Our reader's complaint about a large Greek technology company

One of our readers (his Facebook account is available) published the following. Please read carefully, as this is a well-known Greek tech company, and all of the following could happen to any of us.

Greek company

I don't know if something like this can be reproduced from your page. But I am completely disappointed, and any publicity would help. If I'm wrong again, sorry. And here is the full complaint/history:
At the beginning of May this year, my wife's cell phone (iPhone 8 Plus 256Gb) displayed a low battery message prompting us to replace it.

We contacted the nearest branch of the big chain to find out

(i) whether they can technically perform a model-specific battery change and

(ii) the cost.

The technician at the branch informed us that they undertake this work at a cost of €60, provided that there is stock on the particular battery, which would need to be investigated further.

On 17/5, they informed us by phone that the specific battery is available.
On 18/5 my wife delivered the mobile phone to the branch, where she was informed that "the mobile phone will be sent to service and will be ready in 2-3 working days."

It is worth noting that:

  1. We were not given a Repair Work Number or any other proof of receipt even though we asked for it.
  2. Apart from the low battery capacity, which means frequent charging, the mobile phone was fully functional.

While the 2-3 business days had passed, we had absolutely no information either verbally or in writing. So we called the store on 23/5 to find out what stage the repair is at. The service department of the branch told us the following: "the device had been opened again and materials (glues, screws, etc.) outside the manufacturer's (Apple) specifications had been used."

In our question, how do we proceed, we were informed that the battery change can be done as long as the appropriate screwdriver is found.

And while we are waiting for the "famous" screwdriver to arrive and once again we have no update, on 27/5 we call the store when the technician told us that "putting in the new battery, there was a 'chaff' sound and the screen burned." The next steps were to wait for a new screen to arrive, without incurring the extra cost.

On 2/6 we call again, as we had no update again, and they suggested that we be a little patient until the new screen arrives.

On 3/6 they call us from the branch to inform us that with the installation of the new screen the board of the device "burned", the cost of which (€150) would have to be borne by us, otherwise we will have a useless device ! This really was a bolt from the blue.

So on 4/6, we visited the store in person to find out what exactly is going on. The manager of the branch, after repeating all the above, informed us that the phone is in Thessaloniki and confirmed that the cost of €150 will have to be borne by us. Giving way to anger, and since there was no alternative, we agreed to repair the board with the goal of receiving the phone "in 10 working days at the latest."

After the lapse of 10 working days, and without once again receiving an update, on 17/6 we contacted the store to be told "please be a little more patient."

On 20/6 the store manager contacted my wife to come over to get a replacement device. So on 21/6 we received an iPhone 6S 16GB, which we initialized and started to restore the latest copy from iCloud. It is worth noting that the most recent copy in iCloud is dated 24/5. This clearly proves that the mobile phone was fully functional, while it was already in service.

On 25/6, and since the backup could not be copied to such a small capacity device, we returned the replacement device to the store and demanded a definitive date of our own device, as our patience has now reached its limits.

Two hours did not pass and the manager of the store told us that he contacted the service in Thessaloniki, where they informed him that during the change of the board the "tribrand" was burned (or something like that) and... the phone cannot be repaired!!!! ! He made us an offer to buy an iPhone 11 64GB at a cost of €460, which we cannot afford in any case. A little later, he called us again for a "last offer", namely a used iPhone 7 Plus 128GB with a cost of "only" €200, an offer which we rejected.

As you can understand, we took a perfectly functional cell phone for a battery change and found ourselves with a "carcass". This is unheard of, it goes beyond the limits of logic and the consumer's sense of right.

The next step was to contact the owner of the store via LinkedIn, on 25/6 in the evening, who immediately responded to our request and contacted us on the morning of Monday 27/6.

He showed complete understanding of the situation, accepting the service error and the inconvenience we had suffered and asked us exactly what we wanted to do. What we asked for was an identical phone and to pay the cost of changing the battery.

After he confirmed to us that a solution would be found, after about 2 days he informed us that there is 8GB in the Apple iPhone 128 Plus (instead of 256GB), but he had to first track the IMEI of the old device and disable the function . Εμείς από την πλευρά μας επιβεβαιώσαμε ότι την συσκευή την αγοράσαμε μεταχειρισμένη και στείλαμε και τα παραστατικά . According to his estimate, the process would take a week at most.

And while we were waiting for a solution to be found, the owner called us at noon on July 1st to inform us:

• That IMEI tracking revealed that the device in question should have been returned to Apple
• That someone astute caught her before she got to Apple
• "Fixed/revived" her using parts from different
Appliances
• Therefore, it cannot assume any responsibility for the fate of our device, after the “service”

He suggested that we choose some of the available devices on the company's site and cover part of the VAT, up to the amount of €150.

He also criticized my personality and credibility, insinuating that because of a bad purchase I was trying to make a personal profit, despite the fact that I had made it clear from the beginning that even a used device like my wife's would completely cover me, especially when I made it clear that I would also pay the cost of changing the battery.

The owner claims that if I buy a used car and need to change the battery at an authorized workshop, is there a chance that they will destroy my car because the previous owner did not service at an authorized workshop or should I seek my rights from the previous owner and not to the garage that wrecked my car?

In any case, I await the company's written response to the following questions:

  1. What is the procedure followed by the technical departments of Germanos, when they find irregularities in devices to be repaired? For example:
    i. Do they thoroughly check the device through IMEI, so that its history can be seen, avoiding any inconvenience?
    ii. Do they keep photographic material in which any irregularities can be clearly seen?
    iii. Do they inform the customer in writing of the risks they bear if the repair proceeds to a later stage?
    iv. Are they simply experimenting ex officio, without informing about any risk, as happened in our case?
  2. Is it understood that we took to the store a fully functional cell phone that was destroyed in the branch service?
  3. Does anyone understand that the alternative is having to pay a serious amount of money to buy a new cell phone, which really wasn't in our plans?

I also required a written report and diary of their progress
of “repairs/experimentation” attempted on our device including at a minimum the following:
Date of repair/test
Exact location
Name of technician

I believe that I should be refunded the amount of €429 that it cost to purchase the device or replace it free of charge with an equivalent device.

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Written by giorgos

George still wonders what he's doing here ...

2 Comments

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  1. Update:

    Ultimately this story had a happy ending. I would like to personally thank Mr. Nikolaos Skouras, who took the initiative, took the situation into his own hands, and corrected the wrong texts, in the best possible way for the benefit of the client.

  2. First of all thank you so much for posting my experience on your website! I would like to inform you that I sent the above complaint by email on 2/7 to the "mother" company, also communicating it to the owner of the store. Well, no one's ear has sweated 😡

    I sent it to the "Consumer Protection" and the "Ombudsman" on 7/7.

    "Consumer Protection" put it on file, because it does not meet the overall risk assessment score, and urged me to contact other Alternative Dispute Resolution Bodies, including the Ombudsman.

    We'll see how this all plays out, but the indifference on the part of the company and the store is truly proverbial.

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