Warranty service for parallel imports. Underwater rocks

Hello.

Since May 15, parallel imports have been operating in Russia, and every week with its help

more and more goods are being supplied.In case of parallel import, goods are delivered bypassing the manufacturer, as a result, he does not bear any warranty obligations. And here the question arises, who and how will service the sold electronics, what will be the guarantee and what to do if the equipment breaks down. Let's try to understand all these issues so that you have a correct picture of the world.

To begin with, in Russia the minimum termWarranty is specified at the level of law, it is at least 12 months for new products. Therefore, when any company indicates a shorter period, it violates consumer protection law. For example, during the sale of goods from IKEA, the warranty period was specified as equal to two months, which is a violation of the law, the company is obliged to comply with the support period of 12 months. Another thing is that, apparently, IKEA is leaving the market and will not physically be able to comply with the accepted warranty period. It is possible to circumvent these restrictions, in which case the buyer must sign a waiver of the usual warranty, as a rule, the seller offers to do this in exchange for an additional discount. And here there can be no claims from the side of the law - you get a discount, but also explicitly refuse a long-term guarantee. Unfortunately, this method is practically not common in Russia, since in most situations it is not possible to collect buyers' refusals, the scheme of such a sale looks complicated.

Maximum warranty periodis set by the manufacturer independently, for example, Apple offers two years of service for all Russian customers. WD hard drives also come with a two-year warranty. You can pick up various products and manufacturers that extend the standard year, considering this a competitive advantage.

Unfortunately, manufacturers with parallelimports do not serve goods brought from other countries. This is clearly seen in the example of Apple technology, in fact, they stopped servicing officially imported equipment - there are no spare parts, authorized partners cannot carry out complex repairs.

Slow end of service from Apple in Russia

How Apple destroys its own service in Russia and why now it will be almost impossible to get warranty service. The problem of service centers and components.

In fact, we can say that the numberThe number of vehicle repairs in Russia did not change much in the second quarter of 2022, but manufacturers' authorized service centers experienced a noticeable drop in the number of orders as they ran out of warranty repairs. All companies that have left Russia or suspended their work have curtailed support for service centers, the only exception is Samsung. It turns out that the service life of the equipment has not been reached, and you are denied repairs, even if the device has an obvious factory defect.

This is clearly seen in the example of Apple technology,the warehouses were the first to run out of top cases for the MacBook Pro, the cost of such a repair is maximum, both the screen and the keyboard are replaced. A torn or pinched cable leads to green stripes on the screen, it is impossible to use the device.

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My friend broke down in JanuaryMacBook Pro, stripes appear on the screen. In an authorized SC, the case was recognized as a warranty case, a complete replacement of the screen took a little more than a week. Exactly the same MacBook Pro, bought at the same time, under warranty - and the failure of several ACS, they do not recognize the warranty case. But everyone advises taking the laptop to any country where there is support from Apple, where it will be repaired for free in a few days.

Why the ASC refuses to repair is understandable.They don't have the parts, and if they confirm a warranty repair, they'll be required to do it within the legal deadline. But they cannot repair the equipment, hence all subsequent problems and failures.

We compared the number of failures in warranty repairs inMoscow in the second quarter of this and last year, the statistics turned out to be telling. Last year, 37% of calls were recognized as warranty cases for Apple equipment. This year, only 4%, with the majority due to minor breakdowns or problems in the software. The death of official SCs when the manufacturer leaves Russia is a matter of time, they themselves cannot provide warranty support, since the manufacturer does not pay for it, does not supply components for it.

Due to the drop in the number of warranty cases we haveappeals to unauthorized SCs grew, people carried equipment there. The reason is simple - the cost of repairs in them is lower. But its quality is often different, plus they often put not original components, but their copies - this is clearly seen in the example of batteries or keyboards for MacBooks.

The quality and variety of repairs availablein official SC, it is unattainable in the current conditions, you will not be able to get it in third-party services. And here the main problem begins, namely, how to deal with warranty service with parallel imports.

High prices for goods with parallel importsare formed not only because of the difficulties of logistics, but also because of the need for the same repairs that the manufacturer used to take on. Now the retailer is responsible to the buyer, but he often does not have the opportunity to repair the equipment, unless it is something simple. And most retailers are counting on an unconditional exchange of equipment if the marriage is confirmed. Which affects the cost for everyone, the price includes the need for repairs.

But there are nuances, they are whowill recognize the breakdown as a warranty or non-warranty case. In fact, with parallel imports, the retailer himself assesses the breakdowns, the temptation to refuse repairs is great, everything can be attributed to incorrect operating conditions. Of course, consumers are not angels and often try to get repairs for free, although they know that they broke the equipment themselves. But the number of failures will obviously increase, as the manufacturer drops out of the chain, which put pressure on partners, cared about its reputation. Now we have a seller and a buyer, no one in between. And my expectations are negative, they will refuse to repair more and more often. In this situation, the purchase of a gray device (which was imported without paying taxes) becomes more interesting, there is practically no service, and the price is 20-30% lower. So why overpay?

In large retail chains they say thatwill focus on the quality of service, for example, reStore claims that it will be as loyal as possible to breakdowns, either repair or replace equipment. Considering the cost of Apple products in reStore today, it is possible that they are being sold at very high prices. But for many merchants, there is no economy in such repairs, moreover, for them this is an unusual function. And so you need to carefully choose the place, what you buy, think about the guarantee and how a particular seller is able to comply with it.

The problem is that to prove a breakdown due to faultthe manufacturer is extremely difficult, since the services are reluctant to do such an examination. And now we have a completely stalemate - retail will deny the warranty for breakdowns, authorized services, for obvious reasons, will also not recognize such cases as warranty. Vicious circle. And in many respects the possibility of repair will depend on the policy of the retail chain. In the next six months or a year, we must look closely at who and how repairs equipment, where this process is easy, and where it is not.

Unfortunately parallel imports killquality service, it again becomes a privilege that is not available to everyone. After-sales service without the participation of the manufacturer is impossible, it becomes complicated, expensive and unprofitable for the partner. There are more problems and headaches than profits.

And this gives additional points to those brands thatremained on the market, continue to trade in goods, supply them directly. Even if their service is weaker, it is still the official service and support of the manufacturer, it is expensive.

Alas, with parallel imports, wait for the servicewill be part of the goods, you cannot. This will be an additional fee for the opportunity to exchange the product, but most likely not to repair. And the question is who will bear these costs, and who will take the position that all the problems are on the side of the buyer. In the near future we will learn about this from real cases on the market.

Slow end of service from Apple in Russia

How Apple destroys its own service in Russia and why now it will be almost impossible to get warranty service. The problem of service centers and components.