Autel Robotics customer service is the worst I've ever experienced. Garbage

[lensman137]

I purchased a Nano Plus drone on Ebay in January, 2023. The drone malfunctioned two weeks after I purchased it. I contacted Autel Robotics and they sent me a prepaid Fedex mailing label to send it back to them for repair. After a few days I contacted Autel customer support and they informed me that since I bought the drone on Ebay that it was not covered by their warranty. The drone I purchased on Ebay was brand new and in the original shrink wrapped box. Autel then told me that I would have to pay a $450 repair fee, which I did. Autel then sent me a new replacement drone in the new, shrink wrapped box. When I took the drone out for its first flight I noticed that the unit was damaged. I then contacted Autel support about the defective unit and they sent me another Fedex shipping label and I mailed the defective unit back to Autel. When I contacted Autel again they informed me that they had checked the unit before shipping it to me and that it was in perfect working order. I did not damage the unit. The unit was defective. Autel then informed me that I would to pay an additional $420.93 to repair the unit. I have never experienced such dishonest customer service in my life. I am out almost $900 for something that I originally paid only $650 for on Ebay. I always thought that there was something called an implied warranty in California. This kind of blatant consumer abuse is just plain wrong. Worst customer experience I've ever had in my life. Autel Robotics is garbage.

 

[PakNheat380]

I purchased a Nano Plus drone on Ebay in January, 2023. The drone malfunctioned two weeks after I purchased it. I contacted Autel Robotics and they sent me a prepaid Fedex mailing label to send it back to them for repair. After a few days I contacted Autel customer support and they informed me that since I bought the drone on Ebay that it was not covered by their warranty. The drone I purchased on Ebay was brand new and in the original shrink wrapped box. Autel then told me that I would have to pay a $450 repair fee, which I did. Autel then sent me a new replacement drone in the new, shrink wrapped box. When I took the drone out for its first flight I noticed that the unit was damaged. I then contacted Autel support about the defective unit and they sent me another Fedex shipping label and I mailed the defective unit back to Autel. When I contacted Autel again they informed me that they had checked the unit before shipping it to me and that it was in perfect working order. I did not damage the unit. The unit was defective. Autel then informed me that I would to pay an additional $420.93 to repair the unit. I have never experienced such dishonest customer service in my life. I am out almost $900 for something that I originally paid only $650 for on Ebay. I always thought that there was something called an implied warranty in California. This kind of blatant consumer abuse is just plain wrong. Worst customer experience I've ever had in my life. Autel Robotics is garbage.

Unfortunately your experience is not an isolated one. Seems to be a common complaint. Sorry for your misfortune!

 

[Detritalgeo]

Hi,
Ebay unfortunately is not an authorized dealer although there are plenty of Chinese distributors selling on eBay with authentic looking account names.

What was the nature of the malfunction of the first drone in January/February? Not sure how common it is to have a warranty intact when buying off Ebay from unofficial channels.

What was the nature of the defective replacement drone? Did you have a photo? or post on the forum here for suggestions?

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

yes it doesn't sound you had a great experience at all; hopefully this changes quickly because the nano is a nice little when it flies. please tell us from who you bought the nano from on ebay and also you mentioned damaged and defective a couple of times. pretty board terms can you explain more detail please? ebay has a pretty good claims process when you receive damaged or defective equipment, it probably would have been better and faster to initially go thru them.

 

[herein2021]

I purchased a Nano Plus drone on Ebay in January, 2023. The drone malfunctioned two weeks after I purchased it. I contacted Autel Robotics and they sent me a prepaid Fedex mailing label to send it back to them for repair. After a few days I contacted Autel customer support and they informed me that since I bought the drone on Ebay that it was not covered by their warranty. The drone I purchased on Ebay was brand new and in the original shrink wrapped box. Autel then told me that I would have to pay a $450 repair fee, which I did. Autel then sent me a new replacement drone in the new, shrink wrapped box. When I took the drone out for its first flight I noticed that the unit was damaged. I then contacted Autel support about the defective unit and they sent me another Fedex shipping label and I mailed the defective unit back to Autel. When I contacted Autel again they informed me that they had checked the unit before shipping it to me and that it was in perfect working order. I did not damage the unit. The unit was defective. Autel then informed me that I would to pay an additional $420.93 to repair the unit. I have never experienced such dishonest customer service in my life. I am out almost $900 for something that I originally paid only $650 for on Ebay. I always thought that there was something called an implied warranty in California. This kind of blatant consumer abuse is just plain wrong. Worst customer experience I've ever had in my life. Autel Robotics is garbage.

