Lenovo Horrible Warranty Service

[Katsmeow]

I am having a terrible warranty service problem with my Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro notebook. I paid extra for 3 year in home warranty service with accidental damage protection.

I am now in an endless loop. Technical Support for this notebook is handled out of the Philippines. The support there escalated our case to community management. A community manager (in the US) was supposed to call within a specified time. We got no call. We call back to Technical Support and they say once it is referred to a community manager they no longer have access to all records and can do nothing except put in new request. They do that. We get no call. This has been going on for weeks.

For the background.

I was having problems with my laptop and we called it in. They sent out a technician to our home on 8/10 and he replaced my motherboard. Once replaced the laptop would not accept touchpad input and had problems with the keyboard.

He restored the laptop to factory condition (wiping my data which was OK). Still didn't work. He called Technical Support who worked with my husband on the phone for hours to try to fix it. Nothing worked.

DH got an email from someone in North Carolina who said this was unusual and asked us to ship the laptop to North Carolina (at their cost) We agreed. DH took the laptop to a Fedex agent who packed it for shipment, inspecting it. The notebook case was in perfect condition. This notebook is used not real often.

Notebook went off and on 8/18, Fedex delivered it back. The case had a crease on the front and a huge crack on the back. During the time it was gone, the guy who had asked it be sent to him never contacted us. The laptop came back with no communication at all. The notebook was non-functional as it would shift from laptop mode to tablet mode to tent mode randomly.

We emailed the guy at Lenovo and he said when he got it, the cracks were in it. He said the sensor was broken and the laptop appeared to have been dropped and that was not covered by warranty.

Problems with this: There was no damage when Federal Express packed it. The Lenovo guy obviously thought we were lying. Two problems with that. First their technician in our home would have noticed if it had a huge crack on the back and it was perfect when he worked on it.

Even more importantly - we had no incentive to lie if we had somehow dropped the laptop. We have an accidental damage warranty and dropping damage is covered. So, if we had dropped it we would have said so.

Why this guy said it wasn't covered by warranty I have no idea. My guess is that maybe he didn't realize we had bought accodental damage coverage and assumed it was under the standard warranty.

My guess is that it was either damage in transit or somewhere at Lenovo before he got it (he said the package didn't look damaged).

At the time I thought this would be easy to solve. Call Technical Support, explain we had accidental damage coverage (even though we weren't the ones who damaged it) and they would fix it. That is when the greater problem started.

DH called Technical Support (in the Philippines). He explained the problem and they escalated it to a community manager (DH was not very happy by this point). This was on a Tuesday and they said we would get a call by 6 PM Thursday (8/20).

On Friday, having received no call, I called back. They apologized and said that a community manager really had until Monday 8/24 to call us.

No one called. On Wednesday I called back. This time they gave me the phone number in North Carolina for the community manager assigned to the case. I called and left a voice mail. (His message said a return call would be made with 4 business hours). I called back and left messages for the next 2 days. I have yet to get a return call.

So, that Friday (8/28), I called a number he had on his voice mail if you need immediate assistance. I talked to someone there, explained the problem and he promised to get someone on the phone who could help me.

I told him not to send me back to Technical Support in the Philippines as they had repeatedly said they didn't have my records and couldn't help once it was in community management. He promised he wouldn't do that.

I was on hold for a very long time and then it rang through to.....wait for it....Technical Support in the Philippines. I was told they couldn't help me. The support person said all she could do was request a new community manager and she would put in there that the assigned one wasn't calling me back.

She said she had nothing else she could do. She had no one she could call. She couldn't transfer me to anyone. All she could do was request a community manager and I should get a call back within 3 business days. She did verify that the records she has do reflect that I have 3 year accidental damage warranty. She seem puzzled as to why I was told it wasn't covered.

That was 9 days ago and I have received no call.

I am at a loss as to what to do. The warranty has an arbitration provisions with AAA. The fees with AAA just to file a case are more than the laptop is worth.

The only thing I can thing is to file a BBB complaint and post on some customer service websites. Interestingly I read some complaints where other people complained of sending in a laptop and Lenovo saying it was damaged and the owner said it wasn't. However, those customers didn't have accidental damage coverage I do.

I've literally never had a situation where I couldn't get someone on the phone except people who say they can't help me and promise to have an escalated level of support call me and I get no response.

