And no, it has nothing to do with Wii U.
Edit: I'm in the UK and my console was purchased on the 30th July.
I've held off making this thread for ages, convinced I could sort this out myself, but now, after a couple of months of backwards and forwards correspondance, I am being ignored by customer services and I turn to Gaf for advice.
In November I was playing my 3DS XL as usual, went to activate 3D, by clicking the 3D slider upwards, at which point the mechanism snapped and the switch came loose and just rattled about. My 3DS was stuck in 2D mode.
Now, I had noticed my top screens scratching for a few weeks, but had been stuck well into NSMB 2 and hadn't bothered sending it in. This gave me the perfect excuse to get my arse in gear in get my XL sorted.
I spoke to a chap at Nintendo Customer Services (NCS) who did not indicate there would be any problem getting this all sorted, so he emailed me my postage label and I sent it off asap. I waited about 5 days before checking in on the status of my repair. I did this using the very helpful Ask Mii live webchat feature on the Nintendo Service Center website. There I was informed that I was required to phone Nintendo regarding the status of the repair, he was unable to provide further details.
A little concerned, I contacted NCS straight away,and I was informed that the technicians had diagnosed my console as having undergone "accidental physical damage", and as a result the slider fault was not covered by warranty. As a result I was going to have to pay the sum of £77.50 in order to get my unit repaired. This, for a console only a few months old. I disputed the accusation that my console had been damaged. Some of you here may even be aware of the efforts I go to in order to protect my handheld consoles. They are very valuable to me. Assured that my console had never undergone any physical damage of any kind, never dropped, never rattled around in a bag, I disputed the payment.
The young lad on the end of the phone simply repeated the technician's diagnosis of "accidental physical damage" over and again, clearly reading from some sort of script. I then thought, a few weeks before Christmas, I would forego the slider repair and simply get my screens repaired and subsequently deal with playing in 2D. Not an ideal solution, but one that would have me avoid the ridiculous, unjustified price of repair until I could reasonably afford it. I'd rather any further disputes were delayed until that time, just because of the state of mind I tend to be in this time of year.
However, I was told that it was an all or nothing deal. They refused to fix the screens, which were in warranty, without fixing the slider, which apparently was not. I could either pay the £77.50 for a refurbished unit, or they could return my gimped console, that had two faults neither of which were a result of my own actions. I didn't really have much of a choice, so after a bit of an argument that the man was simply not prepared for, and subsequently went nowhere, I paid up. I thought I would follow the payment with a swift email to NCS management describing the situation, hoping to receive a better explanation than an arbitrary "physical damage" diagnosis, which was clearly picked out of a handbook and applied to my console.
I sent a reasonably worded email through, to which I got an email back explaining the "physical damage" category for repairs, and explained to me why it wouldn't cover warranty. Of course, because I'm not a child, I am fully aware why that category exists, and I would not expect free repairs if I dropped my XL on the ground, and I replied asking for more specific details regarding the repair. Here's how it's gone...
And that's where it ends, because I have not heard from them in over 15 days.
UPDATE: After 20 days of keeping me waiting, the gentleman who appears to be the manager of customer services in the UK got back to me today, with:
Hmmm. Wasn't very happy with that either. The lack of actual facts they are able to provide is ridiculous. So I hit back with:
(Thanks phisheep)
This ain't over! I'm insulted dammit!
Edit: I was advised by a customer of mine on the matter, and as a result sent the following email:
TL;DR
The 3D slider on my four month old 3DS XL snapped during normal use. Because "expert technicians" diagnosed "accidental or physical damage" as the cause of the fault, I am charged £77.50 for it to be repaired. In actual fact, the console has never been damaged, knocked about, dropped, shaken or anything else that might cause any physical damage whatsoever, so I have disputed the payment and the technician's diagnosis. Nintendo are unable to provide any proof that my console was damaged as the only notes applied to my repair case was the arbitrary "physical damage" label. I have been trying to obtain further information and get hold of more senior management as the customer services playbook can only cover so much ground before we start going in circles. I need to talk to a human, not a robot. But Nintendo are now ignoring my emails. Yet claims that the console was physically damaged remain unproven, and my claims that the system was faulty go unchallenged.
