I recently claimed a RMA warranty on a small electronic vehicle valued at about 1300$ at the time it was under warranty, upon sending it to the local vendor, I was issued with a bill and claim that the product was damaged due to user error, is it right to pay for their inspection service and return shipping cost as the product was damaged due to user error?.
Thanks,
Do you agree the damage was caused by 'user error'? If you were using it as per the instructions and it failed then it may still be a warranty issue.
Consumer rights & guarantees Repair, replace, refund:
If the product is found not to have problem, you may be required to pay the transport or inspection costs. An estimate of these costs should be provided to you before the product is collected, and the costs must not be inflated in an attempt to deter you from pursuing your claims.
First off, thank you very much for your comments @Thrift and @Ozhunter, really appreciate the feedback. Yes, my mindset completely aligns with your thoughts Ozhunter. @Thrift, yes that's the part which concerns me, there was no indication or notification of these costs prior to the RMA claim and it's only after the initial inspection was I notified of how the product may be damaged (I didnt know this prior) as well as the hidden costs. However, the vendor pointed out there was a part I missed in the operation of the product that led me to damage the product (not intentional of course) that's why I'm leaning more towards Ozhunters suggestion atm as it was explained from the vendor that it was I who damaged the product.
Thanks again for your insight
Really appreciate it.
it's only after the initial inspection was I notified of how the product may be damaged
It's only after the inspection that they could notify you… As they can't determine fault without looking at the device.
As a general rule, companies are acting in good faith that you've used the product appropriately and have tried basic trouble shooting procedures. When it turns out you haven't, and the product is either a. not faulty at all, or b. a fault caused by user error, it's completely reasonable for the consumer to be on the hook for labour and shipping.
Remember that companies are acting on your word that the product is faulty, so I'm not sure how you can claim hidden costs.
"is it right to pay for their inspection service and return shipping cost as the product was damaged due to user error?"
Usual policy for most items. Does the warranty t&c detail this?
"it's only after the initial inspection was I notified of how the product may be damaged (I didnt know this prior)"
Does the user manual list the correct procedure for this operation? If so then you may have no claim.
If it doesn't then you might have a claim?
I think so. You can't expect companies to always look at a product and return it to the customer free of charge. Customers would be rmaing their items for every little thing and the company could be outh 1'000s because the user didn't know how to use/maintain their item.