Refurbished devices: these customers are disappointed by the experience
Many consumers are reporting repeated problems after purchasing refurbished products from the Back Market platform. Defective batteries, interminable delays, poorly repaired computers: an investigation into these disappointed refurbished customers.
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A minimum of three a day: that's the number of disappointed customers who bring their faulty refurbished phones to a Parisian repair shop. "Either the phone turns on and off by itself, or the camera ring falls off on its own," explains Samir Benboudjema, manager of the Yes & GSM shop. The equipment is so frequently defective that he advises his customers against buying refurbished phones online.
Today, one in five French people uses a second-hand smartphone. Opinions among the users interviewed are mixed. "I bought my computer and my mobile phone. It wasn't great. They discharge too quickly," confides one woman, for example.
On social media, however, opinions are much more divided. One user called it "a catastrophic experience." Another complained, "The screen is damaged." One buyer even mentioned a different color, with dents and scratches. Behind these complaints, one company is particularly targeted: Back Market, the European leader in online refurbished goods.
For some of its customers, the experience turned into a nightmare. "I bought a refurbished iPhone 13 from Back Market. And after two or three months, I started having connection problems. When I went to a phone repair shop, they confirmed that my phone wasn't compatible with the European network, even though I had specifically stated that I lived in France when I bought the phone. So I had an American phone that was incompatible with the European network," laments Chloé Cossard, a Back Market customer. She will eventually receive a refund.
For its part, the company maintains that these negative experiences are rare and says it is very vigilant in selecting its repairers. "If we ever encounter a problem with them, we will stop sales. They will have to resolve their issues before they can prove to us that they can resell on the platform again," assures Charlotte Souleau, Managing Director of Back Market France. Choosing a second-hand device remains, however, an environmentally friendly choice that helps preserve the planet's resources.
Francetvinfo
