why you should never buy a Nokia Product in UAE

[FuriKuri]

This will be a long rant... so I apologise in advance, I bought a Lumia 1520 in UAE from Axiom Telecom (supposedly biggest and best retailer in UAE) and the phone keeps rebooting every 5-10 minutes, well it can happen to any device so no biggie I will just send it to service, I did a software reset before sending it to make sure, used Nokia recovery tools and didn't restore from a backup still same issues, I explained that to the service centre and they apologised and promised to sort it out, when I received the phone and the service report it said "software updated, tested ok". anyway I was to busy to argue so I figured I would try and see but the problem was not sorted so I sent it back to service and it came back "software updated, tested ok" so I called up the "Consumer Rights" office in Dubai and they said you have to send it 3 times at least before registering a complain, so I send it back and received a report saying "software reset, tested ok, inform customer to check mmc" I took all the reports and registered a complain with consumer right, they closed the complain the next day say without any notification, registered another complain and same, third complain went through, later on I got a call back from them saying that the phone is still under warranty so I have to send it back to Axiom and they will fix it, I told them it was not fixed for the first three times why would they fix it now ? they said sorry that all we can do for you... like wtf.. the retailer and the consumer rights are both against the customer... and you might say this will happen with any other devices then but it won't, blackberry enforced a rule on Axiom Telecom that if a device isn't fixed within one hour it will be replaced free of charge, apple and samsung products has to be fixed within 24 hours.

I wanted to get in touch with Nokia but their complain form doesn't work (go figure) tried live chat an the agent advised me to drop the phone at a Nokia Care office instead, I will do that later today and will update the post accordingly but over the years I have had at least 15 different nokia devices and the only two devices I had trouble with were Lumia 900 and Lumia 1520 and I will never recommend a Nokia device ever to anyone from now on

 

[Laura Knotek]

I'm sorry you are having such terrible customer service. I hope you are able to get the problems finally resolved.

 

[Zulfigar]

Wouldn't it be easy to walk into the store and ask if a replacement? Haven't been in this situation before, so just kind of curious if there's a better way than just sending it off if that's not working so well.

 

[FuriKuri]

Just came from a Nokia Care Centre, and they offered to send it to their "factory" in Dubai to update/reset the firmware for me and it will take a week and if that doesn't work then they will look into fixing the hardware, another week then replacement, another week and they advised me to get in touch with Axiom again since I have been there three times already. I went to Axiom service centre and I spoke with the manager there wanting to get an explanation while Nokia brand is not treated the same way as samsung, apple, or blackberry. he told me per their agreement with Nokia they are NOT ALLOWED to replace or issue refund for devices (I think this answers your question Zulfigar :smile in worst case scenario they can only replace the motherboard... the funny part is that Axiom recently started video and audio recording all the interactions with their customers so the manager was whispering the whole time -_-

if you see my previous forum posts it's about the same awful customer experience we get here in the UAE and they know they can get away with it because consumer right here is a joke!! but this is no way to handle an big brand like Nokia

 

[NICK TOALE]

Take it to the Nokia care centre on SZR They will sort it out faster than Axiom. They can usually do repairs while you wait they can also check the phone has come through approved source

 

[FuriKuri]

thanks for the advice NICK, I will try and stop by them next weekend

 

[technogeek019]

I bought my Lumia 620 from the nokia store here in al ain and the customer service is good
you could have tried Carrefour though

 

[thusharaya]

In my country it's the same scenario... I had a problem with my 625 after 3 days of purchasing. The agent said they cannot give me a new phone. I made a big drama at the care center (I literally scold and screamed at the care center manager) in front of all other customers. The management got so ashamed and agreed to refund the money or replace with new phone. Since I paid with my credit card they did not have a refund policy for that so they gave a new phone... And it still works pretty awesome... My advice is never give up. Stand up for your rights... If they do not give a reasonable solution always make sure to make a big drama in front of all other customers before leaving...

 

[FuriKuri]

In my country it's the same scenario... I had a problem with my 625 after 3 days of purchasing. The agent said they cannot give me a new phone. I made a big drama at the care center (I literally scold and screamed at the care center manager) in front of all other customers. The management got so ashamed and agreed to refund the money or replace with new phone. Since I paid with my credit card they did not have a refund policy for that so they gave a new phone... And it still works pretty awesome... My advice is never give up. Stand up for your rights... If they do not give a reasonable solution always make sure to make a big drama in front of all other customers before leaving...

it's really annoying how they can get away with things like that, you knowingly sold me a broken device and you refuse to refund/replace the money??? I'm personally not one for big scenes but am waiting for their next reply if the issue is not resolved I will report it to the police and see if I have better luck with them than consumer's rights

 

[FuriKuri]

quick update, I have received a message that my device has been repaired and is ready for collection, when I asked for the report it said (repaired - SW updated to 8.1) I refused to sign and get the device and they said I can take it and if it happens again I can return it (this is my 4th complain) I asked the guy to turn on the device and use it, a couple of minutes and it rebooted. He asked his supervisor and his supervisor apologised and said and I quote "leave it with us for today and we will look into it, it's "normal" for mobile devices to randomly reboot every now and then"... I have a blackberry Q10 for personal use, Sony Xperia Z for work, and an iPad mini and I don't recall any of them rebooting, sure they all these devices are not perfect and might crash, drop connection or whatever every few months or so but not constantly every 5-10 minutes but maybe that's what passes for "normal" for Nokia these days

 

[WDavis4692]

That's odd. It must be a UAE thing. My dad's nokia had a proxy sensor problem last tuesday. He took it into the local nokia repair place, they checked the warranty on their system, took the phone, and in less than an hour they'd changed the screen for free and it works a treat.

I wouldn't really put it past the UAE to have terrible consumer rights. We're talking about the same nation that still performs modern-day slavery, and where sedition is a most heinous crime.

 

[NICK TOALE]

A lot of people aren't aware that the UAE has strong consumer laws you just have to know how to go about it. A lot of stores in the UAE parallel import from unofficial sources or for export to other regions. If you buy something that doesn't work the store has to honour the manufacturer warranty. If not complain to the DED ( Department of Economic Development) in Dubai. I had a case were a local retailer didn't honor the extended warranty that was sold they refused to repair or refund the warranty took it to the DED and it was sorted very quickly with a hefty fine to the retailer. At the end of the day if you think you're being ripped off complain through the proper channels.