An ordeal with Swish India (Bangalore). A bitter experience.Buyers Be Very Aware!

Haren Asher

Active Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
Messages
92
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Location
Bangalore
I havent posted in Hifi Vision in a long time. But I do owe what little I know of Hifi, to this forum.

I hope this post ensures other members or new members do their due diligence before buying or interacting with people who put themselves up as dealers of a particular brand, and then refuse to be professional about servicing anything you bought from them. Hunting for the really good deal can backfire... And how!

Last year I purchased a Def Tech Pro Sub 1000 from Mr. Akhil Abrol, Partner at Swish India, Delhi. He assured me the sub was almost new, as he had bought it for his room and found it too big for his setup.

I took a demo of a similar sub at Music Ranch, and liked it. I was also told that the Def tech Subs come with a three year warranty for about 33-35k.

As Mr. Akhil said this was a like-new sub, I asked him about warranty, and he said You are simply worried about the warranty. Frankly speaking I did not knew about three years warranty. If it is 3 years then you will get 3 years only. I am a dealer now so why you are worried?

We sealed the deal for 24k, with shipping, and he gave me an official invoice as well for the purchase. (Invoice dated 11th may 2012, amounting to Rs. 25,800/- plus vat)

The sub was shipped and reached me in good condition around 17th May 2012. I put it with my system, and it worked well till March 25th 2013. About ten months.

The sub started giving me a hum. I researched hifi vision, checked polarity, checked wiring, checked placing the sub in a different room, but the hum prevailed. I called Akhil, who asked me to contact Mr. Mukesh in Bangalore who would help me out and service it for me.

I contacted Mr. Mukesh on April 6th 2013. I explained the situation, and he told me he was out of town for two days, but he would return and even offered to pick up the sub from my place, as his office is a little difficult to locate. Meanwhile he asked me to send the invoice copy to him, which I promptly did.

Mr. Mukesh, however, was not able to pick up the sub, and so I decided to drop it to his office.

On April 10th I dropped the sub at his office around 7:30pm, and was assured that within a week the sub would be returned.

A week later I messaged him for an update. I was told that the sub is with the service center and he will get back to me regarding the status. But I did not get any update.

A few days later, around April 26th, (Thursday), I again messaged for an update, and again on April 29th. And then I called him, and I was informed that the sub IC is defective, and that it will cost around 3.5-4K to replace. I informed him the sub is under warranty, so it should be covered. He said, once the IC Arrives from Bombay in 2-3 days, he would look into it and get back to me. I asked him when I should call him back, and he suggested I call around May 1st (Wednesday).

I messaged him on Tuesday, 30th April, Assuming that 1st May will be a holiday, but I got a reply sorry am in a meeting, call back later. Based on this message I also spoke to Mr. Akhil Abrol in Delhi about the long wait. Mr. Akhil also confirmed that the IC is gone, and they were waiting for it, and replacement will happen in a few days. No firm timeline was given at any point as to what a few days meant. But no calls nor any updates. Mr. Mukesh was so busy that all my requests for an update on May 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 7th went unanswered

On 7th I sent him a message requesting some courtesy to my frequent update requests for which I get a very cordial I havent been able to reply back because of my hectic travelling. The IC is still unavailable so we need to wait for this week.

I looked up Def tech website, and the Authorized Representative for Def tech in India, are Audio Excellence based in Mumbai. I assumed that the part will be coming from them.

I messaged Mr. Mukesh, telling him that I could have the IC shipped to him from Bombay if required

I was then told that the IC is coming from China, and it will still take another week to get it replaced and that I should follow up with him on email instead and not sms.

I immediately called Audio Excellence, Mr. Anil Srivastav, and enquired if the IC is available In Bombay, and whether Swish India has contacted him regarding my sub. He hadnt heard of Swish India, nor had he received any calls from them for service of the sub.

