Cautionary tale for DJI replacement service.

[GadgetGuy]

Nearly every company, venue, resort park, etc has liability protection in their terms. And yet many people injured by these same entities (not just physical injuries) litigate and win settlements against them. Are you suggesting DJI has a magical shield?

Against class action lawsuits, yes. It's not magical. It's contractual. Besides, what are you going to collect from? They no longer do business in the U.S., and have no assets here.

 

[anotherlab]

Nearly every company, venue, resort park, etc has liability protection in their terms. And yet many people injured by these same entities (not just physical injuries) litigate and win settlements against them. Are you suggesting DJI has a magical shield?

Not a "Magic Shield", but a legally enforceable contract. When you install the DJI Fly app, you'll agree to something that is either the following, or something close to it

These Terms provide that all disputes between you and DJI will be resolved by BINDING ARBITRATION. YOU AGREE TO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO [GO] TO COURT to assert or defend your rights under these Terms, except for matters that may be taken to small claims court. Your rights will be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR and NOT a judge or jury, and your claims cannot be brought as a class action.

and

In the interest of resolving disputes between you and DJI in the most expedient and cost effective manner, you and DJI agree that every dispute arising in connection with these terms will be resolved by binding arbitration. . . . This agreement to arbitrate disputes includes all claims arising out of or relating to any aspect of these Terms, whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation, or any other legal theory, and regardless of whether a claim arises during or after the termination of these Terms. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT BY ENTERING INTO THESE TERMS, YOU AND DJI ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.

There can be ways around it, such as the age of the drone owner and jurisdiction. In Texas, a minor was injured by his DJI drone and was blinded in one eye. His parents sued DJI, asserting various product liability and negligence causes of action against DJI. DJI filed a motion to compel arbitration based on the Terms of Use.

The court found that because the drone owner was a minor, his acceptance of the Terms of Use was not valid. He was not bound by the arbitration clauses of the Terms of Use, and DJI's motion to compel arbitration was denied by the court. You can read the full court order here: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/texas/txedce/4:2024cv00268/228932/83/

But if you agreed to the Terms of Use and it's considered a valid agreement, then you're required to use binding arbitration to resolve any legal disputes.

 

[mavic3usa]

This should help with the arbitration discussion:

Arbitration Agreements: No Worse Than Other Contracts But No Better, Either​

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/business_law/resources/business-law-today/2022-july/arbitration-agreements/

 

[Wreckhunter]

I'm not planning on suing anyone, but DJI should be planning on getting sued by several thousand customers who got less than they paid for. (The warranty that DJI cannot deliver.)
Like I said, DJI could not have handled this bad situation any worse than they did.

In a matter of a few months DJI will be done for in the US ,not sure they really care anymore about being sued or warranty issues in the US.Such a shame

 

[anotherlab]

In a matter of a few months DJI will be done for in the US ,not sure they really care anymore about being sued or warranty issues in the US.Such a shame

Exiting the US would not protect a company from being sued. It's a lot harder to do, but the legal framework is in place.

Exiting the US market doesn't prevent DJI from re-entering at a later date, in a different political landscape. IKEA and Suzuki both exited the US market, only to return at a later date.

 

[moldorf]

Nearly every company, venue, resort park, etc has liability protection in their terms. And yet many people injured by these same entities (not just physical injuries) litigate and win settlements against them. Are you suggesting DJI has a magical shield?

the "magical shield" is probably being a Chinese company, headquartered in China, with minimal lien-able and exposed assets within the USA. American civil courts have no authority in China

besides that, what class action suit is viable? A few thousand DJI pilots with an average of 87 dollars left on their care refresh policies, who, by the way, still have functioning drones making them ineligible to join the suit?

 

[moldorf]

Exiting the US would not protect a company from being sued. It's a lot harder to do, but the legal framework is in place.

so you're a DJI drone owner. You've got 87 dollars worth of a care refresh policy left and your drone crashes in the ocean. The company you have the policy with can't get replacements through customs, and by the end of the year will likely be banned anyway. That company is in China and has almost no assets in the USA. And your recourse for that 87 dollar balance is small claims court which has no authority in China.

or, making it larger in civil court consider a class action suit. OK, a class of who exactly? Anybody who has Care Refresh time left but still has a functioning drone can't join the suit. It would only be those who are trying to get replacement drones/parts and can't get them. Not because DJI is refusing but because US Customs is essentially blocking imports of drones directly from DJI as the US government goes thru the process of very likely banning DJI drone imports before the end of the year

