To whom it may concern,
I am writing to raise a complaint about the way an issue with a Sony Flip-Duo laptop I have recently purchased has been dealt with by the customer assistance department.
I initially ordered the laptop in October 2013 in order to use it for my studies at University. Despite the price was significantly higher than prices from competitors, I opted for Sony trusting their quality and performance.
After waiting for almost 8 weeks (during which I started to be charged for the purchase) before receiving the item I realised that the performance of the of the processor was not as satisfactory as I expected. In fact, the processor worked at its maximum capacity only for the first 10-15 minutes. after that the rising of temperature in the main board and in the same processor, it was utilised only at one third of its maximum capacity, thus affecting the overall performance of the laptop. I understand that, as I was told by some of your assistants, some applications do not required the whole capacity of the processor; however I tested its performance by using specific applications that showed that after 15 minutes the processor entered a “safety mode” due to the increase in temperature. Therefore, after two weeks I contacted Sony querying about the issues above. I therefore decided to use the guarantee and I sent the laptop for repair. After one week I received the laptop back without any significant change, including the overall performance. I contacted the customer service centre where they told me that the laptop had been fixed but they weren’t able ot give details or information of what had been done.
After further conversations with the Company I was told to send the laptop back once again as Sony would have sent me a brand new one.
After waiting for around 4 weeks I received the replacement laptop that has got the same issues as the previous one. I have contacted “Sony support” every day since I received and tested the new laptop and every day I have been asked to re-install the system, to do an “overall test” that has always had a positive outcome and to do BIOS updated that I did. However, those tests are not able to identify the issues I have raised because it only verifies whether the processor works without assessing its performance after a longer or more challenging use.
I have tried to explain to different assistant the problem in details. I have also included copies of pictures of the outcome that appeared on screen when I was testing the processor at home. I have had the feeling that the people I repeatedly spoke with did not fully understand the issue. I also tried to make official complaints regarding the attitude of the assistants but some of them refused to provide me with their details (i.e. Mr Mostafa Mahmoud who told me that I did not need his surname as he is a high level manager therefore everybody knows him by first name rather than by surname).
As you might understand, I ordered the laptop last October and I have started paying shortly afterwards but I have only being able to use it for a maximum of one month.
I also received a phone call today during which I was suggested to send the laptop to the assistance again in order for the problem to be sorted. In addition, they told me that, in case the issue resulted related to a software fault I was going to be charged £65. In reply I asked them if they were familiar with the history I had with this laptop. The assistant told me that he could not see anything about it in my record. Therefore I decided not to send it as I had the feeling that it would have represented another period without laptop for them to repeat the same tests as before. This also demonstrated to me a certain level of incompetence and superficiality within the “customer support service” centre at Sony. In addition, as a student having a laptop is crucial for the everyday routine and I cannot afford to spend any further time without it.
The laptop was advertised as designed to be used for extremely challenging graphic programmes that I have never tried to use. Despite this, I have noticed the lack in overall performance.
Overall I feel that the laptop I purchased can be compared to an extremely beautiful new car that can be driven and its best only for the first 10-15 minutes after switching it on.
I would like to know whether Sony is somehow able to resolve the issue or if the problem is related to how the laptop has been designed and engineered making it irresolvable at this stage.
Best regards
Peter Wojtowicz
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Edited by Drew - Email removed.
