I just want to put a word of warning about H.Nam Mobile, a popular mobile phone shop in Saigon. I went there last weekend with my friend who purchased their Nokia E71 mobile phone 10 months ago. The phone stopped working a couple days before, it kept turning off and finally would not recharge. A battery. My friend just wanted it to be repaired.
At the store, my friend gave the phone to Mr. Nam, the owner of H.Nam Mobile. The phone came with a one-year warranty from H.Nam Mobile. He took one look at the phone and then handed it back to my friend. He said that there was a nick on the phone which told him that the phone was dropped. He then handed my friend the warranty information card that stated if the phone was dropped, the warranty was not voided.
Hmm, who would buy a $500 US Nokia phone knowing that after one drop, it will stop working. Not likely and Nokia phones are quite durable. Still, Mr. Nam refused to repair the phone with the warranty saying it was dropped. My friend also admitted it was dropped a couple months ago but that the problem just started recently.
Since Mr. Nam seemed adamant, I asked my friend to tell him to instead repair the phone with the Nokia warranty.
Well, it seems that Mr. Nam never included the original Nokia warranty’s with the phone. It was never in the box, most likely removed. I later took a look at the phone and saw something interesting.
With most electronics, there is alway a ‘Made in Country’ or ‘Assembled in Country’ attached to the products. Nokia places them both on the battery and inside the phone. With this phone, it was present on the battery but not inside the phone. Even more suspicious, I noticed that the tape that covers the screws inside the phone were sliced. H.Nam Mobile put their own company tape over them. Did they replace the original parts?
In short, this phone was either a fake black market phone from China or H.Nam Mobile removed some of the original parts. My friend will take their phone to the Nokia Authorized Center to repair the phone. Mr. Nam does not seem to care though. That is customer service for you. If it was me, I would repair the $500 US phone in hope that the customer can refer their friends to me.
The reverse will happen though…
(Mr. Nam – Owner of H.Nam Mobile)
(Mr. Nam – Owner of H.Nam Mobile not being cooperative)
(Front of H.Nam Mobile at 89 Trang Quang Khai street in District 1)
I will show pictures of the phone in a later posting. I am curious to see what Nokia will say about the phone.
Most warranties and customer service in Vietnam are worthless promises. We’ve bought many thousands of dollars in computer equipment from Phong Vu. When we have had UPS’s and LCDs and computers fail on us, they have refused to service them. Few care about brand. Few care about reputation. Few care about tomorrow.
Just had a talk with my house mate about the Nokia problem. It is quite common here, too many companies are replacing the parts with imitations and selling the phones. You have to buy official Nokia to have your warranties valid.
For your computer parts, go to the following address:
X Shop at 7C Ton That Tung in District 1
It is on the corner, they also have another name, I just forgot it. They have the best customer service in the city. They replaced all my broken parts. They will test it in front of you.
Thanks for the warning Kevin. A case of buyer beware and always inspect what you expect is the lesson here.
And always open up the phone at the store when you buy it to be sure you’re actually getting a new phone.
Most people tend to do this, I always look at the phone before I buy it. For me, I prefer to have somebody hand carry my phone from the US.
gee what an experience…
hopefully official Nokia can help… mkae sure you let them know about thei HNam shop…
too bad his face was masked when you too the photos
I just heard that if it is not an original, they will not service the phone. I will keep you updated on this. Expect another post in a week or two.
Ken, I have a Nokia 5310 XpressMusic the phone does not have a “made in ….” on the phone it safe, the battery does. I bought my phone in the U.S. from T-Mobile Authorized Dealer, which is a huge company here in the U.S. So I would say that it’s normal that there’s no “made in ….” on the phone. However, if the phone looks like it has been open and the warranty slip is missing, then it seems to me that there’s really is something shady going on with H.Nam. I’ve heard swap customer’s authentic parts with fake or old parts is not that uncommon in Vietnam.
Did you check inside the phone in the battery compartment? That is where Nokia places the Made in sticker.
Yup, that’s exactly where I checked. There is however a “made by Nokia” but no “made in …”
That may suffice, how about a Assembled in…?
Nope, nothing regarding Assembed location. Thereare basic information like FCC ID, IC #, Model Number. Two stickers: 1 holographic sticker and a paper stick the saids “Orgin” and “Nokia.”
Hey Kevin,
Any shops you DO recommend? Wanting to get a used E71 myself, but worried after reading your post.
Search for the iPhone post somewhere in my blog. The store that sells the iPhone on Bui Vien street has a good reputation.