Mr. Anil gave me his service persons number, Mr. Gupta and asked me to inform Swish India to call Mr. Gupta , as he would most likely have the part required. I messaged these details to Mr. Mukesh immediately.

But I got no response.

It was a month since the Sub was given to Swish India, and I was not getting any positive responses from either of the partners of this company.

In sheer frustration, I emailed a strong letter to Mr. Mukesh, with Cc to Mr. Anil at Audio Excellence regarding the callous and unprofessional approach to service that Swish India have rendered for a Def tech subwoofer.

Mr. Mukesh finally replied, saying verbatim I will return back your sub if you are in a urgency. This cannot be serviced by swish

After 30 days of waiting, of constant follow up from my side, of lies about an IC coming from Bombay and then from china, I am told the sub, legally sold by swish, with a 3 years warranty, cannot be serviced by swish.

I was told then that The sub is my office you can collect it from there, kindly let me know what Time you will come to collect.

My work involves managing a retail store between 9am and 7:30 pm from Monday to Saturday. It is very difficult for me to come to an obscure location during my work hours. I was hoping Sunday would be most convenient for me, as his office is also his house.

On Friday May 10th 2013, I emailed him that I would like to come to his office on Sunday at 10am to pick up the sub.

I didnt get any response.

On Saturday May 11 2013, I again mailed him to confirm that I will be coming.

To which I didnt get any response either.

I went on Sunday at 10am to his office / house and his father was outside. I spoke to him, explained him that I was here as Mr Mukesh had to return a sub.

His father went into the house and called him as he wasnt in. A minute later I get a very agitated phone call from Mr Mukesh asking me why I am creating a ruckus outside his house, and that I was unprofessional to have come on a Sunday. He said he will not be able to give the sub back to me on a Sunday as I came without an appointment. He screamed that I should come back in working hours to reclaim the sub from him.

When I pointed out that I wasnt creating a ruckus and I only wanted an item which he had kept for a month back, and I came without an appointment was because he was ignoring my calls/sms and emails,

Mr Mukesh got even more agitated, screaming about how he has 15 years of customer service experience and I should know better than to come to his office on a sunday.

At which point I cut the call as it was no use. How can I get through to a person who claims 15 years customer service experience, and behaves in this manner!

His father came out again a few minutes later, and I spoke to him cordially. Told him the issues, gave him my card, and asked him to get through to Mr Mukesh that I wasnt creating a ruckus. He rightly said that its between Mukesh and me and he didnt want to get involved. Fair enough.

I sent Mr Mukesh another sms because, talking to him was impossible! I asked him to be professional and ensure that the sub is ready for me to pick up the next day at 11am.

To which I get an astounding reply Mr. Haren, I think I dont have Ronald teach you what professionalism is, I have nothing to do with you sub also, pls collect it sharp at 11am tomorrow and dont expect me to wait for you after that

I am presuming Ronald refers to his dog. If so, then I really doubt how old this Mr Mukesh is!

I reached his office today at 10:30am. The sub was waiting for me outside his door. His watchman/servant went in to inform him of my arrival, and then servant picked up the sub, put it in my car and I left!

I hope this incident is a warning enough to all those risking to deal with a company thats pointedly uncaring about after sales service! This has been by far the worst example of customer service ever!

Any detail so desired by any member regarding the sms sent/ emails sent/ or assurances made by Swish to me as per this review, I can furnish.
 
Cross Check the serial number with deftech including front and back picture. They will confirm whether it is original or "Excat chinese copy".

In case it is a copy, company may pursue legal action if you agree to be the witness. If it original then you are lucky, you get it serviced.
 
Absolutely unacceptable and unprofessional behaviour from both dealer and service center. You should raise a complain to consumer court regarding the same and should teach them a lesson against customer harassment.
 
Cross Check the serial number with deftech including front and back picture. They will confirm whether it is original or "Excat chinese copy".

