UK promotion - Claimed free disk but no response so far

[davey4444]

How long is long? My application was received on 14/09 for a 1tb drive, have emailed ukpromo 3 times, customer service once and have left a callback voicemail and have had jack all back from Netgear.

[Ranjanx]

davey4444 wrote:
How long is long? My application was received on 14/09 for a 1tb drive, have emailed ukpromo 3 times, customer service once and have left a callback voicemail and have had jack all back from Netgear.

Hi Davey that's how old my claim is. If you haven't yet, try calling 01344 458200 opt 2 and ask for Quintin. At least you'd get to talk to someone who promises to help and sounds like he means business.

If this doesn't work, lets check back tuesday to see where we are and take it from there.

[davey4444]

Sounds good to me. I called the number and plumped for option 4 on Wednesday which said that I'll get a call back within 5 days. Of course I'm taking that with the biggest pinch of salt.

[BritBrat]

Ranjanx wrote:

Ranjanx wrote: Ok, so the last deadline I was given by the team lead for receiving it before today is over. I'm given him till lunch time to confirm shipping details if they have any. If I dont get that I am with anyone who's going ahead with legal recourse. Did get a call back and he's asked me to wait till monday and it might even be delivered today. Anyone else from the list of people waiting for a long time still waiting ?

I have been waiting from August and was told it would be here this week and also had an Email:

22 November 2010

Dear ***** ********

We are in receipt of you claim and we anticipate delivery to yourself by the end of this week


Please accept our most sincere apologies for this unfortunate delay.


Best regards,

NETGEAR Promotions, UK&I.

This e-mail, including attachments, may include confidential and/or proprietary information, and may be used only by the person or entity to which it is addressed. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient or his or her authorized agent, the reader is hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail is prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender by replying to this message and delete this e-mail immediately.

I will give them until Monday.

[BazzaS]

My 2TB drive has arrived, before the 'cut-off' time I'd set for going out and buying one myself (8 weeks, where I'd given them 8 1/2 weeks).

No screws to mount it in the drive carrier - neither with the ReadyNAS nor with the drive.
(I see a previous poster on this thread had the same, and was advised to contact Netgear support : I'll try this later this during the working week).

The drives (the original and the 2nd 'free' drive) are both Seagate Barracuda's on firmware CC34, and I see that CC35 is the latest, advised
here: viewtopic.php?f=65&t=46407 and
here: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=46445

Seagate advise not upgrading firmware either over a RAID'd system nor while mounting the drive in a USB dock (see points 3 and 6 of
http://forums.seagate.com/t5/Barracuda- ... td-p/23154).
Since I don't have a desktop PC with a SATA card, should I be upgrading the firmware, and if so, How?.
Even though this may be of interest to some reading this thread, I don't want to derail this thread, so have posted this as a new thread here:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=48009

BazzaS.

[BritBrat]

My drive just turned up.

Thanks to all those that helped make it happen.

[garypearson]

Got proof of receipt of application form on 14th November and 2TB drive arrived today.

Sounds like I've been incredibly lucky.

[Ranjanx]

Finally ! did receive my drive yesterday. Didnt get to check it but I sure am done with netgear - unless I run into issues with the duo or hard drive.

[xhq]

Congratulations to all who have received the disk. I am still waiting...

[Webagents]

Me too...Emailed ukpromotions@netgear.com to receive a reply asking me to email ukpromotions@netgear.com

Go figure 😞

[Ranjanx]

xhq wrote:
Congratulations to all who have received the disk. I am still waiting...

For all of you still waiting, If you haven't yet, try calling 01344 458200 opt 2 and ask for Quintin

[xhq]

Ranjanx wrote:
For all of you still waiting, If you haven't yet, try calling 01344 458200 opt 2 and ask for Quintin

Thanks Ranjanx. Just did it. A very nice guy. He said he would make sure my case get handled urgently. Sitting back and waiting now....

[Ranjanx]

xhq wrote:
Ranjanx wrote: For all of you still waiting, If you haven't yet, try calling 01344 458200 opt 2 and ask for Quintin Thanks Ranjanx. Just did it. A very nice guy. He said he would make sure my case get handled urgently. Sitting back and waiting now....

