No updates about Charge 5 replacement process

[charlssy]

My Fitbit Charge 5 became suddenly inoperable while I was on a business trip. Screen went black, there were no lights coming out of the sensors, it wouldn't charge, and the manual reset with the charger did not work.

When I called Fitbit, they told me I needed to get alcohol wipes to clean the watch and the charger. I told them I was staying in a hotel room, and had no such thing. They responded that I needed to get alcohol wipes and that they would not move my case forward until that happened. I responded that I washed the Fitbit device with soap and water (it is supposed to be water resistant, after all), and that I had cleaned the charger by wiping it down with tissue paper. They would not accept and insisted that I needed to find alcohol wipes, without considering it was around midnight already. I lied and told them the hotel provided me with alcohol wipes just to get my case moving (I tried the alcohol wipes later and it didn't resolve the issue).

Fitbit customer service agreed to replace my device because it was under warranty (within one year of purchase). I was given the option to either get a replacement for free or buy a different device from their website with a 50% discount. I opted to get a replacement, since this was still the newest Charge. They confirmed receiving my request shortly after.

It has been 11 days (9 business days) since I requested a replacement, and I have not gotten any updates. I called customer service, and they said my case has not been reviewed. They said to wait another 5-7 business days after my call for an email update - just an update! I asked about the timeline for me to get a replacement, and they could not give me one! I asked why it had not been reviewed in the 11 days since my request, and they were not able to give an answer. I asked if there was any way to expedite the process, and the representative said that the case was already expedited, which I find hard to believe.

There seems to be a lot of complaints online about how slow and frustrating it is for Fitbit to process warranty claims. This may be incompetence in their customer service, or they are getting a flood of warranty claims for a defective product, or both! Whatever the case may be, I regret buying this watch!

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Edmond]

Do you have to ship your device back first? Last time i have to, and they said they have to wait until their warehouse have confirmed the receipt so that they would initiate the replacement. The confirmation took about 3-4 days after dhl clearly indicated the broken one has been well received. The conversation between the customer support at both email and twitter took around 3 weeks, until they finally agreed to start the replacement process. Just to give you some sort of expectation. 

[LiJaHi]

Did you buy it directly from Fitbit? If you got it from a store, take it back under their returns policy.

[Odyssey13]

Hi @charlssy I've asked a Fitbit Moderator to stop by to address this with you. They should be able to direct you in the right steps to take.

@LiJaHi the return policy for Fitbit is 45 days and other retailers have a shorter window. Best Buy is 14 days.

[LiJaHi]

@Odyssey13 return policy evidently depends what country you are in. I checked when purchasing mine and it was a year. Plus we have statutory consumer rights that say a product must be fit for purpose and behave as advertised. The manufacturer definitely doesn't get to break it.

[charlssy]

I bought it in January and the return window is only 30 days, so I can no longer return it to the store. But it is still covered by warranty.

[charlssy]

They have not given me any instructions to ship it back.

[charlssy]

I just called again today and the difference in competence and courtesy of the agent I had today compared to the one I had yesterday is like night and day! Today's agent immediately ordered a replacement for me, and I received an email confirmation not long after. They said to expect the replacement within 5-7 business days. She said I did not need to send the defective product back.

[Odyssey13]

Great news @charlssy and thanks for letting us know. It's good you gave it another try contacting them.

[Barrlo]

They definitely totally suck! They waste your time with all this trouble shooting and then drag their feet on any warranty. Gave up and bought another one, my mistake!

[y2kcrash]

🤔Your experience should serve as an example of what anyone  with a similar complaint issue should do prior to making the initial call.

I found a simple search of this forum indicated the what the trouble shooting processes one must follow before the Customer Service Rep can process a replacement order if necessary .

I had a similar issue as to you, however I discovered and review  postings that indicated the  troubleshooting requirements. (Which in defense of Fitbit are fixes they discovered by reviewing numerous compliant experiences to work)

When I contacted them I already had the necessary responses to the their customer service Rep troubleshooting processes.  Unlike your drawn-out  experience with my experience  the whole conversation with them lasted less than 10 minutes start to end. Email 30 minutes later with the replacement choices. . 1 hour later Email with full shipping details.🙂🙃🙂

Just something for everyone to think about and the process to  follow with if having  similar Fitbit device issues prior to making initial  contact with customer service.

I have never done a job like theirs I can only image most calls are of the (neg) complaint variety.

Which they have a  set  compliant troubleshooting process they must / are  required ( no choice on their part) to adhere to .

[Cjax2000]

Disconnected three times on chat line and once on phone line.  Charge 5 Fitbit died four months in - unresponsive and won’t charge.  The customer service function seems designed to prevent response to problems.  Feels like a company that scaled rapidly and has had serious customer service and quality control issues

[WAY2OLD]

I had did a chat and got someone to start a return process. thought it was pretty straight forward. Then 3 days later I had to call in as I did not get email with rma confirmation. Once i got the email printed label and ship took another day or 2. its been over 2 weeks and it finally arrived at the return center. tomorrow im calling back to see if I can get an eta...so slow almost wish i would have paid for expeditated shipping. painfully slow to ship product back on warranty repair. 

[sgthal]

Same thing happened to me and after calling they replaced it with a new one. but a few months later the new one did the same thing. when I called again they said they only replace it once and it was my tough luck. I will never buy another fitbit product they are junk.

[charlssy]

I just got my replacement. It took 18 days total to get a replacement. I hope it will last! This will probably be my last Fitbit device.

I did have an easy experience with getting a replacement for a previous Fitbit device (Versa), but it was from the extended warranty I bought with the device on Amazon, not with Fitbit warranty service.