Feedback on Xperia official partner: no customer support

[nico.nc]

Hi,

I am sharing my poor experience with Sony support and the "official" Xperia store, to avoid disappointments to others. It all started with a complete failure of the fingerprint reader on my 8-months-old Xperia 5 II. It took a month to Sony support to admit that a repair was needed (after lengthy discussions and all types of resets). I was then given two options:

• Return the phone to Sony contracted service center, but I have to pay for shipping and insurance, and won't have any replacement phone for several days ... or weeks (phone that is used to communicate, but also as a payment card, for public transportation, etc.). After paying 900€ for the phone, that's not really something I am willing to...
• Or ask the seller to apply legal guarantee, that requires it to repair or replace the product during 2 years, at no extra cost. The seller is Xperia official partner https://www.estorepartner.com/ to which you are redirected on Sony website, and that identifies as "Sony" in emails. Good news, terms of sale remind this European legal guarantee. Bad news, nobody there ever read their own terms. "no we won't help you, just contact Sony".

This is a real disappointment from Sony, that is offering the worst possible support for high end phones costing almost 1k€, and have an official store that clearly ignores both law and its own terms of sales.

Now, you know...

[MarlonUk1]

Hello @nico.nc 

As far as I know Sony doesn't directly sell the devices from the Xperia site. It would usually show where you buy it. For example in the UK it is available in Argos, ee and other network. 

Can you check if you are dealing with a local device seller?

[nico.nc]

Hi @MarlonUk1 

If you look at sony.fr or sony.de websites, "where to buy" on the product page highlights "Xperia OFFICIAL PARTNER" as a first option (screenshots below). It is also listed on sony.co.uk, but without being on top of the list.

Although the seller technically isn't Sony but an Irish company called Digital River, all its communication is branded as "Sony EMEA". The order confirmation email begins with "thank you for your order on Sony EMEA" ...and is signed "Sony EMEA customer service". The terms and conditions, and the invoice, are almost the only places where you'll read "Digital River" rather than "Sony" or "Xperia".

All in all, the seller has quite strong ties with Sony, and Sony (as well as potential customers here) should care about the service it provides.

About my case, the only option I was given by the seller is to return my Xperia 5 II and the WF‑1000XM3 headphones that were included as part of the pre-order offer to get a refund (meaning that I loose the headsets, since the phone is still sold at the same price... without them). I've now been waiting for over a month now. So my advice is still NOT to make any order on Xperia official partner website should you want to have any relevant support if your phone has a problem.

https://www.sony.de/electronics/smartphones/xperia-5m2/buy?dtlinfo=wtb| :

https://www.sony.fr/electronics/smartphones/xperia-5m2/buy?dtlinfo=wtb|