Extremely unhappy and disatistified with Uniden tech support at the moment!

[scanthewaves]

I can not believe what I have had to endure with Uniden Scanner support, Back in April June I sent in my 396 XL to be repaired there was an issue where the power button was not responsive and the uinit was not functioning properly, I paid my $69.95 finally got my unit back, seemed like the problem was fixed, only 5 mins on and the power button issue returned, it was not resolved obviously so being that is in repair warranty, I sent it back to Uniden was told it would be at least 14 days till I would hear something, well today I heard something and what I heard is infuriating and raised my blood pressure!

"I received an email from the repair department to let me know the 90 day repair warranty will be voided. There is physical damage to the SMA antenna connector. The repair fee is going to be $69.95. I have attached photos of the damage they found". " I wrote back that prior to shipment there was no damage to the SMA, hell the only reason I sent it back is because of the failed repair. I see this as something that merits investigating, I'm out another $69 if I pay which I will not and if not I"m out a scanner thanks to an unknown, I don't understand why it wasn't fixed correctly the first time? My only regret other than buying Uniden and not sticking with Radio Shack is that I didn't take a picture of the unit prior to sending it in. One thing that is apparent the SMA looks like it was melted so if it wasn't due to heat in shipping than what melted it? I don't know why I had to wait this long to learn this, this is poor business practice and it's going to cost Uniden if it becomes a regular practice if it isn't already. I requested a support supervisor contact me as I am at the moment speechless! I have enough going on in my life I don't need this too. I'm curios to know if anyone has experienced anything remotely similar with Uniden, I might be wrong but looks to me like someone is trying to put blame on the customer rather than assume responsibility for a possible mishap. I can't imagine not since BBB is full of complaints, Uniden America Corporation | Complaints | Better Business Bureau® Profile so what's one complaint?

 

[scanman56]

dude, you're screwed

 

[pro106import]

That connector isn't melted. It was dropped and it is bent up. They are metal. I don't think they could be melted very easily without melting the chassis. And why would they charge you for a repair you didn't ask about? You only want your orrig. repair to be done correctly. You should contact @JoeBearcat about this.

 

[scanthewaves]

That connector isn't melted. It was dropped and it is bent up. They are metal. I don't think they could be melted very easily without melting the chassis. And why would they charge you for a repair you didn't ask about? You only want your orrig. repair to be done correctly. You should contact @JoeBearcat about this.

It looks that way in the picture, my guess is if it was dropped it was dropped by Fedex the carrier responsible for the shipping back to them, not my choice it was covered by Uniden, something that should have taken 2 days max in state took about 4-5 days, I believe the package was marked fragile, yes I only want my original repair but now they don't want to do that because they are saying the SMA is damaged, it doesn't matter to them if it happened in shipping but isn't it insured for damage? Can't prove it anyway no picture prior to shipping. So basically I have parts and not good ones at that, If I"m willing to pay for their shipping it back. Thanks Uniden for nothing.

 

[scanthewaves]

dude, you're screwed

Tell me about it!

 

[pro106import]

It looks that way in the picture, my guess is if it was dropped it was dropped by Fedex the carrier responsible for the shipping back to them, not my choice it was covered by Uniden, something that should have taken 2 days max in state took about 4-5 days, I believe the package was marked fragile, yes I only want my original repair but now they don't want to do that because they are saying the SMA is damaged, so basically I have parts and not good ones at that. Thanks Uniden for nothing.

Or the Uniden repair tech dropped it when he unpacked it. Doesn't want to take the blame for it so he passes the buck. Just a possibility of course. There is no proof either way. But it looks like the connector is still useable, as the threads seem intact still. Just use long nose pliers to bend the metal back. It is pretty soft. I've done it before. Providing there is no damage to the PC board from the drop.

 

[scanthewaves]

Or the Uniden repair tech dropped it when he unpacked it. Doesn't want to take the blame for it so he passes the buck. Just a possibility of course. There is no proof either way. But it looks like the connector is still useable, as the threads seem intact still. Just use long nose pliers to bend the metal back. It is pretty soft. I've done it before.

I was just going to say it before you said it, yes the SMA does look usable, could it be that they just can't repair the unit and this is their solution for me? While the connector may still be good, the scanner isn't functioning normal, I started a thread a while back on what's wrong with it I'll see if I can post a link to it here, so by voiding their warranty they screwed me because I am not going to pay an additional $69, at this point it's close the price of a used one on ebay so why bother, except they screwed me out of $69 and that is just bad business. I wonder if at this point I should be contacting Uniden corporate offices? By the way not a US company it's Made In Japan. Well at least it's not made in China yet.

 

[scanthewaves]

Here's the link to the thread BCD396XT: - BCD386xt Keypad unresponsive.

