Nest Heatlink

[Martin-John]

I am yet another one of the many unfortunate people who have bought a Nest 3rd Generation Learning Thermostat for which the Heat Link failed. Given the seemingly number of comments on this product I would have thought a recall or a more painless replacement procedure would be implemented. But no, getting a replacement via the service section which I believe to be in Romania or Poland has been worse than pulling teeth. Many emails from them asking for more information and for copies of invoices etc which had already been sent. It is almost as if the service desk wants you to give up. I have never had such an appalling and painful after sales service in my life. I will not be recommending any Nest products not indeed buying any in the future. Hopeless, in my opinion  both the product and after sales service leaves a lot to be desired. 

[Frustratedddd]

The replacement should sound an easy option, BUT, sadly out there are so many people that have abused the process in the past Google have gone overboard to us honest users.

Nest originally use to send the part out next day delivery, but sadly the idiots out there refused to send the faulty part back. They then listed the faulty part on ebay, so they had the new part up and running for nothing, and a few quid in their hand from ebay!!

Hence now getting the part is like pulling teeth as you say.

I was in a similar position as you last year where my Nest doorbell had a fault. I sent the doorbell back to Google, and to this day I have never seen the doorbell again. I spent weeks tyring to talk to a sensible person, but finally I gave up. They still have the bell, and on here is a complete waste of time!!

Good luck, you may win one day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Martin-John]

I offered to send the Nest Heat Link etc back on day 1 but was told that’s not the way they do things. They wanted an electrician report, detailed invoice photos etc etc and then surprise surprise they wanted the unit back. They offered to pay the electricians bill for reinstalling the replacement product but not for the initial investigation. Yet they wanted the report and used this to determine the product was faulty.

The problem is that I needed a replacement straight away as I would be without heat as it cannot be switched on manually once you have a Nest System and it fails. From February to now would be unacceptable to be without heat yet I am unable to obtain a refund for the replacement I bought (even though the faulty unit was returned). They insisted on sending a replacement, which I guess maybe useful given how unreliable this product seems to be.

[Frustratedddd]

Yep, all sounds pretty standard service from Google to me!

There are dozens of people waiting for the refunds, but do Google care? NO!!

The stupid thing is, the fault is a componet for less than a pound, of which I have repaired many. This little part has cost Google many many thousands of pounds, and now they are trying to catch up with refunds, but you need to be on their back every day.

[Rossoreed]

@Frustratedddd what is the component that fails?

[Martin-John]

It was the Heat Link, seems to be a common problem

[Rossoreed]

@Martin-John Yes, I know it's the heat link, but it appears that @Frustratedddd knows what component in the heat link fails. I'd be interested to know which component it is.

[Martin-John]

Sorry yes I misread your post, I’m afraid I don’t know what the actual component was perhaps  @Frustratedddd could let us know.

[ramblaed]

I have a brand new boiler and a brand new nest system.  Both I and my professional installer have given up trying to get the link to connect. Been onto support, followed their detailed instructions on how to get it going, but no joy. 

They are still looking into the problem but these comments don't give me much hope of the issue being resolved quickly or easily, if at all.  I only get a small pension, this waste of money represents a major loss to me.

[Martin-John]

Yes I was extremely disappointed all round. In my mind a poorly made product and an appalling after sales service. 

[Frustratedddd]

Just to get things on track with the faulty Thermostat/heat link. The thermostat is very well made, it's 2 components that are sadly failing that make the system dissapointing. One in the thermostat display and one in the Heat Link are the main ones.

The thermostats frustrating fault is the WiFi chip that fails, and you get a W5 error. The Heat Link is a small soldered component like a fuse that fails, and then the Heat Link is dead.

Both these issues are very well known to Google, but now I think it's out of control with so many coming to light.

Don't give up with the thermostat, it's Google and their selfish attitude and lies that are the main issue. Nest originally were 100% on the ball, but now Google own the company, and things are much more difficult to address. Having said that, if all goes well the faulty item can get replaced in 24hours. The problem lately, Google have promised so many people replacements and refunds, it's just not working.

WHY Google???

[ramblaed]

How on earth do you get them to agree the link is faulty?  I have spent many hours following instructions on the support pages, now following agents instructions over and over. It seems that once the instructions have been given the problem is considered sorted. I am instructed to turn off wifi whilst following these instructions, but that means I can't keep in touch with the agent on my laptop. So I follow the instructions, follow them again and again with the same failed to connect error.  I report back to the agent and zilch I have to start again with another agent. 

So, how do you get to someone who can accept the blessed thing doesn't work even being brand new, and getting a replacement sent?

[Frustratedddd]

@ramblaed Your circumstances are easier than most, as your system is new you say.

The retailer is responsible, TELL them to get the problem sorted.

What exactly is your issue with the set? Are you saying it will not pair between the heat link and stat or the heat link is dead? Your install is it wired or wirless?

Where are you located?

[ramblaed]

Hi, thanks for your reply. My problem is that the link will not connect to the thermostat.  The link is the likely offender but i can't prove it. As it is all new and never connected I can't be sure what is faulty. I am in Spain

[Frustratedddd]

OK, being in Spain doesn't really help, I would have tried to get to you if in the UK.

You say the set in new, are we saying when you purchased it was in a sealed box direct from a shop?

The reason for asking is to make sure you have a paired set, not a mixed up set.

The lights on the Heat Link what colour do you have?

The other part is are you hard wired or wireless to the stat?

