Sony Ericsson fixes slammed

Dealers last week criticised Sony Ericsson and its accredited repair companies for overdue handset returns.

Some dealers claimed to have waited a number of weeks for faulty handsets to be returned from the manufacturer or its repair centres. Others complained Sony Ericsson will only carry out repairs if proof of purchase is provided.

Repair centres criticised by dealers included Fone Logistics, Total Repair Solutions, Fleet Communications, SBE and Sony Ericsson’s own direct operation.

Border Mobiles proprietor Chrissie Mayers said: “I often wait weeks for a Sony Ericsson phone to be repaired and sent back to me, whether it be from an accredited service centre or Sony Ericsson itself.

“If the phone only requires a software update then the transition is smooth but if parts are required, problems start to arise. I sent a C905 (pictured) away at Christmas because of software issues and it has only just been sent back to me with the software re-flashed.”

Mobile Zone proprietor Mike Young said: “Sony Ericsson faults are not repaired promptly. Sony Ericsson always drags its feet. It needs service centres that are reliable like those Nokia and Samsung have on their books. Unless you have a receipt for the phone, it refuses to fix it. It’s these problems that are seeing customers lose confidence.”

Another said: “If a phone is freezing and continuously switching itself off, it’s of no use to anyone. We still see so many examples of Sony Ericsson phones suffering from these issues, even though it has said that it was going to look into them.”

Sony Ericsson denied wrongdoing in these issues and said its service centres and procedures were on a par with its competitors.

UK and Ireland head of customer services Paul Baker said: “Turnaround times are closely managed across all Sony Ericsson approved service partners, with the majority completed within a day. Repair track and trace can be used to monitor the process and an escalation process is in place.

“Proof of purchase is the initial check as it is concrete proof of sale. If this is not available, we can check the manufacture date from the unit, performing an IMEI check to establish in-warranty.

“Sony Ericsson in most cases uses the same service partners as our competitors as the UK has a very defined service network. These approved centres are accredited to the same level as competitors.”