Mwave.com.au Netgear modem warranty issues

[rupotty]

Mwave Modem warranty dispute

Purchased Netgear DGND3700 modem router for $137 Dec 19 2013 had ongoing problems with it and finally after a loan modem from TPG the modem was deemed faulty and a returns authorisation was granted by Netgear. Phoned Mwave 19 Dec 2014 who said as I still have my Mwave invoice come in and we will fix it up.

I drove over an hour to arrive around 5pm at Mwave, presented modem, invoice, case number and asked 2 questions: 1 change for a different manufacturer and pay the difference or exchange for same model, only to be told that I needed to purchase a new modem, then if the case number provided was correct would receive a refund aprox 7-10 days later. Mwave refused to contact Netgear to verify case number as they said the staff member responsible had left for the day and they can only contact their representative not Netgear. I was never told returns can only be done during certain trading hours, nor are there any notices at Mwave advising this. I refused to pay for a new modem and left.

Tried to contact Mwave to escalate twice but each time either put on hold and left or hung up, I then posted on Mwave facebook which I received a response from operations manager offering 50% refund only.

After Mwave failed to refund said Modem/Router even after Netgear the manufacturer authorised the return, Mwave claims I am only entitled to 50% refund however they will claim 100% from the manufacturer.

Applied to dept. fair trading NSW for a tribunal hearing and went to conciliation where begrudgingly Mwave offered to replace the modem, obviously in this modern day its unacceptable to expect a household to be without internet connection for such a long period, therefore have already purchased a new modem and seeking a full refund.

Next step is a full hearing, which will be scheduled in a couple of months’ time will keep you posted

Remember Dick Smith, Harvey Norman, JB HiFi, Good Guys, Bing Lee all price match Mwave and have much better returns process.

[donk]

Ill put by two bobs worth here. Now ill start with a bit of a disclaimer that this is just my personal observations over 20 odd years in industry in SMT and it not targeted at any particular company or organisation..and a reason for being an end user rather the middle man as I have nothing but contempt for radio and IT industry...and its not the techs behind the scenes by the way, rather the processes. This is for the benefit of those whom are the end user..those in industry will know these basics

Back in the good old day, it was an OEM or a subsidiary of the OEM and dealers..it was great, support existed, warrantee systems were simplified. Relationships were built between the OEM reps and the dealers and the dealers usually had tech heads as support did...so a lot of decisions could and were made in regard to warrantee returns before the paperwork was submitted. Was relaxed and win win for everybody.

However now we are live in a box shuffler age, although the OEM might have a presence here, they are not the importer, its done by distribution companies some good, bad and otherwise. In some cases some distributers paid for client lists..instant business and they just sprung up out of no where.

Outside of sales there is all the mitigation of risks for everybody and now we have OEM, Distributer, reseller and depending on organisation many different grades of reseller based on quantity sold or if their staff have undertaken some lollypop online course making them an "expert"

The issue here an OEM may be able to say what they like, however as they are not the importer they can as they also know there is little risk in simple terms the legal obligations and warrantee fall under the importer or "distributer" not the OEM, there may be some kind of "play nice" clause in the agreement between the two but doesn't always make it so.

An example of a personal experience. I bought a modem from a mob for my business, now im an "end user" I bought from a largish semi local ( my first mistake) the unit had a broken warrantee seal and failed to see the 3g card. Im guessing here it previously went back and a lolly pop course person deemed it working and shot t back into stock somewhere previously. Anyway a SN check by a friend showed it was sold near a year ago from billion, imported by distributer a ( the exclusive) sold to distributer 2 - a reseller to the local bloke, whom I bought of from.

In this instance 1 -A is the official importer and distributor on BEHALF of OEM, 2 - B is an official reseller of brand, 3 C - is an official reseller of company B and D - stiffed consumer.

Quite often the grey argument comes to play however more often than not, the Ctick and all approvals are done at factory level OS, so other than the normal rules, ERAC register and so on, its pretty easy. obviously this effects company A revenue so they will scream grey..end of the day they are just and importer just like the rest, same import rules apply to both.

Point is the grey argument with warrantee in my view is a pretty moot point given the processes in play.

I do feel for the smaller companies in a local town or those that are trying to kick off in the industry as more often than not they will need to pay cash up front for stock, assume all the risk for the lowest margin..probably why the larger guys are cheaper as they may import or fit somewhere else in the supply chain processes.

The other issue is the OEM ay also not see the end seller as an "official" thus may treat the reseller as the end user so again there is risk. Catch 22 is the big distributers wont sell to joe blogs...seeing some risk mitigation here.

Im my last role, I use to wright down some 20-50K PA in IT gear to ensure that customers were supplied with good service or it was simply so time consuming that the 20-50 was a persons wage that would be needed or dedicated to deal with the issue..either way it was a loss.

To me the industry needs a good crack down like the car market..its not usually the techs of the smaller guys as they also get stiffed in the processes...its usually further up the food chain.

Cheers