ComplaintsforN-Ear, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  05/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This piece of gear is absolutely not worth 175$ The cable de-laminated after a short few months of normal use. N ear has a 12 month manufacturer warranty they do NOT honor! They referred me back to Amazon who referred me back to N ear! The emails I got from *************************** were snarky and unapologetic for both their shoddy product and worthless 12 month warranty. I've almost 20 years in uniformed patrol and I can unequivocally say bad product and worse customer support!

  

  Business response

  05/14/2024

  This response was taken verbally by the BBB: 

  At this time we have sent the consumer new product and feel that the complaint has been resolved. 

  Customer response

  05/15/2024

   
  Complaint: 21643530
  
  I am rejecting this response : 

  This company refused to help me until I notified them that I was filing a complaint with BBB and leaving bad feedback and other reviews.

  Once I did that they requested I fill out a form from their company that detailed who my immediate supervisor was at work and his supervisor and the chief of police for my department.  I thought this was strange as one thing has nothing to do with the other. I am a police sergeant and I bought their product that was defective but what does my boss and my chief have to do with me being upset about them not honoring their manufacturer warranty!?

  Well I found out..*************************** emailed me to say my complaint was escalated to *********************** who would be contacting me. **** called me and wanted me to re explain to him what my problem was to him? I asked him if he had read my emails and he said he had not? I explained to him my problem again and he essentially restated what ******** told me. I hadn't bought additional insurance through Amazon(asurion) and they were not liable for defects since I made my purchase through Amazon. I stated that if he wasn't going to repair or replace my product than there wasn't a point in having the same conversation with a different person from his company. 

   **** told me I was threatening him and I wasn't going to rush him off the phone? **** told me he had no other choice but to contact my Chief of police??? This behavior is outrageous and is mostly obviously designed to deter people from complaining about their products or poor customer service. This behavior is reprehensible and obviously part of their business model since they have a form set up just to collect irrelevant information and later use it to threaten unsatisfied customers. 

  A short time later N ear told me they could ship me a different ear piece other than the one I had bought as they didn't have the one I bought on hand? This was odd because it would seem based on the conversation with **** that N ear was unwilling to assist me.

  I told them I would like to wait for the one I ordered to come in stock. They shipped me a different ear piece that appeared to be returned merchandise as it did not come in OEM packaging.  They said they would replace my ear piece when it came in stock. I am waiting for this to happen before closing my complaint. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  04/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  purchased a radio ear piece made by this company and sold through their amazon store front. Product comes with 1 year warranty. Apparently they only honor their manufacture warranty when purchased through their specific website. This company needs to specifically advertise this and stop claiming their product has a warranty when it does not.

• Initial Complaint

  03/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I bought an earpiece through n-ear's Amazon hosted web store last August. The earpiece speaker recently failed. Per n-ear's warranty police/terms and conditions, this would be a manufacturer's warranty issue. The warranty period is 1 year. See the terms here - ************************************************ rep is stating since I bought the item through Amazon, it's not covered. I explained they are the manufacturer and the terms state manufacturer and not retailer warranty. Plus either way, it was n-ear's Amazon store. The Amazon website even states that n-ear is the manufacturer and that it is the n-ear store. This is not an Amazon product. Amazon is just a host website for n-ear's products. I've attached our email communication and receipt. Please don't be confused by my signature in the emails, this was a product I personally paid for...not my employer. I was just using my work email for the transaction since I was using this product for work purposes. I'd like them to honor their warranty. Thanks!!!

  

  Business response

  03/26/2024

   

     We reached out to ********************* and explained to him our policy. We fully understand the complexity in understanding purchasing a product from an authorize reseller of our products vs directly from ********* site. Each reseller will have their own warranty. N-ear can be purchased throughout the US and ****** from online sites and stores commonly called "Cop Shops". This particular situation, ****** purchase directly from Amazon.com, who offers a warranty through their dedicated warranty provider *******. Each N-ear product purchased from Amazon, populates the option to purchase a warranty through Asurion. The customer has to decline the offer. Typically, once an issue has occurred, the end user reaches out to Amazon, they are reminded they did not purchase the warranty, which leads the customer to ************* direct as a last-ditch effort to have their equipment replaced. 

   We agreed to replace his earpiece as sheer gesture of customer service and not to imply any wrongdoing from N-ear. We have thousands of products being sold through many platforms all over the world. To gain a complaint for this matter is very uncommon for us. However, we have chosen to appease this customer. The customer provided his pertinent information such as physical address, email and contact info and we shipped him a replacement as requested. This matter has been handled.  