I would really quite like my money back, because I genuinely feel as though I have been wronged. I understand why certain measures are in place in order to protect Nintendo from bogus repair claims. What saddens me is that the faults that have resulted in my having to pay for this repair are theirs, yet they continue to take no responsibility. Instead, I am expected to fold and simply deal with their inconsistent, flawed policies at significant cost to myself. That doesn't seem right, particularly for a customer as loyal as myself. For prosperity, here's a picture of the Nintendo collection that is currently sat on my shelf, accummulated largely over the last couple of years. There is plenty more in the loft!
Sorry to bore you all with this, but I feel as if Nintendo UK have let me down.
Edit: I'm in the UK and my console was purchased on the 30th July.
I've held off making this thread for ages, convinced I could sort this out myself, but now, after a couple of months of backwards and forwards correspondance, I am being ignored by customer services and I turn to Gaf for advice.
In November I was playing my 3DS XL as usual, went to activate 3D, by clicking the 3D slider upwards, at which point the mechanism snapped and the switch came loose and just rattled about. My 3DS was stuck in 2D mode.
Now, I had noticed my top screens scratching for a few weeks, but had been stuck well into NSMB 2 and hadn't bothered sending it in. This gave me the perfect excuse to get my arse in gear in get my XL sorted.
I spoke to a chap at Nintendo Customer Services (NCS) who did not indicate there would be any problem getting this all sorted, so he emailed me my postage label and I sent it off asap. I waited about 5 days before checking in on the status of my repair. I did this using the very helpful Ask Mii live webchat feature on the Nintendo Service Center website. There I was informed that I was required to phone Nintendo regarding the status of the repair, he was unable to provide further details.
A little concerned, I contacted NCS straight away,and I was informed that the technicians had diagnosed my console as having undergone "accidental physical damage", and as a result the slider fault was not covered by warranty. As a result I was going to have to pay the sum of £77.50 in order to get my unit repaired. This, for a console only a few months old. I disputed the accusation that my console had been damaged. Some of you here may even be aware of the efforts I go to in order to protect my handheld consoles. They are very valuable to me. Assured that my console had never undergone any physical damage of any kind, never dropped, never rattled around in a bag, I disputed the payment.
The young lad on the end of the phone simply repeated the technician's diagnosis of "accidental physical damage" over and again, clearly reading from some sort of script. I then thought, a few weeks before Christmas, I would forego the slider repair and simply get my screens repaired and subsequently deal with playing in 2D. Not an ideal solution, but one that would have me avoid the ridiculous, unjustified price of repair until I could reasonably afford it. I'd rather any further disputes were delayed until that time, just because of the state of mind I tend to be in this time of year.
However, I was told that it was an all or nothing deal. They refused to fix the screens, which were in warranty, without fixing the slider, which apparently was not. I could either pay the £77.50 for a refurbished unit, or they could return my gimped console, that had two faults neither of which were a result of my own actions. I didn't really have much of a choice, so after a bit of an argument that the man was simply not prepared for, and subsequently went nowhere, I paid up. I thought I would follow the payment with a swift email to NCS management describing the situation, hoping to receive a better explanation than an arbitrary "physical damage" diagnosis, which was clearly picked out of a handbook and applied to my console.
I sent a reasonably worded email through, to which I got an email back explaining the "physical damage" category for repairs, and explained to me why it wouldn't cover warranty. Of course, because I'm not a child, I am fully aware why that category exists, and I would not expect free repairs if I dropped my XL on the ground, and I replied asking for more specific details regarding the repair. Here's how it's gone...
Me said:Greetings
I am contacting you today to relay my disappointment and anger at having recently been charged the enormous sum of £77.50 in order to have my 3DS XL unit repaired, despite the fact it is clearly still under warranty.
The argument your end was that the unit must have suffered "physical damage" in order to sustain the injury caused to the unit. In actual fact, the 3D slider came away from the mechanism inside the unit simply by "unclicking" it upwards, in order to activate 3D, with my finger as normal operation guidelines would dictate. As a slightly more discerning, experienced consumer, I take enormous care of all my gaming systems, and my 3DS XL is no exception. It has never been battered or dropped, and is always sat in its protective case when not in use. I reject the idea that my console was "physically damaged", and instead claim it was a hardware fault.
I have been a Nintendo customer for about 20 years. I have owned every Nintendo system, handheld or otherwise, to date and have accumulated over 500 games over the last 10 years, the majority of which are published by Nintendo.