 

[pro106import]

I was just going to say it before you said it, yes the SMA does look usable, could it be that they just can't repair the unit and this is their solution for me? While the connector may still be good, the scanner isn't functioning normal, I started a thread a while back on what's wrong with it I'll see if I can post a link to it here, so by voiding their warranty they screwed me because I am not going to pay an additional $69, at this point it's close the price of a used one on ebay so why bother, except they screwed me out of $69 and that is just bad business. I wonder if at this point I should be contacting Uniden corporate offices? By the way not a US company it's Made In Japan. Well at least it's not made in China yet.

Yes the radio was made in Japan. They probably don't have all the parts for them anymore. I have had my 2 units running 24/7 since like 2010. The rubber keypad could be just dirty. They probably can't get the keypads anymore. They should have just said it was unrepeatable and sent it back no charge. They probably attempted to clean it and it worked for them at the time so they thought they fixed it. IDK. Just speculation on my part.

 

[scanthewaves]

Sent a message to @JoeBearcat hope to hear something soon. At this point I'm seriously considering selling my only other Uniden scanner my 436 and going with another company like Whistler if I'm going to have to put up with this nonsense with future repairs. Why void the warranty does Uniden need my $69 now $138 dollars that badly? lol

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

It looks that way in the picture, my guess is if it was dropped it was dropped by Fedex the carrier responsible for the shipping back to them, not my choice it was covered by Uniden, something that should have taken 2 days max in state took about 4-5 days, I believe the package was marked fragile, yes I only want my original repair but now they don't want to do that because they are saying the SMA is damaged, it doesn't matter to them if it happened in shipping but isn't it insured for damage? Can't prove it anyway no picture prior to shipping. So basically I have parts and not good ones at that, If I"m willing to pay for their shipping it back. Thanks Uniden for nothing.

So many questions..
How was it packaged to send via Fedex? Was it in a padded box or simply an envelope? Did Uniden provide the shipping materials?

 

[RoninJoliet]

Wonder if they attach a antenna to it at repair then use a pliers to get it off smashing it....I purchased a 996p2 from Bearcat Warehouse came with connector smashed no damage to the carton , they replaced it....Good luck to ya

 

[mastr]

dude, you're screwed

Yep.

 

[scanthewaves]

So many questions..
How was it packaged to send via Fedex? Was it in a padded box or simply an envelope? Did Uniden provide the shipping materials?

Padded envelope considering it was being shipped in state at a FedEx store I forgot the box at home, but FedEx sat on it for more days than needed.

 

[GTR8000]

Padded envelope

🤦‍♂️

 

[scanthewaves]

🤦‍♂️

Yes however I had the box they shipped back in ready to go and forgot to take it with me I settled for a padded envelope instead since I wasn’t paying for the shipping in hindsight that may have not been the best choice, that said there is no proof the damage occurred in shipping or prior to. FWIW it’s not my fault that FedEx didn’t deliver it in the time expected and probably in that time it was dropped, it did have a fragile label on it.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Wonder if they attach a antenna to it at repair then use a pliers to get it off smashing it....I purchased a 996p2 from Bearcat Warehouse came with connector smashed no damage to the carton , they replaced it....Good luck to ya

That's typical damage from dropping it without an antenna attached. Not normal wear and tear. It's likely from handling it during shipping or repair.

 

[scanthewaves]

Yes

Wonder if they attach a antenna to it at repair then use a pliers to get it off smashing it....I purchased a 996p2 from Bearcat Warehouse came with connector smashed no damage to the carton , they replaced it....Good luck to ya

Yes I wonder too but seeing how they haven’t fixed the original issue does it matter considering they won’t honor their repair warranty and voided it due to an assumption at best. I will never buy another Uniden product again new or used and and if you gave one to me and it broke I would sell it for parts or throw throw it away before I endure this type of frustration and nonsense again!

Yes the radio was made in Japan. They probably don't have all the parts for them anymore. I have had my 2 units running 24/7 since like 2010. The rubber keypad could be just dirty. They probably can't get the keypads anymore. They should have just said it was unrepeatable and sent it back no charge. They probably attempted to clean it and it worked for them at the time so they thought they fixed it. IDK. Just speculation on my part.

Yes my guess is that is the case

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Yes however I had the box they shipped back in ready to go and forgot to take it with me I settled for a padded envelope instead since I wasn’t paying for the shipping in hindsight that may have not been the best choice, that said there is no proof the damage occurred in shipping or prior to. FWIW it’s not my fault that FedEx didn’t deliver it in the time expected and probably in that time it was dropped, it did have a fragile label on it.

Padded envelopes are terrible method of shipping anything with pointy bits. Pay the man $70 and dont do it again.

 

[phask]

I fail to see what Uniden Tech. Support has to do with this.