First unhappy 2degrees experience

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › First unhappy 2degrees experience - Wellington store

wongtop

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#74912 10-Jan-2011 15:11

While I am a generally happy 2degrees customer I had my first unhappy experience with them today at the Wellington store.

Ages ago I bought a car charger for my Nokia 5800 from Warehouse Stationary. After a while of using it I noticed that my phone would get hot and not hold charge as long when charged by this charger as my wall charger, so I decided to go and buy a new one. I looked through the Dick Smiths, JB HiFi and the 2degrees store on the 15th of December but couldn't find a genuine Nokia charger.

I talked to the 2Degrees salesman, explained my situation and previous poor experience with third party chargers. He said that they didn't have any genuine Nokia chargers, but that I could return the charger if it didn't work. I kept the packaging and receipt for this purpose.

I tried out the charger over my two week Christmas holiday and unfortunately I found out that the charging tip is as loose as a goose in the phone (this doesn't happen with with my Nokia wall chargers) with the result that the slightest movement of the phone or cord the phone (which often happens in a moving car) goes "beep" (charging), "beep" (not charging), etc.

So at lunchtime today I wander back to the store and am told that there is a strict 14 day return period (this was not mentioned to me when I purchased the charger) and there would be no exemption from this for the Christmas / New Year period since the store was only shut for "a couple of days". My bad luck that I was out of town for two weeks and there would be no exceptions "it's the law".

He also said that he considered that the charger works. I said that under NZ law goods sold had to be fit for purpose, and that I didn't consider a car charger that couldn't reliably charge a phone in a moving car was not fit for purpose. He wouldn't budge.

I was fuming and if the disputes tribunal didn't cost more than the charger was worth I would seriously consider taking a case.

On the bright side I did find a genuine Nokia charger in the Vodafone Lambton Quay store for $25. So presuming that it works well I will have made a total outlay of $65 for a working charger. ($20 at Warehouse Stationary for one that overheats my phone, $20 for the 2degrees charger, and $25 for the Nokia branded one from Vodafone).

allan

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#425784 10-Jan-2011 15:28

Not good enough. Even if they do have a 14 day return policy, they still need to either repair or replace if it's not working correctly.

albadry

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#425789 10-Jan-2011 15:36

Agree with Allan - they are obliged by law to fix faulty products, and a charger that has a loose connector is a fault product.

Have you tried pinging them on twitter or ringing their customer service phone line? Try to speak someone higher up than a sales person, they'll help you out surely.

I've had a bad experience with a 2D service rep once, I pinged them on twitter and the issue was fixed in no time.

Talkiet

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#425795 10-Jan-2011 15:58

Agree with other posters. Press your case. If the charger is as bad as you suggest (and I have had a Nokia type charger with _exactly_ the same issue) then they need to replace it.

Be polite and insistent. There's absolutely nothing wrong with doing at the busiest time for them, and clearly explaining so that others in the store can hear what your problem is.

Whoever it was that refused to address the situation simply isn't aware of their requirements under the CGA and needs some retraining...

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

wongtop

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#425800 10-Jan-2011 16:05

Thanks for all the support. I have bought a genuine Nokia charger from Vodafone Lambton Quay now (after the refusal of the 2degrees store to address my issue) - so the only thing I want now is a refund.

alasta

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#425897 10-Jan-2011 20:26

I had a bad experience myself at the 2degrees store in Wellington just before Christmas.

I wanted to get a micro SIM for my iPad and based on information on their web site I understood that I had to purchase a standard sized SIM, set it up, and then have my connection transferred to a micro SIM. When I went into the 2degrees store the guy there told me that this wasn't actually necessary and that I could simply purchase a micro SIM and they would set it up for me, however because they were out of stock of micro SIMs at the time I was told that I would have to purchase one from Dick Smith down the road and then bring it into the 2degrees store to be set up.

The next day I bought a micro SIM from Dick Smith and brought it into the 2degrees store to ask them to set it up for use in my iPad. The guy who I originally spoke to the previous day was not available, and the next staff member who I dealt with told me that I had been given wrong advice and that they were unable to do the setup for me as promised.

To be fair there was a young enthusiastic staff member there who eventually went out of his way to force fit the micro SIM into a spare Nokia phone in order to set it up and whilst he didn't get it quite right (he failed to take me through the setup of My 2 Degrees) I was at least pleased that he did his best despite the more senior guy there being totally unhelpful.

It seems that their staff need more training, and furthermore 2degrees seriously needs to address the painfully convoluted process for getting an iPad connected to their network.

On balance I should probably add that my experiences with 2degrees have generally been very good and it's been excellent to see a couple of members of their team actively participating in here, but I wouldn't deal with the Wellington 2degrees store again.

bazzer

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#426010 11-Jan-2011 09:37

That really lets down the team, doesn't it? I had a great experience at the 2degrees store in Sylvia Park on Christmas Eve. The service I received from the girl in there, whose name I forget, was exemplary. So much so, that I bought my phone from there even though it was slightly cheaper at DSE. Granted, I wasn't in there for anything "complicated" but I left happy.

