I hope anyone can help me with this case of lousy craftsmanship.

Yesterday afternoon I went to an electronic repair shop to get the screen on my ipod touch fixed. The guy said it could take 2 days but somehow it was ready in the evening so I went back to pick it up, pay the 400 rmb and go on. I thought it was great fast service but later that evening the images became very shaky and practically unusable. The shaking only seems to be getting worse and it pretty much turns my ipod into a useless piece of metal and plastic.

In the west, it wouldn't be hard to get a refund or a free 2nd repair. So my question is, what kind of rights do I have here? Isn't China trying to enforce some consumer rights? Any practical tips are welcome too.

Recently they have been going around the 2nd hand cellphone shops and repair shop to find out if they have the proper licenses and if the products are real. Many of the shops were closed down by the inspectors but I don't think you probably have much recourse. The best thing to do is always use a name brand outlet such as Suning, Gome, Apple Store so that if something goes wrong you can contact the news media for example 8099999. I'm sure they wouldn't want bad publicity. Good luck!

I think here in China most places would take a second look at your electronics for free if the repair didn't take. As the owner of an Oppo high end mp4 player I've had to get it fixed 3 times now (Oppo is supposedly one of the good Chinese brands, but needless to say I'll never buy that again) and the repair guys have always been really nice and helpful about it.

Pulling teeth is much easier, less painful, and possibly less bloody than trying to get cash back from a Chinese merchant.

Try for the 2nd repair. Albeit, they will try to charge you another 200 to 300 rmb for yet another screen/visualizer part. Here you will have to be very demanding and willing to make a scene. Bringing a friend(s) along wouldn't hurt.

If you went to the shop the next day after your faulty repair, you should have a good chance at obtaining a 2nd repair for free. If the problem didn't fully manifest itself till several days later or you waited to complain, then this is much more problematic. Essentially, this now becomes a tug-of-war between how willing you are to make a scene and the Chinese shop owner's obstinacy.

In Shenzhen, the repair shop I frequent for my iPhone would most likely take a 2nd look at it for free. They would repair it without charging me for another expensive part if I start and continue to badger/scream at them they used a crap/wrong part to start with. However, I speak fluent Chinese and have used this shop more than once.

As a practice, I wouldn't have my smartphone or Apple products repaired in Kunming except at an authorized repair shop or the big chains mentioned above. Of course those places all charge considerably more.

In China, you can dial the number 12315 to report and seek resolution with problems regarding dishonest merchants. It's akin to the Better Business Bureau back in the States, but with much more effective results. But you may need to speak fluent Chinese or have someone who does do the calling on your behalf, since I do not believe they have any English speaking staff on duty.

I've only threatened to call the number with a cheating merchant in Zhuhai and she returned my money on the spot. After a long argument, I've also threatened a Sanya restaurant that switched the fresh seafood I selected by writing the number on a piece of hotel note paper in full view of the head-waiter/manager and she immediately removed the unauthorized substitute dish from my table. The charge for that dish was not included in my bill at the end of the meal. Recently in Kunming, my girlfriend was cheated out of 10,000RMB by a real estate agent. She called the number to file a case and the money was recovered in about 2 weeks with the hefty "court fees" charged to the realtor via a reduced commission.

Good luck with dialing 12315!

I think it's worth checking the price at the Apple authorised service centres in Kunming. If you check the Apple site, there are two in Kunming. I took my wife's MacBook to one yesterday. They were super-efficient. Admittedly I didn't pay anything as I had Apple Care cover, but you ought to check the price as the quality of the fix will be high. The one I used is Getronics (major global brand in desktop/mobile management). Address: Serviceone Getronics(Beijing) Limited Kunming Branch,
Room 501, 121 Plaza, No 46, 121 Rd, Kunming, Yunnan,650031

Telephone: 0871-5107078

Good luck!

.....oh, I forgot to mention, there's a really helpful guy there (Ching Tong) who speaks English.

I have heard, from students, the 12351 works in getting results or even threatening to use it does. Problem may be, I have also heard, is that the enforcement of policies may not work the same for foreigners. Could. But the general idea is that all foreigners are rich and love giving their money away. But you can get a Chinese friend to argue your case for you maybe. I think sticking to Apple dealers is best. I have heard too many stories of people taking stuff to this cheap sidewalk shops only to have the product returned in far worse shape than when it went in.

I ave had the experience too of people really trying their best and we have not had to pay for 2nd repairs. Not every Chinese person is on the make or a con-artist. Many are honest and trying their best. Still best to buy stuff from a big place and get some warranty or receipt at least.

thanks for all the tips everyone, I will definitely remember 12351 in the future.

For those who are interested, here is the rest of the story. I went back to the repair shop and showed the broken screen. Luckily the only problem were some loose connections so the images were not properly transmitted to the screen. This was fixed a few hours later for no charge. I only had to make a little bit of a fuss to make it happen. After all there was no need to bring out the big guns, but it's good to know what the big guns are.

uraniumwilly & Laubis,

The correct number is 12315.