Olevia TV failure after 3 weeks

[jandvs]

The Olevia 27" LCD HDTV in our new 3210 died after only 20 days of use. (Loud cracking noise, then nothing.) Contrary to what is implied on Olevia's warranty card, they have only one service center for the entire country and it's located as far from us as it can get (NC to Los Angeles). Of course we don't have the original packing materials, so having UPS pack and ship it to Olevia is going to cost $157 ($97 shipping, $60 packing). Nothing on the warranty card mentions reimbusement for shipping charges of a defective product, but it's highly unlikely we'll be able to get the $97 refunded. We cannot find this model for sale anywhere on the internet so have no idea how much to insure it for or even whether paying so much to return it is worth it. Olevia has confirmed the unit is still under warranty, but there's always the possibility they could claim a power surge blew the TV and, while we definitely do not believe this to be the case, there's no way we can prove otherwise. That would leave us with $157 wasted and no TV.

Has anyone had experience in this area? Any ideas other than coughing up the shipping charges?

 

[rvv]

Olevia TV

Sent email to you earlier. Not sure I sent it correctly. I also had an Olevia TV fail after only a few days. I called the customer service number in the TV's Manual. The tech asked me a few questions and then said they would be sending me a new TV. The set arrived three or four days later at my home, shipping paid. I put failed set in their box and shipped it back. I don't remember for sure; I think they paid the return shipping as well. I was pleased with the way Olevia handled the problem. Good luck. RVV

 

[jandvs]

Thanks for your very helpful reply. I called Olevia back and told them what happened in your case. Neither of the people I'd talked to previously had thought to tell me that this was an option. By having them do an "advance replacement" we will have the packing materials needed to return the defective TV. The only problem now is that they won't pay for the return and it looks like it's going to cost between $70 and $80 - an awful amount to have to pay to return a product that lasted only 20 days. If anyone else has problems like this with Olevia products, be sure to let Heartland know about it. If there are enough failures they might want to consider changing to another brand.

 

[azbound]

I don't understand why Heartland isn't intervening for you. They say the unit is under warranty so why to you have to deal with the supply vendor. Seems to me that should be something either the dealer or Heathland should do for you. Or at least pick up the shipping cost. If it were the frame you know Heartland would do it all. So what is the difference between the Frame vendor and the TV vendor? I guess I don't understand.

 

[jbeletti]

azbound,

The customer always has the option of working through their dealer. In fact, unless circumstances prevent it, this should be the first course of action within the 12 month trailer warranty period. In this case, for their own reasons, jandvs elected to contact Olevia. Since then, jandvs has been in contact with Heartland Customer Service.

As for return shipping costs - I do not have the answer. It's possible that the warranty specifies that return shipping costs are the customer's responsibility. I simply do not know in this case. I do know that this is the case with many, many consumer products I own.

 

[Forrest Fetherolf]

I bought Olevia TV and had it drop shipped to my mother is IL, it didn't work, had 2nd one shipped and 1st one returned, 2nd one didn't work, had it returned. All return shipping was prepaid and no expense to me other than a headache twice.

Forrest

 

[jandvs]

Regarding the return shipping cost, the warranty does indeed specify that it is the customer's responsibility for certain models. Unfortunately, the 27" TV in the 3210 is one of these models. We did not contact the dealer first because we knew they'd tell us to call the customer service number on the Olevia warranty card. The dealer is 360 miles (round trip) from us so taking it back to them wasn't an option. When I contacted Heartland about it I was told to contact Olevia, even though I told them I'd already done that.

On most if not all pieces of electronic or electrical equipment we've bought in the last few years, it is clearly marked on the box not to take the product back to the retailer but to call the manufacturer's service dept number. It would certainly be nice if Heartland reimbursed us for the return shipping expense but we doubt that will happen. One thing we do hope is that every customer who has a defective Olevia TV advises Heartland. There won't be a change in brands in future Heartland RVs if they don't find out how many problems there are. And there might not be that many problems - we could just be one of the unlucky ones.

 

[jbeletti]

Because Olevia was unable to supply Heartland with the number of units they need, a change was made a couple of months ago to Jensen brand LCD sets.

Jim

 

[Delaine and Lindy]

And how did that work out to use Jensens? We made one trip to comfirm there was a problem with our TV (model and serial # had to be confirmed at the dealer)coming on by itself and then had to return for a second trip when they got the "box" to "fix the glitch in the computer chip". Compared to our 1080p Samsungs in our home, the picture on the Jensen 780p doesn't compare. The next time we get an RV we will order with no TVs and no furniture and pick out appliances. No more stainless steele doors on any frig as long as I live. We'll ask for lighter colored no gloss countertops too and carpet that isn't so light it shows dirt so much. Live and learn. Hopefully problems we report will be taken into consideration on future RV design. Hope the Landmark comes out with a floorplan like the Big Horn 3600RL where the commode is in a separate room and the w/d closet is not in the back. The Landmark is very impressive in appearance inside and out, but all three floorplans have similar bedroom/bathrooms. I'm regretting we didn't go ahead and get the Big Horn 3600RL because of the bedroom and living space and the dents to our frig from the kitchen countertop space I love so much. Oh well, thoughts from Delaine (DW).

 

[jbeletti]

Delaine,

Sorry to hear about your regret of your Landmark purchase. It's a lot of trailer for the money.

Not sure if you were aware of the Pinehurst floorplan but it has a separate commode room. You may have been more satisfied with that one. It's what I have. Love it!

All 3 current floor plans have the W/D in the door-side of the front cap. I like mine there as it allows for the split bath (which we prefer). Still have plenty of room for hanging clothes (maybe 5+ feet of clothes rod).

I feel the change to Jensen was a good move. Because you and a few others had a firmware issue with your sets does not take away from the product in the long run. I have seen the menu system on the Olevia and I do not favor it in the least. Many calls from owners asking for help tuning theirs for Antenna mode. The Jensen is a snap to switch inputs and auto-tune. Did it for the first time this week.

I hope your Augusta grows on you Delaine. It's quite an investment.

Jim

 

[Oldlthrneck]

We have the BH 3670 and love it. It is the same basic floorplan as the Augusta. We don't have the issue of the refrigerator doors, but understand the issue with the bathroom. We thought that we would want to upgrade to the Augusta. But we have been looking at the Pinehurst and really like the floor plan. We want to take a trip over to CW in Katy and see if they have a Pinehurst, on the lot. It looks like there is more room in the bedroom area and that is what we are looking for. We have looked at the pictures and floorplans on the Heartland site, but they can be deceptive and you really need to see in person. We are going to stick with the BH until shortly before I retire and then upgrade to a Landmark.
Fred