This is just beyond horrible. I have a warranty I paid extra for and it is literally being ignored.

Anyone have an ideas I haven't thought of?

 

[Lakewood90712]

I feel your pain. I had a Thinkpad many years ago, had 2 motherboard failures, and it took weeks for each repair.

Lenovo is based in China, as you probably know , so calling HQ is out. My best solution would be to buy a comparable competitors replacement product, and file a small claims case against the seller , for the cost of the extended warranty and depreciated value of the computer. If the seller was Lenovo , all the better , you get a live body in court , or a default judgement in your favor. If the seller was a retailer , you also get a live body in court to explain this crap , although a 3rd party retailer might be dropped from the case.

I would give up on the Lenovo for future purchases at this point, as Lenovo has obviously given up on customer service

 

[aja8888]

Sorry to hear the tale of woe, but it is all too common with "extended warranties" these days. They really are maintenance agreements and not factory warranties and 99 times out of 100, are set up for you to get service from 3rd parties. You should see the shenanigans that go on with auto "extended warranties". Those episodes will frighten you! American Greed did a hour long clip on one recently.

I'd go with the small claims court filing just to bring someone to the table and see what happens.

 

[powerplay]

Some people have been able to get a company to pay attention by going to social media. Consider Facebook or Twitter or anywhere else that can get a lot of public views.

So sorry this is happening. I believe Lenovo is permanently off my consideration list for future purchases.

 

[Katsmeow]

No actually this is a Lenovo warranty. You just pay more to get in home service and accidental damage protection. You do it just like a regular warranty. That isn't the problem. Support comes from Lenovo. They hire a technician in this area to do their service. He was actually fine. The problem is this endless communication loop.

The Yoga Pros get technical support out of the Philippines. That is fine. They have all been very nice. You call with the problem and since I have in home service, if they can't handle it over the phone, they send a technician. That part went as it should.

The strange thing was asking to ship the computer to North Carolina (where they are headquartered in the US). I wasn't crazy about it (since we have in home service) but they agreed to Fed Ex it to and from.

I feel sure it got damaged on the way somehow.

I don't even mind the guy in North Carolina wrongly thinking dropping damage isn't covered under my warranty. He is a technical guy not a support guy. So, he probably doesn't know anything about my warranty.

He even suggested that we call the Technical Support people if we felt it was covered. Fine.

The unacceptable thing is that I call Technical Support, they escalate it to someone in the US (a community manager). Once they do that, they can't do anything else and actually have only limited access to my records. But, I've made 4 calls to them, 3 calls to the assigned community manager, and 1 call to Lenovo in North Carolina....and have not gotten to speak to a community manager yet.

I'm assured I have a case number and that I have a community manager....but I never get a call back. It is the lack of response that is getting me.

Powerplay - That is a great idea. Thanks.

Lakewood - Can't file a small claims court case. This is subject to arbitration. The fee just to file the arbitration is almost more than the laptop cost new.

I will never buy another Lenovo again.

I do plan to file a BBB complaint since Lenovo apparently does usually respond to those. I mean, I just want to be able to talk to a live person who can handle my claim.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Who did you purchase from ? Direct from Lenovo ? or a retailer. If you bought from retailer, small claims will at least drag someone to the courthouse. Causing irritation often get's the giant to pay attention. If bought online, or direct from Lenovo, then , I advise sending it to the next electronic waste recycle, and buy something new, from ACER , Dell ,HP, Apple , etc. Apple seems to have great service, but the co$t of same is priced into the product.

My extended warranty program is disposal and upgrade of any device that can't be fixed at the counter of my favorite local computer geek shop. Avoid the service dept of the major retailers like the plague , often incompetent staff at the chain stores, IMO.

Trying to get service from a company who doesn't care is like pushing on a rope, don't waste another minute of perishable life on this. My 2 cents worth.

 

[Katsmeow]

I bought direct from Lenovo. I'm not going to spend any money on this, but I will file a BBB complaint and will post on some consumer review sites and perhaps on social media. That will at least make me feel better and maybe it will warn someone else....

I mean, of course, I want them to live up to their warranty. I liked the laptop quite a bit before this happened.

 

[wolf]

Sorry for your troubles. But thanks for the valuable information. I've given up on extended warranties. I just buy my laptops with credit cards
that give an extra one year warranty.

