CAUTION: DJI Repair Shipping x-Scam-x (edited) -> Costs

[Michael M.]

I had read many accounts of shady or difficult customer service, but hoped that it was isolated incidents. Please read the below before you get caught in the same shipping scam that DJI just did on me.

Over a month ago, I contacted DJI support as my Inspire was not sending video signal to the DJI Go app anymore. No crashes, just switched batteries one day and the app gave the “no signal” banner warning. Tried multiple resets, firmware checks, and everything listed on the forums to try and resolve the problem before contacting DJI support.

After a month of back-and-forth, on Friday, May 27, DJI finally says the unit needs repair under warranty and provides an RMA number. In the same email, it states “In certain circumstances, DJI may as a courtesy provide a shipping label for those RMAs that qualify. Please allow approximately 24-48 hours for this label to arrive.”

Monday, June 6: I’m not home the week following the RMA email to ship the unit, so a full 10 days later, on June 6, I go to UPS and ship the RC, controller and camera to the Carson, CA address. (As I live in Central California, it will arrive next day even at ground shipping.) Total cost with insurance: $158.

Was not happy at all that I would have to pay shipping to return the unit under warranty for repair, as if the unit was faulty while under warranty, DJI should cover all costs for the repair.

Tuesday, June 7: Check UPS site and the unit was delivered and signed for that morning at 9:41am. Just over an hour later, at 10:47am, I receive an email from DJI that provides a pre-paid shipping label to send the unit back to them! One hour after they have signed for the unit at the repair facility, they then send a pre-paid shipping label!!! And 7 business days after the first email that says in certain circumstances, they will provide a label within 24-48 hours!

I was furious that they wait to send a pre-paid label until after they receive the unit, so I go back to the support discussion thread and explain the above and request a refund for the shipping, as they intended to pay for the shipping anyways by sending the pre-paid label.

Wed., June 8: The response I receive from Mark at DJI Support: “Thank you for contacting DJI. We appreciate you taking the time in writing in regarding your experience with the RMA as well as the shipping label. While we regret in the delay on sending out the shipping label, we would not be able to refund you the costs of the shipping in the unit. We do look forward to helping you get back up in the air as quickly as possible and thank you for sending us the aircraft. Have a great dya. “

Not at all the response I expected to receive. They clearly intended to pay for shipping, but don't fulfill their intentions and back out. I respond back stating the obvious, including that I did not rush to send the unit back, possibly crossing paths with the emailed delivery label as I didn’t send it until 10 days after receiving the RMA. I close with that if DJI had intended to cover the shipping costs by sending a pre-paid UPS label, then DJI needs to follow through with their intention. This isn’t a grey area but DJI moving in an unprofessional and unethical direction.

Today: The response I receive back this morning from Mark at DJI Support: “Thank you for your response. I appreciate your thoughts on this point. However, the cost of you sending in the product for a repair is not something that will be compensated. We appreciate your understanding on this point. “

I find it completely contradictory and appalling that DJI would say that "the cost of you sending in the product for a repair is not something that will be compensated" when DJI already sent a pre-paid shipping label. How can they explain that?

Obviously either 1) the dots aren't connecting in that discussion that DJI attempted compensation after the fact, or 2) Mark at DJI Support doesn’t have the authority to do anything.

Anyone here have recommendation on how to pursue getting DJI to fulfill what they intended? I’m really shocked at how unprofessional DJI Support was in this matter.

Thanks for any help!

Michael M

 

[The Editor]

I had read many accounts of shady or difficult customer service, but hoped that it was isolated incidents. Please read the below before you get caught in the same shipping scam that DJI just did on me.

Over a month ago, I contacted DJI support as my Inspire was not sending video signal to the DJI Go app anymore. No crashes, just switched batteries one day and the app gave the “no signal” banner warning. Tried multiple resets, firmware checks, and everything listed on the forums to try and resolve the problem before contacting DJI support.

After a month of back-and-forth, on Friday, May 27, DJI finally says the unit needs repair under warranty and provides an RMA number. In the same email, it states “In certain circumstances, DJI may as a courtesy provide a shipping label for those RMAs that qualify. Please allow approximately 24-48 hours for this label to arrive.”

Monday, June 6: I’m not home the week following the RMA email to ship the unit, so a full 10 days later, on June 6, I go to UPS and ship the RC, controller and camera to the Carson, CA address. (As I live in Central California, it will arrive next day even at ground shipping.) Total cost with insurance: $158.

Was not happy at all that I would have to pay shipping to return the unit under warranty for repair, as if the unit was faulty while under warranty, DJI should cover all costs for the repair.