I's not sure what people expect DJI to do. It's the US government preventing DJI from honoring their warranties.


it's like trying to squeeze blood out of a rock

 

[WilliamDaugherty]

For anyone keeping score at home: I heard from the Tier 2 rep Sunday quoting that shipment for replacements was running 9-11 days currently. I sent three separate emails asking them to clarify the issue of having two separate cases, including one for the Canadian replacement and I heard nothing back...until this afternoon. Here's the relevant text from today's email:

After consulting with our repair center, we can offer two options for you to proceed:

1. Convert the exchange case to a repair case.

In this case, we will provide you with a replacement drone from our repair channel. The product will be new or equivalent to new in both performance and reliability, but it will not include any accessories. Please kindly confirm if you would like to proceed with this option.

2. Wait for the exchange stock to be replenished.

If you prefer to continue with the exchange case, please note that the waiting time may take approximately 60–90 days until the replacement stock becomes available.

Meanwhile, you mentioned that you would like to have your original device returned so that you can request a refund from the seller. Please note that after confirm with our repair center, your original device has already been recycled. Therefore, we are unfortunately unable to return it back to you.

Please kindly let us know if you would like to process our above resolution. If you are unwilling to accept this solution, I can discuss with our management team to consult if there are any available solutions can be provided.

So, take a refurb with no controller/battery/etc., or wait it out for 2-3 months...or longer. And they claim they can't return my original purchase because it has already been recycled. Completely unacceptable for a brand new purchase from their authorized store.

I don't put much faith in any solution from their "management team", but I'll be curious to hear what they say, assuming they respond eventually.

FYI, I spoke with the guys at Camrise (DJI NYC) and they said, "Oh, we always advise people to go through us for ANYTHING that goes wrong with your drone, including replacement in the first 60 days." I sure wish they had mentioned that when I bought it. They claim that DJI is refering people to them for repair work. Obviously I would have never sent it to Texas if they hadn't promised an immediate shipment of the replacement.

 

[mavic3usa]

For anyone keeping score at home: I heard from the Tier 2 rep Sunday quoting that shipment for replacements was running 9-11 days currently. I sent three separate emails asking them to clarify the issue of having two separate cases, including one for the Canadian replacement and I heard nothing back...until this afternoon. Here's the relevant text from today's email:

After consulting with our repair center, we can offer two options for you to proceed:

1. Convert the exchange case to a repair case.

In this case, we will provide you with a replacement drone from our repair channel. The product will be new or equivalent to new in both performance and reliability, but it will not include any accessories. Please kindly confirm if you would like to proceed with this option.

2. Wait for the exchange stock to be replenished.

If you prefer to continue with the exchange case, please note that the waiting time may take approximately 60–90 days until the replacement stock becomes available.

Meanwhile, you mentioned that you would like to have your original device returned so that you can request a refund from the seller. Please note that after confirm with our repair center, your original device has already been recycled. Therefore, we are unfortunately unable to return it back to you.

Please kindly let us know if you would like to process our above resolution. If you are unwilling to accept this solution, I can discuss with our management team to consult if there are any available solutions can be provided.

So, take a refurb with no controller/battery/etc., or wait it out for 2-3 months...or longer. And they claim they can't return my original purchase because it has already been recycled. Completely unacceptable for a brand new purchase from their authorized store.

I don't put much faith in any solution from their "management team", but I'll be curious to hear what they say, assuming they respond eventually.

FYI, I spoke with the guys at Camrise (DJI NYC) and they said, "Oh, we always advise people to go through us for ANYTHING that goes wrong with your drone, including replacement in the first 60 days." I sure wish they had mentioned that when I bought it. They claim that DJI is refering people to them for repair work. Obviously I would have never sent it to Texas if they hadn't promised an immediate shipment of the replacement.

Lately when you buy from the DJI store in NYC, they promise direct service to their customers specifically because DJI corporate falls flat in this area. They probably have a repair service available to them but in your case, it sounds like a replacement would have been made available. There's a good reason they offer this because DJI can't help or cannot be relied upon.

At this point I would just cut my losses and take option #1. The future is too uncertain to know what will happen later this year or after December. Lesson learned.

 

[GadgetGuy]

1. Convert the exchange case to a repair case.

In this case, we will provide you with a replacement drone from our repair channel. The product will be new or equivalent to new in both performance and reliability, but it will not include any accessories. Please kindly confirm if you would like to proceed with this option.

What accessories will you be deprived of, that you included in your original return to them of the retail purchase?