DJI Repair Scam - I have had "enough" I am suing !

[tcope]

If you loaned me money at 5% then upped to 10% I would have to go back and look at your terms of service that I agreed to.

Which is why I made my point above (that we should avoid talking about the app agreement as it's not what this thread is about). This thread is talking about a lawsuit based on the service given under the terms of the warranty. Not specifically what the warranty states, only that a warranty is given and not acted on as a whole. It's not about using the app. So what I stated still applies, if I offer 5% and then simply don't follow any of the promises in the contract, you'd have every right to bring a lawsuit. To complain that someone should not bring a lawsuit to enforce their promised rights just because it might make the product more expensive is insulting.

Luckily I have never had to deal with DJI's customer service in 10 years of using their products but I buy from Chinese companies fully knowing their reputation and business practices .

Being a foreign based company does not matter. DJI has offices based here in the US and sells it's products in the US. So it does not matter that they are based on China.

They have always overstated a products capability to make a sale and customer service is a trait that still eludes them . Dji is actually one of the best Chinese companies out there .

We are not talking about over-stating capabilities of the product at all. DJI is one of the best Chinese companies? You may want to check on this. I'm sure Lenovo would disagree. When it comes to Chinese companies that have world markets, DJI is not even on the radar in size or service.

Anyone wishing to pursue a lawsuit over such trivial matters will probably fork out more than would be gained . After having signed a terms of service I'd be surprised if any lawyer would even touch it anyway .

As you've mentioned, you've never had a claim so I'm not sure you really have a voice. When you have paid $1000 for something and it simply fails due to a defect, that defect is covered under warranty and DJI simply refuses to do anything... then come back and let us know you don't care about paying $600 for the repairs.

It's not expensive to legally enforce the warranty. I can't say its "easy" but its not expensive. I can speak first hand on this. DJI denied my warranty claim. They confirmed the loss occurred within the warranty period, that I filed the claim within the warranty period but denied the claim only because they did not receive the Phantom within the warranty period. I ended up having a nice in person discussion with DJI in my local court house (and nice prior emails with their cooperate attorney).

 

[Mickeyboo]

Re: After having signed a terms of service I'd be surprised if any lawyer would even touch it anyway . prestigious lawyers I've spoken to about the draconian language do not feel the same way you do in fact they think some of DJI's language is laughable.

 

[rydfree]

Yada Yada Yada . Be sure to post back to this thread when a lawsuit has been actually filed . I surely want to follow ,lol .

 

[tcope]

Been on the forum but no reply in this thread.... so I think it's safe to say, yet another empty claim. Seem a thousand of these. Yawn.

 

[capri404]

Over the last year or so I have had a few minor "accidents" with my DJI drones (I have P4, P4P, Inspire 1 V2.0, Mavic, Spark). Each time, even though it might be a warranty issue or a very minor repair, they send me an invoice for some $500 to $600 with listed replacements of body, landing gear etc etc that in no way needed repair. I DO have DJI care on everything. Then they tell me that if I want to use DJI Care it's (whatever deductible is). I usually pay this ransom. Recently I had a gimbal bracket fail on Mavic Pro. Gimbal is fine, ribbon is fine, camera is fine. Again they send a $600 repair invoice replacing almost everything. I call and email for weeks. Finally get to "Jake" in China. he says "no worries", it would be warranty and I'll send you an email and take care of it. No email. I call and email 6 more times, get chased in circles, each time with DJI saying they'll contact "Jake". Over a month they have my Mavic !

The plan that DJI has is most people would simply pay (whatever) just to get their Mavic back.

This is systemic and intentional by DJI.

On Wednesday I will bring a fraud RICO lawsuit in United States District Court which will likely turn into a class action.

Those that have similar issues can feel free to contact me. I am not looking to other "victims" to help with legal fees. I have that handled.

I have the same exact problem of DJI making up bogus charges. I sent my DJi inspire pro drone remote control for repair for a manufacture's defect. The internal screws came out of the right joystick. The DJI service tech requested the entire drone to be sent into DJI for review. I express to the tech (Mal), I thought it was strange for the entire drone to be sent to DJI when the issue was only with the remote. He insisted the entire drone needed to be reviewed. I took pictures of my drone before sending it to DJI. While the drone was being serviced, DJI sent me a bill for approximately $480 for broken landing gear and camera repairs with no mention to the remote having a manufacture's defect. My drone and camera was in perfect condition before being sent it to DJI. I have less than 3 hours of flight time on my drone. I spoke to a manager at DJI, they reviewed the intake photos of my drone, the manager agreed with me. There was absolutely nothing wrong with my drone. The manager told me he will take care of it with no charge. DJI sent my drone back to me with broken landing gear and someone else's Zenmuse X5 camera. The camera had missing parts. It looked as though someone crashed my drone at while flying it at DJI. I called DJI and spoke to a manager, He asked me to send the drone back to DJI. I sent my drone back to DJI. DJI sent me emails acknowledging they received my drone. After a few days with no service email from DJI, I started checking my CAS service number on their online status report. There was no sign of my drone being at DJI service department. I called the service number (1 (818) 235-0789). They lost my drone. After a few days, a manager called, I ask him for a brand new replacement drone or my money back because they crashed my brand new drone and lost it at DJI. I explained to him, even if they found my drone, i did not feel comfortable with a crashed drone and someone else's Zenmuse X5 camera. Suddenly, they found my drone and the manager told me he will take care of it and i never heard from him again. A few days later, I receive an email, they are sending my original drone at which they crash back to me. I want to sue DJI. Do you have any suggestions.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