I mention this, because it is only with the introduction of this latest generation and the launch of the 3DS that I have had problems with Nintendo hardware. I have often hailed the DS as the ultimate handheld gaming system, and own about 200 games for that system alone, as well as every version of the console you can imagine. I made sure all my closest friends and family owned a DS, and exchanging and experiencing many of those games together was certainly a highlight of my early twenties. When the 3DS was launched, I was extremely excited at the prospect of an equally thrilling and expansive lineup of games on a system capable of alot more power.
I enjoy many of the games that have been released for the 3DS, but it is the first piece of hardware that I have had problems with, and the only reason I have had to contact Nintendo Customer Service ever. My launch unit was (and is again) victim to the ridiculous parallel screen scratches caused by the screens rubbing together. A situation that still HAS NOT BEEN FIXED! Along with my faulty slider, I was obliged to mention that similar screen scratches had begun to appear on my XL's top screen in the hope that they are fixed too.
Unbelievably, when I was informed that I would need to pay to get my slider fixed, I was told that I would be unable to forget about the costly slider fix and just get the screens repaired, in order to nullify the cost. It was an all or nothing deal! So I had no choice! I could either pay the sum of £77.50, which in my eyes was completely unwarranted in the first place considering I did NOT damage the console prior to the breakage, or have a relatively new console inflicted with a broken 3D slider and scratched screens.
I am extremely disappointed that after years of dedicated custom, and two repairs within a year for the same 3Ds hardware fault, I am having my integrity questioned and being accused of causing damage to a console that a) I care for greatly, and b) is prone to being damaged on its own! The cost of £77.50 is completely unacceptable, and I will be hard pushed recommending the 3DS XL to anyone who may take even slightly less care of their unit than myself (which would be most people). This cost, on top of the somewhat inflated price we in the UK have to pay. As an Ambassador, I have already spent around £400 on 3DS consoles!
As a vocal member of the online gaming community, I have been sure to relay my experiences with various important gaming news websites.
In the meantime, I will find it very difficult to be excited for future iterations of Nintendo hardware. I will not be purchasing any more 3DS units for friends or members of my family in the knowledge that there is a chance that any problem they have might not be covered by warranty, or that the screens will scratch under normal circumstances.
NCS said:Thank you for taking the time to contact Nintendo.
We appreciate that you have taken the time to contact us further regarding this matter with your console.
To address your concerns over the nature of the fault with your console: our expert engineers assess each unit we recieve based on the condition in which it reaches our service centre. In this case, the console was diagnosed to have accidental or physical damage. This kind of damage is not covered under the terms of the Nintendo Consumer Warranty. This gives us two options to proceed with: we could either repair the console after payment has been taken or we could return the console back unrepaired and free of charge.
As you can imagine, consoles can come to physical or accidental damage in a vast number of ways and while our engineers are more than capable of identifying these faults there are rarely able to speculate on how these have been caused. We would therefore not venture to explain how this has been caused, or to lay blame with any particular party. We are only able to say that this damage has been identified and would not arise as a result of intended use.
Please be assured that we do highly appreciate your years of custom and support and all of your feedback and comments within this e-mail will be forwarded to our marketing department for future reference.
We hope that this gives you some clarity regarding the repair of your Nintendo console, if you would like to discuss the issue further please contact a member of our support team on the number below.
Me said:Thankyou for your response.
I apologise for contacting you again via email, rather than by telephone, but I have been given wrongful information by a member of that team in the past, and my confidence in their knowledge is low.
I understand the need to apply the diagnosis of "accidental or physical damage" in some circumstances, and I absolutely understand why it wouldn't be covered by warranty. I would not expect to be able to drop my 3DS on the ground, smash the screens and expect you to repair it for free. What I do not understand is how my console qualified for such a diagnosis. There is/was no physical damage to the console at all. Its only fault was the switch that snapped when I used it under normal circumstances. The system was clearly faulty.
Is anyone able to provide specifics regarding the diagnosis? An arbitrary "accidental or physical damage" diagnosis does not excuse a £77.50 charge.
NCS said:Thank you for your most recent email.
I have personally forwarded your case directly to our repair centre and head technician for further details regarding your repair. Please allow up to 72 hours for an appropriate response regarding this matter.
However, in the meantime please do not hesitate to contact me directly on 0845 60 50 247.
We thank you for your patience regarding this matter.
Me said:Thank you. I look forward to hearing what the technician has to say.
NCS said:Thank you for your patience regarding this matter.
We have received confirmation from our repair team that only physical damage was noted on the console and no further details can be described.
