineshadow]

31 minutes ago, bgibbz said:

Unfortunatly, it is not just LG. Many companies are enforcing increasingly absurd warranty policies. I bought an apple watch a while back, and it arrived with a large crack in the screen from shipping. I brought it into the apple store, and they said that "Cracks wern't covered under warranty" and "We can verify it was cracked on arrival".  My friend sent in his samsung phone in for a warranty check while he still had 2 weeks left on his warranty. 3 weeks later they mailed it back and said that the warranty expired before they could conduct the repair. 

The worst warranty experiences I've had were with HP.

Among those, a printer.

I had it for a few weeks, then it stopped working. I called a friend of mine who specializes in repairs like these, and he said that if I still could, I should send it into the warranty process. So I did. Flash forward a week or so, and I had the printer back in my hands. I didn't test it out right then, I didn't think that would be necessary. A few days later, I really needed to get something printed and fast and guess what? The printer wasn't working, after having just come from an RMA, and not having used it at all since then. So I sent it back, again. When it returned, I did test it out and, guess what, it still didn't work! I went to the Repair Centre myself, asking for some clarifications. After a bit of yelling and threats, it seems like they got the hang of it, that they should actually repair the God damn thing. Imagine my surprise when it came back after a month, still under a non-functioning condition. I was mad. Really mad. A quick trip to the Repair Centre, demanding for another RMA, and guess what? The warranty thing only allowed for up to 3 repairs. After that, it's all gone. I didn't even bother with those guys anymore, I brought the printer to a guy I knew and the next day it was back on my desk printing sheets of paper without any problem.

[intelCore]

3 minutes ago, Kryptyx said:

I guess I can throw a bucket of water on my PC and when the manufacture tells me I voided my warranty I can complain to Linus to get it resolved? I just find it frustrating that you think you are special. Even if LG USA made the claim, you already got a reply from LG UK that it holds no merit with them. They are separate divisions. Take this as a lesson learned and don't buy an LG phone. Just try to be a little more careful with your next device and all of this could probably be avoided.

That kind of attitude is exactly what makes this whole "throw it away" society work. I do agree with you that you can't expect special treatment and stuff but you have to admit that the overall way of where the industry (and I mean literally the whole of industry) is heading is nothing that can work for the next 100 to however many years. The sooner a change is gonna happen the better and yes this might not help it but simply accepting that your phone stops working after one drop is just wrong. Whether it's just that single case but it obviously isn't even just that one case.

[Mug]

1 minute ago, Kryptyx said:

I guess I can throw a bucket of water on my PC and when the manufacture tells me I voided my warranty I can complain to Linus to get it resolved? I just find it frustrating that you think you are special. Even if LG USA made the claim, you already got a reply from LG UK that it holds no merit with them. They are separate divisions. Take this as a lesson learned and don't buy an LG phone. Just try to be a little more careful with your next device and all of this could probably be avoided.

The thing is that LG sponsors Linus and Linus always wants feedback on how sponsors are treating customers etc. Well, this is how they are treated. One would hope that something as little as a tweet could solve this issue for thousands of customers that have found themselves out of warranty due to issues that did not affect the issue they're experiencing (ie: the device is rooted, minor cracks and scuffs). It's clear to me that LG is exploiting minor defects that the customer caused to rid themselves of blame for the manufacturing defect. The product was sold to these people faulty and none of this is a result of their own actions.

[KuJoe]

4 hours ago, Mug said:

Rep: I'm sorry sir, but because of this crack in the camera lens, your phone's warranty is void. You'll have to get this crack fixed in an approved LG centre before sending it in for repair under warranty.

Wow! That's actually really cool of LG to allow you to unvoid your warranty. I've never seen that done before so kudos to LG. If I were you I'd just pay the £50-60 to replace the lens (a small price to pay to fix a ~$300 phone), then have them fix the phone under warranty. I'm definitely going to consider LG in the future if what you said is true, that's just impressive right there.

[Mug]

1 minute ago, KuJoe said:

Wow! That's actually really cool of LG to allow you to unvoid your warranty. I've never seen that done before so kudos to LG. If I were you I'd just pay the £50-60 to replace the lens (a small price to pay to fix a ~$300 phone), then have them fix the phone under warranty. I'm definitely going to consider LG in the future if what you said is true, that's just impressive right there.

yep. Solely because of the response from that particular rep, it's clear to me that they only want my money.

[Kryptyx]

4 minutes ago, intelCore said:

That kind of attitude is exactly what makes this whole "throw it away" society work. I do agree with you that you can't expect special treatment and stuff but you have to admit that the overall way of where the industry (and I mean literally the whole of industry) is heading is nothing that can work for the next 100 to however many years. The sooner a change is gonna happen the better and yes this might not help it but simply accepting that your phone stops working after one drop is just wrong. Whether it's just that single case but it obviously isn't even just that one case.

I'm not saying to throw it away. I told him to look at repairing it himself. I'm just saying that LG UK is not responsible and they made that clear. Asking more influential people to step in and fight your battles should not be the solution. It only corrupts the support system further and leads to biased results. Personally, I think LG should take a look at it and fix it but I completely understand their side of it as well and can't blame them for not fixing it.

 

7 minutes ago, Mug said:

The thing is that LG sponsors Linus and Linus always wants feedback on how sponsors are treating customers etc. Well, this is how they are treated. One would hope that something as little as a tweet could solve this issue for thousands of customers that have found themselves out of warranty due to issues that did not affect the issue they're experiencing (ie: the device is rooted, minor cracks and scuffs). It's clear to me that LG is exploiting minor defects that the customer caused to rid themselves of blame for the manufacturing defect. The product was sold to these people faulty and none of this is a result of their own actions.

If you rooted your device then you only further justify them not fixing it. Anyone who roots their device should not expect any type of support. You can easily brick a device if you don't know what you're doing. I've been rooting my Android phone since the very first Android device (HTC G1) but I am fully aware that if I mess up that's on me. You have to remember that LG is a business. If they were to replace or repair every device that ever got claimed they wouldn't be in business. Time is money.