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My SO bought my aids (two) as a gift for me.

Just after the 1-yr warranty (why are such expensive devices warranted for only one year?) ran out, suhprise, suhprise! The right one failed immediately.

Took it back and the vendor told me "we can just dummy-up the contract to make it look as if you bought it later, so that the warranty will still be in effect....for a hunnert bucks, cash on the barrelhead."

Ah.

The other has been steadily failing since. Two years later, I am about as deaf again as I was before the aid. The right one does not work at all. The left one is failing fast (and actually physically falling apart).

Keep in mind, folks: in relative terms, given the technology and materials involved and the cost, a "low-end" ($2200) set of aids like mine are the equivalent cost of something like a mid-sized Mercedes sedan. If you have the $5000 plus kind, you are in Maserati territory in a relative sense. By this I mean in relative terms, you are paying, pound-for-pound for something that costs about the same as an expensive sport or luxury car.

Think about how many 50 yo Mercedes you see tooling around.

Maseratis are passed on to grandchildren.

Your Audibel ("but they're made in AMERICA, folks!!!) hearing aids won't last but a year or two.

Audibel's excuse: even fine cars need repairs and service. Okay. But my SOs Mercedes is 6 years old. Everything, including oil changes, cost her NOTHING until this year. They even gave her a loaner Mercedes (or Smart Car) to drive when the thing was in the shop for those 5 years (which was rare and for things like oil, a broken headlamp--r/r no cost to her tho it was road damage, etc.).

Meanwhile, when the aids go completely belly-up within in far too short a time, their response (at the shops and at their headquarters)...well, you need to hear. So....maybe you'd just better get your credit card out again eh, fella?

Nice folks. Nice business practices.

They get away with this because we let them.

Stand up for yourselves. Stop letting them walk all over you. When you encounter these problems (with this outfit or any other in America) do what I do: sue.

For too long American consumers have been getting shafted by companies like this and they get away with it because we are too polite. We just meekly go away and let everyone from the local grocer to GM sell us shoddy merchandise that they do not stand behind.

This doesn't happen in Great Britain. It does not happen in Germany (in spades). Or France. Or most of the rest of Europe, in Canada or Aus/NZ... This kind of stuff does happen to consumers in places like Mexico, or Guatemala, or the Central African Republic.

We put up with it here because we have been carefully and very purposefully trained to be sheep by the marketing arms of American commerce starting just after WWII. They figured out that they could convince us that "all" that is available is shoddy junk and poor service and worked very hard to get that whole notion our grandparents had of getting value for a dollar spent, out of our heads. Now, we are fully trained to expect and worse, ACCEPT shoddy products and service...and all they have to say is, "but...it's made in America!" to help convince us that we must be crazy to think that about....THEM!

Wake up, folks.

Wake up, and get down to the county courthouse. It is easy to sue in this country, it will cost the company you are suing tens of thousands of dollars to fight you off and it costs you virtually nothing. Yes, you may lose. But so what? They've already taken your ability to hear from you (and thousands of dollars)...so what if they get some judgment for lawyer's fees against you? Then they have to collect. Make it cost them to do that, too. Never pay, of course, but above all else: stand up and stop being a coward when facing uncaring, corrupt companies like Audibel.

Monetary Loss: $2200.

Location: Denver, Colorado

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I am so sorry you had a bad experience. Starkey Hearing Aids and Audibel are some of the best on the market.

Not all dealers are shady deceiving. If you have issues with the individual dealer it is best to take it up with them. If you feel you have been mistreated you have every right to contact the Hearing Instrument Specialist and Audiologist licensing board in your state.

I can guarantee you , not all Audibel dealers are bad and not every product made by Starkey is bad.

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