RIP Fitbit Charge

You may have noticed that my fitbit statistics haven't been posted on my blog for the past few days. Have a look at the photo below.

My fitbit is well and truly dead. Well, the display unit works but as you can see the band died!

I contacted Fit bit via Twitter and told them what had happened. I also explained that all four of us in our home have had fitbit charges and they have all broken and had been replaced at least once. Some two to three times (around 10 charges in total). I also let them know how disappointed I was and I could understand one or two bands breaking but not all of the ones we have had. I  also mentioned I would not be purchasing any more of their products.

I was messaged by Fitbit soon afterwards, and asked to provide my email address that was linked to my account. I received a message stating the following:

We do apologize if the quality of the product did not meet your expectations, and we appreciate you taking time to share your concerns. As with other sport watches and wrist based jewelry or accessories, some people may experience wear and tear due to uncontrollable circumstances. Wearing it 24/7 does not give your skin a chance to breathe. Whenever you get your tracker wet, dry it thoroughly before putting it back on. To know more about our product care, please visit our website at https://www.fitbit.com/productcare . Rest assured that we are continuing to make sure our products passed all quality and safety tests before leaving our manufacturing department.

Upon further review of the account, we've confirmed that the tracker is already beyond 365 days from it's original paired date September 2015. The replacement trackers that we provide does not carry their own warranty period. We will always base it on the original tracker that was purchased and paired to your account. To help keep you in the Fitbit family and working towards your goals and as a gesture of our goodwill, we'd like to offer you a one time exception for the replacement tracker.

We hope this is a good news for you. Since we’ve recently stopped manufacturing our Charge tracker, which you can read about http://fitbit.link/299dnYv.  To get you back on track right away, we can instead send one of our newest products, the Fitbit Alta, with no additional cost.

The Alta is our sleekest tracker and offers a slimmer band plus a tap display, reminders to move, and call/text/calendar alerts. We also sell a variety of interchangeable Alta bands https://www.fitbit.com/alta#accessories.  You can find more information about Alta on our website https://www.fitbit.com/alta.

Please let us know if you’d like an Alta, including preferred size (S, L, XL) and color (black, blue, plum, or teal) and we’ll process your request right away.

I decided to take up the offer of the Fitbit Alta. I have received another email stating that they will let me know when it is ready to be shipped and that I should receive it within 7 - 10 days from the date of shipment. Hopefully that will be by then end of next week.

I have to admit that I cannot fault any of the correspondence I have had from the team at Fitbit. They have always been very helpful.

Please note that under Australian Law rights for the consumers in regards to refunds, repairs and replacements is different to other countries. Other countries may not receive the same offer I have been fortunate enough to receive.