You should never buy any high end electronics off of eBay, it is rare that an eBay seller is an authorized retailer for a product; my drone camera is the cheapest camera I own and every one of my cameras had to be bought from an authorized seller for me to have any warranty coverage. Between the scams, counterfeits, and knockoffs, I haven't bought anything from eBay in years. I don't even trust Amazon when buying camera bodies and typcially go to a retail outlet or the two biggest camera online retailers (B&H or Adorama).

For the second unit they shipped to you, if it was damaged in transit then you could have filed a claim with FedEx, you did not mention what the damage was, if it was physical damage that was visible on the shipping materials then FedEx would have been liable for the damage.

As far as an implied warranty goes, I am definitely not a lawyer but typically my understanding is that an implied warranty only applies in the states that have them if there is not an express warranty. In this case Autel does have an express warranty which is listed here. The big problem here is their express warranty only applies to purchases from authorized retail channels as stated here:

For users who purchase products through Autel Robotics' official authorized channels under normal use, Autel guarentees that the purchased product will be free of defects in materials and workmanship during the warranty period.

So yes, it is very easy to say Autel is the bad guy here but in reality they have already done more than any other camera maker would have done after finding out you made your purchase from eBay. Canon, Sony, Panasonic, BMD, etc. would have all done the same thing if they even let you ship the camera to them. It is too late now but what I would have done was 1) not purchased from eBay, and 2) if a purchase from eBay was defective I would have used eBay's money back guarantee to return the drone to the eBay seller instead of contacting Autel. The reality is, you had no warranty from the minute you purchased the drone from eBay and Autel probably sold you at cost the second Nano Plus which possibly got damaged in transit, but when you filed another claim for a third Nano Plus which also did not have a warranty, they denied your claim because the interaction was costing them more than they would be able to recoup by sending you another drone at cost.

I won't hesitate to call out any vendor's terrible customer service, and most of the bad customer service posts on here I agree with, but in this case I actually see Autel bending over backwards to attempt to accommodate you before just cutting their losses.

 

[PatrickIT]

I purchased a Nano Plus drone on Ebay in January, 2023. The drone malfunctioned two weeks after I purchased it. I contacted Autel Robotics and they sent me a prepaid Fedex mailing label to send it back to them for repair. After a few days I contacted Autel customer support and they informed me that since I bought the drone on Ebay that it was not covered by their warranty. The drone I purchased on Ebay was brand new and in the original shrink wrapped box. Autel then told me that I would have to pay a $450 repair fee, which I did. Autel then sent me a new replacement drone in the new, shrink wrapped box. When I took the drone out for its first flight I noticed that the unit was damaged. I then contacted Autel support about the defective unit and they sent me another Fedex shipping label and I mailed the defective unit back to Autel. When I contacted Autel again they informed me that they had checked the unit before shipping it to me and that it was in perfect working order. I did not damage the unit. The unit was defective. Autel then informed me that I would to pay an additional $420.93 to repair the unit. I have never experienced such dishonest customer service in my life. I am out almost $900 for something that I originally paid only $650 for on Ebay. I always thought that there was something called an implied warranty in California. This kind of blatant consumer abuse is just plain wrong. Worst customer experience I've ever had in my life. Autel Robotics is garbage.

Yea, unfortunately I had to buy a couple of their drones due to client requests and yes, they are horrible. The service department doesn't know their product and heaven forbid you ask them more than one question at a time because if you do, you'll only get one of them answered. Every firmware update has bugs in them and right now I have two $12,000 paperweights because I can't get any help and they won't provide any insight. It's horrible and you're definitely not alone.