😄 Do not intend to spoil your spirits but the "hande your case urgently" might be his standard line, given the number of people complaining about it. Nevertheless, I'm sure he has a list and you've got your name on it.

[BazzaS]

BrigadierA wrote:
Ouch - Customer Services was painful!! 3 people later (and explaining to each one why I hadn't noticed I had 4 screws missing for 3 months) and 36 minutes on the phone I'm told they agree to supply some screws... but they don't have any in stock! 😞 They're going to contact HQ and get back to me.

'Painful' I would agree with, though the "Customer Service" might be debated.

23 minutes on the phone for me, (but only 1 person) ... who couldn't help me as I didn't have my ReadyNAS's serial number with me, and I couldn't provide her with a case number as I hadn't been given one.
She declined to pass me on to anyone else even after I described the background, although did put me on hold to speak to her supervisor (who didn't speak with me - despite me asking to be passed on to someone who could help), and she said she couldn't generate a case number.

She did however admit that Netgear "might" be responsible for the screws not being present with the original ReadyNAS OR with the "2nd hard drive" (supplied by Netgear). I pointed out that this was generous of her to admit to, although it was hard to see anyone else than Netgear being responsible, as the boxes they came in were still sealed on receipt.

During the call I gave my details including my e-mail address, and was (pleasntly) suprised to have received an "Netgear Customer Service Survey" e-mail (it is the first non-automated response I've had to an e-mail or call beyond the drive arriving late). That e-mail quoted my case number (the one they "couldn't generate", presumably!). The e-mail shows they have recorded my query as "Problem: Presales case", though it isn't a presales issue.

Second call (now that I have a case number!) ... 5 mins of hold music, then at 13 minutes (after explaining the situation) -> "we'll transfer you to a different team". Situation explained again (is there a recurring theme here?) as it appears that they don't pass on the information when the calls are transferred, and then she "had to put me on hold" while she 'spoke to another team'... at which point (20 minutes) I got the orignal "For product support please press 1" menu again ...... I held on in case the agent could retrieve the call, but the line was then dropped at their end, presumably as I hadn't entered a response to go round the loop of their call centre(s) again.

Prior to calling Netgear today, I had tried this weekend to buy the screws, as I just want a working drive setup. It appears the screws are proprietary, and Netgear are the only source (also stated at http://www.itexpertmag.com/server/raid-6-storage ).

The whole experience has been tedious in the extreme, and I still don't have the option of a NAS with a RAID'd disk setup, so haven't used it yet (9 weeks on!). I feel this isn't yet an item of "merchantable quality" as it can't perform the task it was purchased for, I can't remedy the situation by buying the missing screws elsewhere, and "Support" aren't taking ownership of the problem (or successfully transferring me to someone who can take ownership).

Caveat Emptor.

[swanny1]

xhq wrote:
Ranjanx wrote: Thanks Ranjanx. Just did it. A very nice guy. He said he would make sure my case get handled urgently. Sitting back and waiting now....

Yeah I have had that promise from him twice now and still nothing. Worst customer service ever.

[darkdusky]

It's now 100 days since I posted my forms to netgear and still no disk. Can anyone beat that?

[xhq]

It's also 100 days for me now. I reckon they want to give it as a Christmas gift - this Christmas I mean...

[Mustrum]

Oh dear, this does not make good reading, had my Duo for just about a week, and have sent off for the "free" disk, hope I don't have to wait that long.

This forum seems a great place, already picked up loads of great tips, thanks all.

[xhq]

Update - my Christmas gift arrived this morning!

Sincerely thanks to all who made this happenning - especially Chirpa who kicked off the processing. Good luck to all who are still waiting -- Happy Christmas 🙂

[orlovsky]

Just stumbled across this thread, and it doesn't fill me with much hope! Forms went out Monday, and were signed for Tuesday morning.. I'll post back (in the new year?) when the 2tb disk arrives.. 🙂

[aks]

Well, I had a call two weeks ago from support (Paul I think), and was promised that my drive would arrive within the next two weeks. Well, two weeks is up. No drive 😞
I am getting really hacked off now. Hope it comes before Christmas!