In case it is a copy, company may pursue legal action if you agree to be the witness. If it original then you are lucky, you get it serviced.
Thanks! I gave the serial number to Audio Excellence this morning. i think they did just that. called them just now and they have requested me to take the sub to music ranch as its closest to my place.

will give it to them and update.
Absolutely unacceptable and unprofessional behaviour from both dealer and service center. You should raise a complain to consumer court regarding the same and should teach them a lesson against customer harassment.
I did mull over legal action. But most of the interaction is done on email and sms. The law is still a little ambiguous about emails and sms as "proof" or "evidence" of wrongdoing. (unless things have changed since i last checked up !) ..

dont have time to go through with a legal case, just thankful i got the sub back!

I am hoping it will be resolved without hassle with music ranch or audio excellence.
 
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Dear friend,

I felt sad at reading your ordeal with Swish.This only proves that some dealers are interested in only Sales and not service after sales.You have paid a hefty sum for this product and even then they are not bothered about service.Please keep us informed about the progress in setting right the defect.Thanks for sharing your experience and this will be a fore warning for all our friends in HFV.

Thanking you,

pksnathan
 
Haren, if you are seriously affected then you should go to the consumer court. While we can rant all we like in this forum, but for formal action one has to go to the consumer court and get it settled.

The email from him that it cannot be serviced by them plus your invoice should be good enough a start.

Although, if audio excellence takes it up and services it, your case may be weak. As service, in most consumer goods tend to be a product vendor/distributor problem, not a dealer (unless he is authorised).
 
This name `Swish' sounded familiar and I remember one of my friend had a bad experience with them in Chennai also. I think it was not to do with A/V equipment but something to do with wireless lighting to his home theatre. He has a setup with separate room, projector and all and was looking for a wireless lighting system and probably found Swish would do that up. He told me they had messed up the lighting system but I did not enquire him further as I was not much interested about that. Probably should ask him about his experience and have him write it down here at HFV. However I think it would not be as bad as what Haren has experienced. Seems like anyone should keep away from Swish wherever they are.
 
Bad experience. How do these people survive in the market. I feel this is not a one off case, something a lot of people would have gone through. Terrible.

This is reality of a common audiophile enthusiast...ini? Real life experiences for many.

Sad but True.
 
Haren, Thank you for sharing your experience and making all of us aware. Its really terrible to know what you have been thru.

It almost seems that Swish is not an authorized dealer for this product. Why else would they delay the repairs or import the part from China when the same is available with the Audio Excellence in Mumbai? Something doesn't seem right and if his office is run from home, it says a lot.

If you have the time and patience and are greatly affected by it you should pursue the mater thru legal channels. Its sad that such dealers exist out here. I guess such people survive in this market because either they are not taken to task or their game is brought out in the open by those affected by it.

Do keep us posted and all the best for your repair.
 
Very well written Mr Hasher.! Well I don't have much time to read all of it but you better write truth.

First of all Deftech has 1 year warranty from where the 3 years warranty came? Same thing you told to Mr Mukesh and got us both confused.

2nd you told me that Mukesh already has the IC at his service center and only replacement is pending while the IC was still under shipment.

3rd, You didn't call me to confirm whether you can drop the Sub at Mukesh's office. You called him straight away and gave the sub. I was not aware of this. You called me after 20 days or something and told me the situation. Here you are writing different stories.

Service issues take time. You sorted out everything from yourself. Contacted Audio Excellence and asked for warranty. Who told you to do that? When we were giving you warranty which we committed then what was the need to contacting them?

Then you wrote a big harsh email to us CC Audio Excellence and you thought we would say sorry? Well this not how business runs. If you wanted the service done from Audio Excellence then we said the same thing. You can do what you wanted to.

We told many times that your sub will be repaired and you need not to worry. But you lost your patience and started doing research on your own.

Then you came on Sunday to collect your sub when everyone one in this world knows that Sunday is off. If you have off on Sunday and you came to collect your sub that doesn't mean that we will work for you. Then you told Mr. Mukesh's father to carry the sub for you from the store and give to you on the gate? Was it a good thing to do?