 

[JessieFloyd]

I purchased a Nano Plus drone on Ebay in January, 2023. The drone malfunctioned two weeks after I purchased it. I contacted Autel Robotics and they sent me a prepaid Fedex mailing label to send it back to them for repair. After a few days I contacted Autel customer support and they informed me that since I bought the drone on Ebay that it was not covered by their warranty. The drone I purchased on Ebay was brand new and in the original shrink wrapped box. Autel then told me that I would have to pay a $450 repair fee, which I did. Autel then sent me a new replacement drone in the new, shrink wrapped box. When I took the drone out for its first flight I noticed that the unit was damaged. I then contacted Autel support about the defective unit and they sent me another Fedex shipping label and I mailed the defective unit back to Autel. When I contacted Autel again they informed me that they had checked the unit before shipping it to me and that it was in perfect working order. I did not damage the unit. The unit was defective. Autel then informed me that I would to pay an additional $420.93 to repair the unit. I have never experienced such dishonest customer service in my life. I am out almost $900 for something that I originally paid only $650 for on Ebay. I always thought that there was something called an implied warranty in California. This kind of blatant consumer abuse is just plain wrong. Worst customer experience I've ever GetModNow in my life. Autel Robotics is garbage.

In California, there is a law called the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, which provides certain implied warranties for consumer products. These warranties include the implied warranty of merchantability, which means that a product must be of a quality that is reasonably fit for its intended purpose. Additionally, the law requires that manufacturers provide a written warranty for certain products, and that they honor those warranties.

It's possible that Autel Robotics may have violated this law by refusing to honor their warranty for a product that was brand new and in the original shrink wrapped box. You may want to consider contacting a consumer protection agency or a lawyer who specializes in consumer rights to explore your options for recourse.

 

[herein2021]

In California, there is a law called the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act, which provides certain implied warranties for consumer products. These warranties include the implied warranty of merchantability, which means that a product must be of a quality that is reasonably fit for its intended purpose. Additionally, the law requires that manufacturers provide a written warranty for certain products, and that they honor those warranties.

It's possible that Autel Robotics may have violated this law by refusing to honor their warranty for a product that was brand new and in the original shrink wrapped box. You may want to consider contacting a consumer protection agency or a lawyer who specializes in consumer rights to explore your options for recourse.

I still think the problem will be proving it was a genuine Autel product that was meant to be sold in the region in which it was sold. Original shrink wrapped box doesn't mean anything if it was a counterfeit, or if the eBay seller tried to make a profit by importing an international version or localized version to sell in a different market to increase their profits. Supply chain security is a real thing and it is why manufacturers mandate you use an authorized seller to receive warranty coverage.

You can't go buy a brand new car from anywhere except an authorized dealership or factory direct so why would there be an expectation that you can do so with a drone? eBay sellers are notorious for selling counterfeits, re-selling used while marketing the product as new, taking products out of their intended regions, even going so far as to have insiders stealing from the scratch and dent sections of assembly lines, etc.; anything to increase their profits.

Any attempt at a lawsuit would have to somehow overcome the very first hurdle. Was the product even genuine, meant for the region it was sold in, and purchased from an authorized seller. A failure in any of those areas will ensure that only the lawyer wins by keeping your retainer.

 

[herein2021]

And this is why shrink wrapping doesn't mean anything these days. This is also why companies like Autel, Canon, Nikon, BMD, etc, etc. all insist that you buy from an authorized seller to obtain warranty coverage. It has gotten so bad even Amazon is suing their own marketplace sellers.

Canon + Amazon File Lawsuit Against Counterfeiters

Amazon and Canon File Joint Lawsuit Against Camera Battery Counterfeiters

The sellers' accounts have also been shut down.

petapixel.com

 

[Deleted member 9417]

I just spent some time on a couple of the DJI chat lists. Seems that their customer service is not much better than Autel's.

