Banana IT Samui sell 70 year old British woman a duff phone then refuse to replace it

[Nicolas32]

if this was me they did this to i would sending messages to Tim Cook to pull the partnership with them anyway would be worth a shot ..

[tuanku]

Expensive items like this should be paid with a credit card rather than cash. That way you will always have the option to simply contact your credit card provider, explain them the situation and have the payment cancelled.

Even if they will accept credit card payment, they will probably add 3% to your bill..

[worgeordie]

Wow ! a company actually been named,usually they are

never named for fear of been sued,even though the

complaint may be 100% true.

regards worgeordie

[Sean87s]

She can take her Apple iPhone to any real Apple shop anywhere in the world (preferably her home country) to get a replacement or repair as long as its under the 1 year warranty.

[jonw8uk]

its a little vague... what was actually wrong with the phone?

Normally they will open the box, put a sim in and test the screen, sound, buttons, and try a call.....

if its a genuine fault she should contact apple, though do it in Thailand, as I don't think phone warranties are international, It'll probably have to be sent to Singapore.

[crazykopite]

As a long term resident I have decided that Banana IT is now being removed from my places to shop I hope other long term residents will follow by blacklisting this company !!!!

[crazykopite]

its a little vague... what was actually wrong with the phone?

Normally they will open the box, put a sim in and test the screen, sound, buttons, and try a call.....

if its a genuine fault she should contact apple, though do it in Thailand, as I don't think phone warranties are international, It'll probably have to be sent to Singapore.

All Apple products are covered by international warranty !

[smedly]

How disgraceful.

Probably a previous return that they try to sell to a 'soft target' or a knockoff that one of the workers tried to sell on the sly.

Still, got me beat why tourists buy this sort of big ticket thing while on holiday.

A hassle if needing after sales a few months later

Due to the international costing policy a genuine Iphone is not much cheaper in Thailand anyway.

Not condoning the fraud, but she should have just bought a 2000 baht holiday phone and tossed it away later.

If i had to buy from here, it would only be from the legit brand name stores in the big malls, not the discount cowboy shysters.

I believe her phone broke down while on holiday

I do not understand why this shop doesn't replace the faulty device and send it back to Apple unless of course it is a fake in which case the police should be investigating

If it is not a fake then Apple will accept the phone from the customer for replacement or repair but in the interest of good relations the shop should have managed this since it was only puchased a few days ago

[smedly]

its a little vague... what was actually wrong with the phone?

Normally they will open the box, put a sim in and test the screen, sound, buttons, and try a call.....

if its a genuine fault she should contact apple, though do it in Thailand, as I don't think phone warranties are international, It'll probably have to be sent to Singapore.

my understanding is that Apple have an international warranty unless of course it is not a genuine Apple product in which case the police should be investigating

But I agree that before leaving the shop it should have been tested before money was handed over.....maybe it was, as you say it is all a bit vague

[Bung]

Obviously she would have checked the phone in the shop first so how do we know she didn't drop it in some water then tried to get a sneaky refund?

[jonw8uk]

its a little vague... what was actually wrong with the phone?

Normally they will open the box, put a sim in and test the screen, sound, buttons, and try a call.....

if its a genuine fault she should contact apple, though do it in Thailand, as I don't think phone warranties are international, It'll probably have to be sent to Singapore.

my understanding is that Apple have an international warranty unless of course it is not a genuine Apple product in which case the police should be investigating

But I agree that before leaving the shop it should have been tested before money was handed over.....maybe it was, as you say it is all a bit vague

I'd read before that their phone warranties are not international,

A quick search turned this up, from the apple website:

IMPORTANT RESTRICTION FOR iPHONE AND iPAD SERVICE.

Apple may restrict warranty service for iPhone and iPad to the country where Apple or its Authorized Distributors originally sold the device.

Some replies in this thread seem to back it up: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/705031-does-apple-have-really-worldwide-warranty/

Though saying 'may' in the T&Cs keeps it vague also..!

One would hope that a holiday purchase being faulty would be a case where they do honour the warranty...

[Tchooptip]

I do not know if it is the Central's Banana shop, I bought there one iPhone 6, one iPhone 6plus, one iPad mini, the staff in this shop is absolutely helpful at least in my experience, smiling joking and taking the time to do everything properly, I would have recommanded this shop...

So my kaojy? Something must be missing in this story

[jacko45k]

How disgraceful.

Probably a previous return that they try to sell to a 'soft target' or a knockoff that one of the workers tried to sell on the sly.

Still, got me beat why tourists buy this sort of big ticket thing while on holiday.

A hassle if needing after sales a few months later

Due to the international costing policy a genuine Iphone is not much cheaper in Thailand anyway.

Not condoning the fraud, but she should have just bought a 2000 baht holiday phone and tossed it away later.

If i had to buy from here, it would only be from the legit brand name stores in the big malls, not the discount cowboy shysters.

If you get one in your home country which isn't locked to a network you will pay more due to higher levels of VAT.

Yes if you can commit to a long contract you can get an Iphone for very little down which is locked and branded.

As you say though I think I would buy from a better source or the network provider itself.

[NoshowJones]

I hope now that everyone who reads this story stay away from this company, and eventually the company has to close down.

I do not believe that this is typical of Thailand, although I do know that sometimes the after sales service can be bad, but this

is just blatant cheating, and I hope this company goes to the dogs.

[NanLaew]

...Disgusted...

... left shaken and upset by her experience...

...I feel completely violated...it’s completely ruined...

...to take abuse...forced to spend time...

...it really is a disgrace...

I am sure their copy writer moonlights for the Daily Mail.

[SOTIRIOS]

......'Next'........

