How Do I Return a Fitbit One?

[RubbishOne]

Ok, 

So we got a Fitbit .  Gosh they are pretty rubbish product especially how they can't be set up, and the customer service is the only thing that beats the product in being more rubbish.  Which is a shame, coz I woudl have preferred them to sort the issue rather than get us to a point of having to post here.

Anyway, Fitbit would not work so we got to online chat.  After three hours (waste of my life) they agreed it is faulty.  So now we got another one in the mail.  Don't want it - never want to be associated with Fitbit again.  All I want is for Fitbit to take it back, but their idea of good customer service is to say that I can return the product at my expense to an address overseas.  So, that is awful - I want the Fitbit taken back at no charge to myself.

Help - All I am getting is bad karma and messing with my feng shui

Moderator Edit: Format/Subject for Clarity

[Odyssey13]

Welcome to the forums @RubbishOne

If you don't want the Fitbit, why not donate it to a worthy cause, such as Goodwill? You could even give it to a friend.

Just because you had problems with the first one, doesn't mean you can't be successful with this new One. You've nothing to lose, so why not give it a try?

[RubbishOne]

I really just want Fitbit to take their rubbish product back and not charge me for postage to do so,  It is an insult that they pile rubbish customer service on top of the rubbish product.  This should have been capable of being sorted without me having to resort to forums and, but they bring their own bad press on themselves.

Moderator Edit: Format

[PureEvil]

@RubbishOne,

I'm with @Odyssey13 on this one...

While I understand that you're frustrated, both about the anticipation of using the device and the disappointment that it took that long to diagnose what was wrong, keep in mind that your current experience is based on one bad device...  and that this should be addressed by your replacement device.

Allow me to frame it differently...  Do you have a favorite restaurant?  One that you've gone to more times than you can count?  What if you go there on one particular night and that one particular meal wasn't quite as good...  Do you stop going or do you give those folks another chance (maybe they had an off night)?  It would be tragic if what might've been your favorite restaurant had an off night on your very first meal there.  This is basically what happened with your Fitbit.

All the reasons why you initially got a Fitbit presumably still hold, you just happened to have gotten a badly manufactured device.  I'd encourage you to try the replacement Fitbit.  You never know, once you get past the setup woes, you may enjoy using it.

Moderator Edit: Format

[TandemWalker]

I agree with both @PureEvil and @Odyssey13. Moreover @RubbishOne, it's very unfortunate that you had such a bad experience with Customer Service as Fitbit is known for the quality of its support, really!

Perhaps you could have tried to seek help here in the Community from fellow fitbitters. Granted, if your One is defective, no troubleshooting will resurrect it. But if it's not defective and not working or syncing for one reason or other, most of the times these issues can indeed be resolved relatively quickly and never again recur. You seem to be pretty hot over this, and perhaps for just cause; but if you took a minute to explain what the problem is with your One, perhaps someone here would be able to help.

Have a nice day. 

             TW             

____________________________________________________________________________

(If this tip solved the problem for you, please mark this post solved, as this will be helpful to other users experiencing similar issues.) 

[RubbishOne]

Look, Fitbit stole 3 hours of my life, just in the first online chat to say it was faulty, and then some more sending another unit and stuff.

Now I have areplacement thing I never wanted and really just want them to agree to take it back without chargeing me.  I don't want to keep it as this is such an awful product, and to have the second one I did not pay for seems like theft.  I just want the thing gone and not be liable for it any more.

I heard an article on Radio 4 this week that Fitbit is the worst of the 'wearables' available in the market place - I just wish I heard that before getting involed with them.  I also saw a thing on the internet saying they were set to loose a massive amount of their share price in the next year, again because other 'wearables' are apparently so much better.  

It is a shame you don't go looking for this stuff before you have bought the thing and find out how bad it is by first hand experience.

I do not feel I should have to pay to post this thing back - nor shoudl I have to waste more of my life opening it and trying to get it to work.