[BazzaS]

BazzaS wrote:

BrigadierA wrote: Ouch - Customer Services was painful!! 3 people later (and explaining to each one why I hadn't noticed I had 4 screws missing for 3 months) and 36 minutes on the phone I'm told they agree to supply some screws... but they don't have any in stock! 😞 They're going to contact HQ and get back to me. 'Painful' I would agree with, though the "Customer Service" might be debated. 23 minutes on the phone for me, (but only 1 person) ... who couldn't help me as I didn't have my ReadyNAS's serial number with me, and I couldn't provide her with a case number as I hadn't been given one. She declined to pass me on to anyone else even after I described the background, although did put me on hold to speak to her supervisor (who didn't speak with me - despite me asking to be passed on to someone who could help), and she said she couldn't generate a case number. She did however admit that Netgear "might" be responsible for the screws not being present with the original ReadyNAS OR with the "2nd hard drive" (supplied by Netgear). I pointed out that this was generous of her to admit to, although it was hard to see anyone else than Netgear being responsible, as the boxes they came in were still sealed on receipt. During the call I gave my details including my e-mail address, and was (pleasntly) suprised to have received an "Netgear Customer Service Survey" e-mail (it is the first non-automated response I've had to an e-mail or call beyond the drive arriving late). That e-mail quoted my case number (the one they "couldn't generate", presumably!). The e-mail shows they have recorded my query as "Problem: Presales case", though it isn't a presales issue. Second call (now that I have a case number!) ... 5 mins of hold music, then at 13 minutes (after explaining the situation) -> "we'll transfer you to a different team". Situation explained again (is there a recurring theme here?) as it appears that they don't pass on the information when the calls are transferred, and then she "had to put me on hold" while she 'spoke to another team'... at which point (20 minutes) I got the orignal "For product support please press 1" menu again ...... I held on in case the agent could retrieve the call, but the line was then dropped at their end, presumably as I hadn't entered a response to go round the loop of their call centre(s) again. Prior to calling Netgear today, I had tried this weekend to buy the screws, as I just want a working drive setup. It appears the screws are proprietary, and Netgear are the only source (also stated at http://www.itexpertmag.com/server/raid-6-storage ). The whole experience has been tedious in the extreme, and I still don't have the option of a NAS with a RAID'd disk setup, so haven't used it yet (9 weeks on!). I feel this isn't yet an item of "merchantable quality" as it can't perform the task it was purchased for, I can't remedy the situation by buying the missing screws elsewhere, and "Support" aren't taking ownership of the problem (or successfully transferring me to someone who can take ownership). Caveat Emptor.

Well, I'm fuming.

Follow-up to the above is that I didn't get a call back after leaving a message for "Quintin".
Calling "Support" again towards the end of last week - they were to arrange for the screws to be sent out to me, to arrive "within 4 working days".
The screws didn't arrive.

I received an e-mail saying: {quote]
Dear ********,

This contact is regarding your Netgear Service Case number 13******2

We see that the case is still open so, if you need further technical
assistance on your Netgear product, please contact us.

We are operational 24x7; please feel free to contact us at 1-888-Netgear
(US) / 0844-875-4000 (UK) / 0818-90- 4000 (Ireland)

Please be aware that your case will get auto-closed after 7 days of
inactivity.

Thanks again for choosing NETGEAR. Have a great day!


Sincerely,
B******* K*******
Technical Support NETGEAR Inc.
[/quote]

So, since they are "operational 24x7", I called the 0844 number stated last night.
The first agent (after checking my details) eventually agreed to pass me to his supervisor, who again asked me to confirm all my details ... and then said "we need to pass you to a different team"
The next team's agent carefully checked my details (presumably in case they'd changed during the 25 mins of the call), before telling me it wasn't his team, but the first team I'd called and he would transfer me back to them.
The team who then took over were at great pains to reassure me "not to worry" but thats about all they could do ; so I insisted on speaking to a supervisor. The supervisor listened carefully, checked my details again (who changes their details such as case number, name and phone number during a call??), and without checking with me if I'd be able to receive a call during the day arranged for a call back during daylight hours, by "speaking to the relevant team in chat". When I pointed out that I was working in an area that prohibits mobile phones, and wouldn't have asked for a call back, I was told "but the relevant team will call you back" tomorrow. I pointed out that if the "relevant team" were "available" "in chat" to him, that perhaps it'd be better if they called me back straight away, so I was sure to be able to receive their call, but this wasn't possible ... their 'managers' were available to him 'in chat' to agree the call back, but weern't able / allowed to contact customers directly.

