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Lawsuit Filed Against Logitech For Delaying Warranty Claims, Hiding EOL (bleepingcomputer.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the sued-over-security-cameras dept.

An anonymous reader quotes BleepingComputer: A U.S. man has filed a lawsuit against Logitech, a Swiss-based manufacturer of electronic devices, on accusations that Logitech had intentionally delayed and tried to discourage warranty claims for defective products, falsely advertised products, and even hid an End-Of-Life (EOL) announcement from customers. The product at the heart of this lawsuit is a high-definition digital video home security systems named Logitech Alert Systems... The lawsuit alleges that Logitech's cameras had "a high-rate of failure" and the software running on the IP cameras "was rife with bugs and glitches that made the systems unreliable and inoperable"...

The cherry on top came when users complained to the company. "Logitech refused to honor its warranties to remedy the defects while customers' warranty periods lapsed, thereby escaping its legal obligations to provide non-defective replacements or refunds," the lawsuit reads. The lawsuit alleges that Logitech knew its product had a high rate of failure, but instead of issuing a callback, it "responded by designing and implementing a strategy to avoid its express warranty obligations... As a result, Logitech strategically left customers without operable security systems during the warranty period while it ran out the clock."
The proposed class-action lawsuit covers the IP cameras sold between 2010 and 2014, though it alleges Logitech decided to discontinue the products by 2012, and "claims the company wanted to sell current stocks of Alert Systems before making the announcement and allowed customers to buy a product it did not intend to support anymore."

9 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. Announced on July 22, 2014 by Nonesuch · · Score: 2

    I'm wondering how the plaintiffs found out that the company decided to discontinue the line two years before the 2014 End-Of-Life announcement?

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    I do not deploy Linux. Ever.
    1. Re:Announced on July 22, 2014 by rossz · · Score: 5, Insightful

      From the simple fact that they stopped manufacturing the product, sold off the existing stock, then dropped support. Connecting the dots is not hard.

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      -- Will program for bandwidth
  2. They are pretty bad with quality by aktw · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They have a keyboard, the K750, that I basically have to replace every year. It's a great keyboard, but the battery life goes to shit after about 6 to 8 months. At first, I was impressed with Logitech's support when I RMA'd mine, because they were very quick to offer a replacement -- took a few days and I received a new one in the mail. Then that one failed, and they were quick to offer a replacement for it as well. I think they know they have a defective product, and are just trying to cycle through some massive inventory until they can EOL it.

    1. Re:They are pretty bad with quality by Rockoon · · Score: 2

      Impulse-purchased their Wireless Headset H300 without checking reviews.

      Turns out if you let the battery run down, you can never charge it again, bricking the headset. The other issues are minor in comparison, although it is those other issues (having to be re-paired with their USB wart every few days, using a windows-only utility) that led me to read about this big one.

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      "His name was James Damore."
    2. Re:They are pretty bad with quality by Mashiki · · Score: 2

      Logitech keyboards have been pretty mediocre for years. Their mice on the other hand have been pretty good. But it seems like very company that makes a name for themselves, then turns around and decides "well for an extra buck we can gut out of manufacturing costs, we'll make more money" and the quality crashes. The latest in that game was razer until the owner stepped in.

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      Om, nomnomnom...
    3. Re:They are pretty bad with quality by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      I don't know if you still have those H600 headphones, but I looked them up because that sounded like such an unbelievably bad issue - some people seem to have found a workaround "i found the solution elsewhere on the board that worked for me: while plugged in, rapidly turn the unit on and off, over and over again. somehow it tricks the little brain to reset itself after a few (10?) on/offs. now my headset charges and connects like normal."
      I have no idea how they can continue to sell that product though!

  3. Re: Product life times ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Under Australian consumer law the customer is entitled to fitness for purpose and a reasonable lifespan for the goods regardless of the express warranty period or conditions. This sort of shit would not play well here and should not require a law suit to resolve. Guess that is why the suit is in the land of the free.

  4. Re:They still exist? by XSportSeeker · · Score: 4, Informative

    What do you mean still exist? Logitech is still the biggest keyboard and mouse company worldwide, they dominate in several categories from business to gaming, and the company itself has never been more profitable than in recent years:
    http://www.nasdaq.com/symbol/l...

  5. As a former owner of system in question by bezpredel6 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I've owned few logitech alert cameras, and all of the ones that had IR illumination dies withing a year or two. The one i was "lucky" to have die withing warranty period was replaced fairly pain-free. I expected for those $350/pop things to live for over a year, but you know, buyer beware and stuff. One thing going for them was that the picture quality was pretty decent,and tgey supported rtsp.