Tuesday, June 7: Check UPS site and the unit was delivered and signed for that morning at 9:41am. Just over an hour later, at 10:47am, I receive an email from DJI that provides a pre-paid shipping label to send the unit back to them! One hour after they have signed for the unit at the repair facility, they then send a pre-paid shipping label!!! And 7 business days after the first email that says in certain circumstances, they will provide a label within 24-48 hours!

I was furious that they wait to send a pre-paid label until after they receive the unit, so I go back to the support discussion thread and explain the above and request a refund for the shipping, as they intended to pay for the shipping anyways by sending the pre-paid label.

Wed., June 8: The response I receive from Mark at DJI Support: “Thank you for contacting DJI. We appreciate you taking the time in writing in regarding your experience with the RMA as well as the shipping label. While we regret in the delay on sending out the shipping label, we would not be able to refund you the costs of the shipping in the unit. We do look forward to helping you get back up in the air as quickly as possible and thank you for sending us the aircraft. Have a great dya. “

Not at all the response I expected to receive. They clearly intended to pay for shipping, but don't fulfill their intentions and back out. I respond back stating the obvious, including that I did not rush to send the unit back, possibly crossing paths with the emailed delivery label as I didn’t send it until 10 days after receiving the RMA. I close with that if DJI had intended to cover the shipping costs by sending a pre-paid UPS label, then DJI needs to follow through with their intention. This isn’t a grey area but DJI moving in an unprofessional and unethical direction.

Today: The response I receive back this morning from Mark at DJI Support: “Thank you for your response. I appreciate your thoughts on this point. However, the cost of you sending in the product for a repair is not something that will be compensated. We appreciate your understanding on this point. “

I find it completely contradictory and appalling that DJI would say that "the cost of you sending in the product for a repair is not something that will be compensated" when DJI already sent a pre-paid shipping label. How can they explain that?

Obviously either 1) the dots aren't connecting in that discussion that DJI attempted compensation after the fact, or 2) Mark at DJI Support doesn’t have the authority to do anything.

Anyone here have recommendation on how to pursue getting DJI to fulfill what they intended? I’m really shocked at how unprofessional DJI Support was in this matter.

Thanks for any help!

Michael M

Personally, I would not have even contemplated sending the unit back UNTIL I had received the pre-paid shipping label.
If it hadn't arrived within the timescale they promised I would have pushed for the label as a matter of urgency.

I hardly think this qualifies as a 'scam'!
Indecently, I am not surprised DJI will not reimburse $158. Their shipping costs as a large multinational with a contract with UPS would probably be around $20 bucks.

 

[Michael M.]

Editor: You are right that I should have pushed for a label. I figured that since one was not received in the 24-48 hour window, that a week later I was on my one. I should have pushed for it.

My feeling of it being a scam is that the label isn't sent until after they have signed for and received the unit. It is obvious I can't use the label then, and they do not get charged by UPS for generating the label, so it is just a "sorry, the label arrived late. Even though we were going to pay for the shipping, we won't now." That feels like a scam to me, in my opinion.

I posted this story for others to be aware, and hopefully they will follow your point in pushing for that label. I should have.

 

[The Editor]

Editor: You are right that I should have pushed for a label. I figured that since one was not received in the 24-48 hour window, that a week later I was on my one. I should have pushed for it.

My feeling of it being a scam is that the label isn't sent until after they have signed for and received the unit. It is obvious I can't use the label then, and they do not get charged by UPS for generating the label, so it is just a "sorry, the label arrived late. Even though we were going to pay for the shipping, we won't now." That feels like a scam to me, in my opinion.

I posted this story for others to be aware, and hopefully they will follow your point in pushing for that label. I should have.

My guess would be that there is actually no joined up thinking when it comes to the two departments.
In other words, somebody signed for your Inspire/Package but the label side of things is not actually related to the receipt of your RMA. It wouldn't surprise me if it is auto generated (although somebody probably has to tick a box for it to be sent).

I think people should take note though and insist on a pre-paid before sending their faulty item(s) into DJI.
As far as I am aware, Where DJI have accepted a warranty RMA they WILL provide a pre-paid label.

If you feel really aggrieved about the situation you can try emailing Ed Windham at DJI on [email protected]
Ed heads up customer service for all of North America and is a good guy.

 

[ISP5557]

I had the same thing happen to my RC. They said they would send out the prepaid shipping label within 24-48 hours. It did not come in that time frame. I sent a email asking where it was and what do you know, within 2 hours I got it. Dude, I don't know how many Redbulls you had that day, but no way would I pay $150.00 shipping when they said they would provide a shipping label. Dont get mad but this one is on you. An email that took one tenth the time the post above took you could have saved you all this headache.

