This product was listed in Choice as gift suggestion and after some subtle hints I received one for Christmas. That’s where the joy ended. It was faulty straight out of the box. So was the next, and the next and the next. I’m now about to go back and get a fifth set. Plantronics support have been useless. Also after a quick internet search, I find that this is a common issue. The retailers have done the right thing and have replaced it each time. Plantronics have offered to replace it but I have to go through a lengthy account creation, product registration and warranty replacement application process. The issue I have with all this is that the costs of this are being worn by the consumer and the retailer. The manufacturer skimps on quality control and moves that down the retail chain. If it was up to me, they should be made to replace the product plus a percentage of the purchase price to cover inconvenience and costs.
Hi @gazz63, thanks for sharing this experience, we have removed Plantronics from our gift guide.
I also take your point about shifting costs onto the retailer and will flag this with the relevant internal departments for potential further investigation. Under the Australian Consumer Law in the situation as you’ve described, you may be able to seek a refund and choose a different manufacturer if you wish. Let us know if you need any assistance with that process.
Hi Brendan, thanks for that. I’m aware of the replace or refund and both retailers I have dealt with have honoured and/or offered it. I ended up with five faulty ones before both ran out of stock. I’ve taken up the Plantronics offer of a warranty replacement as believe it or not I really do want one of these headsets that actually works. An additional cost that I hadn’t factored in was shipping the item back to Plantronics at my cost, approximately $7.60 in postage.
From my searches on line this seems to be quite a common problem and Plantronics response to every one of them is to send the items back to them for replacement.
I know it sounds a bit cynical but I know they know they have a lot of faulty ones and I think this is the easist way of filtering out the faulty products without costing them a heap of money and their reputation via a formal recall. The costs are all with the retailer and the consumer.
Good news that Plantronics have honoured the warranty obligations, although I agree a reply paid address would be good. Fingers crossed things go smoothly this time around.
