Case number: CAS-1970559-Y7M6W7

Originally I had issues with the gimbal of Phantom 3 Professional, where I was having purple lines across the video feed and the gimbal wouldn't auto-calibrate. I sent in with all the parts (drone + gimbal and remote) to get the gimbal repaired. After being quoted the price below, I opted to have it returned to me, because the price was over the retail value of the entire drone set.

Item	Quantity	Unit Price（USD）	Total Price（USD）
Phantom 3 Professional 4K Camera	1	349.00	349.00
Remote Controller Main Board	1	148.00	148.00
Phantom 3 Professional and Advanced Aircraft (Excluding Remote Controller, Camera, Battery, and Charger) V2	1	349.00	349.00

Freight:			0.00
Total Amount:			846.00
DJI Care deduction：			0.00
Total Payment:			846.00

When I called in to ask about why the quote was so high, I was told that DJI could not pair the remote to the drone. Today I found out why. DJI repair services have broken the remote when "fixing" my drone! When I got my un-repaired drone back, I found that there was a rattling sound from within the controller. When I attempted to open it up, I found no resistance, which was odd because the unit was supposed to be screwed together. Then I find that the contact points have been broken so you don't need to unscrew to open it, and there was a loose screw flying around inside! No wonder DJI couldn't connect the controller to the drone. They had broken it and wanted me to pay to fix it!

Here you can see all the parts that were broken by DJI at their service center.

Additionally, when I powered on my drone, the camera started spinning uncontrollably. This did not happen before.

Below is the response by DJI support admitting that they broke my drone, and refusing to do anything about it because it's "past warranty"-

Text-

Welkins （Support） 7月27日 CST16:44 Hello Angela, I hope you doing well. Thanks for contacting DJI Technical Support. I really am sorry you find our customer service bad and I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. I know how frustrating it is. We’ll definitely help you resolve this matter the soonest possible time. I understand that you want to request for replacement of your drone due to the incident that had happened where in the remote controller was damage in our service center when you send in your drone for repair but did not proceed to repair due to high service quotation. In as much as I would love to help you, but all replacement request is subject to our After-Sales Service Policies of 15 days from the date of delivery. When I checked the serial number of the aircraft it was activated last November 13, 2015 which is even beyond the 12 month warranty coverage. We humbly ask for your patience and understanding. Should you need any further information/assistance, please feel free to shoot us an email and we will be more than happy to help. You have a safe day ahead! You will receive an email survey two days after this email if not responded. If you happen to be away and won’t be able to answer this email timely, please disregard the survey and reply to us directly. Kind Regards, Welkin DJI Customer Support Website: http://www.dji.com/support

Well DJI, you've admitted that you broke the remote, and despite not admitting it here, also broke the gimbal even more. Is this what I can expect from DJI? I've gotten nothing but dishonesty and excuses trying to call in and email. This is ridiculous.

Hey Angela, we're sorry to for the unpleasant experience first. Upon checking the case you mentioned, the drone was watered and there was no repair value, you may check the first two pictures when we received the package. Regarding the RC, the button has been damaged and the local team suggests to replace. I have q quick look at the pictures before returning the unit, but do not find the issue you mentioned. You may check the third picture, just for reference. May I have the pictures when you received the package? We'll investigate the exact status.

Also, it seems that the email has been over-interpreted, I believe that Welkins only want to express our apologies for the inconvenience. We sincerely apologize if this bothers you. Hope for your understanding.

I have no idea where this water damage came from, since this drone has not dropped into water, nor has it flown in the rain. My drone was flying perfectly fine. There was no damage to the controller. I had no pairing issues. All I wanted was a replacement gimbal, and had I known you guys would have been so careless with everything, I would not have even sent the drone in. I even have flight footage right before I sent this in, and I can upload it here for proof. I don't know what happened at the service center, but now the controller is damaged and cannot pair to the drone. This is definitely on you.

I am also positive your team tried to remove the gimbal, because part of it was disconnected when I got it back. I have no idea when your team took those pictures, but to say that the drone wasn't working when you got it is clearly an attempt on your end to push the blame.

Also, I see no proof of water damage in these photos. All I see is a random sheet of paper with marks on it. Where is the proof of water damage?

What picture are you looking for? I included the image for you of what damages there are. I can take additional pics or video of the camera spinning uncontrollably if that's what you're also looking for.

Woah... "due to the incident.. where the remote controller was damage in our service center". This seems especially bad (maybe the service center just had an off day).

I hope they end up taking responsibility and fixing it (making me reconsider my order). Good luck!

djiuser_nPHHKwmWsAUl Posted at 2018-7-30 21:20
I have no idea where this water damage came from, since this drone has not dropped into water, nor has it flown in the rain. My drone was flying perfectly fine. There was no damage to the controller. I had no pairing issues. All I wanted was a replacement gimbal, and had I known you guys would have been so careless with everything, I would not have even sent the drone in. I even have flight footage right before I sent this in, and I can upload it here for proof. I don't know what happened at the service center, but now the controller is damaged and cannot pair to the drone. This is definitely on you.

Thanks for getting back to us. From the first picture, you can see that the drone is not protected well, I'm afraid that some modules might be affected with damp, we do not support to repair as the performance cannot be ensured, please kindly note and understand. You can see the second picture, it is the photo we took when the package arrived, I'm afraid this doesn't match your previous description.
I understand your frustration, will forward to the management for further follow-up, they will double check and contact you during the working time, appreciate your time.

Susan, the drone was working when I sent it in, and it stopped working when you sent it back. It doesn't matter if there's cosmetic damage. You have not given me proof of water damage. How did this not match my description? Please let me know what your management says about this, because it clearly seems to me you guys are covering up a bad attempt at a repair job.

djiuser_nPHHKwmWsAUl Posted at 2018-7-31 09:43
Susan, the drone was working when I sent it in, and it stopped working when you sent it back. It doesn't matter if there's cosmetic damage. You have not given me proof of water damage. How did this not match my description? Please let me know what your management says about this, because it clearly seems to me you guys are covering up a bad attempt at a repair job.

Hello Angela, please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused. We thoroughly checked your case and asked help from our Repair Team. After we open the package, we took pictures of the items you sent for documentation. We can see that the remote controllers RTH button is already broken. And we really can't pair or connect the remote controller to the drone, because it got water on it, meaning it's somehow damaged. Using an electronic device that experienced water damage is a risk. Damages that this may cause won't show up right-away like spilling water into a steel, rusts won't show up right after.

And, you can also use the second photo as a reference that the unit really got water damaged. Kindly note that DJI drones has water stickers inside, once it detects water it will turn red.
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Our Managerial Team is now handling your case and  will give you feedback about your concern within 48 business hours. Hoping for your patience and understanding.  

I wanted to give an update on this - I sued DJI in small claims court and won, and I am now awaiting my settlement payout. I have already emailed legal@dji.com and have not heard any response yet; if I do not hear back within a week I will be getting a writ of execution for collecting at the closest DJI office.

djiuser_nPHHKwmWsAUl Posted at 11-21 14:31
I wanted to give an update on this - I sued DJI in small claims court and won, and I am now awaiting my settlement payout. I have already emailed  and have not heard any response yet; if I do not hear back within a week I will be getting a writ of execution for collecting at the closest DJI office.

This has been forwarded to the local team for following up, they will contact you soon. Appreciate your patience.