We have hundreds of customers and many contacted for warranty and none had any complaint. My own AVR got faulty and I waited for 2 months to get it repaired. Service takes time. Usually we import the parts directly from the company and it takes time.

None of our customers have any complaint from us. Many are here in Hifivision and you can ask how smoothly the deal went.

Writing simply lies in this forum won't make any difference. We have many customers and all are happy because they have patience.

Creating issues, speaking lies and shouting doesn't get the things done.

Good luck and have a nice day..!
 
And just for your information. Ronald was an autocorrect mistake by phone. There is no Dog as Ronald. Assuming things also create many problems..!!
 
Good to hear your side of the story as well Mr. Akhil...However I have a few questions for you which you may choose to answer if you feel like:


1) If the warranty is for 1 year by default, then why were you and Mr. Mukesh confused?? You should have told/corrected Mr. Hasher at the time of sale itself....

2) Since you claim to be an authorised dealer about which the India Distributor has no idea about, why did'nt you check with Mr Mukesh about the status as it is your job to be informed ? Why was the IC under shipment when it was already available with the India distributor ?

3) If you were so unaware of everything, why did'nt you make yourself aware of the situation ? If your contact is not managing the situation well, then you should have intervened to sort things out..

4) Can you tell us how long does it take to discover and fix an IC in a sub? We would have a much better understanding about your knowledge and quality of service if you can explain why it may take upto 2 months to fix an IC?

Best of luck..

Very well written Mr Hasher.! Well I don't have much time to read all of it but you better write truth.

First of all Deftech has 1 year warranty from where the 3 years warranty came? Same thing you told to Mr Mukesh and got us both confused.

2nd you told me that Mukesh already has the IC at his service center and only replacement is pending while the IC was still under shipment.

3rd, You didn't call me to confirm whether you can drop the Sub at Mukesh's office. You called him straight away and gave the sub. I was not aware of this. You called me after 20 days or something and told me the situation. Here you are writing different stories.

Service issues take time. You sorted out everything from yourself. Contacted Audio Excellence and asked for warranty. Who told you to do that? When we were giving you warranty which we committed then what was the need to contacting them?

Then you wrote a big harsh email to us CC Audio Excellence and you thought we would say sorry? Well this not how business runs. If you wanted the service done from Audio Excellence then we said the same thing. You can do what you wanted to.

We told many times that your sub will be repaired and you need not to worry. But you lost your patience and started doing research on your own.

Then you came on Sunday to collect your sub when everyone one in this world knows that Sunday is off. If you have off on Sunday and you came to collect your sub that doesn't mean that we will work for you. Then you told Mr. Mukesh's father to carry the sub for you from the store and give to you on the gate? Was it a good thing to do?


We have hundreds of customers and many contacted for warranty and none had any complaint. My own AVR got faulty and I waited for 2 months to get it repaired. Service takes time. Usually we import the parts directly from the company and it takes time.

None of our customers have any complaint from us. Many are here in Hifivision and you can ask how smoothly the deal went.

Writing simply lies in this forum won't make any difference. We have many customers and all are happy because they have patience.

Creating issues, speaking lies and shouting doesn't get the things done.

Good luck and have a nice day..!
 
Dear Mr. Akhil,

Finally you have replied! You have refused to answer my calls or respond to sms. I am glad that you have replied. I was waiting for this.

First of all.

Why did you claim to be a dealer of Definitive Technologies, when you are not?


My replies are in bold, inline.

Very well written Mr Hasher.! Well I don't have
much time to read all of it but you better write truth.

I request you to read the entire experience again in FULL


First of all Deftech has 1 year warranty from where the 3 years warranty came? Same thing you told to Mr Mukesh and got us both confused.

Regarding warranty. - I was informed def tech has 3 years warranty. If i was wrongly informed you should have corrected me. But you wrote back that if its 3 years Warranty, we will give you 3years.

