Otter Products LLC

Complaint: [redacted]
I am not looking for any further response from the Customer Service department at this company as they have made it very clear that they won't do anything in response to my complaint.  I would like this letter to be sent to the President.  I also want the Revdex.com to know that this company's guarantee is false and misleading and ended up costing us a $700 phone.  We had no damage to the case, as they imply there may have been.  The case had not been mishandled and, if there was a failure in the case as they suggest, it occurred because of a fault in the case performance, not because we damaged it.Given they cannot guarantee the case to be waterproof, they should not be allowed to make claims that it is --- and should be required to make it clear to consumers that their cases are not.  We purchased this case (and paid a significant premium for it versus other cases), only because it claimed to be waterproof.  We also took it into a situation where we knew water contact was possible, because we believed the company's claims that it was protected -- in fact they claim that the phone can be placed in up to 6 feet of water, used for underwater photos etc..  Yet our phone was damaged beyond repair simply by being sprayed by some water.I am not sure what you can do to help me.  The company clearly won't, but I would like to see this complaint on record, should anyone else experience the mess we did.  When someone searches this company, it should indicate that we are refuting their advertising, that it is false and misleading and they do not stand behind their product when it fails.As an aside, when trying to deal with them regarding this situation, I was responded to by 6 different people, each telling me a different story; each requiring different information from me. One said I had to return the case, while the manager said a photo would suffice.  10 minutes later I received another message, saying that the photo had to meet certain requirements regarding the layout.  I resubmitted it and then 10 minutes later, received an email from yet another person, telling me to submit it in a third way.  Then a fourth email, saying yet again that I needed to send in the phone.  The fifth person said the refund was complete and would be credited to my visa (less the shipping of course, because they would not even cover that portion of the refund).  The sixth person then emailed and said that they could not credit my card because they didn't have the number and a cheque had been issued.  I had clearly indicated that I wanted it credited to my visa and would have happily given my credit card number to do so --- but noone even asked me for that.  Instead they told me they had everything they needed on file.  So here I sit, still waiting for the refund credit, which will come in a U.S. Cheque, which then costs me money to cash here in Canada.  This is just POOR service all around, and quite frankly, I am disgusted by their cavalier and dismissive response, each time apologizing, but demonstrating no accountability.I respectfully ask that this letter be forwarded to the company President -- not just another customer service agent who will give me the standard response of "I'm sorry this happened, but we will do nothing for you, as it must have been your fault that the case failed."  I have been in Marketing for 15 years, and I would never treat my customer the way we have been.  I will certainly ensure that I share this experience broadly, so others are not duped by the false claims.  I am also now in Education and have traditionally chosen Otter boxes to protect our devices.  Given this experience, I no longer trust that the company will stand by its products, so will choose and recommend that others in our School Board not use them in the future.  I realize the company will likely not care much about this decision; however, word of mouth and consumer loyalty are valued and critical to long term business success.  I will look forward to seeing if the Company President will stand behind his product, despite his representatives' lack of accountability.  The phone had to be replaced and cost $405 to do so (receipt for replacement phone was sent to them, as per the manager's request). Lifeproof/Otter owes us that money --- and I hope the President will take ownership and do what is right.
Regards,
[redacted]

Dear [redacted],Thanks for getting in touch with us and sorry for any delays.We do apologize for your difficult experience. We are only seeing one previous attempt at a replacement, and we are still very happy to send you another. This is not a typical experience that you have had and we encourage you to give this warranty another try.To clarify, we remain unable to offer a refund on this case. It is simply not possible to do third party refunds. Please know that our offer to get you any non-battery case you like is going way outside of our warranty. The warranty is normally only for the exact item you have. Please let us know if you have any questions.Best,Sarah

Dear [redacted],Thanks for reaching out to us and sorry for any delays.I want to assure you we are not ignoring your claim. We simply need a more specific photo to process your warranty. What we need is all parts of the OtterBox, taken off the phone, laid out on a sheet of paper with the following...

information on it:Signed name.Hand-printed nameThe date the photo was takenThe four-digit product code from the inside of the caseWe won't need a serial number, as this case does not include one.Indication of damage, also hand-written.Once we get that photo, we will be happy to process your claim.I have re-sent the request from the original incident. Please let us know if you have any questions.Best,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:the Issue is NOT the case. What good will a replacement case do if I have no device for it!?! NEVER again will I EVER pur[redacted] a product from this company! Both the case and my [redacted] are BRAND NEW and you are telling me it's my [redacted]s fault it broke in YOUR case which is meant for protection! I assure you, if you have an IProduct you also have a case for the EXACT same reason I had one for my own, PROTECTION! Replacing the case does absolutely nothin to solve ANY problems. I fully expect my device to be repaired/replaced due to the damage incurred by YOUR product.
Regards,
[redacted]

Hello [redacted],
I apologize for the inconvenience regarding the situation, and can definitely understand the confusion.  The $5 charge for your RMA is for the shipping label that we send to you which helps ensure proper processing of the return.  Due to the confusion, I will make a...

one-time exception to waive this $5 charge.  You will not receive an email about this charge being removed, but when we receive the product and process the refund, the $5 will not be taken out of your refund.  I apologize again for the inconvenience, but if you have any other questions, please let me know.
Best Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]

As you have been told by our Customer Service, we are unable to repair or replace damaged devices. We are able to send out a replacement case, and can make an exception to waive the shipping fee on it. As per our Limited Warranty, found here on our website...

