Inside Sony's PS3 return protocol

news via punchjump

For the lucky consumers who nabbed a brand new Playstation 3 at launch and have been busy playing beyond, congrats! For the customers who have experienced technical difficulty with their new system, we feel your pain.

Punch Jump reported on Tues. that it purchased a defective 20GB PS3 unit that incurred disc malfunction. Following a call to the Sony Computer Entertainment America Consumer Service line, we learned the steps that the company will take to service defective units.

For customers that require a unit replacement, Sony will overnight a box containing four items: A box, pre-paid UPS shipping label, a letter, and a visual aid.

After Sony receives the unit it will take 3-5 business days to process and ship the replacement unit to the customer. The customer service representative told us that it will not provide automatic shipment notification; however, if customers call the Sony hotline, they can provide them with the tracking number to follow the package. The replacement unit will require signature confirmation in order to be delivered.

If the defect is not due to a physical malfunction, the Sony representative may guide users toward holding onto their unit until a System Update can correct the problem.

While Sony did not offer shipment of a new unit prior to shipment of the defective unit, the replacement incurs no charge to the customer and the service representative was friendly and explanatory through the return process.

That's good, but let wait and see how it is done in europe when it is launched here next year.