When the laptop, fails, I get a free repair estimate from local shop, send in
the information to credit card company. They usually credit my card for the
cost of the repair.

I do not repair the laptop. I cannot wait for the paperwork to the credit card to clear. The whole process takes weeks.

So, when laptop fails, I buy a new one. (children in school cannot wait for
laptop to be repaired). I end up applying the repair credit towards the price of a new laptop.

Again, extended warranties are a waste. Even if they fixed your laptop, can you survive that long with out access. Especially if you do business or school work on your laptop.

 

[Sunset]

They want you to give up, that's why they stonewall you.

Sure your contract says its subject to arbitration, but if you file in small claims court, they still have to show up to argue that point or you win, and perhaps the arbitration has a focus on product that misses the point about how they stonewall you and make false accusations ?

How about sending letters to your Attorney General, as this must affect thousands of customers, and appears to amount to negligence or fraudulent warranty service. You can also send a copy of that letter to Leveno.

 

[Katsmeow]

Wolf - I wouldn't really call it an extended warranty. When I bought my notebook I could pay extra to get in home service and accidental damage coverage. I mostly did it for the in home service because I hate sending in computers for service. And, in fact, the major damage done to this computer was in sending in when they asked me to (which I didn't have to agree to -- won't do that again with a computer with in home service). The accidental damage was not that important to me but I thought was nice to have since this was a laptop that can be converted to a tablet so I was worried more about screen breakage.

It is less than 2 years old and cost $1600 so just trashing it because it breaks is not something that is terribly appealing to me.

I guess what is so strange to me is that I've owned lots of computers over the last 25 years. I've literally never had a computer company where I couldn't talk to someone who could help me. Maybe I don't like the answer or the service. But, this is unique.

I've had companies escalated services to a higher level before. What is weird here is the endless loop. It is escalated (yay!) and I am supposed to be contacted. I don't get contacted. I call technical support and they say they can't talk to me...because it was escalated. I am assured I will get a call. I don't get contacted. I call techinical support....

To this day, I've never been told by Technical Support that they aren't going to fix my computer. I'm just told that someone will call me...but no one ever does. That is the frustrating thing.

 

[Lakewood90712]

Oh wow, no idea it was that expensive. I would arbitrate if over $1,000.

A last ditch effort , you could call the HQ , ask for the office of the general council ( About Lenovo - United States | Management ). Of course you will not be able to speak with the head honcho, but I would tell the legal dept that you would like to discuss the matter before proceeding with legal action. This tactic , bypassing the " customer no-service " department, sometimes is worth the effort.

I have seen lot's of this " compartmentalizing " of functions in business . Many of these functions are done by sub-contractors, who have no loyalty to anyone, and just want you to go away.It may work great on paper, in reality , it is just "turfing" difficult problems around to avoid expending company resources on customers.

I have no credentials in business management , but can sure identify manure when I see it , regardless of what a company calls it.

This is why I have such a dim view of business modern management practices, and am amazed when I get good service.

 

[MichaelB]

I bought direct from Lenovo. I'm not going to spend any money on this, but I will file a BBB complaint and will post on some consumer review sites and perhaps on social media. That will at least make me feel better and maybe it will warn someone else....

I mean, of course, I want them to live up to their warranty. I liked the laptop quite a bit before this happened.

Consider filing a complaint with the Attorney General in your state. Many have consumer protection programs that can be helpful and very effective.

 

[target2019]

Make sure it's you notebook. Check the serial number. It did not come back in the same shipping container, correct?
If this notebook was damaged in transit, then the shipper must pay, provided the insurance was enough.
If this was damaged at the facility of a partner of Lenovo, who is liable?

 

[Walt34]

Thanks for the information.

Note to self: Do not buy a Lenovo computer.

 

[Katsmeow]

Lakewood - The fee to file the arbitration proceeding, not including the cost of the arbitrator is about $1500 as far as I can tell. I might get it back in the proceeding but no guarantee.

MIchaelB - Good idea

target - It is mine. I don't think I can actually file a FedEx complaint. Lenovo paid for the shipment, not us. So Lenovo is the customer, not me....

Walt34 - Yes, indeed. That is the conclusion I have drawn.

 

[Lakewood90712]

So the end result :it cost over $2 per day for the use this computer , and now it's a paperweight . That really sucks. And Arbitration is just costly enough to make people go away, except Wyoming , where the service contract is not bound by Arbitration. The Lenovo boys seem to have covered all bases , to protect the mothership when they screw up.