(https://www.lifeproof.com/en-us/global-warranty.html), we do not warranty and are not responsible for, any smart phone or other devices not specifically made by Lifeproof.

[redacted], Thank you for reaching out to us.  I am so sorry to hear about your [redacted] device.  I completely understand the frustration you must be feeling with the situation and I'd like to help clarify a few things.  We do offer a one-year limited warranty for all OtterBox...

products.  This limited warranty does not extend to the device itself for several reasons.  The primary reason is that we don't manufacture the device itself and thus, have no control over the quality during the original manufacturing process.  Mistakes or inconsistencies during this process could lead to increased susceptibility to device damage.  Additionally, there are a number of variables involved with the drop/fall of the device that we cannot account for (drop height, point of impact, surface of impact, etc.).   Our cases do provide an outstanding amount of protection in most circumstances and can be attested to by customers and case review companies.  However, we cannot and do not guarantee every device will survive without damage in 100% of situations that device is exposed to.  I definitely know what it's like to go through a damaged device situation.  I've been there a few times.  I would really like to get you taken care of with a replacement case of your choice.  I can completely understand if you have no interest in a replacement but we do offer several different series of cases for the [redacted].  I would be happy to send you one of those cases free of charge to try instead.  I do hope this provides a bit of clarity regarding our limited warranty.  Please let us know if you have any interest in trying a new product for that device.  Sincerest Regards, [redacted]OtterBox

Please let me know which case you would like to receive as a replacement and I will ship it as quickly as possible.

Hello [redacted],
I am sorry that you haven't received a properly working case from us. Here is what I can do to help you. If you could please reply back to my email here with the Serial Numbers from your newest case, and the color you should have received. Once I have that information I will get the...

new case ordered for you and with expedited shipping.
Thank you,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I, as well as many others, trusted the promises of LifeProof. Looking online, reading blogs, comments on Facebook and other complaint pages, I have now come to realize that this is an ongoing problem for many of LifeProof's customers. I love that they apologize that "the product did not meet my expectations and for any distress that I may be suffering," but my expectation was that their product would just simply do what they claimed it would do on everything they publish and my distress is that I was out a phone, case and money they promised to protect. A business should not be able to make claims about their product they know to be false. I have read countless cases of people being angry over this product not doing what it promises and destroying their phones. This has to be known to be an ongoing problem. I don't know how it can be allowed for them to continue doing this. There needs to be a clearer message on their product packaging and advertising and website that this product has been known to fail for many customers. To keep making these assertions is lying to the consumer and there needs to be something done about it. I would like my money for my phone and case reimbursed, sure, but I mostly want there to be a change in the way the company promotes itself. Their product is not waterproof with the device in it. Their case is not drop proof, as many I have read have had busted screens on small drops. This is just not right and I am tired of just hearing "read the warranty information" and getting a link to it. 
Regards,
[redacted]

All Lifeproof products come with a 1 year limited warranty to allow us to replace your case should any issues arise. With any warranty claims that are selected by warranty compliance customer service is no longer able to handle the warranty claim. In order to resolve the issue you would need to...

be in direct contact with our warranty compliance depart by email. For any refund to be processed on any purchase order, the order must be within 30 days of original purchase date and purchased directly from our website lifeproof.com. If you would like to go over any additional options, you would need to reach out to [redacted].

Please visit www.otterbox.com to view our full selection of cases. Please let me know which you would like to receive and I will send it out as quickly as possible.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me contingent that they refund my money that I paid for the case.  I have submitted all of the required documents listed in their response.refund amount $79.99 plus tax
Regards,
[redacted]
[redacted]

I have refunded the shipping costs owed to you. Your refund number is [redacted]. Please allow 3-5 working days for the funds to appear in your account.

Dear [redacted],Thanks for reaching out to us and sorry for any frustration you may have experienced.The freight charge is something that is paid out to [redacted]. This is standard for online returns to have a nominal freight charge on returns, regardless of the situation. We normally only waive this $5...

fee if we misled you in any way: for example, if you spoke to us and we sold you the wrong product, While we do believe it is self-evident you need a LifeProof case to use LifeProof accessories, we are sorry if you found the website confusing. I did go ahead and reverse that charge, but please understand that this is not normally something we are able to do under such circumstances.Please let us know if you have any questions.Best,Sarah

[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]
I'd like to withdraw my complaint. The company finally responded to me.Thank you,[redacted]

All of our cases come with a limited one year warranty that covers the case but not the device inside of the case. Before sending out a case a case is water tested to ensure that it is waterproof for our customers and their devices. We ask that a customer complete a water test upon receiving the...

case and at regular intervals throughout the life of the case. If the case becomes damaged or stops functioning we will send a replacement. Generally our warranty only covers receiving a replacement case however we are able to make an exception to refund the case if it was purchased within the last year. Due to the situation that you experienced we did make the exception to refund your case but we will be unable to offer any compensation for the device itself. We have issued a refund for the case in the amount of $79.99 which was the amount paid for the case according to the documentation that was provided. In these situations we are unable to refund any tax that may have been paid for the item. In addition we would still be able to send out a replacement case of your choice and waive our standard shipping and handling fee.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
[redacted]The test was done prior to putting it in the pool. It is very disappointing that you would expect some to accept a replacement of a case that didn't work the first time, and the damage to the IPOD is done. If your product is defective and caused harm, you should pay for that replacement of such an item. In addition, your packaging is fraudulent. It presents itself as providing protection when in fact it doesn't. I will continue to market against this product. You should change your wording in the near future, so honest customers won't entrust your product to protect what is most precious to them.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]