Moderator Edit: Format

[PureEvil · Accepted solution]

Hello @RubbishOne,

Looking through this thread, if I may summarize it sounds like:

• You weren't able get your (first) Fitbit One setup.
• You spent 3 hours with online chat support and they determined that the device is defective.
• They sent you a replacement device (presumably at no cost).
• You no longer want the Fitbit One, so you want to ship it back for a refund.
• Fitbit is expecting you to pay for the shipping cost, you want them to pay for the shipping cost.

This last statement is the source of all the angst.

First, allow me to say that I can understand that you're frustrated about how it took to diagnose that your first device was defective.  Honestly, I too am puzzled by it taking that long, since I'm very familiar with the Fitbit One and there are really just a handful of things to try, but that's a different discussion.  That said, there are two perspectives here:

You received a defective product - Tragic, but it happens with every company.  It simply is not cost effective to test every single device in every single condition.  In this case, what should occur is that you should get a replacement product at no cost to you.  You should not think of it as theft; the first device was malfunctioning.  This is no different than getting an overcooked steak at a restaurant, speaking up, and having the waiter bring you a replacement one the way you ordered it.

You have a perfectly working product, but have changed your mind and don't want it anymore - Fitbit has a 45 day return policy, but they are very explicit about the term and conditions (among others):

• Shipping and handling charges, gift wrap fees, and taxes paid (e.g., state, customs, VAT) are not refundable.
• You are responsible for and must prepay all shipping charges and you shall assume all risk of loss or damage to the Product while in transit to Fitbit.

Let me say from personal experience, that I've used Fitbit's return policy.  My wife wanted a Fitbit with a HR monitor and I initially got her a Charge HR, after using it she decided that she prefered the Surge.  I returned the Fitbit Charge HR, and I paid for the shipping.  They were very explicit about their policy, and it seemed more than fair for my buyer's remorse.

You placed the initial order for the Fitbit, so presumably at some point you intended to use it.  You were then unable to setup the device because it was defective (Fitbit appropriately replaced it).  Now it sounds like to me, that based on your long 3 hour support session (and other sources), you're now regretting that purchase and want to return it.  To be perfectly honest, it sounds like buyer's remorse (which of course, you're entitled to), but it also means that it falls under the 45 day return policy.

The fact that the first one you got was defective is just a red herring.

Out of curiosity, did you order it directly from Fitbit?  Most retailers (at least here in the states) allow you to return with minimal hassles.

Something else to consider, you can return the functioning, unopened Fitbit and cover most (all) of the shipping costs by selling the spare parts from the first defective one.  The clip, charging cable, dongle, and sleep band combined have a $70 face value (vs. $100 for the tracker itself).

Moderator Edit: Format

[orlas]

The cases with fitbit are just too many. I am also terribly bad impressed with all problems their products have and the amount of faulty products. Shame!

[WendyB]

Thats funny @orlas. I have had my One for 3 years and its still going strong

[orlas]

I liked fitbit, I bought a Charge HR and loved it, till it got air bubbles after 6 months. I decided to buy a new one because I loved application and how it worked. It happened the same. At same time I got an Aria that had to be replaced cause was faulty. Fitbit sent a new one, worked fine for some months and it is also faulty.
I was complaning to a friend and he heard that Charge 2 was better, as we could replace the bracelets, and he offered me. After trying to pair it with 4 different mobile phones and 3 pcs going through all instructons and actions mentioned in dozen of posts I found out that this version 22.20.17 is faulty. So we can not pair it and update the firmware.

It is really too much. When I start reading how many people have this issues and fitbit is making them go over and over atempts to check if the issue is not from other devices it made me really pissed off.

Shame! it is the only word! 

[SantiR]

@orlas I hope you're doing well! Thanks for sharing the experience you have had with Fitbit. 

Are you still using a Fitbit device? Please make sure you are using a compatible device in order to pair it successfully.

Did you contacted customer support regarding that? What solutions did they offered?

@WendyB Thanks for your help on this thread! 

Keep me posted!