I have the same exact problem of DJI making up bogus charges. I sent my DJi inspire pro drone remote control for repair for a manufacture's defect. The internal screws came out of the right joystick. While the drone was being serviced, DJI sent me a bill for approximately $480 for broken landing gear and camera repairs with no mention to the remote having a manufacture's defect. My drone and camera was in perfect condition before being sent it to DJI.

I'll bite. If it was just the remote with issues and the drone/cam were "perfect", why did you send them both in? Every time I've had a remote issue, I just send that and rebind when I get it back. They don't need to the quad to test a remote....

 

[Qoncussion]

@Skyler King III ~ what ever came of this?

 

[tcope]

@Skyler King III ~ what ever came of this?

Easy enough... everything he stated was total, 100% BS. He never filed, period. He's been on this forum plenty since he posted this thread. He's even commented that he LOVES his Mavic (wanted to buy another one).

 

[pixl]

@Skyler King III ~ what ever came of this?

Most people that threaten lawsuits never do actually sue -- the cost of doing so is huge, and -- except in the case of class actions -- the upfront retainer to go after a company the size of DJI would be at least six-figures. In most of these cases, the only true winners are the lawyers. Sure, you could sue and win, and probably have DJI give you restitution.. but at what cost to you? The big awards that you hear about are generally court-awarded damages....but how much damage can the loss of use of your drone cost you?

If a lawyer elects to start a class-action, they would have a lot of people sign up... but likely settlement would be in the millions for the lawyers, and a divided settlement for the individuals that might be a hundred or so dollars.

DJI can continue to be a bad actor in terms of customer service, support, or fraudulent advertising because nobody is going to pony up the cash to make them accountable for their practices. And even if they lost a suit like that, it would be minute, and merely a cost of doing business. Think about the Exxon Valdez or the BP Deepwater Horizon...are either of those companies any smaller now? Has the ocean recovered? Are things substantially different?

 

[capri404]

I'll bite. If it was just the remote with issues and the drone/cam were "perfect", why did you send them both in? Every time I've had a remote issue, I just send that and rebind when I get it back. They don't need to the quad to test a remote....

I never had a customer service issue before, so I called DJI to let them know the problem. During my conversation with DJI representative, I explain the problem with my remote and the representative requested i send my entire drone. I thought it was strange too, because there was no problem with my drone or my camera. The service tech insisted that everything needed to be evaluated. I took pictures of my drone before I sent it to DJI.

 

[capri404]

Most people that threaten lawsuits never do actually sue -- the cost of doing so is huge, and -- except in the case of class actions -- the upfront retainer to go after a company the size of DJI would be at least six-figures. In most of these cases, the only true winners are the lawyers. Sure, you could sue and win, and probably have DJI give you restitution.. but at what cost to you? The big awards that you hear about are generally court-awarded damages....but how much damage can the loss of use of your drone cost you?

If a lawyer elects to start a class-action, they would have a lot of people sign up... but likely settlement would be in the millions for the lawyers, and a divided settlement for the individuals that might be a hundred or so dollars.

DJI can continue to be a bad actor in terms of customer service, support, or fraudulent advertising because nobody is going to pony up the cash to make them accountable for their practices. And even if they lost a suit like that, it would be minute, and merely a cost of doing business. Think about the Exxon Valdez or the BP Deepwater Horizon...are either of those companies any smaller now? Has the ocean recovered? Are things substantially different?

what about small claims court?

 

[tcope]

what about small claims court?

Yes, that is an easy and inexpensive way. The only issue with Small Claim is, unless you are in CA, collecting on the judgement. You may need to work on getting a judgement admitted in a CA court. It can be a little difficult in working everything out but it can be done. I should know.

 

[capri404]

Did you file a small claim case for your DJI drone? If so, did you win?

 

[tcope]

Did you file a small claim case for your DJI drone? If so, did you win?

You are not allowed to talk about lawsuits in this forum (yeah, I know). I'll just say that something was filed and it was settled. I was pleased with the settlement arrangements (I'm sure DJI was as well).

I have nothing against DJI, they may a _great_ product (heck, I take my own time, effort and money to put out videos to help people use their products). They have made several choices that don't make sense for their customers or even for them but I weight this against the products that they put out.