If payments are ever disputed we can usually rectify this issue by assessing the console further and providing photographic evidence of the console damage to customers. However, as the console repair was paid for the repair began instantaneously and despatched we were not in a position to provide further information regarding the console damage.
We are sorry that we cannot assist you further regarding this matter but we do hope that this information proves useful. If you would like to discuss this further with myself, please do not hesitate to contact us directly on 0845 60 50 247.
Me said:I tried to call you today regarding this matter, but was unable to get hold of you. Instead I spoke to "Dave", who was unable to help, but is clearly a valuable member of your team.
I am very disappointed to hear that there is no evidence of physical damage to my console. To be clear, there was a period of two or three days between the repair center's receipt of my 3DS and the time that I was informed of the payment. I never received a text message that was supposed to inform me to contact you in order to make the payment, and a helpful Mii from the Nintendo Service Center had to tell me when I enquired about its progress instead. There would have been plenty of time for the technicians to note down any evidence of said damage, rather than rip "physical damage" right out of the script. It is simply not a good enough description for a unit that was UNdamaged apart from the fault that was caused by normal usage.
When I called and was informed of the payment, there was initially a dispute between myself and the young man who took my phonecall. He was unable to provide me with a reason, other than the wrongful "physical damage" diagnosis, and told me that I would need to make a payment if I wanted ANY repairs done to my console. This includes the screen scratches that are covered by warranty. "Dave" tried to tell me that the screen scratches are not covered by warranty, but I have been informed on a number of different occaisions by other members of your team that they are, and I have in fact successfully had my screens repaired on my launch unit without any problem. Also, as a member of an online gaming community, I have read plenty of testimonials from those who have had similar screen repairs covered by warranty. As further evidence, the letter I received with the latest repaired console confirmed that my warranty would be extended presumably in case it happened again, which is a great gesture, but one that suggests "Dave" was incorrect.
I was left with no choice but to make the payment, unless I was willing to live with a broken console whose faults were not a result of my own actions. I had the full intention of following up the details of the repair once my unit had been returned to me. The repair job was good, but I am still absolutely furious about the sum charged to me and with the reasons you have given. Unfortunately, claims that the console was physically damaged remain unproven, and my claims that the system was faulty go unchallenged. I would expect such a loyal customer to be treated a little more respectfully, or at least be given reasons for me spending so much money without having it read from a book. "Physical damage" is arbitrary and still does not justify the payment.
This has left a bitter taste and, truthfully, this Christmas marks the first in a long time where I have not bought or requested Nintendo products as presents. This is a direct result of this procedure, Nintendo's seemingly inconsistent warranty policies and their flippant approach to labelling a console's diagnosis.
An unhappy customer.
Me said:I have tried to contact you again this morning regarding this matter, but after 28 minutes on hold, I had decided this matter has become expensive enough.
I am not happy that my previous email has not been acknowledged. I think that you have exhausted all the help you can provide, so I would kindly ask if you could provide the contact details for a higher level manager with whom I could correspond regarding this matter.
It is very important to me that you understand my reasons for pursuing this case. As far as I can see, your technician's assessment of my console was false. My console had not undergone any physical damage prior to the fault, which occurred through normal use. My system was faulty.
To be charged such a huge amount of money for a repair that should be covered by warranty is completely unacceptable, and I am shocked that my point has been disputed so heavily despite any lack of proof other than your technician's word, which is so unspecific that it appears to have been lifted out of a script.
That his word has been taken above mine, despite my loyalty and a complete lack of justification from your end, saddens me and I would like to take the matter up with higher management.
And that's where it ends, because I have not heard from them in over 15 days.
UPDATE: After 20 days of keeping me waiting, the gentleman who appears to be the manager of customer services in the UK got back to me today, with:
NCS said:Dear Mr. Chopper,
Thank you for your most recent email with our Nintendo Support Centre.
I am contacting you regarding your recent 3DS XL repair under reference [blah blah].
Your case was personally forwarded to me from "Debra" for further investigation and I have taken the time to go through all correspondence passed through the Support Centre. This investigation also included liaising with our lead engineers in order to gain a personal understanding of your case and ensure your enquiry was thoroughly checked and diagnosed to a high standard, however we still uphold that physical damage was present therefore charges are still valid as this is not covered under warranty.
As stated in our previous correspondence, we would never venture to specify how physical or accidental damage has been caused to the console in question. I will note that the damage found to the unit was diagnosed with two reported problems and as such all defects found both internally and externally were replaced with new components.
