Archived from groups: alt.internet.wireless (
More info?)
I was empathizing with your frustration, until I read the text of the email
they sent you, which you included in your post. It says
"If the call results in a hardware failure and the hardware is still under
warranty, NETGEAR incurs the charge for that call and the customer is not
charged.To get the refund you need to have the purchase receipt."
Yes, I guess you do have to pay up front, but it sounds like the charge will
be refunded if they agree the unit is broken. This sounds fair to me.
A 90-day free support policy is very common. Live support is expensive to
the vendor, and generally, a customer should be able to exhaust all support
suggestions for a new product within 90 days, and return it as a lemon if it
still doesn't work. And if the hardware fails anytime during the 3-year
warranty, they still absorb the cost of the service call.
I don't know the details of your story, so I don't know why it took longer
than 90 days. If you started talking to them in the first week or two, even
the first month, and they ran you out for 90 days, then you have grounds to
be upset. If you had a clear understanding when you bought the unit that you
would get free support calls for 3 years, and they changed the policy on
you, then I could understand some anger. But if you're just saying that a
3-year warranty implies free service calls for 3 years, that's not true for
most products.
"Somebody Else" <ttt@sss.com> wrote in message
news:tjbn60lbkhd2oah1lfb2d1hv29d6a1lj59@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 01 Apr 2004 00:47:19 GMT, Lucas Tam <REMOVEnntp@rogers.com>
> wrote:
>
> >Somebody Else <ttt@sss.com> wrote in
> >news:5ppm60hd73gq7aoj34vaqj7kv3t1vv9sek@4ax.com:
> >
> >> Either one of two things happened:
> >>
> >> 1) They have changed their policy since then.
> >
> >The router was exchanged about a year ago. The switch about 3 months ago.
> >
> >
> >> 2) You got the exchange within the 90 days.
> >
> >Nope. The switch was at least 3 years old when I replaced it.
> >
> >> What I said IS true because I am sitting here with a dead Netgear
> >> router and they will not speak to me about it unless I pay them first.
> >
> >Netgear has two options.
> >
> >1. Pay for cross shipping and receive a replacement within 3 business
> >days. This options costs about 22.00.
> >
> >2. Mail in your defective product via regular mail and a replacement will
> >be mailed out for free in ~2 weeks.
> >
> >Never had a problem with Netgear - actually they have the best support
> >around!
>
> Not any more. Below I have pasted the email I recieved from them
> outlining their support policy. This answer they sent me was about a
> defective router that needs replacement. My original email outlining
> the problem is at the bottom) He won't talk to me to satisfy himself
> that it needs replacing unless I pay him first. That is not
> acceptable considering that it is only about six months into a three
> year warranty. I have absolutely no confidence that they will accept
> responsibility for the defective product and refund my money AND send
> me a new router. I just don't trust them. If they promise a three
> year warranty, then they should not be trying to charge more money to
> honor that warranty. It just isn't honest or right.
>
> Dear Sir,
>
> Thank you for contacting Netgear Support. My name is Dhurba & I will
> be handling your enquiry.
>
> This issue can be best solved over voice so that we can try a few
> settings with you to fix this issue. Please keep the serial number of
> the product handy so that voice support is provided, as we do not
> support refurbished products over voice. Please note that free support
> is provided only for 90 days from the date of purchase. If the product
> is within 90 days from the date of purchase then please contact our
> voice support at 1-888-NETGEAR and we are operational 24x7. If the
> product is more than 90 days from the date of purchase then you can go
> for Premium Support. This service is available for a per
> minute/incident fee that will be charged to your credit card. The
> Premium Support Line can be reached at 1-800-448-1696. Please select
> Option #1 if you are using a Windows Operating System or Mac OS, And
> Option #2 if you are using Linux. There are 2 pricing plans also we
> have Call Packs available as below:
>
> Pay as you go:
> Per Incident - $28.95
> Per Minute - $1.99
>
> Per Incident Call Pack Pricing:
>
> 2 incidents @ $52.00 (10% off the $28.95 price)
> 3 incidents @ $73.00 (15% off the $28.95 price)
> 5 incidents @ $115.00 (20% off the $28.95 price)
>
> Per Minute Call Pack Pricing:
>
> 20 minutes @ 34.99 ($1.74/minute vs. $1.99 std)
> 40 Minutes @ 64.99 ($1.62/minute vs. $1.99 std)
> 60 minutes @ 89.99 ($1.50/minute vs. $1.99 std)
>
> Please note the working hours for Premium Support are as follows:
>
> Windows and Mac Support - 6am - 12am CST, Monday-Sunday
> Linux Support - 7am - 7pm CST, Monday-Friday
> VPN Support - 7am - 7pm CST, Monday - Friday
>
> If the call results in a hardware failure and the hardware is still
> under warranty, NETGEAR incurs the charge for that call and the
> customer is not charged. To get the refund you need to have the
> purchase receipt.
>
> Please note that this policy is only applicable in North America, if
> you are located outside North America then please click on following
> link to get the contact # for your respective country :
>
>
http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/N100005.asp
>
> Please make sure that you have registered the Netgear product at
> www.netgear.com/register before contacting voice support.
>
> Regards
>
> Dhurba Mutum
> Netgear Support
> support@esupport.netgear.com
>
> Please help us serve you better by clicking here
> mailto:support@netgear.com?subject=Feedback_in if you would like to
> provide any other valuable feedback. (Note: this feedback is not sent
> to an agent so you will not receive a reply.)
>
>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> --Original Message--
>
> Hi
>
> I have spent hours trying to get this router (WGR614) to work. At
> this point it will not connect to any computer without a wire. I
> have disabled WEP, Mac address filtering, etc. It is configured as an
> open system. The other computers can see the router but cannot
> connect to it.
>
> In addition to not working, here are the other problems with it:
>
> - Does not accept the 1126 firmware. It goes through the motions of
> upgrading the bios, and resets itself, but afterward nothing is
> changed and it still has the old firmware and all of my old settings.
> I have tried this repeatedly.
>
> - Does not reset manually by pushing the physical reset button. I
> have tried this with it powered on and with it unplugged, and I have
> held the button down for varying amounts of time. Nothing works,
> there is no way to clear the settings and return them to default.
>
> - Does not retain some settings when changed.
>
> It is obvious that this is a defective router. Please send me
> instructions for getting a replacement under warranty.
>
> Thank you.
>
>