A Cautionary Essay about Xbox Warranty Service

To the Mods, this seemed like the best place to post this after some searching around. If it is not, please move as needed.

Here is a story to warn people about Xbox warranty and repair service, and what to expect. Spark notes at the bottom for those in a hurry.

I have had Xbox products for years and have always been in their corner for the Xbox/PS wars, but this recent debacle has changed my mind. In early may my Xbox one started making some awful noises. It sounded like a first gen Xbox 360 when spinning up a
new disc, but it was all the time, independent of a disk being in. Being that the box was only 4 months old and had run silently up until then I thought to contact customer service. After a brief conversation he asked me to send the box in for repair. This
was the being of the end.

After sending the Xbox one away it was radio silence for almost 3 weeks. Thank goodness I could see the tracking from FedEx because for whatever reason (reason uncovered later in the tale) I could not access any updates through the "my service" webpage.
Several calls to customer service and they were unable to identify why I couldn't see any updates, but assured me the Xbox was repaired and on its way. Representatives assured me that they would keep me updated through email about every step of the process,
but no one followed up. Finally I received an email from FedEx that my baby was coming home. My anger went away, it was fine. I was just being a needy 30 something person.

FedEx held up its end of the bargain, even better it arrived ahead of schedule. I had just moved to a new city I had it shipped to my fiancés address as she was staying there for work. While on a regular trip to home city and scooped up my package so I would
have some entertainment in the new home. This box is my entertainment center (Netflix), Long distance phone plan (destiny with the old college buddies), and general sanity maintenance (Darn you production time tables!). You would imagine it was like bringing
your first born home from the hospital. I plugged the guy in, set it up, and slipped in the destiny CD and...

The disk doesn't read. Plug in halo MC... Doesn't read. That is fine, these are downloaded games, ill just download all of destiny, then the CD will register and I will be on my way. Nope. When being repaired for a hard drive issue someone mangled my disk
drive. Here is a fun tid bit. For whatever reason the Xbox call center automatically disconnects whenever they call me for tech support. After several 45 minute wait periods for a call back follow disconnects. I was able to get chat to work at least and after
a long chat with someone at tech support, lots of setting changes, and a couple full reboots my disk drive is faulty and needs to be repaired. Back to Texas the Xbox goes.

So I ship the Xbox off again, and am only able to track my Xbox through FedEx. It just disappears into this hole that no one can report on. The My Service website is still unavailable to me and I call to try to trouble shoot what is going on. Naturally the
Xbox call service it unable to connect with my phone, so the repair is conducted through chat again! The gentlemen really gave it his best shot, and promised to follow up through email on the status of my Xbox. God bless his effort, but I receive nothing.
Hilariously enough I receive an email from a service rep saying that I had a service order from may had not been shipped and he was closing the service order, and he was going to send me a survey about the service. I sent him a very polite email explaining
that the Xbox was shipped, repaired, returned faulty, and reshipped under another service order, and would love a survey. Nothing. No response, no survey, no resolution. I have since sent him two polite emails and receive nothing. I searched for a week to
try to find a way to formally complain, or register a complaint. There is no method for this. None. It is a great method to ensure an ignored customer feels unsupported.

There is a bright spot here through.

About 45 minutes from my fiancés home is a Microsoft store. I stopped in and spoke with a very knowledgeable rep. He explained to me that I should have brought it in, because they keep a stock of Xboxes to replace faulty ones and the exchange takes no more
than 15 minutes. He further explained that the reason why I cannot access the My service website it that all my devices are considered mobile (the Xbox one was suppose to replace my computer after it died). He showed me the status of my Xbox one and apologized
that he could not do a thing for me since the Xbox has just arrived in Texas. I thanked him for his time, and apologized if any of my frustration had leaked into our polite conversation. This should have been comforting. But all it did was infuriate me. I
have spoken to 15 representatives through this process, and no one mentioned that I could just swing it by the FIRST MICROSOFT STORE IN THE USA and swap it out.

So here I am today. 2 months after my Xbox was first sent in. With no customer service, no media center, feeling like I have been taken advantage of , with nothing but an email saying my Xbox has been repaired and should be registered with FedEx in the next
3-7 business days for shipment. I should have my xbox almost 2 and a half months after registering it for the first repair order was set up.

So to summarize.

Positives about Xbox One Customer service:

-FedEx. The only way I have been able to get any information on my Xbox. You guys rock.

-The Microsoft Store in Scottsdale, Arizona. You guys meant the best, and were very knowledgeable.

The negatives

-"Warranty repair" service did not fix the box!

-Incomplete information. IE no one noticed my listed address is in the same city as the first Microsoft Store.

-Call center drops its calls after connecting with me.

-Every one promises to follow up via email, all but one gentleman from the first service did not.

-Cannot access the My Service page through a mobile device.

-No method to reach out to file a complaint or gain some transparency.

-The worst customer service I have ever experienced. So much so that I had to jump on a forum and write a 2 page message explaining how frustrating this has been.



This is the only way to get someone to read what has transpired. I wish I did not have to post this up. Hopefully a someone can reach out to and make some attempt to make this right.

:)

 

XBox One HDMI Stop Sending Signal

Hi, after a service repair the Xbox comes with a 90 day warranty, if all else fails please hurry and request the Xbox be looked at again.

What is my warranty after my console or Kinect is serviced?

We provide a post-service warranty. The length of the warranty depends on whether the service was in warranty or out of warranty:

•In-warranty service: If your Xbox console or Kinect sensor was serviced within the original warranty period (free repair), you receive either the balance of your original warranty or 90 days, whichever is longer.

•Out-of-warranty service: If your Xbox console or Kinect sensor was serviced outside of the original warranty period (paid repair), your serviced product has a 90-day warranty.

 

XBOX One warranty from Amazon

CoffeeGem548404,

Regardless of what it may say from Amazon, new Xbox One console has a 1 year warranty and 90 days for Xbox accessories, see "Product Warranty:
Xbox One console". You can check Xbox warranty status at, "Getting your Xbox console or Kinect sensor serviced" .

support.xbox.com/en-US/my-account/warranty-and-service/console-kinect-warranty

support.xbox.com/en-US/my-account/warranty-and-service/getting-your-product-serviced

SA

 

All I can say mate is good on your for keeping a sense of humour about it, I did have a chuckle at some of the things you wrote.

Unfortunately this is not uncommon, many people have written nearly this exact post about exchanging an Xbox One and having long wait times on postage, not being able to track and of course the exchange with another Faulty console.

What I do find interesting in all my time helping in the support forums, I've never known you could drop into your local MS store and I guess it's not a viable option for most customers, but still worthy information.

 

Thanks for reading through it, I cant even do that. Makes me feel slightly better knowing someone saw this. It was terrible when he mentioned that the swap is a cinch. I could have had the whole thing taken care of in a weekend, and would have been nothing
but please with the service.

 

Xbox support is terrible. I took them to fair trading they were that bad. Utterly clueless and tried to shaft me. Good news for us in Australia the local retailer we Buy off by law gas to deal with MS on our behalf. Second part of good news is that Sydney
will soon get its first MS store which will be good for out of warranty problems.

 

This situation is NOT unique to Xbox customer service. You shouldn't have to look far to find alarming incompetence in just about any customer service at any company. Well I'm in America, so maybe it's a rarity where you are, but it seems like most employees
(at very least) aren't properly trained.

 

Sad.

One thing though. Here on the forums someone posted that when you send in an xbox console for repair. Fed-Ex delivers the package to a Texas relay/holding station where it's then shipped untracked further south of the boarder - repaired, and when they get
enough consoles to cover the return trip back to Texas. They are relabeled with the Fed-Ex label and finally returned to you. Often with more issues than it had originally.

So I would suggest that X1 owners demand a direct exchange for a New console rather than a repair. I am told there is a $400.00 hold on your Credit/Debit card, but as long as you send back your old system. That hold is canceled.

You say Xbox stores does that, but with 'Used consoles'? Meaning you exchange your broken console for a refurbrushed one. Is that correct?

 

[quote user="TwoShoes22"]

Being that the box was only 4 months old and had run silently up until then I thought to contact customer service. After a brief conversation he asked me to send the box in for repair. This was the being of the end.

[/quote]

This is Cautionary Tale allright. Here's the moral in a nutshell:

"When you buy something expensive put your receipt in the safe place where you keep these and other important documents. Then if you have any trouble you can just go back to the retailer who supplied you with faulty goods
for either a replacement or a refund".

 

^^ Most retailers won't let you return an electronic device that is 4 months old. I think most, at least here in the States, give you a 30 day return policy. I *think* in the UK that policy is 3 months, which still wouldn't hold water in this example.

 

^6 months standard warranty from the seller here in the UK

 

I think the cautionary part of this whole story is "Buyer to understand warranty and how it works". The Advanced Exchange program is no secret, and it is a 2 day turn around ( used it 3 times already) and it works 100%.

-

Good read though OP.......

 

In the UK Electronic goods get a 1 yar warranty as a minimum however the Customer may be able to demonstrate that this period should be longer.

Say a "future proof" device that was marketted as supposed to last for years like an XBox ONE.

I find it hard to believe that if you bought a Television in the USA and it didn't work after 30 days that you had no recourse withe the seller...

But then you did throw all that tea into the harbour!

 

This is the legal framework in the UK

The European Directive 1999/44/EC says all EU countries have to ensure a retailer could be held liable for all "non-conformities" which manifest within two years from delivery.

However, because the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) meets or exceeds most of the directive's requirements, this overrides the EU directive. The act requires three things: the goods must be as described; they must be of satisfactory quality, which is determined
by description, price, durability, freedom from minor defects; and they must be fit for purpose.

Because manufacturers tend to give one year's warranty on goods, retailers will usually push you in their direction if the product breaks inside the first year.

However, SOGA provides cover for goods bought for up to six years – in England and Wales. This means if a TV fails after 13 months, you still have rights. Assuming the item has failed through no fault of yours, and it was "reasonable" to expect it to last
longer – given its cost/quality – you should demand, under the Sale of Goods Act, that it be replaced or repaired by the retailed, not the manufacturer. Once the item is six months old, the onus is on you, the consumer, to show the item failed as a result
of a manufacturing fault.

 

It's always worth mentioning and taking a copy of the EU rules when you want to return something in the UK. Even if it's only a few months after the purchase. You want all the ammo you can gather before you head back to the store. In my experience though,
you get a low-level clerk who really doesn't care, doesn't even check inside the box, and replaces the item without trouble. lol

My brother took his PS4 in for a replacement recently and the girl didn't even look inside the box. I said he could have kept the controllers... but he said given his luck, if he had, he'd have gotten Johnny Q Thorough at the desk instead of Jane Q Notpaidenoughtocare.