Fitbit gives preferential treatment to customers

[SunsetRunner]

My Versa stopped working after only 45 days. The HR was glitching before, but it was only after the rep advised me to update the firmware that my screen and HR stopped working entirely. Fitbit made me jump through hoops to prove this and now requires that I wait another month or so for a replacement. I've read that others have been able to get replacements instantly shipped to them. I'm not sure if it's the luck of the draw or not, but I've spoken to countless reps who are condescending at their worst (kind, but unhelpful at best) who stand by their almost one month long replacement policy. This is disheartening when I keep others are getting replacement devices. Fitbit clearly gives preferential treatment to customers. It seems that some of those customers may be more active in the Community, etc, but either way, I find it appalling and unfair. 

[WendyB]

I'm sorry but I do not believe that to be true

Maybe they are out of stock right now as it has been selling even in stores like crazy.

I'm sure they will get your replacement as soon as they can

[SunsetRunner]

What are you basing your response on? I'm sharing my experience and you're negating it? I even had the rep say that it's handled on a "case by case" basis. Not sure why my case isn't worth it. I've never abused any of the policies and I've been purchasing Fitbit for many years not only for myself but for friends & family, too. This has me looking at competitor products and spreading awareness about my poor experiences. If you look at any of the review sites: BBB, PissedCustomer,TrustPilot, etc, many users echo the same concerns I'm having. 

[Jayelo]

@SunsetRunner I agree with you. When I had to talk to Fitbit about my Versa that died on me, I had to make a video and email it to them and chat with multiple tech support who knows nothing about the Versa or their shipping policies. And they told me I had to send it in for them to look at (then why have me send in a video) and wait for a month or so for the replacement. They said I have to send it in in order to move on to the next step. Although they said they would expedite it back to me (after giving me some wrong shipping info) but that’s after whatever they needed to do and waiting 2 weeks for my Fitbit to get there. That is way to long of a wait for a replacement from Fitbit that didn’t even last a month and cost me $200.  But then I read on these forums that some didn’t even have to ship their broken device back and Fitbit was just gonna send them a replacement. I really thought that was unfair. Why would I have to ship mine back, wait till who knows how long, I’m out $200, and who knew if I was gonna get a refurbished one. I don’t want the same broken device that they would have tried to fix and run into more future problems. I want them to send me a brand new one that works. 

[K8ono]

At least I’m not the only one. My versa hasn’t worked properly since day 1. It never syncs or connects to Bluetooth for longer than a minute or two. I’ve called and emailed customer support and spent a long time on a chat with someone. They’re trying like crazy to pin it on my phone, but my husband and I have the exact same phone. His versa works fine with his phone. And my phone connects to both our vehicles and my headphones just fine.  My old charge hr worked perfectly too.  It’s the versa. Period. But they’re refusing to stand by their product. I just received and email saying they won’t replace it because they can’t find my purchase in their system. Well I bought it at Best Buy, and I have the receipt but apparently that’s not good enough. I am so disgusted with the customer service I’ve received. It could not be more obvious that everyone just reads a script and parrots that.  Come on Fitbit. Do the right thing. It’s not a coincidence that so many people have the exact same problem with their tracker. 

[Jayelo]

@K8ono I bough mine from Best Buy too but thought Fitbit would help me first since I’m still under the 1 year warranty. But sheesh, good thing I bought the Best Buy warranty because they helped me exchange it and I got a new one in 3 days (my Best Buy was out of stock of Versa). But they had way better customer service and warranty than Fitbit. I will always buy my Fitbit from them....that is, if I still continue to use it. I may start looking at other brands. I’ve been a loyal Fitbit user since 2014. Fitbit really shouldn’t give us just a difficult time when there is something wrong with their product. 

[SunsetRunner]

I too seem to be stuck in Fitbit's "support hell" for the better part of a month now. My watch has a manufacturing defect (details in my post). Here are the hoops I've been forced to jump through so far:

• After sending support photos of the defect, I had to send another photo of the watch with a case number written on a sheet of paper next to it.
• After agreeing that the device was indeed faulty, support refused to send me a new device until the defective one is returned and processed.
• After a series of vague emails from support, they finally agreed to cover the shipping to send the device back.
• After further delays (processing mistakes on their part), they finally sent me a DHL shipping label and instructed me to drop it off at the nearest drop-off location. Only the neglected to say where that is. I called DHL to discover there is no drop-off service in Ireland.
• After explaining this, they suggested that I arrange a courier on my own and they would reimburse me. Yet they still neglected to say where! Do they have a DHL address? Am I supposed to send it directly to them? If the latter, then where??

This is easily one of the worst customer service experiences I've had. Clearly Fitbit support isn't empowered to solve issues effectively. They copy/paste boilerplated responses that are well written, but always just slightly off a direct response to your question.

I'm very close to just packing it in. If I have to arrange my own courier, as was last suggested, as well as pay for the service, I'll **ahem** well be sending it back for refund rather waiting on a replacement. It'd be faster to just go buy another while waiting on the refund (or picking up an Apple Watch instead). I like Fitbit, and the potential the Versa appears to have, but I'm seriously questioning if it's worth the effort.

[GreginJaxFL]

This is why I would ALWAYS buy locally so I can return and get a refund quickly.  I have dealt with Fitbit customer service and they are a disappointment.  Partly because they are in overload with so many device coming back!

[SunsetRunner]

I'm really disappointed to hear all of these stories. I was genuinely under the impression that buying directly would be best, but apparently, I'm wrong. I will be returning this device and I will not be doing business with Fitbit, as I had been since 2014. Why should I support a company that has very little respect for its customers? This is an appalling way to treat customers. 

[K8ono]

I’m really disappointed too. I really wanted it to work, and I have several friends and family members with various Fitbit models. I enjoy the community aspect of it through the app. I love the look and feel of my versa. But they clearly are not willing to work with me on any kind of resolution. They keep telling me I can’t get a refund. I don’t WANT a refund, I want a versa that does everything it’s supposed to!  However... I called Best Buy and they will take it back. I’ll be purchasing an Apple Watch. 

[meresydotes]

I've found, in my LONG experience with Fitbit, that their answer is always to replace the device. The support reps really just don't know the products. It's only recently that they've started admitting things are "known issues" and assuring me that they're working on it. I don't believe they're working on anything.

But, back to the replacement issue. Before the Blaze, they used to just ship out new devices, hassle free. I have a drawer of multiple Fitbits of several models to prove it. That's after giving several away to my mom and a friend after upgrading. When I had problems when I first got my Blaze, they insisted I return the one I had, and they had to have it in their hands, before they would send a replacement. Because they use back channel slow boat shippers that ordinary consumers don't even have access to (like FedEx SmartPost), this would take forever. The Blaze was functional, but buggy, so I declined.

Several months later, I called again and they sent me a replacement right away, and I didn't have to return the original. I'm pretty sure they'll do the same for the Versa in a month or so. If your Versa is functional, you might want to hold off and see what happens.