[Martin-John]

Yes the set was new with the thermostat boxed with the heatlink. The system is 3rd Generation Learning Thermostat the Heatlink is hard wired to the boiler but uses WiFi to connect to the thermostat. From what I can tell there was an earlier version where the thermostat could just replace the existing thermostat so was hard wired to the boiler. Having said that I found it difficult to really make sense of the details for the two products.

[Frustratedddd]

Sorry, this thread has got a little confused, as the question was directed at ramblaed

ramblaed, added to this one rather than starting a new post.

Anyway, ramblaed can you answer the above if possible please?

[ramblaed]

Sorry, things have been a bit hectic here, not had time answer.   Things have moved on since.  After spending a lot of time trying to get the system to link up it was decided that it wasn't going to so sent unit back to where purchased and they sent a replacement.  Straight out of the box the replacement was faulty, bad battery on the thermostat.  Discussed with google support. I am now awaiting a replacement for that and praying that third time lucky.      I am instructed to return the faulty unit when the other arrives.  Not sure where I return it to though, the company I ordered from or google store, but I expect I'll sort that out when I'm ready to do that.  Thanks for the help.

[AlexD]

I'm sorry to hear you had difficulties with the replacement @ramblaed . If you have been in touch with my colleagues and they issued you another replacement you should receive some return labels over email usually that you can use. 

[ramblaed]

Thank you, that's helpful, I shall await events.

[AlexD]

You're welcome. If anything else comes up that I can try and assist with, make sure to let me know.

[Martin-John]

Yes the system was about 15 months old, The heatlink was dead, it’s all been sorted now I guess as they have replaced the heatlink, although as I said I had already replaced this and really wanted a refund. Am in UK.

[Martin-John]

Hi What happened in my case was that the failure happened in winter so I needed a replacement immediately, as of course you cannot manually turn the heating on once the heatlink fails (yet another design fault). So my electrician investigated the heatlink, determined it had failed and installed the new one. After I rang the service desk I said I couldn’t be without heating and they agreed (in the end) to accept a report from the electrician. Unfortunately they won’t give me a refund only a replacement, which I didn’t really need as I had already replaced it. However I guess a spare will be handle for when it fails again. Be prepared for a long drawn out process with the service desk they will keep asking for more information, the same document over again and try every process to make you give up. The icing on the cake is you then get an email asking for feed back which is equally complex and drawn out. The lesson is do not buy Nest products.

[DragosC]

Hi there all. Thanks for reaching out and I'm sorry for the inconveniences the product has caused. Could you tell me please if you have any case number that I could look upon to see what happened? 

[Martin-John]

2-6746000032437

3-8871000032207

[DragosC]

Thank you. I'll check on both of them and I'll be right back with you. 

[CristianC]

Hey @Martin-John. I checked your case and I see that you've been in touch with our Senior team. It seems like you reached a resolution. If you have more questions about this case, I recommend continuing with the senior agent, via emails.  
 

[Martin-John]

Well that was a waste of time then!

[CristianC]

I'm sorry to hear you feel this way. If there's anything else I can help you with, please let me know. 

[Martin-John]

Yes, you could organise to give me a refund!

What’s the point of a replacement unit when I have already had to replace the faulty one immediately, as I needed to have heat in the middle of winter. From day one I offered to return the faulty product but instead had to endure the long winded process to only receive a replacement, and then surprise was asked to return the faulty unit.

Anyone want to buy a second hand Nest system although under the circumstances I would be unable to guarantee how long it may last!

[AlexD]

I understand your concern, havening the heating off in any period, especially winter, is more than a simple inconvenience. 

If by a refund you are referring to the thermostat purchase this can only be done by our colleagues from the Google Store if it was purchased from the Google store and the request is done within 30 days of the purchase. You can read more about it here.  

As for any kind of other refund or reimbursement request, this would have to be discussed with our senior colleagues. Your case is escalated to our senior colleagues, you can reply to their latest email with any additional information or requests. 

[AlexD]

Hi, I wanted to check in. Is there anything else I can try and assist with? If so, make sure to let me know. 

[Martin-John]

Well I don’t seemed to have been contacted by your ‘senior colleague’ you mentioned would contact me

[AlexD]

They seem to have sent you an email on May 26th. If you still have it just reply to their email and they will have a look at the information you provide them. 

[Martin-John]

What is the name of your senior colleague so I can check my emails. 

[Martin-John]

Odd that your email saying you had escalated the issue to your senior colleague and they would reply to me was sent on 27th May, but you now say the senior colleague replied to me on 26th. This is the day before your message to me, how can this be?

[Martin-John]

The only emails I seem to have from yourselves are from someone called Joseph, who is the person who has been dealing with the case all along. Please send me a copy of the email you claim was sent by your ‘senior colleague’ on 24th May.

[AlexD]

My colleague that you mentioned is one of our senior colleagues, It was him I was referring to. 

I did not mention, or my colleagues, that you will be escalated. My colleague mentioned on the 27th of May that you are already in touch with our senior department, as have I. I mentioned your case is escalated to them already. As I mentioned in my statement, if you want to discuss any sort of refund or reimbursement, you need to reply to the email from my senior colleague, from the 26th of May, with the request as only they can review such requests. Sorry for any confusion caused. 

[Martin-John]

That being the case I refer to my original remarks where i say there seems to be a common problem with this product and in my experience the service desk is painful to deal with. As I said I will not be buying any other Nest product nor recommending it. 

[AndaD]

@Martin-John, I am sorry to hear about this. Hopefully you'll rethink your decision when it comes to our products. Either way, my colleagues and I will be around and happy to assist if you're going to need help in the future.