Harmon Kardon warrenty issue

[mnsd]

I had enjoyed my HK AVR 525 for about 18 months of its warrenty period. A problem developed and I was instructed by HK to seek service from an authorized dealer. My product was bought and registered correctly. The service center and HK had now taken over two months to figure out they do not have an answer to the problem. Logically I asked for and was to receive the direct replacement which is supposedly the HK AVR 630. Nearly 3 months after the problem is reported to HK I get a reconditioned HK AVR 630. I was told to expect( verbally) either a new HK AVR 630 or since they were supposedly sold out for christmas their replacement in Jan of 2005. I did not initially purchase a reconditioned product nor was I told to expect one. So you can imagine my look of surprise. I will reserve my judgement until I speak with my contact this morning. Anyone who has had a similar situation develop, any help is appreciated.

Bottom line, I bought it new and it was warrented new, I was told to expect a new replacement.

I will keep you posted all as I call them today.

 

[trekuhl]

i just bought a avr525z reconditioned from the harmanaudio site and it worked for one day before crapping out...now it shuts off about 10-15 seconds after turning it on. I tried different power cords, surge protectors, even took it to an entirely different part of the house on a different breaker.

I emailed them and told them i wanted to exchange and get another one and expected not to pay shipping back since it was basically new...they sent me an airbill, but i tried to contact back by phone and email for past couple of days to request them to send a unit NOW. i dont want to wait two weeks, it already took a week to ship, then another week jsut to get a hold of them becuase of their holiday schedule....by the time id get another i will have spent a month waiting in shipping for AZ to VA.

im thinkin about sending it back and telling them to give me a full refund and putting that into a Denon (since the HK wont upconvert video signals) i only paid about 430 +36 shipping for it.

everytime you call it says the CSRs are busy leave a message...its getting rather annoying - if this is the kind of service one can expect, then i would rather take my business elsewhere

 

[sjdgpt]

I ..... request them to send a unit NOW.

I am not going to defend the company, but I will defend the policy. Historically, businesses have initiated such a policy to protect themselves from fraudulant customers. I know, I know, you are not that kind of person, but what if you were? Most vendors, especially when replacing the entire unit, will have a policy of receipt of original/defective goods, prior to shipping the replacement goods. There are variations of the policy theme, such as billing you for the replacement goods and issuing a credit upon receipt of the original goods, or requiring the goods to be accepted by a third party who acts as a clearing house for the manufacturer.

In our own business, dealing with commercial accounts that must rely upon us for the survival of their own businesses, I would estimate as much as 3% of all "defective goods" claims requiring complete replacement are fraudulant, and an even high percentage of first time customers who are playing the game of "let me see what I can get away with". I suspect for consumer goods the percentage is much higher.

In other words, a few bad apples has ruined the whole barrel for the rest of us.

 

[JPW]

Don't feel bad. It took 4 months, and 4 trips to the shop, including 2 trips to the regional service center two states away before Integra (Onkyo) agreed to replace my failed reciever. Then I had to ship it back to them and wait for the replacement to arrive. The whole ordeal was such I nightmare that I will NEVER buy another Onkyo/Integra product again.

At least Harman Kardon realized they had a problem. I would call them, explain the situation, and ask them nicely to send you the current model (just released) for all your trouble. The worst that can happen is they'll say no. But I'm betting they'll take care of you. If not, just keep asking for the supervisor until you get what you want. Remeber, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

[trekuhl]

when i said that i wanted a unit sent NOW, i also told them they cuold charge a second one to my credit card and refund after they get the other one...i just dont want to be waiting for 2-3 weeks to get the product.

at any rate, i went out to tweeter today, picked up an open box denon 2803 and just finished garden state...i didnt mess with the setup as much, but i think the HK525 had a better sound. i have a pioneer elite VSX-52TX on order that im going to try out, its kinda pricey, but you get 18 months no interest, and if i can find an authorized online dealer they will match the price. I just hope for a grand it blows my socks off - i originally started with a $300 price range in mind, its just for my bedroom, then got the HK525 for $430, figured a little xtra goes a long way - now im up to a potentially $999 receiver...ouch.

 

[Guapo]

My thoughts on a refurb is that there have been a set of human hands inspecting and going over the unit and making any corrections needing to be done. So long as they provide the same warranty as a new unit, I think it's a great deal.

As far as your HK 630 - a lot of the refurbs are due to the volume control knob. They had a problem with the sound either cutting off or turning up to maximum if you moved the dial too fast. Once they fixed that problem the unit became a refurb.

You may want to consider upgrading the firmware too. It helps resolve some annoying issues with that 630. You can find the update here: http://www.harmankardon.com/product_support/product_upgrades_AVR630.aspx?prod=AVR 630&prodname=AVR 630&Country=US&Language=ENG&Region=USA

~Doug

 

[HowY]

Perhaps it's the Integra connection?

My experience with Onkyo and my local "Authorized" service
center has been nothing short of stellar...

DVD transport errors - Amp issues

Dropped off my 6 skate DVD expecting 2 weeks and it
was back in 4 days!! - I'd offer it's the service center

I picked up a 5 skate Onkyo refurb for the kids
who beat the TAR outta the refurb and it's not
been ANY trouble (14 months so far) where my
shrink wrapped 6 skate has been repaired.

I'll not buy any Recv'r thats NOT ONKYO/DENON/NAD

had terrible Yamaha / HK experiences where
Onkyo has been the complete opposite experience

FWIW

 

[JPW]

HowY, I think it's great they took care of you. It sucks that they didn't take care of me. I wish the whole ordeal would have never happened. Simply put Onkyo / Integra's customer service SUCKS! I'm not going to go into the whole ordeal again because it'll just piss me off again.

Being in sales I know it's easier to take care of your customer and earn repeat customers than it is to loose customers and have to continually generate new ones. It's unfortunate that Onkyo / Integra haven't figured this out yet.