Ever since Finnish telecom major, Nokia, recalled around 46 million batteries manufactured between December 2005 and November 2006, customers have been left stranded between the company and the retail mobile stores.
Nokia recently recalled the BL-5C batteries manufactured by Japan-based Matsushita due to potential overheating followed by a short circuit. However, there has been a lot of confusion for customers as to whom to approach in case of a faulty battery.
At the time of recall, Nokia had issued a notice on its website specifying the details of the faulty battery and once a user followed the instructions, and if the battery is found to be dangerous, then the company would get it replaced.
Most customers are not aware that the problem can be solved through the company’s website and are flocking to Nokia outlets across the city.
“On August 14 when Nokia issued the warning, no communication was sent to us,” says Jivan Mansukhani, a Nokia ‘Priority’ dealer at Ville Parle. He added that since then more than 100 people had come to his shop, expecting him to resolve the matter, even though he was not authorised to do so.
Sampath Iyengar of Linkworld, a gadgets shop located in Inorbit mall told Hindustan Times: “On August 15, we got more than 50 customer queries and we ended up checking the status of all these complaints online.” He added this was affecting his daily business, since he had to service customer problems rather than selling new products.
{{/usCountry}}Sampath Iyengar of Linkworld, a gadgets shop located in Inorbit mall told Hindustan Times: “On August 15, we got more than 50 customer queries and we ended up checking the status of all these complaints online.” He added this was affecting his daily business, since he had to service customer problems rather than selling new products.
{{/usCountry}}Analysts are also a bit surprised at the way Nokia India handled this issue. “While, globally it makes sense to issue an advisory on the website, it does not make sense in a country like India where Internet is still not a mass medium,” a telecom analyst who did not wish to be named said. He added that Nokia should have instructed its ‘Priority’ dealers to handle this issue thereby causing less pain to customers.
Despite repeated attempts Nokia India officials refused to comment on the number of phone batteries recalled. According to telecom analysts, the company has a 72 per cent market share in mobile phones.
What to do
Go to www.nokia.com or call Nokia care at 30303838
Identify whether your BL-5C battery falls under the recall
Check the battery identification number (consisting of 26 characters) printed on the backside of the battery
If faulty, then Nokia will collect it from the location specifie