   

   

  Customer response

  03/27/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and this transaction. I still disagree with their statements implying I dont understand how warranties work. They clearly dont understand that their companys warranty is a manufacturers warranty as listed in their companys terms and conditions. However, they satisfied my complaint by replacing my product. Its sad it had to come to this point but I appreciate the BBBs assistance in this matter. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  09/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased an earpiece from this company on February 8, 2023.I purchased the product through Amazon. The total amount of the purchase was ************************* says they have a one year warranty on their product. In August, the plastic started to delaminate.I emailed N-Ear and *************************** (Admin Support), I also sent her a picture of the problem with the earpiece, as well as a picture of my order. ******* said that I am not N-Ear's customer and they would not honor their warranty, because they only fulfill orders for Amazon. Amazon has a 30 day warranty on the product, but N-Ear has a one year warranty. Nothing in N-Ear's warranty states that you MUST purchase the item directly through the ************** in order for them to honor their warranty.What doesn't make sense is that if I purchase an appliance from *********** and was past ************ warranty, the manufacturer would still honor their warranty.I have never heard of a company selling items through other retailers, and then refusing to honor their warranty if you purchase from one of those retailers.I emailed ******* back on August 22, she emailed me back on August 23 and said her manager would be back in the office on Monday, the 28th. I have yet to hear anything from the company, other than they are refusing to honor their warranty.

  

  Business response

  10/04/2023

  ****** ****** ***** takes this concern very seriously. We appreciate our users. We reached out to the customer and attempted to explain our policy. This policy is standard for vendors using the global platform of Amazon. We certainly understand these policies and procedures from an Amazon could be confusing for some. We decided to send a replacement to the customer as gesture of appreciation for using the product. Our goal is to always show gratitude and respect to law enforcement. We do not by any means necessary consider our practices with Amazon to be at fault. This policy that the Amazon customer has in question, is the policy for any purchaser from the Amazon site and not specific to the Amazon customer with this concern. To avoid this issue, simply order directly from the www.n-ear.com site. A standard 12-month warranty will be applied to the purchase. Amazon has a 30-day warranty. Each purchaser from Amazon is offered a warranty from Asurion. If an Amazon customer declines to accept the warranty offered by Amazon, it is not the fault of *****.******

  Customer response

  10/07/2023

   
  Complaint: 20566871
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I received a call from Ilmar, sales manager at N-Ear. He tried to explain that I couldn't buy a product at Target and return it to ******** He didn't seem to understand that a manufacturer's warranty is different than a store or vendor return policy. I also referenced N-Ear's return policy which states :

  All of our products come with a 1-year warranty and a 120-day 100% refund policy. We do not cover problems or damage resulting from (1) accident, abuse, misapplication, or any unauthorized repair, modification, or disassembly; (2) improper operation or maintenance, usage not in accordance with product instructions, or connection to improper voltage supply; or (3) use of consumables, such as cords. If purchased under a government contract, those contract terms supersede the terms stated herein.

  Nothing in the return policy states anything about buying their product through a vendor, that they chose to sell through. ***** was convinced that when another vendor sells their product the ************* does not make any money. Either way, I spoke to *****, who said he would send me a new earpiece. He then said he is not sure what needs to be done regarding the BBB. I told him I would be happy to show the complaint as resolved when I get the new earpiece, however the earpiece would be just a spare, because it does not hold up to patrol work where an officer is exposed to the elements.

  About 20 minutes after we go off the phone, ***** called me back and told me he spoke to his friend at the BBB and I needed to show the complaint as resolved, or he would not send out the earpiece. I told him that was fine, as I don't have faith in the product, I also explained that he was obviously lying, as he first said he didn't know how the BBB worked, but within 20 minutes he made a friend there and was calling me to tell me what BBB's policy was with regards to complaints. I told him not to worry about sending the earpiece, as I now have a different brand that works great. He told me I had to drop the complaint, again I declined and he hung up on me.

  About a half hour later, I got another call, this time it was from *****************. **** asked me why I was not dropping the complaint. I explained that I would not lie and say there was a resolution, when a resolution has not been reached. **** told me that if I did not drop the complaint immediately he would not send out a replacement. I again told him that was fine, and not to worry about it. I explained there was nothing in their return policy regarding buying the product they manufactured from another retailer, and that I did not trust their product, as three other officers in my department have had the same issues. I also explained N-Ear's customer service was lacking, and asked him to please leave me alone. **** said "that's fine, and your words are perfect, because we don't cover our product unless you buy it directly from us." He then told ******** has never received a complaint from the BBB and I needed to drop the complaint. I told him no thank you.

  I received another earpiece a few days ago, so they did end up replacing the earpiece, which is now in my patrol bag, in case the one I have breaks and I need a replacement for a few days.

  N-Ear either needs to stand by their product, as their warranty states, no matter which retailer they sell through, or they need to stop selling through other vendors. They can't have their cake and eat it too. 

   

  Also attached is the return policy directly off their website.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