As a repeat Sony customer, I bought SONY BRAVIA LED LCD TV (KDL 40-EX520) from Croma in August 2011 for Rs. 65,000/-. Sometime in July 2013, I started to get RED vertical lines near the top edge of the screen. The lines are around an inch long starting from the top edge. Colour of the lines is red when actual screen is black in that area. When there is picture in the top edge area, I see different colours strip at the top one inch of the screen. The lines are permanent irrespective of the input signal. Even when there is no signal, the red lines are visible. I finally called customer care last week. The service rep inspected and told me that the LCD screen is faulty and I will have to shell out round Rs. 22,000 to get the screen replaced as the TV is out of one year warranty. I saw many SONY customers complaining about this issue online which comes usually within 2 years of operation. Apparantly, there is a major manufacturing defect in the LCD Panel. My service number is 16212125 attended by Aar Vee Infoservices.
My question is, Does SONY’s responsibility end with the ending of Warranty? Is it not their moral obligation to give some solution to their customers if the defect is due to bad quality of TV parts? Why should I spend Rs 22,000/- on the TV repair that is only 2 years old. I was getting the same specification TV’s at less than 75% of the price of the SONY TV but I went for SONY thinking that it is a premium brand and would give me years of trouble free service. Is it too much to expect from you, SONY? Or is it that SONY is premium only in price and not in quality or customer satisfaction?
Sanmeet H
(((REDACTED)))
sanmeet
Mumbai,#2Author of original report
Thu, November 28, 2013
SONY has once again failed to maintain quality of its products with expensive TV units failing in less than two years and requiring exorbitant repairs. SONY has one more dissatisfied customer but I guess another addition to the long list of dissatisfied customers will make no difference to SONY. Im geeting a SAMSUNG TV next week. Too bad my Rs 65000/- investment into SONY’s product will be going into the dustbin.
I have very good experience with SAMSUNG products and SAMSUNG customer relations. People, Pls put your hard earned money on such responsible brands rather than throwing the money to SONY.
Sanmeet Hundal
copy of reponse from SONY is given below for everyone’s benifit:
Subject: Service of Sony Bravia Model: KDL-40EX520 ME6 bearing Serial No.: 2434263 Purchase in August 2011.
Dear Mr. Sanmeet Hundal,
Greetings from Sony India.
Thank you for patronizing Sony products.
This refers to your email sent to our management regarding our Service Job No.: J32044306 for the Sony Bravia Model: KDL-40EX520 ME6 bearing Serial No.: 2434263 Purchase in August 2011.
We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience felt by you.
Your Set is showing a symptom of Lines on screen. Upon inspection by our Engineer, we find the LCD Panel is needed to be replaced for the satisfactory working.
Natural failure may happen in the product, in course of time. We offer free service during warranty period, beyond that the service becomes chargeable.
The repair estimate has already communicated to you by our service executive.
We request you to approve the estimate so that we can carry out with the necessary services in your set.
We regret that we are unable to comply with your request.
Thanking you and assuring you best of our service support always.
Warm Regards,
Sony India Pvt Limited
Nilima Dharve
Customer Care Centre –West
sanmeet
Mumbai,#3Author of original report
Sun, November 03, 2013
No...SONY cannot just wash their hands off a poor quality product just because the warranty has ended. SONY has indeed been a great brand, but unfortunately the quality of SONY products have degraded a hell lot over past few years. And if SONY chooses to continue to provide products like these, they WILL HAVE to face angry and dissatisfied customers like me, no matter how much they pay people like you to counter bad reviews on the net.
I am not the only with a less than 2 yrs old SONY TV with a failed LCD screen. The isuue of failing screen seems to be common as evident from the report on the net from dozens of people. Heck, even the service tech agreed SONY this is some manufacturing defect and he is seeing a lot of TVs with the same problem. He said SONY is replacing the TV's in random cases and he will try to get it done for me as well. Later he said SONY refused to change in my case. Probably i'm not making enough noise.
I have already spent on buying on the TV, if I need to spend another 40% on repairs of the TV within 2 years, I do not need a certificate from you that the product is a poor quality one. I mean, you cannot even misuse a TV easily. Its been sitting on the wall of my bedroom since I bought it and I "command" it only through the remote controller supplied. I have installed a voltage stabalizer and surge protection device in my home. The hours display on the TV is like average 4-5 hrs of TV per day, so the seller using the TV for display is ruled out. My advice to you is take a raise from SONY as you would be working harder than before given the decline in the SONY products quality.
Tyg
Pahrump,#4General Comment
Sat, November 02, 2013
Yes Sonys obligations end at the one year manufacturer warrenty. Sony is a great brand but even they cannot predict how you will use the TV. They give a 1 year warrenty as good faith on thier product. Past that they ZERO legal obligations. Its not about customer service. You are just one of many ppl who THINK they do not or should not have to pay. If you were worried about the product you should have gotten the extended warrenty offered when you made your purchase.
The reality is your blaming SONY when the culprit was probably the seller. Just because the TV was NEW to YOU, doesnt mean it was actually NEW. It may have been a floor model. It may have been a return. But Im guessing you were going after the one with deep pockets. Hence the SONY post.
You speak of moral obligations, how about the moral obligation you have to handle your issues like an adult. Or better yet, the moral obligations involved in posting on the web? Your "WAA WAA I DONT WANNA PAY" comes through very clearly in the body of your post. Yes we get it. Your TV has some lines in it. Ok, now that you know that SONY isnt responsable and that its your responsability to get it repaired, move on. You speak of SONYs morals yet you decline to accept the "moral" part of your own issue. You know, like the morality of trying to shaft a business out of money because you dont want to pay for your problem...
Sony is under ZERO obligation as you are well past the one year warrenty. It doesnt matter what else you can post. In business if it looks like a duck then its probably a duck. Sony can ONLY do what they are LEGALLY OBLIGATED to do. Anything else would violate thier own internal policies. And if you wonder WHY businesses will not bend over backwards and help you.....look in the mirror!!! You are yet another example of a immature consumer. You have a issue and expect SOMEONE else to pay for your problem. You are a prime example of WHY companies no longer go the extra mile. You know its out of warrenty, you know you have to pay for it, but you post on the web attempting to blackmail a response out of them hopeing they will fix YOUR PROBLEM just so you will stop posting about them. You are just another part of the horrible and ugly problem. Consumer self entitlement.