I do appreciate your loyalty to Nintendo and hope you will continue to enjoy our products in the future, however we do constantly endeavour to treat all customers as equals to provide a consistent and effective service.
Kind Regards
Hmmm. Wasn't very happy with that either. The lack of actual facts they are able to provide is ridiculous. So I hit back with:
Me said:Thankyou for your email regarding my recent 3DS XL repair, and for taking the time to look into my case.
May I take this opportunity to let you know that "Debra" did an excellent job of providing the information she was able to give me regarding my repair, and she is clearly a valuable member of your team.
Unfortunately the information you have given me doesn't really expand upon anything I have already been told. I am still waiting for some specific information regarding what type of "physical damage" had been inflicted. By this I don't mean "how?", but "what?". Seeing as I am able to inform you that the chances of any physical damage being inflicted upon my console are non-existent, I would like you to provide me with the information that proves otherwise.
Section 11 of the Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002 states that the retailer would have been obliged to provide a new console due to its faults. Faults that occurred during normal, intended usage. However, Nintendo's bizarre online policies regarding the multiple titles I have downloaded from the eShop, including the Ambassador titles I would be unable to redownload, made sure that this was simply not a realistic option. How is it that within the relevant timeframe of 6 months, Nintendo are unable to comply accordingly, and give benefit of the doubt to a loyal customer who could have taken one path, but specifically didn't want to lose the valuable games downloaded onto my console.
I appreciate the requirement for Nintendo to be seen to provide all customers with equal quality service. However, my research into some of your various customer service cases suggests to me that there is actually very little consistency between the information distributed regarding the 3DS's various issues. In fact, it appears as though NoA are much more forgiving in regards to such issues. Perhaps if I lived in America, I would not have had this issue. And I would have gotten a charger!
Thankyou again for your time, and I look forward to hearing any more information you can provide. In the meantime I will still consider the payment unjustified, unnecessary and insulting.
Regards...
(Thanks phisheep)
This ain't over! I'm insulted dammit!
Edit: I was advised by a customer of mine on the matter, and as a result sent the following email:
Me said:Further to my email yesterday, it has been brought to my attention that Section 14 of the Sales of Goods Act 1979, which comments on the implied terms about the quality or fitness of goods for sale, states that:
(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.
Due to the perceived value of the product, at £170, points (a), (c) and (e) seem particularly relevant to my case. As I am sure you are aware, the 3DS is hardly free from minor defects, thanks largely to the difference in screen sizes and the resulting marks, that admittedly may or may not scratch the screens, that appear during normal use.
However, (e) illustrates exactly what is wrong with this case. On an un-knocked, dropped, battered or shaken unit, for the slider to snap during normal use, after just 5 months, suggests considerable lack of durability, and the system was unfit for purpose (a). There was no cause of this damage. The system was faulty.
Again, I am going to require proof of "physical damage" before I accept that your decision and policies transcend those guidelines set by the Sales of Goods Act.
Regards
Chopper
TL;DR
The 3D slider on my four month old 3DS XL snapped during normal use. Because "expert technicians" diagnosed "accidental or physical damage" as the cause of the fault, I am charged £77.50 for it to be repaired. In actual fact, the console has never been damaged, knocked about, dropped, shaken or anything else that might cause any physical damage whatsoever, so I have disputed the payment and the technician's diagnosis. Nintendo are unable to provide any proof that my console was damaged as the only notes applied to my repair case was the arbitrary "physical damage" label. I have been trying to obtain further information and get hold of more senior management as the customer services playbook can only cover so much ground before we start going in circles. I need to talk to a human, not a robot. But Nintendo are now ignoring my emails. Yet claims that the console was physically damaged remain unproven, and my claims that the system was faulty go unchallenged.
I would really quite like my money back, because I genuinely feel as though I have been wronged. I understand why certain measures are in place in order to protect Nintendo from bogus repair claims. What saddens me is that the faults that have resulted in my having to pay for this repair are theirs, yet they continue to take no responsibility. Instead, I am expected to fold and simply deal with their inconsistent, flawed policies at significant cost to myself. That doesn't seem right, particularly for a customer as loyal as myself. For prosperity, here's a picture of the Nintendo collection that is currently sat on my shelf, accummulated largely over the last couple of years. There is plenty more in the loft!
Sorry to bore you all with this, but I feel as if Nintendo UK have let me down.