Sony’s legal battle over warranties set to continue

November 01, 2017 | 12:48
(0) user say
Although the northern Hai Duong provincial court issued a decision to suspend the settlement of customer complaints against Japan’s Sony Vietnam for warranty obligations last week, the story is not over, as a customer confirms that he will continue to fight for his rights.
Sony KDL 42 W700B, photo source: nguoitieudung.com.vn

Lack of inspection results by professional agencies was the main reason for temporarily suspending the case. In September, the trial already had to be suspended to collect additional documents and evidence. A time for a return to court was not specified.

Bui Trong Kham, a resident of the northern province of Hai Duong, sued Sony for allegedly failing to fulfil their warranty obligations for a faulty television set and said that his family will follow the lawsuit to the end. He said, “It is not only for me anymore, but also for other consumers’ rights in this country.”

“As a consumer. I lost faith in Sony Vietnam,” he said.

His claims against Sony stand at VND542.3 million ($24,650), including the cost of the TV set, the preparation of the necessary documents, litigation fees, and compensation for mental stress.

According to Kham, he bought a Sony KDL 42 W700 television set on October 2, 2014 from a Sony agency in Pham Ngu Lao street in Hai Duong, with the warranty period of 24 months after the purchase.

On July 10, 2015, the TV set broke and Kham promptly called the Sony warranty centre in Hai Duong. The centre’s employees came out and fixed the problem. However, on September 21, 2015, his TV broke once again. The centre’s employees came, took some pictures of the TV, and said that the information and pictures would be forwarded to the warranty centre.

Two days later, on September 23, 2015, the centre called Kham and refused to fix the TV, attributing the problem to liquid damage not covered under the warranty. Sony’s warranty staff informed Kham that it would cost VND7.35 million ($334) to fix his TV at home or VND6.9 million ($313) to fix it at the Sony warranty centre. However, Kham declined Sony’s offer and immediately visited the centre for a better solution, but failed.

Later, in December 2015, Kham once again visited the centre, this time with his lawyer, asking for a free repair of his TV, but he was denied. As a result, he sued Sony, saying that his contractual rights had been violated. However, Sony said they had offered Kham a free warranty at their centre for his TV at the time, with no more warranty time later. Still, Kham declined the offer, which Sony considered a refusal to get a warranty for his TV.

Sony maintains that it does not lie to customers and has contested Kham’s compensation claim.

RELATED CONTENTS:
Customer sues Sony for questionable warranty violation
Sony to resume vinyl record production to meet surging demand
Microsoft challenges Sony with powerful new Xbox One X
Sony chief says major turnaround complete
Bosch, Sony pool their video surveillance businesses

By By Phuong Thu

What the stars mean:

★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional