Disqualification on Product Warranty Claim

[Seven Ng]

Is there anyone come across the situation that the Product Warranty Claim is disqualified due to the following reasons:


Hi Seven,

Thanks for your further information. I regret to tell you that we can’t provide free replacement Anafi to you because of this accident, based on following points:

1. No solid evidence to proof the accident was caused by Anafi malfunction.

2. You shouldn’t have let the Anafi fly over the sea intentionally.

3. Never let the Anafi out of sight during flight for safety reason.

4. We only provide free repairing or free exchange for valid warranty claims.

Regards,

gary

Parrot Asia Pacific Ltd.


Enclosed is the flight log retrieved from the Pilot Server. Is there any expert able to extract and explain the reason for the felling of my lost Anafi on 2 Nov 2019.

Parrot HK has found that there is cut off alert in the flight data but refuses to provide replacement based on the above points.

This Anafi was just refurbished from Parrot HK but without repairing or replacing motors and propellers. I suspected that this Anafi had hidden defects causing the motor cut off during the flight.

I have appealed to Parrot HQ and had certified that there were hardware malfunction and approved that product warranty claim for new replacement on 20 Dec 2019.

But Parrot HK denied the responsibilities and play a dirty hand to make Parrot HQ to change the result to overrule previous investigation findings and replaced with the above irrelevant points to escape the product warranty responsibilities on 23 Dec 2019.

Parrot HK replies today that they can only provide special discount for you to purchase a new Anafi instead.

I just think it is unfair and unreasonable for me to pay money to get back the normal product from the defective product.

 

[Seven Ng]

 

[Seven Ng]

 

[Seven Ng]

It is very disappointing to me to have such unfair treatment. The possible reasons for the cut-off of motor have been certified from the hardware malfunction rather than the flying environment and the flying mode. It is not make-sense to use these accusation to deny my product warranty claim from customer.

 

[d95gas]

I am slightly lost by your posts. Post #2 shows that Parrot have agreed to replace under warranty. So are you now saying that they have reversed that decision as per your first post?

 

[Liger 1956]

Both of the logs that you have posted are from 30th October and do not appear to show a crash.
One is just 2 minutes of the Anafi sat on the ground and the other is a 10 second flight with a max height of about a meter. Do you have the actual .json file of the flight in question?

 

[d95gas]

I agree with Liger 1956. Your initial post and the points that Parrot made, dont appear to be backed up in any way by the logs. The logs done show anything of interest, certainly no crash.

Still unclear as to whether this is now resolved because of the letter you posted from Parrot stating they are approving the warranty claim.

All very confusing ..... Can you clarify and possibly provide the same logs you provided to Parrot.

 

[Seven Ng]

I am slightly lost by your posts. Post #2 shows that Parrot have agreed to replace under warranty. So are you now saying that they have reversed that decision as per your first post?

Yes, Parrot HQ reversed the decision after I chased Parrot HK to arrange replacement. Parrot HQ just copy Parrot HK's irrelevant grounds to reject me.

 

[Seven Ng]

I agree with Liger 1956. Your initial post and the points that Parrot made, dont appear to be backed up in any way by the logs. The logs done show anything of interest, certainly no crash.

Still unclear as to whether this is now resolved because of the letter you posted from Parrot stating they are approving the warranty claim.

All very confusing ..... Can you clarify and possibly provide the same logs you provided to Parrot.

Sorry, My Anafi fell down to the sea, I could not get back my Anafi to get the flight log from SD card. My FF6 program does not show the last flight of this accident. So i try to retrieve and download the flight log from Parrot Server but the files as you said were the preflight testing files. The incident log files are not available in my FF6 progam and cannot be download. I think only the staff of Parrot can access this.

 

[Seven Ng]

Gary Lo <[email protected]>	2019年11月6日週三 下午3:29
收件者：我、 techsupport.hk.dl

Hi Seven,

Sorry to hear about the accident, I found the flight record in our server and probably it’s the accident flight which mentioned. The record was on 2 Nov 2019, 17:16.
There was a “cut out alert” at the end of the flight and the altitude was dropped rapidly. It indicated that one or more motor stopped causing the Anafi free falling. I can’t be sure why the motor cut, it could had hit something or motor jammed causing the accident.
Since the Anafi has been lost and can’t be retrieved, I’m afraid I can’t do anything about this case. Anyway if you will consider to purchase a new Anafi, please let me know I will see if I can get a special offer for you based on this accident.

 

[Seven Ng]

One thing was confirmed is that there was a motor cut off in the sky.

 

[Seven Ng]

Below is my report to Parrot HK.

Seven Ng <[email protected]>	2019年11月2日週六 下午11:54
收件者：techsupport.hk.dl

Dear Sir,

I write to report an accident on my repaired Anafi with suspected mechanical error today this afternoon and request a new replacement under product warranty.

My repaired Anafi cannot come back and is believed to have fallen down to the sea at this afternoon on 2 Nov 2019.

This is the first test flight for my Anafi which have been repaired from Parrot HK before. The Repair Service Order No. is SO#03123 dated 14 Oct 2019.

The service order were mainly to repair my newly purchased Anafi on 21 Sep 2019. This newly purchased Anafi was suddenly power loss and free-falling from the height.

Some parts of Anafi were broken including bottom structure, main body, front camera, 2 arms without motors and 2 pieces of hinge parts.

This Anafi was repaired without charge to me. I was very appreciated Parrot HK. But this Anafi was test with defects on camera when facing sunset. It has black spot on video and photos too. I had brought this Anafi to Parrot HK again and then they return the repaired Anafi with new camera part on it under Repair Service Order SO# 03127 dated 22 Oct 2019. I also brought 5 batteries for testing also and certified "ok" by Parrot HK.

This Anafi was returned to me on 29 Oct 2019. I test it today at San Mun Tsai, Tai Po , Hong Kong this afternoon at around 5:00 pm.

Today weather is sunny day without strong wind in HK. I fly my Anafi towards the sunset over the shelter.

Calibrations have been done on drone and smart controller. GPS signal was checked green before flying.

The home point was checked also before flying.

This is the first test flight with a new battery with fully charged last night. When the battery indicates around 38%, i tried to fly my Anafi to home point.

At that time, a red signal bar appeared on the bottom of the screen with wording about " xxxxx stop operation / function (operation / function stop?) " xxxx 切斷 操作 or "操作。切斷"。。紅字在ff6 底 ". This was the first time i see this signal and i was shocked by this signal. Afterwards, the video stream became unstable and the screen turned black and connection between the drone and the mobile was lost at that time. I waited 2 second but no RTH appeared. Then i hit the RTH button but no response was found on screen.

I waited further 15 second minutes without response. I tried to close FF6 and unplugged the cable and then reconnected it to load the FF6 again.
But no response and no RTH have been appeared yet. I wait there about 10 minutes and my Anafi cannot come back home and i believe that it had fallen into the sea.

I waited further 15 second minutes without response. I tried to close FF6 and unplugged the cable and then reconnect it to load the FF6 again.
But no response and no RTH have been appeared yet. I waited there about 10 minutes and my Anafi could not come back home and i believe that it had fallen into the sea.

Since the Anafi fell into the sea, i cannot get back the SD card to retrieve the relevant information to Parrot HK investigation. The last fight log has also not yet appeared in my FF6.
But i can still check back the last location of my Anafi which is still located at the middle of the sea i fly it at that time.

By the way, i have registered account in FF6 program which have allowed my flight data to be share to Parrot before. I hope this time this shared flight data can help to investigate my case.

For this falling down accident, i do not know exactly the reason causing this happen but i have reasonable doubt whether the mechanical parts of this Anafi are function good / safety or not?

To me, the last warning signal of " xxxx operation / function stop,,," may be due to malfunction of parts of Anafi which were assembled without serious checking and flight test.

To me as a pilot, there is no button for me to stop or shut down the Anafi in the air. Also i enjoy flying drone and have no intention to fly my Anafi to sea .

I have checked the Parrot (Official) website, there is clause on the Terms and Conditions of Sales regarding the Legal RIGHTS AGAINST FAULTY GOODS and Guarantee against hidden defects on the Product.

I hope Parrot HK shall be fair and objective to investigate this case without denying the warranty responsibility on the products.

It is not the fault of pilot to be punished with suspected mechanical error and potential program errors on the falling down Anaif case.

I have seen that there are several falling down cases which have been solved and handled in satisfactory way by Parrot (Official).

Therefore, i also report my case to Parrot (Official) to investigate any possibility of mechanical error happened or not causing the falling down of my Anafi.

Thanks in advance and hope to see your reply very soon.

Plse kindly email me if any information is required or help for investigation.
--
Make a Good Wish for All Kinds
Seven Ng
2 Nov 2019

 

[Seven Ng]

 

[Seven Ng]

This was the place i launched my Anafi.

 

[Seven Ng]

 

[Seven Ng]

This is the last know location of my lost Anafi.

 

[Seven Ng]

 

[Seven Ng]

This was the first flight test for this refurbished drone and have flight time about 16 minutes but suddenly encountered cut off alert and then i lost connection with my Anafi.

 

[Seven Ng]

Seven Ng <[email protected]>	2019年11月6日週三 下午6:37
收件者：Gary、 techsupport.hk.dl

Dear Gary,
Thank you for your prompt response and objective investigation.
It is great that you can find my flight record in your server. The location and time match with the accident i reported about the falling down of my Anafi before.
According to the flight record, there was a “cut out alert” at the end of the flight and the altitude was dropped rapidly. It indicated that one or more motor stopped causing the Anafi free falling. I can’t be sure why the motor cut, it could had hit something or motor jammed causing the accident.
I agree with the above findings that the screen on FF6 at that moment has some sort of unstable image / video at the last moment with 'cut out alert' before the disconnection and falling.
Regarding the reason on the motor cut, there may be an object hitting or jamming on the motor causing the accident as explained by you.
This explanation is also reliable and found on the Parrot Pilot forum.
There are two possible scenarios.
1. The Anafi hit external object from the sky i.e. bird or kite.
2. The Anafi hit internal object from the drone itself. i.e. propellers or other parts from the drone.
For the scenario 1, It has low or no possibility since there were no external objects such as birds or kite found in the FF6 screen during the flight at that moment and location.
For the scenario 2, It has great possibility that the lost or damage propellers will hit the motor and causing motor cut.
You know that my Anafi has fallen before and was repaired by Parrot HK afterwards. I have checked back the Repair Service Order No. is SO#03123 dated 14 Oct 2019.
Only parts of Anafi were replaced including bottom structure, main body, front camera, 2 arms without motors and 2 pieces of hinge parts.

When i collected my Anafi repaired Parrot HK, i have raised concerns on the tints / scratches on the propellers.
But your colleague, Mr. Edward Fung has expressed that these tints / scratches would not causing the damage of propellers and falling of my Anafi.
Anyway, I have some reservations at that time but trust him since i have no counter strong reasons to argue the expertise of the staff in Parrot HK.

For the accident happen, i have strong reasons to believe that my repaired Anafi has hidden defects on product itself.
Since there were also no replacement on the motors during the repair, it may have potential mechanical errors after falling from the height.
Apart from that, i also believe that you have no actual fight test on the repaired Anafi after the second repair orders for the replacement of the set of camera parts.

Since the accident happens on the first flight test of the Anafi after repairing from Parrot HK, i do not think that the Anafi should have any wear-tear problem itself.

To conclude, this accident is mainly due to the hidden defects on the propellers and potential mechanical errors on the motor causing motor cut and free falling of my Anafi
from the height.

Hope you and Parrot HK would share my views on the main reason causing the falling down of my Anafi.

Once again i hope Parrot HK shall be fair and reasonable to handle this case without denying the warranty responsibility on the product.

I am really Anafi lover and have no interest to shift to other drone. I just want to have a replacement drone for my loss of Anafi in this accident.

I have conducted necessary pre-flight checkings on weather, location, GPS condition, Wifi setting, drone, controller and battery level.

You should know that the Anafi should have certain degree of safety for flying. It should not be falling down or failure in the sky unless there are some mechanical errors,
firmware errors or pilot errors.

In this case, the accident had happened with the profound reasons on the mechanical errors on the repaired Anafi itself.

The pilot should not be punished from the defects drone itself in case of failure / falling down accident whatever the drone can be retrieved back or not.

In fact, there is flight log data certifying this is an genuine accident in Parrot server rather than an cheating case for another drone from Parrot.

From the Parrot Anafi Owners Group in Facebook, I notice Parrot (Official) has long been establishing good customer right on providing the safety drone for the customer.
There are several falling down cases which have been solved and handled in satisfactory way by Parrot (Official).

i don't understand why Parrot (HK) would have different policy on the same product and similar cases.

I have no intention to challenge your authority and decision but would like to have fair and sympathetic treatment on my case.

I just want a replacement Anafi for settlement on this accident.

If it is my fault, i will admit and will not insist to lodge a claim. But this case is not my fault and I just feel unfair to suffer this loss.

Gary, if you have no delegation to settle my case, would you help me to escalate my case to your senior for determination.

I just wonder whether it is the selling policy of Parrot (HK) or not on the treatment of this similar accident?

It is meaningless to bring back the destroyed drone to verify the cause and liabilities of the accident if flight data is available on your Parrot server.

Hope for the best and look forward to hearing better news from you soon.

Best regards,

Seven Ng

 

[Seven Ng]

Seven Ng <[email protected]>	2019年11月6日週三 下午6:37
收件者：Gary、 techsupport.hk.dl

Dear Gary,

Thank you for your prompt response and objective investigation.
It is great that you can find my flight record in your server. The location and time match with the accident i reported about the falling down of my Anafi before.
According to the flight record, there was a “cut out alert” at the end of the flight and the altitude was dropped rapidly. It indicated that one or more motor stopped causing the Anafi free falling. I can’t be sure why the motor cut, it could had hit something or motor jammed causing the accident.
I agree with the above findings that the screen on FF6 at that moment has some sort of unstable image / video at the last moment with 'cut out alert' before the disconnection and falling.
Regarding the reason on the motor cut, there may be an object hitting or jamming on the motor causing the accident as explained by you.
This explanation is also reliable and found on the Parrot Pilot forum.
There are two possible scenarios.
1. The Anafi hit external object from the sky i.e. bird or kite.
2. The Anafi hit internal object from the drone itself. i.e. propellers or other parts from the drone.
For the scenario 1, It has low or no possibility since there were no external objects such as birds or kite found in the FF6 screen during the flight at that moment and location.
For the scenario 2, It has great possibility that the lost or damage propellers will hit the motor and causing motor cut.
You know that my Anafi has fallen before and was repaired by Parrot HK afterwards. I have checked back the Repair Service Order No. is SO#03123 dated 14 Oct 2019.
Only parts of Anafi were replaced including bottom structure, main body, front camera, 2 arms without motors and 2 pieces of hinge parts.

When i collected my Anafi repaired Parrot HK, i have raised concerns on the tints / scratches on the propellers.
But your colleague, Mr. Edward Fung has expressed that these tints / scratches would not causing the damage of propellers and falling of my Anafi.
Anyway, I have some reservations at that time but trust him since i have no counter strong reasons to argue the expertise of the staff in Parrot HK.

For the accident happen, i have strong reasons to believe that my repaired Anafi has hidden defects on product itself.
Since there were also no replacement on the motors during the repair, it may have potential mechanical errors after falling from the height.
Apart from that, i also believe that you have no actual fight test on the repaired Anafi after the second repair orders for the replacement of the set of camera parts.

Since the accident happens on the first flight test of the Anafi after repairing from Parrot HK, i do not think that the Anafi should have any wear-tear problem itself.

To conclude, this accident is mainly due to the hidden defects on the propellers and potential mechanical errors on the motor causing motor cut and free falling of my Anafi
from the height.

Hope you and Parrot HK would share my views on the main reason causing the falling down of my Anafi.

Once again i hope Parrot HK shall be fair and reasonable to handle this case without denying the warranty responsibility on the product.

I am really Anafi lover and have no interest to shift to other drone. I just want to have a replacement drone for my loss of Anafi in this accident.

I have conducted necessary pre-flight checkings on weather, location, GPS condition, Wifi setting, drone, controller and battery level.

You should know that the Anafi should have certain degree of safety for flying. It should not be falling down or failure in the sky unless there are some mechanical errors,
firmware errors or pilot errors.

In this case, the accident had happened with the profound reasons on the mechanical errors on the repaired Anafi itself.

The pilot should not be punished from the defects drone itself in case of failure / falling down accident whatever the drone can be retrieved back or not.

In fact, there is flight log data certifying this is an genuine accident in Parrot server rather than an cheating case for another drone from Parrot.

From the Parrot Anafi Owners Group in Facebook, I notice Parrot (Official) has long been establishing good customer right on providing the safety drone for the customer.
There are several falling down cases which have been solved and handled in satisfactory way by Parrot (Official).

i don't understand why Parrot (HK) would have different policy on the same product and similar cases.

I have no intention to challenge your authority and decision but would like to have fair and sympathetic treatment on my case.

I just want a replacement Anafi for settlement on this accident.

If it is my fault, i will admit and will not insist to lodge a claim. But this case is not my fault and I just feel unfair to suffer this loss.

Gary, if you have no delegation to settle my case, would you help me to escalate my case to your senior for determination.

I just wonder whether it is the selling policy of Parrot (HK) or not on the treatment of this similar accident?

It is meaningless to bring back the destroyed drone to verify the cause and liabilities of the accident if flight data is available on your Parrot server.

Hope for the best and look forward to hearing better news from you soon.

Best regards,

Seven Ng