 

[Dave Armbrust]

I do not feel that you are being reasonable in your expectations. I assume that you paid for the shipping under the assumption that it was your responsibility. The only thing that appears to change this assumption is the fact that you did receive a return shipping label. If it was a "scam" why bother to send the shipping label to you at all?

What I do not think you are grasping is that $158 does not equate to the $20 it would have cost them for the shipping label if you used it.

Since it is the same State you could have sent it by courier for same day delivery at a far greater cost. Would you then assume that they should pay for the courier, without their consent, using the same logic that they would have paid the shipping costs?

If you object to the shipping cost of $158, which you seem to now be doing, you should have pressed for the return shipping label.

Never once did they suggest that you should pay for the shipping out of your own pocket, you made this decision without even consulting DJI, and now expect them to pay 8 times the shipping cost it would have cost them. I think your expectations are unreasonable. DJI should not be held responsible for your poor decisions.

 

[Fastrack]

Lol.

No way shipping and sending out the prepaid shipping label is the same department.

They said they would send a label, but you decided to ship it? Funny your loss, don't complain on here.

Amazon ships stuff here in Canada in massive boxes, which if I was to ship the same box would cost me more to ship the empty box than the contents I've ordered. These companies get massive discounts.

Next time wait or ask where the label is, and you won't feel "scammed"

Ben

 

[licensed pilot]

I had read many accounts of shady or difficult customer service, but hoped that it was isolated incidents. Please read the below before you get caught in the same shipping scam that DJI just did on me.

Over a month ago, I contacted DJI support as my Inspire was not sending video signal to the DJI Go app anymore. No crashes, just switched batteries one day and the app gave the “no signal” banner warning. Tried multiple resets, firmware checks, and everything listed on the forums to try and resolve the problem before contacting DJI support.

After a month of back-and-forth, on Friday, May 27, DJI finally says the unit needs repair under warranty and provides an RMA number. In the same email, it states “In certain circumstances, DJI may as a courtesy provide a shipping label for those RMAs that qualify. Please allow approximately 24-48 hours for this label to arrive.”

Monday, June 6: I’m not home the week following the RMA email to ship the unit, so a full 10 days later, on June 6, I go to UPS and ship the RC, controller and camera to the Carson, CA address. (As I live in Central California, it will arrive next day even at ground shipping.) Total cost with insurance: $158.

Was not happy at all that I would have to pay shipping to return the unit under warranty for repair, as if the unit was faulty while under warranty, DJI should cover all costs for the repair.

Tuesday, June 7: Check UPS site and the unit was delivered and signed for that morning at 9:41am. Just over an hour later, at 10:47am, I receive an email from DJI that provides a pre-paid shipping label to send the unit back to them! One hour after they have signed for the unit at the repair facility, they then send a pre-paid shipping label!!! And 7 business days after the first email that says in certain circumstances, they will provide a label within 24-48 hours!

I was furious that they wait to send a pre-paid label until after they receive the unit, so I go back to the support discussion thread and explain the above and request a refund for the shipping, as they intended to pay for the shipping anyways by sending the pre-paid label.

Wed., June 8: The response I receive from Mark at DJI Support: “Thank you for contacting DJI. We appreciate you taking the time in writing in regarding your experience with the RMA as well as the shipping label. While we regret in the delay on sending out the shipping label, we would not be able to refund you the costs of the shipping in the unit. We do look forward to helping you get back up in the air as quickly as possible and thank you for sending us the aircraft. Have a great dya. “

Not at all the response I expected to receive. They clearly intended to pay for shipping, but don't fulfill their intentions and back out. I respond back stating the obvious, including that I did not rush to send the unit back, possibly crossing paths with the emailed delivery label as I didn’t send it until 10 days after receiving the RMA. I close with that if DJI had intended to cover the shipping costs by sending a pre-paid UPS label, then DJI needs to follow through with their intention. This isn’t a grey area but DJI moving in an unprofessional and unethical direction.

Today: The response I receive back this morning from Mark at DJI Support: “Thank you for your response. I appreciate your thoughts on this point. However, the cost of you sending in the product for a repair is not something that will be compensated. We appreciate your understanding on this point. “

I find it completely contradictory and appalling that DJI would say that "the cost of you sending in the product for a repair is not something that will be compensated" when DJI already sent a pre-paid shipping label. How can they explain that?

