I was unsure whether to place this thread in Help&Tips or to the the Complaints but since I am really angry at the moment to Complaints it goes. Any advice on the situation is still appreciated.
I spent tons of money on Digitec in the last year and a half and I actually would swear by them because of their prices, choice and speed of delivery. That's till the unlucky day when I decided to order a BenQ W7000 projector from them for the lofty price of 2K franks. First, the projector took about a week longer than originally promised to be delivered - ok, I can live with that. But after the first attempt to use it it turned out the projector was faulty: it would only switch on a lamp for a few seconds, then the lamp would go off completely and stay dark whatever you would do.
As I was unaware of my customer rights I followed the warranty procedure on the Digitec website and contacted BenQ first. It took about a week to get the communication to the point, but just when I was trying to arrange a pick-up of the faulty unit a helpful BenQ representative in Switzerland enlightened me on the existence of the "dead-on-arrival" warranty. Apparently, instead of going through the usual (lengthy) BenQ warranty route I could send a unit directly to Digitec and immediately receive a replacement. Oh, joy! Immediately I contacted Digitec (by email) and their representative did confirm that this was indeed the case. The only catch was that the pick-up warranty didn't cover such cases, so I had to send the projector to them myself. The benefit however looked so great that I gladly parted with ~20 CHF and sent the unit to their RMA department in Wohlen, happily awaiting the arrival of the brand new shiny toy.
How wrong I was! A couple of days after the projector reached them in Wohlen I received an email from Digitec informing me that the unit was to be sent to BenQ warranty service, and that I had to wait for several weeks, possibly longer if the necessary parts were missing. So they planned to repair, not to replace it after all! I thought that may be they didn't understand that this was a DoA case and pointed this fact to them. Their reply was: DoA warranty doesn't cover the projectors. Why tell me that it does then?!
I tried to contact the guy who told me to send the projector in but I am still waiting for the reply. Meanwhile, here I am: back to square one with having to go through the regular warranty process, but in addition having lost about a week of time and undertaking the delivery cost and hassle myself :-/ Another thing that worries me is this: if I was dealing with BenQ directly, as I originally planned to, I would try to insist that the projector is exchanged for a new one, not repaired. I don't think Digitec is going to fight this fight for me though...
I saw some people on EF had similar troubles, and apparently many of them were resolved to general satisfaction after getting some private advice from EF members. If someone is willing to give such advice to me I would be most grateful ;-) Otherwise, does anyone know what is the general law in Switzerland with regard to online purchases? Is there any regulation I could appeal to trying to get my exchange or refund? I am really willing to just accept the money back at this point...
Ditto. Tell Digitec you don't want a refurbished item, as you didn't pay for a refurbished item. Let them know their options are to replace the unit or refund your money; anything else will result in your cancellation of the order and requesting a chargeback from your CC company. Don't accept anything else. If they reply with something else, just tell them its a chargeback then, and do it.
It could very well be that you will get a new unit - I recently went through this with something I bought from Galaxus (owned by Digitec). I eventually got a new unit, but it took a while...I would advise sending them emails - they have English speaking reps, and get your case on the record. Don't give up! I agree, digitec and galaxus have great prices and fast shipping (usually) but crappy return policies!
All I can say is that Digitec don't always do this. We bought a TV that froze up, 2 hours after unpacking. We simply had to return it, which we did in person to the Bern store. 2 days later a new TV arrived by post. It was clearly a replacement item not a repair.
jrspet, wow, thank you, these links are super helpful! After having seen the Regulation 206 I will be a lot more confident in my dealings with Digitec. And yes, now I understand that the commission Digitec charges on card transactions has its own value I was trying to save money by paying by the bank transfer - penny wise, pound foolish, as it turns out.
Jobsrobertsharpii, drmom, HAT, thanks for encouragement! EF rocks!
salie, glad to hear your experience was better than mine.
The only problem is that Art. 206 CO does not apply to your purchase. Art. 206 CO only applies to goods that are bought by the bushel, the kilo, etc.
Considering that Digitec is mainly selling goods that come with a manufacturer's warranty, it is quite understandable that Digitec passes on the warranty issues to the manufacturer. Ultimately, Digitec will listen to what the manufacturer decides with regard to the warranty.
To the extent that Digitec actually has its own warranty obligations as a seller, it has limited them to "Nachbesserung", i.e. repair. Digitec has no obligation to provide you with a "replacement" but is allowed to repair defect goods. Also Digitec has excluded "Wandlung", i.e. you do not get to cancel your purchase, and it has excluded "Minderung", i.e. you do not get to reduce the purchase price.
Digitec can, however, loan you a replacement until the manufacturer comes through with its own warranty (and it mentions this in its GT&C... but it is not required to.
So ultimately, yes, Digitec has rather limited warranty obligations, but considering that they operate on very slim margins what else do you expect.
I believe that there is a distinction in the law between products developing fault during the warranty period and the goods that were sold faulty, right? At least, this is what the Digitec representative initially has told me.
I disagree with you on Art. 206. It is speaking about 'vertretbare Sachen' in English known as 'fungible goods'. A mass produced consumer product is actually very good example of a fungible good. Nearly no consumer cares about what specific item it is as long as it is the same make/mode/type with the same features. Exception would be if the gadget with serial number 1 was specifically ordered. See for example in this book . Or here .
I suspect that they will in turn RMA a DOA item to the manufacturer who will likely issue a replacement. Digitec has come a long way since the broom cupboard above the Post Office in Wiedikon but still does have many grey goods in or near stock.
I bet they will send a replacement that is brand new.
I always pay with credit card in these places. I'm currently staring down the barrel of a 25.05 fee for my credit card but I like the protection this affords me. In Digitec's defence, I've never needed to. I've had a few faulty items and the handling has been perfect.
Further clarification from Digitec arrived today. Apparently, the situation is as follows:
1) They do have DoA exchange service provided at their own discretion, so they can include and exclude products at will, and as it turns out it doesn't cover projectors (note to self: next time ask their Customer Service beforehand when ordering something expensive).
2) Since I was misinformed about my DoA coverage by the Digitec employee they are willing to provide me a new unit anyway - yay, Digitec!
3) On a not so bright note, since the projector is not in stock I'll have to wait till they get it from their distributor - well, still better then getting a refurbished unit after paying for a new one.
Since the problem seems now to be resolved I would add "(resolved)" to the thread title if only I knew how :-D Thank you, fellow EnglishForumers, for the encouragement and for helping me to find out where I stand with regard to the situation.
Have had my share of problems with them (have even spoken in previous posts about this).
- Amazon Kindle ordered from Digitec, went faulty after few months, sent to Digitec. They said that too much force was used so my fault, I said prove it to me, they did not, just said too much force. I contacted Amazon.de directly, and they replace the Kindle within a week. No questions asked.
- Amazon Paperwhite ordered in August 12, paid in advance, not delivered till Jan 13, finally I canceled the order
Positive Experience (but not directly from Digitec)
- Samsung Navibot went crazy on me, I followed the service procedure on the website (sent it to the company they mentioned on the site), repaired and returned within a week.
Overall, I am left with the impression that sales and choice of products is good, but seriously lacking in repairs/Warranty issues.
Conclusion: I would always buy direct/From a shop when possible, and not too much more expensive. Digitec only for better prices and articles not generally available in Switzerland directly.
Good to hear of the outcome. For some purchases, I buy it in the EU ( typically Germany and the UK ) where returns policies are sometimes more customer friendly.
Invest in a debit / credit card to make it all a little easier and yes, researching ahead and reading the AGBs / TnCs are helpful in arriving at a prudent purchase decision.