Irrespective of the warranty - 1year or 3years, the sub had problems within ten months from date of Invoice. So my claims on warranty still stand.


2nd you told me that Mukesh already has the IC at his service center and only replacement is pending while the IC was still under shipment.

I have an sms from you that reads "Yes i spoke to Mr. Mukesh yesterday, its an IC issue and you will get the sub soon after replacement of part" - this is on May 2nd. Mr Mukesh had informed me on 27th April, that the IC was due to reach him from bombay within May 1st.

No updates from either you or Mr Mukesh on May 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 7th inspite of repeated sms and calls

On May 7th, after my calls to Audio Excellence, I get a message from Mr. Mukesh that the IC is under shipment from CHINA. So according to swish, the IC has gone from Bombay to China and then coming to Bangalore?


3rd, You didn't call me to confirm whether you can drop the Sub at Mukesh's office. You called him straight away and gave the sub. I was not aware of this. You called me after 20 days or something and told me the situation. Here you are writing different stories.

Why do i need to call you when i have a problem with the sub? You have sold me a sub, from Swish india. Swish india has offices in Bangalore, Delhi and Chennai. Why do i need to call the delhi office, when i am sitting in bangalore?. Please explain?


"you were not aware of this"? what kind of partners dont talk to each other? Especially since you were directly involved in this deal. i have sent the invoice copy to Mr. Mukesh the day i spoke to him.

When i spoke to Mr. Mukesh, he was in Mysore, and he graciously said he'd pick up the sub from my place. After 2-3 days of no calls from Mr. Mukesh, I called him. He said he was out of town, but he gave me directions to his office and i dropped it off.

I called you after 20 days, because i wasn't getting ANY updates from Mr Mukesh. ZERO. no call backs, no replies to sms nothing. I called you in the hope that you being a partner in this company, may able to get me some feedback faster.

When any item is given for service, you normally get an estimated date of return. The estimate I had got was one week. How patient do you expect a customer to be when he doesnt get a response from the service centre for OVER 20days?


Service issues take time. You sorted out everything from yourself. Contacted Audio Excellence and asked for warranty. Who told you to do that? When we were giving you warranty which we committed then what was the need to contacting them?

I was never in a "hurry" to get the woofer back. I know sometimes servicing takes time. But not once has mr mukesh or you bothered to call me or update me regarding the status of my item for service. I waited for 27days for the service to take place.

Why shouldnt I have contacted the company? I bought a genuine item from a dealer who guaranteed warranty service. If I was not getting service, you think I had a choice? and why would i need "permission" from anyone to call the company? logic?


Then you wrote a big harsh email to us CC Audio Excellence and you thought we would say sorry? Well this not how business runs. If you wanted the service done from Audio Excellence then we said the same thing. You can do what you wanted to.

Audio Excellence are AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVES by Definitive Technologies, In india. In case you were not aware.

I was not getting anywhere with Swish India. Mr Mukesh and you were not responding to sms nor my calls. I had been told the IC is coming from Bombay. And Then again from China. But there is no update from anyone regarding a ball park figure as to when my sub will be ready. in a few days, one week somehow translated to 27 days.

As a customer, If I dont get service from a dealer for any item, am I in the wrong for ccing the company representatives to get a response from the dealer.

And it took one harsh email to swish with CC Audio Excellence, to actually get Mr. Mukesh to respond.

For the record, I didnt want you to say sorry. I wanted to get the sub repaired.To get an honest answer on when it will be serviced and returned.


you say "If you wanted the service done from Audio Excellence then we said the same thing."

But what Mr. Mukesh actually said was

"I will return back your sub if you are in a urgency. This cannot be serviced by swish.

Thanking you,
Regards,

Mukesh N"


We told many times that your sub will be repaired and you need not to worry. But you lost your patience and started doing research on your own.

This is entirely false. You have never reassured me about the sub being repaired. Never. Please give me any proof of your statement many times. If you had done that, I wouldnt need to do research would i?

