I have been a fitbit customer since December 2016. Initially had the Fitbit surge, which was over $200. I required a couple replacements of that device within the yearlong warranty period due to sweat/moisture related damage. I was always extremely careful with my fitbit since it was so expensive--wiped it down after every run, obviously never wore it in the shower or in the water.
Anyway, when that warranty was up, i was given a discount to buy a new device. Being in grad school at the time, I opted for the cheapest option at the time, a Charge HR 2. The device itself worked great but i needed a new wristband replacement about every 2-3 months as the plastic kept cracking.
When my charge 2 HR warranty was up, I purchased a fitbit Versa Lite at full price (150$). My initial device worked for about 7 months before the heart rate and step sensor stopped working, and it was replaced free of charge under warranty. The replacement versa lite worked for the longest a fitbit device has ever functioned for me (just shy of 1 year). I woke up after working a night shift at the hospital to find my screen pixelated and not responding to touch or resetting. I called customer support to see what i could do to fix it. I was told by multiple customer service representatives that this was likely related to the firmware update and this was causing issues in multiple other customers. I was walked through the typical troubleshooting tips by customer service. In the past, during my issues with fitbit, customer service stayed on the line with me the entire time. I feel like things have changed a little under Google ownership because they leave you hanging, and then you have to call back when the reset or whatever doesn't work.
I spoke with 3 representatives yesterday, and the final representative told me he forwarded my case to the warranty department and that i would likely qualify for a new device. He told me i would receive an email within 15 minutes. I did not receive an email after 30 minutes, so I called a fourth time. She told me i'd get an email in another ten minutes and that she had spoken with warranties herself. After all that, i get an email saying I qualified for a 35% discount on a new device. Why i was told i'd get a free new device, i'm not sure, but I was upset about this and about the dishonesty. I called back to speak with someone and i was simply explained the warranty process over and over.
I have spent hundreds of dollars on fitbit over the past 4 years. I've been a loyal customer. I bought a yearlong Fitbit Premium subscription for 79.99 in March 2021. Due to the treatment I have received and persistent poor quality of fitbit devices, i have decided to bring my business to Garmin. I called to request a refund on the 10 months of fitbit premium I will not be using. Fitbit was unable to provide me this because I purchased the fitbit premium subscription through the apple app store. They said they would send me instructions on how to speak with Apple support to request a refund. I inquired what information they sent to apple so that apple knows I am deserving of a refund. The higher up Fitbit representative told me they did not send anything on my behalf. I asked him if he could send something over to apple to back up my case, and he told me no. I asked him why fitbit couldn't give me a $65 refund directly, as I'm sure fitbit gets some significant form of compensation for fitbit premium subscriptions bought on an Apple phone. He claimed he did not think fitbit saw any of that money. I spoke to apple support later in the day, and as i presumed, they were unable to issue me a refund due to the subscription being over 60 days from purchase date, and that's apple's policy. The apple rep laughed when I asked about fitbit not receiving compensation from apple for the premium subscription, and she informed me that fitbit sees a large majority of the subscription price.
I'm absolutely done with fitbit. The rudeness of the staff, the decline in customer service from this company i used to love, and the continued poor quality of the product is just not worth the hundreds and hundreds of dollars and the stress.
I shouldn't be punished for an issue with Fitbit's firmware/updates when i take such good care of my devices. And refusing to refund the cost of a fitbit premium subscription to a loyal customer who is no longer satisfied with the product is just ridiculous. So gross and shady. My advice to everyone is to run far away from this product. I previously thought fitbit had the best customer service ever, which made up for the fact that their products broke so much. Now things seem very sleazy, shady and extremely unprofessional.
Moderator Edit: Clarified subject
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