Obviously either 1) the dots aren't connecting in that discussion that DJI attempted compensation after the fact, or 2) Mark at DJI Support doesn’t have the authority to do anything.

Anyone here have recommendation on how to pursue getting DJI to fulfill what they intended? I’m really shocked at how unprofessional DJI Support was in this matter.

Thanks for any help!

Michael M

Sorry for your troubles. What I am going to say will not help you but may help others. I am an old fashioned kind of guy so even if I'sd made lots of purchases over the web, I get the heebe jeebees about dropping $4K over the internet, sight unseen. I was blessed with a DJI dealer in Tempe, AZ, 45 minutes from my home. I purchase all my DJI products on site and they are fantastic at supporting their products (Innovative UAS) . I want to see, touch, smell what I'm buying whenever big bucks are involved. Today I'm driving up there to have a HDMI module (love my external monitor capability in my Inspire 1 Pro (and so do my clients) installed in my Phantom 3 Pro, contacted them yesterday and they'll do it while I wait. I am currently advising a local police dept. in starting their UAS program and Innovative is going to get a whole lot of business only because they treat me well.

I understand not everyone is fortunate to have a local dealer but for those who do, try it and avoid shipping hassles. Just my two centavos...

 

[Skynet1]

Sorry for your troubles. What I am going to say will not help you but may help others. I am an old fashioned kind of guy so even if I'sd made lots of purchases over the web, I get the heebe jeebees about dropping $4K over the internet, sight unseen. I was blessed with a DJI dealer in Tempe, AZ, 45 minutes from my home. I purchase all my DJI products on site and they are fantastic at supporting their products (Innovative UAS) . I want to see, touch, smell what I'm buying whenever big bucks are involved. Today I'm driving up there to have a HDMI module (love my external monitor capability in my Inspire 1 Pro (and so do my clients) installed in my Phantom 3 Pro, contacted them yesterday and they'll do it while I wait. I am currently advising a local police dept. in starting their UAS program and Innovative is going to get a whole lot of business only because they treat me well.

I understand not everyone is fortunate to have a local dealer but for those who do, try it and avoid shipping hassles. Just my two centavos...

As a POI, B&H Photo, New York. will permit you to not only see, smell, touch, the model, but will more importantly permit you to fly it, and will accept returns of there merchandise within 30 days of purchase. The returned product must meet a reasonable expectation of condition as it would relate to any returned merchandise, obviously.
Non the less a full return within a 30 day time frame is quite generous, not to mention free expedited delivery, and a return shipping label if necessary as well.
Not to shabby a customer service IMO, as not to many dealers can afford to extend themselves to that degree, again for obvious reasons.
Just my two Krugerrands.... : )

 

[Skynet1]

In regard to your claim of a Scam committed by DJI, honestly, while it's a shame you hadn't first verified DJI's intentions to provide a return shipping label or not, I would have to agree with the majority of the responses already posted, in that I don't believe there is any substantial evidence to strongly indicate an intentional fraudulent scheme to swindle you as suggested in your OP Michael M.

 

[Michael M.]

I fully conceed that 'scam' is a strong word, as in the context that I feel I was scammed.

Nowhere did I say that DJI said they would pay for the shipping; they said in their form email that in certain situations, they might provide a shipping label within 24-48 hours. I did not receive one after 10 days and figured that this wasn't a 'certain situation'.

I fully agree that I should have pursued it further, and wish I had. Just words of advice for others that might encounter the same situation.

 

[DoubleHorn]

As a POI, B&H Photo, New York. will permit you to not only see, smell, touch, the model, but will more importantly permit you to fly it, and will accept returns of there merchandise within 30 days of purchase. The returned product must meet a reasonable expectation of condition as it would relate to any returned merchandise, obviously.
Non the less a full return within a 30 day time frame is quite generous, not to mention free expedited delivery, and a return shipping label if necessary as well.
Not to shabby a customer service IMO, as not to many dealers can afford to extend themselves to that degree, again for obvious reasons.
Just my two Krugerrands.... : )

B&H Photo will never get my business, a 30 day return period is not worth the deplorable labor conditions and worker intimidation they have: Department of Labor Sues B&H Photo Over Discriminatory Practices [UPDATED]

 

[Skynet1]

B&H Photo will never get my business, a 30 day return period is not worth the deplorable labor conditions and worker intimidation they have: Department of Labor Sues B&H Photo Over Discriminatory Practices [UPDATED]

I would strongly encourage all those discriminated against, and treated poorly to find employment elsewhere, and not patronizing a Company for whatever reason is certainly your prerogative. " To each his own"

 

[The Editor]

Think this has now run its course.

Thread now closed.