Then you came on Sunday to collect your sub when everyone one in this world knows that Sunday is off. If you have off on Sunday and you came to collect your sub that doesn't mean that we will work for you.

I request you again Please READ THE ENTIRE EXPERIENCE


Then you told Mr. Mukesh's father to carry the sub for you from the store and give to you on the gate? Was it a good thing to do?

LOL! I think this was told to you by the same guy who said Ronald will teach me professionalism....I really wonder who this ronald is! I assumed its the dog. Nice big Great Dane. Almost as tall as me. Plus, he was doing his job really well - barking at a stranger. So he must know a lot about professionalism.

His father is actually a very nice man. Hes a civil engineer is one of the large organisations. We actually chatted for 5-10minutes outside his house. He told me he didnt know where the sub was, and I believed him. He told me he has no idea about Mr. Mukesh's work as well, which is completely believable too.


We have hundreds of customers and many contacted for warranty and none had any complaint. My own AVR got faulty and I waited for 2 months to get it repaired. Service takes time. Usually we import the parts directly from the company and it takes time.

Then I sincerely hope that you will take this experience as a learning lesson. If you are so sure about 100s of customers, then I do sincerely hope that none of them faces the ordeal that I have faced.

Why would any company having authorised representatives in india, send you items directly?

I run a retail store for about 20 years now, and in my limited experience, no company will directly sell to a client when they have authorized representatives in that country.

If the hi-fi world works differently then i suppose my experience is wrong and i stand corrected.


None of our customers have any complaint from us. Many are here in Hifivision and you can ask how smoothly the deal went.

deals That is the trap even I fell into.

Writing simply lies in this forum won't make any difference. We have many customers and all are happy because they have patience.

Nothing of what has happened to me is a lie or an exaggeration. I am really sorry if you feel that putting this out here in hfv and other forums wont make any difference. I had patience. But i don't have the understanding.

Creating issues, speaking lies and shouting doesn't get the things done.

Well I havent written any lies. My conscience is clear. Each and every statement I have made, I have documented. I am attaching screenshots of messages, your email regarding warranty, and the invoice copy for every member to see

Good luck and have a nice day..!
 

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Good to hear your side of the story as well Mr. Akhil...However I have a few questions for you which you may choose to answer if you feel like:


1) If the warranty is for 1 year by default, then why were you and Mr. Mukesh confused?? You should have told/corrected Mr. Hasher at the time of sale itself....

2) Since you claim to be an authorised dealer about which the India Distributor has no idea about, why did'nt you check with Mr Mukesh about the status as it is your job to be informed ? Why was the IC under shipment when it was already available with the India distributor ?

3) If you were so unaware of everything, why did'nt you make yourself aware of the situation ? If your contact is not managing the situation well, then you should have intervened to sort things out..

4) Can you tell us how long does it take to discover and fix an IC in a sub? We would have a much better understanding about your knowledge and quality of service if you can explain why it may take upto 2 months to fix an IC?

Best of luck..

Very valid question !
I would also like to add something to it :

First of all, the "big harsh email" that you were referring to was only sent after one month of waiting. Haren Asher already mentioned that he sent the mail out of sheer frustration caused due to your personnel's inefficiency to respond to the messages sent by the customer.

And the statements like :

I will return back your sub if you are in a urgency. This cannot be serviced by swish
and
Mr. Haren, I think I dont have Ronald teach you what professionalism is, I have nothing to do with you sub also, pls collect it sharp at 11am tomorrow and dont expect me to wait for you after that

are a disgrace to your firm.

Secondly, if there is a technical difficulty in finding the root cause of the issue, then customers can understand and wait.But in this case, your personnel know that the issue is with IC and replacing it is the solution. How long will it take to do that ?

Finally, Instead of advising the customers to be patient and wait for ages to get their products serviced, I urge you to make your organization and staff more efficient.

Good Luck !
 
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