 

[RangerBlake]

purchased a Nano Plus drone on Ebay in January, 2023. The drone malfunctioned two weeks after I purchased it. I contacted Autel Robotics and they sent me a prepaid Fedex mailing label to send it back to them for repair. After a few days I contacted Autel customer support and they informed me that since I bought the drone on Ebay that it was not covered by their warranty. The drone I purchased on Ebay was brand new and in the original shrink wrapped box. Autel then told me that I would have to pay a $450 repair fee, which I did. Autel then sent me a new replacement drone in the new, shrink wrapped box. When I took the drone out for its first flight I noticed that the unit was damaged. I then contacted Autel support about the defective unit and they sent me another Fedex shipping label and I mailed the defective unit back to Autel. When I contacted Autel again they informed me that they had checked the unit before shipping it to me and that it was in perfect working order. I did not damage the unit. The unit was defective. Autel then informed me that I would to pay an additional $420.93 to repair the unit. I have never experienced such dishonest customer service in my life. I am out almost $900 for something that I originally paid only $650 for on Ebay. I always thought that there was something called an implied warranty in California. This kind of blatant consumer abuse is just plain wrong. Worst customer experience I've ever had in my life. Autel Robotics is garbage.

I have had the pleasure of using stateside customer support and service recently a few times and have nothing but praise and admiration for the knowledge and caring attitude for Michelle L and Ray C. they went above and beyond for me in my needs. We as consumers don't always get it our way, or try to see it from the other side. But thats the world today. I just wanted people to see that there are reps out there that do the best they can. Thanks for letting me post!!!

 

[PakNheat380]

I just spent some time on a couple of the DJI chat lists. Seems that their customer service is not much better than Autel's.

Your input helps how? DJI has nothing to do with Autel.

 

[Velasaraptor]

Ray at Autel took great care of me and after I explained the issue with the sale site showing the Evo 2 battery picture right next to the charger station for another model the let me return it with a shipping label from them. When you are a beginner trying to buy off the website it would be best that all the extra batteries chargers for that model only be listed in a site to go with that model. Everything starting with the name Evo js confusing as hell. The charging station was shorter in height and fit another battery. Same thing for the car charger. However after a week of them enriching the shipping company everything is good. A simple website offering a sale needs to have the entire ball of wax under one click. Not 4 trying to find what model works with what. Seems they would see that all of this eats into their bottom line on a sale. I worked computer support and know each call or email cuts into the profit which is already slim.

 

[fortnumsound]

I purchased a Nano Plus drone on Ebay in January, 2023. The drone malfunctioned two weeks after I purchased it. I contacted Autel Robotics and they sent me a prepaid Fedex mailing label to send it back to them for repair. After a few days I contacted Autel customer support and they informed me that since I bought the drone on Ebay that it was not covered by their warranty. The drone I purchased on Ebay was brand new and in the original shrink wrapped box. Autel then told me that I would have to pay a $450 repair fee, which I did. Autel then sent me a new replacement drone in the new, shrink wrapped box. When I took the drone out for its first flight I noticed that the unit was damaged. I then contacted Autel support about the defective unit and they sent me another Fedex shipping label and I mailed the defective unit back to Autel. When I contacted Autel again they informed me that they had checked the unit before shipping it to me and that it was in perfect working order. I did not damage the unit. The unit was defective. Autel then informed me that I would to pay an additional $420.93 to repair the unit. I have never experienced such dishonest customer service in my life. I am out almost $900 for something that I originally paid only $650 for on Ebay. I always thought that there was something called an implied warranty in California. This kind of blatant consumer abuse is just plain wrong. Worst customer experience I've ever had in my life. Autel Robotics is garbage.

They are doing this to a lot of people.. Its because they hate Americans, This is what I heard, They only do this to Americans If they see you have a Chinese name they will take very good care of you. We need to ban together

I just spent some time on a couple of the DJI chat lists. Seems that their customer service is not much better than Autel's.

Its the Chinese business model. They hate Americans, If you have a Chinese name they take good care of you.,., This is my Autel customer service nightmare.

What autel did is absolutely insane, PLEASE read this. Am I crazy?

I want to show all of you something and you tell me if Im the one out of line or nuts. Its a bit long but please. This affects all of us. EVERYTHING I am about to say is 100% true and accurate, I will also provide ALL the emails here. So this is what happened. 4 years ago I was doing very good...

autelpilots.com