Bit of a cautionary tale for anyone thinking of ordering a Gelaskin, particularly in the UK or outside of Canada!
**In summary (for those who don't want to read the whole spiel!)**
I've had my HTC Hero since Oct last year and I fancied brightening it up a bit! I found Gelaskins online shop included designs for my phone - hey I could even make a custom skin! Great!
I designed a custom skin with images from their collection and ordered it to be shipped to my address in Scotland, UK. I received it pretty quickly actually, within a week, which was surprising given that they are based in Canada.
I thought the packaging was cool, no bulk or unnecessary bits, and the skin looked great until I peeled it off and put it on my phone... only then did I find out that the blank white area was not a "required cut" as I had assumed when I designed it online, but that it was in fact a blank line on my skin.
Unhappy with this, I contacted customer services, enclosing the above and additional pictures. The woman who contacted me back, Elizabeth Perry, advised me she would have a Graphic Designer look into the problem and soon emailed me again with this response:
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for your patience! I have had one of my Graphic Designers have a look into your custom skin layout - Unfortunately we cannot rectify the white line. The artists image that you have used, has a white border around the image that cannot be removed. Since you have used two overlapping copies of the image on the front of the design, the white border shows on the part that overlaps. If you would like, I would be happy to offer you a refund or exchange?
Warmest regards,
Elizabeth Perry
GelaSkins Customer Service
I thought that all sounded very fair, so I emailed back just to find out if I could have the same design more or less just with 1 copy of the image instead. She advised me that yes this would result in no white line. Great. I explained that in that case I would be happy for them to send me a replacement skin without the 2 copies and resultant white line.
Elizabeth then requested that I RETURN the skin (although already applied to my device and in order that she could, what.. bin it?) at my own expense. I replied highlighting the questionable need for me to return the skin and received a reply stating that I had "approved the preview" and she could not credit me for the skin without it being returned.
So really, if you want to brighten up your Hero, either go for a standard printed design and not one that is custom designed, or just draw on it or something
**In summary (for those who don't want to read the whole spiel!)**
- Gelaskins will require you to return the skin if you want a refund or even a replacement, even if the skin is faulty.
- They will not refund you for the postage cost of this return, even if it is faulty.
- Even if you return the skin, they will only offer you a store credit for the skin itself. You will therefore have to pay for 3 lots of international postage to get the replacement you deserve.
I've had my HTC Hero since Oct last year and I fancied brightening it up a bit! I found Gelaskins online shop included designs for my phone - hey I could even make a custom skin! Great!
I designed a custom skin with images from their collection and ordered it to be shipped to my address in Scotland, UK. I received it pretty quickly actually, within a week, which was surprising given that they are based in Canada.
I thought the packaging was cool, no bulk or unnecessary bits, and the skin looked great until I peeled it off and put it on my phone... only then did I find out that the blank white area was not a "required cut" as I had assumed when I designed it online, but that it was in fact a blank line on my skin.
Unhappy with this, I contacted customer services, enclosing the above and additional pictures. The woman who contacted me back, Elizabeth Perry, advised me she would have a Graphic Designer look into the problem and soon emailed me again with this response:
Hi Sarah,
Thank you for your patience! I have had one of my Graphic Designers have a look into your custom skin layout - Unfortunately we cannot rectify the white line. The artists image that you have used, has a white border around the image that cannot be removed. Since you have used two overlapping copies of the image on the front of the design, the white border shows on the part that overlaps. If you would like, I would be happy to offer you a refund or exchange?
Warmest regards,
Elizabeth Perry
GelaSkins Customer Service
I thought that all sounded very fair, so I emailed back just to find out if I could have the same design more or less just with 1 copy of the image instead. She advised me that yes this would result in no white line. Great. I explained that in that case I would be happy for them to send me a replacement skin without the 2 copies and resultant white line.
Elizabeth then requested that I RETURN the skin (although already applied to my device and in order that she could, what.. bin it?) at my own expense. I replied highlighting the questionable need for me to return the skin and received a reply stating that I had "approved the preview" and she could not credit me for the skin without it being returned.
So really, if you want to brighten up your Hero, either go for a standard printed design and not one that is custom designed, or just draw on it or something
