Warranty void due to 'fake products'?

Toxictears

Hello all!

My first post is sadly a negative one, but im hoping that someone more savvy then myself can give me some guidance or advice on a problem I have.

Anyway, I wont beat around the bush, March last year (08) I spent about £70 on a headset for my computer. The headset is made by Sennheiser and is by far the best peice of audio equipment I have owned to date, however, recently a small gash was cut into the wire by accident rendering them useless. I was quite upset as I had owned them for quite awhile and used them on a daily basis for music, games, skype and such so I decided to try and see if they would cover this problem under the 2 year warranty period which they agreed they would. I was obviously very happy with this and sent my headset away to the repairers asap, but a week later I had the headset returned to me with a letter inside telling me that they would not cover this headset as their was a high number of fake headsets being sold on ebay and the warranty was only valid if they headset was purchased from an 'official dealer'. I was very upset as I bought these through one of Amazons shops (United Digital) so am somewhat in disbelief that these could be fakes of any kind. Not only that, the overall quality of the headset is somewhat exceptional. I have all receipts, payment transactions, emails, shipment notices and probably still have the packaging it came in with the warranty leaflet still inside.

I dont see how Amazon would ever allow fakes to be put into circulation or even allow third-party sellers to sell fakes on their website. Had I bought these from Ebay, then fair enough, but fakes from a third-party seller endorsed by Amazon seems just a bit wrong. So theirfor, I refuse to believe that these are fakes.

Is their anything that I can do to try and get Sennheiser to just fix the headset under warranty so I can get my £70 use out of them? Are they allowed to refuse to repair the headset due to fact that I didnt bu it from one of their dealers?

Anything I can do at all?

I hope ive explained stuff clear enough and also hope that someone could give me some advice or point me in the right direction so I can get this problem resolved. Thanks in advance!


Tom.

Hintza

Before you even got on to authenticity. Was the cut caused by a manufacturing defect? If not regardless of whether they are genuine or not then I don't think you have a warranty claim. What they offered was I imagine a goodwill gesture.

If manufacturer says they are fake not really much you can do except prove they are not which will be difficult without the help of the manufacturer. You could always ask them why they are fake.

That only leaves the retailer so you will need to chase them up with all the evidence you have gathered from the manufacturer.

molerat

As I see it ....

The item was damaged accidentally so no warranty.

As a gesture of goodwill the manufacturer will repair items purchased through their official dealer network if accidentally damaged.

There is nothing you can do.

pinkshoes

The way I read it, the manufacturer are not saying they're fake; they're just saying that you didn't buy them through an official outlet, therefore although they could be 100% genuine, they will only repair those bought through their official vendors.

Did they come with any sort of certificate of authenticity?

Have you spoken to the shop you bought them from?

Mark_Hewitt

Strange, surely the manufacturer would know fine well if they are fakes or not?! They are the manufacturer after all, but as others have said since the damage was caused by you, you can't force them to do anything.

Perhaps you could ask them how much they would be to repair?

makapo

Bad luck about your headphones. I too have a pair of Sennheisers which I dearly love, so I can sympathize.

From what you say, it sounds as if Sennheiser were just explaining why the Guarantee only applies to headphones bought from their official dealers. They aren't saying your phones are fakes, only that the reason for the restriction is to try to control the sale of fakes. If they were fakes, Sennheiser probably would have told you, and maybe would have wanted to take it up with your retailer.

You can read the Guarantee at http://www.sennheiser.co.uk/sennheiser/globals.nsf/resources/Returns_Guarantee09.pdf/$File/Returns_Guarantee09.pdf. Your case falls outside the terms of the Guarantee on two separate grounds (accidental damage and not bought from an official dealer). They were willing to repair the accidental damage, even though they didn't have to, but when they found the phones weren't covered by the Guarantee, they drew the line.

You also don't have a case against the retailer, because it was accidental damage. If you have contents insurance, check your policy.

Sennheiser are a really good company. It's not their fault the wires got cut.

PS You should maybe contact Sennheiser and ask them to confirm whether the headset is fake. If they say it's genuine, you know it's worth paying for the repair. If they say it's fake, then you can ask Amazon to investigate. http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=3149681.

neilmcl

pinkshoes wrote: »

The way I read it, the manufacturer are not saying they're fake; they're just saying that you didn't buy them through an official outlet, therefore although they could be 100% genuine, they will only repair those bought through their official vendors.

That's how I read it too, although it does seem odd that the manufacturer with the headphones in their possesion can't attest to their authenticity.

custardy

if its just the wire thats cut then a local TV repair place maybe able to repair them

Proc

Toxictears wrote: »

March last year (08) I spent about £70 on a headset.

recently a small gash was cut into the wire by accident .

I had owned them for quite awhile and used them on a daily basis

Is their anything that I can do to try and get Sennheiser to just fix the headset under warranty so I can get my £70 use out of them?

They're not under warranty. You broke them yourself. Sennheiser were going to fix them as a gesture of good will, but decided against it as they weren't going to incur costs fixing something that wasn't purchased from one of their authorised sellers.

To be honest, 18 months old, used on daily basis, you've had your £70 worth.

Hintza

Ah well read some of you guys I missed that it was the OP that thought they were inmplying they were fake..........:o

omen666

I had the same wirh my Bose headphones where the 3.5m jack was temp working and not. They said the same to me and I said I bought them in waitrose Canary Wharf( which I did), sent them off and they replaced them. I would get back onto them and say you bought them direct with Amazon and not a market place seller