[NoshowJones]

Dont buy anything like this in a country that sells crap, nearly everything i bought in Thailand was broken within 12 months some items my ps2 lasted 2 weeks

I think you have just been unlucky, I have a Samsung smartphone I bought about three years ago, and it is still going strong.

I bought a Samsung microwave in the UK which only lasted 15 months, and to repair it, it would have cost about the same price as buying a new one.

Everyone seems to blame Thailand for things that happen in any country. I do exclude Thai drivers and motorbike riders from this.

[Sakeopete]

Same in Hua Hin they treat customers very bad including insulting them behind their backs. My wife was so angry when she heard an assistant do that she outright told the British tourist what the assistant had said. The tourist was very angry and the assistant lost face.

[Oceanbat]

I do not know if it is the Central's Banana shop, I bought there one iPhone 6, one iPhone 6plus, one iPad mini, the staff in this shop is absolutely helpful at least in my experience, smiling joking and taking the time to do everything properly, I would have recommanded this shop...

So my kaojy? Something must be missing in this story

Your experience had nothing to do with taking anything back though, did it? So what makes you think something is missing from the story?

OB

[NoshowJones]

My earlier experience with these shops convinced me they should stick to their name and sell bananas only.

But bananas are for monkeys. Oh wait!

[BlindMagician]

I think this is an isolated case just at this particular store.

I bought an expensive SSD card from Banana IT last year only to find it would not fit in my computer. I took it back to Banana IT for exchange but they didn't have the correct one so I asked for a refund. At first the clerk didn't want to give me refund but after I spoke nicely to the manager I got a full refund.

Another time I purchased 2x8Gb RAM as a set from Banana IT. One stick stopped working so I took the set back to the store within the 1 year warrantee. The staff gave me a hard time but I persevered and they eventually took both sticks and said they had to send it back to their supplier for checking. After 2 months and many calls and visits to check on the status and eventually getting the phone number of the district manager I got a upgraded RAM set because they didn't have any equivalent replacement.

On a separate occasion I purchased a DLink Router from Banana IT (years ago) that came with a lifetime warrantee. It stopped working after a couple years so I took it back to Banana IT. It took them 2 months to repair but I did get it back.

My advise to the OP is to contact the district manager directly and have a Thai person do this because they don't speak English.

Isolated case? That's not the way to look at it.

It's not an isolated case for this lady...it's the only case that matters.

Customer service...emphasis on singular...not customers service ok on average.

[hatewaitin]

If I were there now I would go into that shop, get the salesman to show me the in's n out of several models of phones making sure I seem very interested. then after a while I would look around n say 'ohh I think I have heard something about this shop', look into my phone n bring up this blog n tell them I couldn't possibly buy from them until they had sorted out their bad reputation.

[gandalf12]

I have over the years bought several phones and computers but I would never go to a cut price outlet, I only ever use the manufacturers outlets and buy there.

[Kasset Tak]

It's the same for anything in Thailand!

I bought 2 pair of New Balance trainers (size 48EU or 13US) in Central Plaza, Pithsanuloke for 2,500 a pair. After 3 days and the first pair was broken so I went back to the shop and they just refused to refund me saying that my shoes was copies. At first first I had the same experience with the police as this woman so I called one of my Thai friends and he called his friend, the provincial chief of police in Pithsanuloke province... in the end the shop payed me back the money for the shoes + 500 for transports and an extra 500 to the police officer.

So I'm sad to say that if you don't have the right connections in situations like this then you are screwed.

On the other hand, I bought some boxer shorts (100 Baht each) at the weekly market, the elastic band didn't survive the first wash so when it was Saturday again I took the washed boxers back to the stall and they gave me back the money with no problem, they just asked some questions and then no problem!

To summarize I can just say that I have had problem more than once with large or brand stores here in Thailand but I have never had any problem with the small shops with either exchange or refund of gods!

[bamukloy]

Expensive items like this should be paid with a credit card rather than cash. That way you will always have the option to simply contact your credit card provider, explain them the situation and have the payment cancelled.

Even if they will accept credit card payment, they will probably add 3% to your bill..

I often thought about this. It seems it could open the door to lots of fraudulent claims if anyone can get a payment stopped on their own heresay.

I thought it had to be a case of fraudulent billing, where the customer never got the product ie.internet sale or the like.

If it was an accross the counter sale, where you have already taken possession of goods, i think the bank will say its between you and the store.

I have heard from others, you are lucky to get a payment stopped once, but if it happens often, the bank will certainly be scrutinising you

[Thaddeus]

Meanwhile, the accounts department at Banana IT tried to tally the sales for the last quarter, but then daylight come and they had to go home.

[Siamwhiteelephant]

So the word is out .... Don,t shop at banana ! Best way is for everyone to vote with their feet and the store will go under, deservedly so

Although, we're a small minority. Unless Thai people have cause to also, I don't think that'll work.

[renaissanc]

Can someone tell the woman that the quickest solution is to find the local Channel 3 TV station outlet? It'll be on tomorrow's news and she'll get a refund the same day.

[Lannig]

I guess it must be the outlets in the high tourist places.

I've bought several items at BananaIT in Zeer Rangsit and never had the slightest problem. Admittedly nothing as expensive as a top-of-the-line iPhone. A dead out of the box disk was replaced painlessly.

I've even had a graphics card swapped for me at their Nakhon Sawan branch that was bought at Zeer Ransgsit. No questions asked.

[renaissanc]

I've called Banana IT's Call Centre to look into this. If it is as reported, it'll be on Channel 3's morning News tomorrow, if they do not repay the money. It's disgraceful that this happens at a time when there has been so much bad news regarding the treatment of foreigners in Thailand. It will only damage the country's tourism industry further.