So, I was eventually able, by pointing out that if the 'managers' of the 'relevant team' were available 'in chat' ... could he get them to agree a call back between 09.00 and 09.30?. And so, all my woes were to be resolved, as I would DEFINATELY get a call back.
My sceptism was met with surprise. My insistence on a "robust back-up plan, just in case it didn't work out" was initially refused, but by persistence he agreed that if all failed, since he was working again tonight, if I didn't get a call back as promised, I could ring in again, and speak to him, by giving his name and 'Agent ID' number. I specifically got him to confirm that if I did need to speak to him again, I would be able to have the call transferred to him (in a call centre? .. I had my doubts, but since he gave me that specific reassurance, I was happy to try if need be).

No call back. No e-mail.

So, I've called in again.
No, that agent isn't working tonight .... "but he said he was, and that they call could be transferred to him".
No, the call can't be transferred to him, even if he was there....... "OK, then I'd like to speak to a supervisor or manager, perhaps they can transfer the call, as I was told it could (or, rather WOULD) be done.....
"The Supervisors are all in a meeting"!. Apparently, all the supervisory staff are in a meeting, there is no-one available even to deal with a customer who feels they have been misled / given false assurances. I'm not convinced that this is the whole truth, as most companies don't leave their first line staff unsupported, but I have to admit it may be possible given events to date.

I'm giving up with trying to get Netgear to resolve this. I'm sending the original supplier a summary of events (and a link to this thread), as under UK law the responsibility for the original sale of the device being 'fit for purpose' and 'of merchantable quality' rests with the retailer. They are going to get a reasonable period to ensure I have a device working for the purpose for which it was sold (so, 2 working RAID'd drives), or they can have the ReadyNAS back, I'll claim a refund, and I'll go elsewhere. It is a shame that they may loose out for what is Netgear's repeated failure, but they are who I have to return the device to, and claim a refund from if they don't arrange for the problem to be fixed. Over 3 months is an unreasonable time frame to have to wait for a working device to ensure data security.

If someone from Netgear wishes to contact me, either because they dispute the accuracy of what I'm saying, or they feel shamed into resolving it .... I have recordings of the conversations, so can be sure that my recollection of events is accurate. My intent when recording the calls was to have them available to me for my own notes, and I wouldn't like to pass the recordings to a third party without the consent of the people I was recording, but I can give names / times / dates, and if the Netgear staff consent I can supply the recordings, as I feel there are major staff training issues here.

BazzaS

[swanny1]

Well I rang Netgear again yesterday, I like to torture myself.

Todays story is that some of the August claims (of which mine is one) were not delivered due to incomplete addresses\general cockup by the delivery company who have then kept the drives (allegedly). I have been promised a replacment drive within 7-10 days.

My name is missing off the mysterious list that I was told I was on 2 weeks ago. So I assume unless I chase Netgear I will get nothing. Although I still doubt I will ever see my free 2TB drive.

You couldn't make this stuff up.

[BazzaS]

swanny wrote:
Well I rang Netgear again yesterday, I like to torture myself ......... My name is missing off the mysterious list that I was told I was on 2 weeks ago. So I assume unless I chase Netgear I will get nothing. Although I still doubt I will ever see my free 2TB drive. You couldn't make this stuff up.

But, do you have the screws? That way one of us could be sorted, though it would mean the other would have no drive and no screws....... 😄

I hope they sort yours .... May I suggest sending them a letter giving them a set period, after which you'll go out and buy one at their expense ..... It worked for me (at least in terms of getting the drive) and would give you a backup plan for if they fail to meet their promises ....

[djfield]

Add me to the "Me too" list. I purchased my drive in september and applied for the drive by recorded mail. Its now been 3 months and not a word from Netgear, its absolutely disgusting how they can advertise such an offer without the resources to back it up. I only bought the ReadyNas because of this offer and I don't feel happy relying on it in anyway without a mirrored disk (I appreciate this is only 1 step in a backup process but a key one).

I've phoned the ukpromotions line got the voicemail (10 days ago)
I've emailed ukpromotions and got the email telling me to email ukpromotions

It amazes me how a company this size can handle this so badly. I'm going to give them 1 more week and then its off to OFT and consumer direct.

Not really after answers just adding my voice :evil:

D