The great Sony Rip off!

[orlandoloop]

AT LEAST CROOKS USE A GUN!
I would like to find out just how many of my fellow Clie users have had the pleasure of dealing with Sony and their "FLAT RATE" repair pricing?

My power switch on my 760 stopped working. Sony sent me a box to send it back to them. Since I no longer have the bill of sale they (Sony Support) said to send them proof of date of purchase for warranty repair which I did. Now not only do they tell me that the information I sent is not enough to fix my Clie, it will cost $185.00 usd to fix it. However, if I choose to not have them fix it I must pay a RANSOM of $26.00 usd to get it back.

THIS IS JUST NOT RIGHT! Please send in your horror stories, if enough of us band together maybe we can effect a change in this unorthodox practice.

[VLevyNYC]

it seems pretty reasonable that they asked for proof of purchase. maybe if the warranty JUST ended you have a good point that they should fix it for free.

[orlandoloop]

Actually I did provide it. Sorry I left that detail out. I have edited my letter to reflect this fact.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Michael

[VLevyNYC]

If you ask me this flat-rate pricing seems to me like it's an antitrust violation; it is shielding them from competing on quality of service and the price therefor. I don't have a legal background in antitrust but I remember a case against Ford for a somewhat similar practice called phantom shipping--which required dealers to pay a "flat rate" for shipping from Detroit, MI *irrespective* of where the products actually shipped from. They had to end the practice because it was anti-competitive.

I'm not saying that case is binding and analogous to this situation but at first blush there seems to be a paralell.

[mrdeucie]

I paid $115 a few years ago to have my MZ-R50 Minidisc recorder repaired. I think the shipping was included.

[dúnadan]

I had the original Sony minidisc recorder - i think i paid about $900 for it back around 1991. it promptly broke, and i sent it under warranty to sony. i didn't hear anything from them for around six months at which point i received the unit back still broken. i then raised hell with 'em, and they told me to send it back to them... a couple weeks later they sent me a replacement with the second-generation minidisc recorder... ever since that time i have had no faith in sony customer service.