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Author Topic: No longer pissed  (Read 1714 times)

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Mrip

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No longer pissed
« on: July 08, 2015, 06:23:34 PM »
In 2013 I bought a Revel sub from an authorized dealer through Audiogon. Listing said dealer demo with warranty. The guy went way out of his way to make sure I was happy. Great customer service. Fast forward to this week. The sub dies. Harman support thinks it needs a new amp. Before they'll send me the module they ask for proof of purchase. I just forwarded them the audiogon details since that's the only documentation I could think of. Didn't think twice about it (but apparently I'm an idiot). HOWEVER, since I bought it "online," even though it was sold directly to me by an in-state authorized dealer who told me it was covered, it is not actually covered by the warranty. The entire reason I bought from a dealer was to get the warranty. The freakin listing even said WITH WARRANTY. Support says they are under "strict orders" not to provide service to items purchased online. The amp module will set me back $1100. This comes a couple weeks after my Senn M2 wireless were stolen on the subway. I'm about to flip my desk.
« Last Edit: July 09, 2015, 07:32:44 PM by Mrip »
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zerodeefex

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Re: So pissed - Screwed by Harman (and myself)
« Reply #1 on: July 08, 2015, 06:25:32 PM »
Contact the dealer. Tell him what is happening. Request that he act as arbiter with Harman support.
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Mrip

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Re: So pissed - Screwed by Harman (and myself)
« Reply #2 on: July 08, 2015, 06:36:25 PM »
That's the plan, but he's no longer an authorized dealer. Harman support made a point of saying they "did some research" on the dealer and "it was the dealer's own decision to drop Revel." I have no idea why that matters or why they would tell me that, but I assume something went down.
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Ringingears

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Re: So pissed - Screwed by Harman (and myself)
« Reply #3 on: July 08, 2015, 06:44:48 PM »
This is why I will never buy another Harmon product. Had a surround sound system; Infinity flagship. Had defective mid-range drivers. All of them went bad. In Europe Harman admitted the problem was a manufacturing defect and replaced them even when out of warranty. U.S. customer support said they had never heard of a problem with the drivers. Even though people had posted all over about it. One rep basically called me a lier, and another told me I must have driven them too loudly, which I didn't.

Good luck. Hope the dealer can help you out. I can understand why the dealer dropped them. But it shouldn't matter. They will do anything to not honor the warranty or back up their products. Horrible company IMHO.
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Anaxilus

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Re: So pissed - Screwed by Harman (and myself)
« Reply #4 on: July 08, 2015, 07:01:00 PM »
You should ask Craig Uthus about why he quit JBL after Harmon took over. Fun story.
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DaveBSC

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Re: So pissed - Screwed by Harman (and myself)
« Reply #5 on: July 08, 2015, 07:12:41 PM »
Harman ruins pretty much any company it takes over. In the Madrigal days Levinson was up there with the best of the best. Now they're mostly known for making Lexus stereos.

In the future, always ask for a sales receipt when buying anything used from an audio dealer. This was not an "online" sale from some 3rd party reseller, it should not be treated any differently than a phone order from a dealer. A receipt in hand though should thwart any effort by a company trying to screw you in a similar fashion.
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Mrip

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Re: So pissed - Screwed by Harman (and myself)
« Reply #6 on: July 08, 2015, 07:14:19 PM »
I'm almost as mad at myself for not reading the fine print before purchasing, but I think it's pretty clear that it shouldn't be the customer's responsibility to comb through the rulebook to make sure the $#&ing authorized dealer isn't screwing them. Did people at Harman actually sit down in a conference room, throw around a bunch of options and then decide that the best course of action when a dealer lied, or simply made a mistake, was to screw the customer? Really??
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DaveBSC

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Re: So pissed - Screwed by Harman (and myself)
« Reply #7 on: July 08, 2015, 07:20:17 PM »
Quote from: Mrip on July 08, 2015, 07:14:19 PM
I'm almost as mad at myself for not reading the fine print before purchasing, but I think it's pretty clear that it shouldn't be the customer's responsibility to comb through the rulebook to make sure the $#&ing authorized dealer isn't screwing them. Did people at Harman actually sit down in a conference room, throw around a bunch of options and then decide that the best course of action when a dealer lied, or simply made a mistake, was to screw the customer? Really??

It's actually pretty common for audio companies to just not know heads or tails of things. When I had one of my old Mirage speakers blow a driver under warranty, I contacted Mirage support for a replacement, who told me to contact the dealer because they are supposed to handle service. So I contacted the dealer, and they basically said "WTF are they talking about, we don't do that." Contacted Mirage again, got a different guy, and he sent out the replacement driver.
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bixby

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Re: So pissed - Screwed by Harman (and myself)
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2015, 07:56:43 PM »
It's going to be work, but for that kind of outlay, I would just keep going up the chain at Harmon. 

Reminds me of the time Auto Europe tried to screw me for $600 on a windscreen that imploded when I closed the trunk on a car in Ireland.  Upon exchanging the car they kept saying no problem, then 3 months later my credit card gets dinged.

Long story short, a website detailing the issue was created and came up top of the search list.  US AutoEurope took notice and reversed the charge.
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Marvey

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Re: So pissed - Screwed by Harman (and myself)
« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2015, 08:02:36 PM »
Can you find a sub / plate amp from Parts Express that will fit?


If no fit, build an external box for the plate amp and run wires to the woofer cone.
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