I tried www.lenovosucks.com . I think they have ownership of the domain , it times out , rather than showing a domain for sale.

 

[powerplay]

This site indicates your experience with lack of response is not unique to owners of Lenovo products with problems.

Top 463 Complaints and Reviews about Lenovo

 

[hnzw_rui]

Thanks for the information.

Note to self: Do not buy a Lenovo computer.

To be honest, the only computer manufacturer I know of that provides decent warranty support is Apple.

 

[travelover]

This site indicates your experience with lack of response is not unique to owners of Lenovo products with problems.

Top 463 Complaints and Reviews about Lenovo

Love the distribution

 

[pb4uski]

Interesting. DW and I have had nothing but IBM/Lenovo for the last 15+ years and have ever had a problem. DS had one Lenovo that dies, but he is really hard on laptops and had had it quite a while. Usually they just get slow and technologically obsolete so we replace them. My current Lenovo laptop occasionally overheats, but no problems other than that. Now, we have only bought ThinkPads so perhaps they are more rugged than other Lenovos.

 

[lhamo]

Have you tried posting a complaint on their user forums? This is a very old thread, but sometimes you can still get useful information (corporate office numbers, names/contact info for social media support people -- there is one in the thread but he may be gone by now).

https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/General-Discussion/Need-a-Corporate-Phone-number/td-p/371205

I used this approach when I had a problem with Comcast -- found contact info for their central office and sent a strongly worded email. Corporate called me back the next day, and followed up twice later on to make sure my issue was resolved.

Posting on the Facebook page or on Twitter, as others have suggested, also sometimes works.

Or you can try contacting your local news channel if they have a consumer affairs reporter or ombudsman. Sometimes they will help you work through things like this.

I recently bought at Yoga 3 Pro. I'm scared now! I've always loved my Thinkpads, and they lasted years (last one purchased in 2006 and used until recently). I hope my new Yoga doesn't turn out to be a dud....

 

[Katsmeow]

To be honest, the only computer manufacturer I know of that provides decent warranty support is Apple.

I have a Falcon Northwest Desktop as do my husband and they all their customer service in house in Oregon and it is fantastic. I had a serious problem with my desktop and they spent multiple hours helping me with it. They don't have in home service (since they do it all in house) but I was happy when I did the send the computer in. DH has had great customer service from them as well. They are absolutely the best company I've ever dealt with for computer service.

Interesting. DW and I have had nothing but IBM/Lenovo for the last 15+ years and have ever had a problem.

We have had two other Lenovos with in home service and never had a problem at all. That is one reason this has been such a shock. It isn't so much the Lenovo employee telling me that the computer had been dropped and it wasn't covered under warranty. I suspect he is a technical person and knew nothing about my warranty and just made a mistake.

The thing that dumbfounds me is the problem was escalated to community management 3 weeks ago and I was assured they absolutely would call with 3 days and I've had no call. When they didn't call, that didn't even bother me that much. Mistakes happen.

The utter shock was calling back repeatedly and being told that Technical Support can't help me because it was escalated to community management and they have no way to actually directly communicate with them and they can't do anything except keep requesting they call me....

I've started writing my BBB complaint since from the BBB website it appears that they usually do respond to them.

 

[hnzw_rui]

I have a Falcon Northwest Desktop as do my husband and they all their customer service in house in Oregon and it is fantastic. I had a serious problem with my desktop and they spent multiple hours helping me with it. They don't have in home service (since they do it all in house) but I was happy when I did the send the computer in. DH has had great customer service from them as well. They are absolutely the best company I've ever dealt with for computer service.

Ah yes, Falcon Northwest. Was thinking more along the lines of the big box manufacturers (HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc) when I made that comment. The boutique brands are on another level, of course.

 

[harley]

To be honest, the only computer manufacturer I know of that provides decent warranty support is Apple.

Maybe they do provide decent warranty support, but God forbid they disable your Apple ID on the App Store. I've never seen such an opaque and unfriendly process in all my years. And I've dealt with some of the masters of bad customer service - Verizon, Comcast, Mediacom, Bank of America...

No explanation in the error message, no link to a solution, no response to the thousands of forum and communities posts, nothing. And it's still not resolved, nearly two weeks later. Although I'm still hoping.