Sony KD55XG9505 Screen cracked spontaneously

[AdrianA19761]

Hi,

First of all I would like to say long time Sony TV purchaser here and was happy with their products (Not anymore)

Is anyone aware of any design issues with this model particular the screens cracking with 0 physical damage, I am very careful with my products and do not mishandle them and never have.

This TV I have had for 2 years has been perfect, Been very happy with it until yesterday morning on what can only look like bullet holes in the screen, Nothing has hit the screen, There is no physical damage whatsoever, I came down from upstairs to find cracks behind the LCD rendering the TV with 0 picture it is damaged.

I purchased this from Richer Sounds in the UK who I have already contacted and they said it is not covered under warranty even though there is still 4 years left of the warranty, I am extremely annoyed and want an explanation of the design flaw with this TV and why it has happened, It looks so bad on the images but there are 0 scratches on the screen no physical damage and it has not been hit, Dropped or mishandled in any way shape or form.

Sony I would like an explanation as to why my screen has cracked spontaneously, Thermal issue? Design issue? I can not recommended Richer Sounds or Sony products ever again if this does not get resolved, This TV cost me £1300 2 years ago and has been great since then until yesterday, I know this issue is out down to physical damage but I am not the sort of person to waste people's time if it was physical damage and not to mention I have seen many posts from other users experiencing a similar phenomenon with TVs and also mobile phone screens cracking for whatever reason without explanation.

Do I take Sony or Richer Sounds to a small claims court? I am not about to let lie down a product I paid so much money for, For no error of my own for the screen to just crack so easily on it's own when it was not my fault, I repeat there is 0 exterior physical damage not even a single scratch on the surface of the screen or to the rear of the set.

 

 

[AdrianA19761]

Hi,

Yes I can understand it looks unordinary for this to happen from a retailers point of view and I can imagine lots of people have done this themselves and tried the same thing I agree as I told them it looks like physical damage in the photos which is why I insisted I bring it in and they look at it but they were not interested so they have lost my custom for that alone.

I agree it probably would have been a waste of time going to Sony also they would have only said the same thing so I didn't want to waste anymore time and decided my insurance was the only route, I was already very annoyed with Richer Sounds not bothering to investigate why it happened.

[Richer.Sounds]

Hi there, I was sorry to read your thread regarding the issues you have had with your Sony television and offer my apologies.

Our customer service is our top priority so it’s of course disappointing on any occasion where we have a customer who is unhappy. I’m afraid the unit was assessed as having sustained damage, something which is not covered by our guarantee. I also understand a 2nd opinion was offered by our customer service team in the form of an engineers visit but that you rejected this approach?

Obviously the last thing we would want is an unhappy customer, so that we may discuss this further to see what can be done to help, please could you contact me directly?

My personal e-mail address is...

tomg@richersounds.com

Many thanks

Tom Griffiths

Head of Customer Service

Richer Sounds

[AdrianA19761]

Hi Tom,

I have already told you in an email the TV has not been assessed whatsoever and neither was an inspection offered, I was told in an email from a TV engineer that they could do a chargeable inspection but that was all and even then they said it would be visual only, With all respect I am not going to pay for a visual inspection for a product that is under warranty still and then I wanted a proper inspection report to take it apart to find out what made the screen crack internally as it was not done by physical or external damage but that was brushed off after the branch saw the first set of images.

I said I would have even packed the TV up as I still have the original box and brought it down to the store myself if they could have done a proper inspection not just a visual inspection.

At this point I have already taken a loss from my insurance as the offer is nowhere near the original purchase price which is understandable but it was only 2 years old and thus now I have to find the difference to purchase another one from elsewhere.

The insurance now want the item to inspect it and I have asked them if possible even though they may now write this TV off would they be able to do an inspection as to the cause of the internal cracking but I am still awaiting an answer on that.

One thing I will say and I did say in the emails also, While this is very rare and it has never happened to me before on any device I have owned I have seen a few Sony TV's do something similar to this including a trader it happened to.

I have been a life long Sony admirer of products for many years but this has left sour taste on their build quality and they are now a brand I wish going forward I do not have anything to do with.

From your retailers point of view I can understand you must probably get this from some customers regularly which I appreciate but for me personally I would not go to these lengths and waste this amount of time back and forth for something if I had damaged it myself I really would not have even bothered contacting the place of purchase in the first place given the nature of the issue.

Maybe you need to discuss with Sony why this happening to their sets randomly to also ease the complaints you get as a store and seller of their products.

I have had many many Sony TV's and systems and other products all of which I have been happy with but this set has a design flaw somewhere that Sony probably won't want to admit but that's fine this is how we learn as consumers which companies and warranties to trust going forward.

[Richer.Sounds]

Many thanks for your reply, I've responded to your private mail so if you could get back to me when convenient I would be grateful.

Tom Griffiths

Head of Customer Service

Richer Sounds

[HannahEd01]

Hi AdrianA19761, I need to say this.. There's a very clear point of impact showing in the pics! How is that left undiscussed? 

Anyway, even if you changed brands, physical damage isn't covered in any brand. 

If you're so sure that there was no damaged to the TV, why don't you take it to be inspected??

[AdrianA19761]

Hi Hannah,

Did you read my posts properly? 

I said that's what it looked like but there is no external damage to the screen whatsoever, I spoke to Richer Sounds and told them I would bring it in to prove it as the images looked like it was shattered from the outside when it was not!

They were not interested in even looking at it!

I've not bothered taking it further as I have claimed through my insurance luckily but I can assure you this screen cracked in it's own for whatever reason, It does happen in rare circumstances but it's always seen as physical damage hence they have lost my custom and so have Sony going forward.

I've since purchased an LG OLED from a reputable retailer and hope this doesn't happen again.

[HannahEd01]

Hey AdrianA19761, I've read your posts, and I can assure you that this does not happen by itself, or from an internal component. Unless you had a power surge that ruined every device in your house as well. Sometimes it happens. 

Anyway, sorry if my comment bothered you, I'm just saying my honest opinion.

[AdrianA19761]

Hey Hannah,

No I wasn't offended in any way it's just been a frustrating experience to say the least.

It's never happened to me before and I have no idea why but it did, I really would not waste my time and effort complaining to the store or on a forum if I'd have damaged it myself, The screen did somehow crack internally.

There was no damage or scratches to the outside of the screen whatsoever I don't why it did it Sony know that answer as a quick Google search will show it does happen and has happened but I'm over it now.

It's certainly 1 brand and 1 purchase far from my thoughts in the future, It's unfortunate as I loved Sony products and have had many Sony TV's over the years but unfortunately I cannot recommend them if this happens to someone I know I'll be sure reply here but thanks for your reply.

[Lord_viridis]

Quick question:

The front panel, the actual front of the display at the point of fracture, is that smooth still, or has it also cracked.

Is it just the LCD layer underneath that has cracked?

[Lord_viridis]

Without playing devils advocate too much..

If you had any TV off any company bought in any store on this earth... What is shown in the image is generally accepted as a clear sign of a point of impact. So whilst you are surely frustrated, and I can understand why, you must see it also from the POV of the store.

I do hope they give it a physical exam to clarify the damage, but I suspect in the long run you'll be going with insurance option tbh. 

I suspect also, a legal pursuit would end costing you, even if some freak failure caused this shattering of the LCDs, the onus would be on you to prove that, and the unfortunate fact is that the image evidence shows damage, and to disprove that would need a 3rd party engineer's report that shows that it was not damage.