Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  05/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On May 16, 2022 I went to the store to have the battery in my iPhone 8 plus replaced. A nice young man named Cam took care of me. I waited for the repair. After about 30 minutes he came out and said he was having trouble removing the battery. He siad he needed another hour. I left to run some errands. When I returned he was still working. After another 30 miutes he came out and said he was done and everything was fine. He had me sign a paper. I left and went home. When I got home 30 minutes later I tried to make a call. I realized the volume and the speaker were no longer working. I could not make or receive calls. I called the store on my wife's phone and Cam asked me to come back. He had the phone for another hour plus. This time when he came out he said he could not fix it and that there was water in the phone. I would need to go to a specialist shop in Aurora. The 2nd shop owner was very very quick to confirm the presense of water, he showed me. He dried thw phone out and tested it thoroughtly. Turns out the camera was also wet and no longer worked. He fixed everything and charged me for the repair. When I finally spoke to the regional manager at Batteries Plus he proceeded to tell me there was no way they introduced water into my phone and it was my problem. This was after Cam told me they would "make things right, work with me". I lost a full day getting my phone fixed, three trips to the shop. There is no way I got water in my phone. It worked just fine right up to the time I gave it to them to work on it. I use it continually for my business, They need to pay for my repair bill (attached) for the company they sent me to!

  Business response

  05/28/2022

  There are two concerns which shall be addressed.

  1.  Customer service on iPhone 8+ and request for refund 

  2.  Credit card chargeback.

  Concern #1:  The end result of the service provided was unsatisfactory to the customer - for that reason alone, the customer will be reimbursed for services provided by *********** to the extent defined in the summary statement.   The condition of liquid damage was not observed by the 1st technician - something I might add that even a seasoned repair technician could have overlooked.  Upon return, a second technician did observe liquid damage and referred the customer to *********** as this is not a service we provide.   Bottom line, as a repair provider we should have noted the condition.

  Concern #2:  The customer failed to disclose that he planned to "dispute" the charge on his credit card to store personnel for initial services rendered.  On 27May2022 the business was assessed a Chargeback Fee by American Express in the amount of $70.19.  The chargeback amount of $70.19, was the total the business charged the customer for the battery swap.

  SUMMARY STATEMENT

  The customer was provided a service and is contractually obligated to render payment for said services.   The presence of water in the device "may or may not have been" a pre-existing condition, regardless the technician should have observed the condition and informed the customer on the initial repair.   This is not justification to request a chargeback from the credit card company as the battery swap was performed and the liquid damage was a separate issue. 

  The business was planning "prior to notice of the chargeback" to reimburse the customer for the entire service provided by ***********.   As a result of the chargeback the reimbursement shall be reduced to $52.47.  The bill from *********** was $122.66, the amount reimbursed to the customer shall be $122.66 minus $70.19 = $52.47. 

  Should the customer find the resolution acceptable they can respond in kind.   No further action is planned by the business.   

  Customer response

  05/31/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  For the record, the first technician was the same as the 2nd technician. His name was Cam, he was very pleasant and apologetic and assured me they would work with me to get my phone fixed. He even offered to take my phone to *********** for me, which I declined.

  When I spoke to the regional manager, he made it perfectly clear that you had no intention of fixing my phone, that it was "impossible" for your techs to introduce moisture into my phone, and that the subsequent repair was my issue and my expense. I told him I was going to contact the BBB and initiate a chargeback on my credit card, which he acknolwledged and took no exception to. As such, I did exactly what I warned him I would do.

  Please process the partial refund and we can call this matter "resolved".

  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ********

  Business response

  05/31/2022

  To the BBB:  The customer response "rejected" the position of the business.  I'm not certain if it is the BBB that updates its system based on customer feedback.  If so, the last sentence of the rejection stated to proceed with the reimbursement stated.   

  Please review and advise.   The business will fulfill what it stated it would do once the BBB database reflects acceptance by the customer.

  Customer response

  06/01/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  

  For the record, the first technician was the same as the 2nd technician. His name was Cam, he was very pleasant and apologetic and assured me they would work with me to get my phone fixed. He even offered to take my phone to *********** for me, which I declined.

  When I spoke to the regional manager, he made it perfectly clear that you had no intention of fixing my phone, that it was "impossible" for your techs to introduce moisture into my phone, and that the subsequent repair was my issue and my expense. I told him I was going to contact the BBB and initiate a chargeback on my credit card, which he acknolwledged and took no exception to. As such, I did exactly what I warned him I would do.

  Please process the partial refund and we can call this matter "resolved".

  Regards,
  
  ***** ********
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