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2degreesCare

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#426141 11-Jan-2011 14:37

wongtop: While I am a generally happy 2degrees customer I had my first unhappy experience with them today at the Wellington store.

Ages ago I bought a car charger for my Nokia 5800 from Warehouse Stationary. After a while of using it I noticed that my phone would get hot and not hold charge as long when charged by this charger as my wall charger, so I decided to go and buy a new one. I looked through the Dick Smiths, JB HiFi and the 2degrees store on the 15th of December but couldn't find a genuine Nokia charger.

I talked to the 2Degrees salesman, explained my situation and previous poor experience with third party chargers. He said that they didn't have any genuine Nokia chargers, but that I could return the charger if it didn't work. I kept the packaging and receipt for this purpose.

I tried out the charger over my two week Christmas holiday and unfortunately I found out that the charging tip is as loose as a goose in the phone (this doesn't happen with with my Nokia wall chargers) with the result that the slightest movement of the phone or cord the phone (which often happens in a moving car) goes "beep" (charging), "beep" (not charging), etc.

So at lunchtime today I wander back to the store and am told that there is a strict 14 day return period (this was not mentioned to me when I purchased the charger) and there would be no exemption from this for the Christmas / New Year period since the store was only shut for "a couple of days". My bad luck that I was out of town for two weeks and there would be no exceptions "it's the law".

He also said that he considered that the charger works. I said that under NZ law goods sold had to be fit for purpose, and that I didn't consider a car charger that couldn't reliably charge a phone in a moving car was not fit for purpose. He wouldn't budge.

I was fuming and if the disputes tribunal didn't cost more than the charger was worth I would seriously consider taking a case.

On the bright side I did find a genuine Nokia charger in the Vodafone Lambton Quay store for $25. So presuming that it works well I will have made a total outlay of $65 for a working charger. ($20 at Warehouse Stationary for one that overheats my phone, $20 for the 2degrees charger, and $25 for the Nokia branded one from Vodafone).

Hi there,

We're sorry to hear of your experience at the Wellington store with the Nokia charger.

Please can you PM me with your 2degrees number or alternative number so we can get the Wellington store manager to contact you to arrange the return of the charger and a refund.

Cheers
^POB

mattwnz

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#426170 11-Jan-2011 15:27

wongtop: While I am a generally happy 2degrees customer I had my first unhappy experience with them today at the Wellington store.

Ages ago I bought a car charger for my Nokia 5800 from Warehouse Stationary. After a while of using it I noticed that my phone would get hot and not hold charge as long when charged by this charger as my wall charger, so I decided to go and buy a new one. I looked through the Dick Smiths, JB HiFi and the 2degrees store on the 15th of December but couldn't find a genuine Nokia charger.

I talked to the 2Degrees salesman, explained my situation and previous poor experience with third party chargers. He said that they didn't have any genuine Nokia chargers, but that I could return the charger if it didn't work. I kept the packaging and receipt for this purpose.

I tried out the charger over my two week Christmas holiday and unfortunately I found out that the charging tip is as loose as a goose in the phone (this doesn't happen with with my Nokia wall chargers) with the result that the slightest movement of the phone or cord the phone (which often happens in a moving car) goes "beep" (charging), "beep" (not charging), etc.

So at lunchtime today I wander back to the store and am told that there is a strict 14 day return period (this was not mentioned to me when I purchased the charger) and there would be no exemption from this for the Christmas / New Year period since the store was only shut for "a couple of days". My bad luck that I was out of town for two weeks and there would be no exceptions "it's the law".

He also said that he considered that the charger works. I said that under NZ law goods sold had to be fit for purpose, and that I didn't consider a car charger that couldn't reliably charge a phone in a moving car was not fit for purpose. He wouldn't budge.

I was fuming and if the disputes tribunal didn't cost more than the charger was worth I would seriously consider taking a case.

On the bright side I did find a genuine Nokia charger in the Vodafone Lambton Quay store for $25. So presuming that it works well I will have made a total outlay of $65 for a working charger. ($20 at Warehouse Stationary for one that overheats my phone, $20 for the 2degrees charger, and $25 for the Nokia branded one from Vodafone).

A loose connector is a fault and they should honour their obligations. Would that fault not cause problems for the longterm life of that battery, as it has gone through multiple connections/disconnections as you moved the wire?

wongtop

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#428494 18-Jan-2011 16:02

Just an update to say that this issue has been satisfactorily resolved from my perspective.

Thanks 2Degrees.

2degreesCare

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#428511 18-Jan-2011 16:43

wongtop: Just an update to say that this issue has been satisfactorily resolved from my perspective.

Thanks 2Degrees.

Thanks for getting back to us, sorry for the initial inconvenience!

^POB