 

[capri404]

After doing some research. Each state has different laws. I live in Atlanta Georgia. Georgia protects its consumers from problems as this. I purchased my drone while living in Atlanta Georgia. DJI will be responsible were the transaction took place. The zip code of payment will govern the transaction place. In Georgia, its not like California. In small claims, we can sue up to $15,000 and in California, you need to have special circumstances to sue for $10,000. I will file in Atlanta and see what happens. The small claims process is set in place to be an inexpensive way to protect consumers that want an expedient results.

Don't get me wrong, I really like my DJI drone. My issue is with customer service and how they tried to invoice me bogus charges, crashed my drone, gave me someone else's camera, lost my drone and how they have treated me. I'm an American working in Asia 75% of the time. The problems is most likely cultural. This is how they do business in Asia. Customer service is lacking. DJI probably needs cultural training in different countries. The customer service agent are very nice, but problem solving, and being honest with repair are major issues. It appears they are trying to balance their repair cost with bogus drone charges.

I believe, if they can ever correct their customer service issues, they can become a great company in the drone world.

 

[pixl]

After doing some research. Each state has different laws. I live in Atlanta Georgia. Georgia protects its consumers from problems as this. I purchased my drone while living in Atlanta Georgia. DJI will be responsible were the transaction took place. The zip code of payment will govern the transaction place. In Georgia, its not like California. In small claims, we can sue up to $15,000 and in California, you need to have special circumstances to sue for $10,000. I will file in Atlanta and see what happens. The small claims process is set in place to be an inexpensive way to protect consumers that want an expedient results. I posted links below for the legal process in Georgia and if you live in California.

GA Magistrate Court Information for Consumers | Georgia Department of Law's Consumer Protection Unit

Steps to Filing a Small Claims Case - small_claims_selfhelp

Don't get me wrong, I really like my DJI drone. My issue is with customer service and how they tried to invoice me bogus charges, crashed my drone, gave me someone else's camera, lost my drone and how they have treated me. I'm an American working in Asia 75% of the time. The problems is most likely cultural. This is how they do business in Asia. DJI probably needs cultural training in different countries. The customer service agent are very nice, but problem solving, and being honest with repair are major issues. It appears they are trying to balance their repair cost with bogus drone charges.

I believe, if they can ever correct their customer service issues, they can become a great company in the drone world.

Yes, I have worked in and out of China a lot too -- typically China doesn't understand how to interact with, or market to western societies. DJI has been a standout in the marketing side of things -- few Chinese companies are successful in this way. But their service culture is still very Chinese -- there is still a tradition of not wanting to "lose face", so that if you do anything that might embarrass them (extreme faux pas there), you are likely to have them ignore you altogether.

Their service policies are not all that different from Apple. The difference is that Apple makes you feel like a valued customer and gives you a lot of attention while they are robbing you blind.

 

[tcope]

Don't get me wrong, I really like my DJI drone. My issue is with customer service and how they tried to invoice me bogus charges, crashed my drone, gave me someone else's camera, lost my drone and how they have treated me.

My recommendation... fill out the paperwork and fax and mail it to DJI in CA. Don't file and wait awhile to see if you get a response. If no response, file and mail them a certified copy to their CA office. What you want is a response. Chances are good that they would not respond to your complaint and you could then take a default judgement. But this is not necessarily a good thing for you. You'd probably be better off getting your situation bumped up to someone who has the authority to do something about it.

 

[tcope]

Yes, I have worked in and out of China a lot too -- typically China doesn't understand how to interact with, or market to western societies. DJI has been a standout in the marketing side of things -- few Chinese companies are successful in this way. But their service culture is still very Chinese -- there is still a tradition of not wanting to "lose face", so that if you do anything that might embarrass them (extreme faux pas there), you are likely to have them ignore you altogether.

I'd agree with this. You can even look back to Colin Guinn worked for DJI. He really increased their US sales but once Wang saw how much "liberty" Guinn was taking in making deals, he was fired. Granted, Guinn probably did things that he was not authorized to do (deal with GoPro, keeping security passes, etc.) but it does look like Wang wanted to be in 100% control. Personally, I think DJI did the right thing but it goes to their history.

 

[capri404]

LOL

 

[capri404]

My recommendation... fill out the paperwork and fax and mail it to DJI in CA. Don't file and wait awhile to see if you get a response. If no response, file and mail them a certified copy to their CA office. What you want is a response. Chances are good that they would not respond to your complaint and you could then take a default judgement. But this is not necessarily a good thing for you. You'd probably be better off getting your situation bumped up to someone who has the authority to do something about it.

I was bumped up. Everyone concurred with my situation. I spoke to the Manager (Todd) in New York, he told me, it would be addressed in a few hours. Its has been days and i have not heard anything, I have called and nothing has happen.