[freebox] what customer service after lightning strike? Solved

Question

Hello everyone

It's been 4 days since lightning struck unexpectedly at my place. There was only one flash, but it was enough to fry my Freebox.

So, I called Free for customer support. They asked me to do several tests, like removing the phone extension, and if that didn't help, to call them back and they would send me a new one.

I called them back and they asked me to go do more tests at my neighbor's and to test my phone line myself, which is strictly prohibited!!! At the moment, it didn't register with me...

So, I tested the Freebox at my neighbor's and it still didn't work. So I had to call Free again (and still have to pay for minutes and minutes of communication...). I explained my lightning story for the third time. I did mention to the guy on the line that one of his colleagues told me to test my phone line myself and he was shocked. I also explained all the tests I had to do, with no success. Then he told me they would send me a new one but since it wasn't working anymore because of the lightning, he didn't know if I would have to pay for it or not. I might have to pay 400 euros! It's not my fault that the lightning struck my place! It's certainly not me who misused it!

Anyway, all this to find out if anyone has unfortunately had the same problem as me? Does anyone know the conditions for free exchanges when the Freebox is down?

Thanks in advance to everyone!

kalamit · Accepted Answer

It is indeed the solution. You need to check with your home insurance. This is not an uncommon situation. :) -- Kalamit, There’s no smoke without tires.

thierry83 · Answer

Hello,
Didn't you sign a contract with replacement clauses?
PS: Whether you had anything to do with it or not doesn't change anything; what matters is whether you are covered by your contract or not.
--
How do you expect me to agree with you?
I can't even agree with myself!

SurfAdCom · Answer

Hi Marjou, if your box isn't replaced for free, you can check with your home insurance, don't they cover damages to electrical devices?

SLEB · Answer

Indeed, all of this should be explained in the contract, but generally lightning is not covered by the warranty, which seems logical. However, nothing prevents you from taking steps with your insurer, if the insurance contract covers this kind of problem and with an invoice or a quote, the insurance may very well reimburse the cost of the modem.
--
Gwenn ha Du

thierry83 · Answer

You really have to do it… to put your Freebox right where the lightning is supposed to strike! -- How do you expect me to agree with you?  I can't even agree with myself!

AsKy · Answer

Hi,

The first Freeboxes had a very fragile power supply and a large number of boxes were returned to Free and replaced (I don't even know if there are any still in circulation today; I doubt it). It happened to me, and I didn't have to pay anything.

Okay, it was due to a problem with the Freebox, but maybe by playing innocent ("I don't know what's going on, it turned off and nothing works anymore") you could have gotten a new box for free...

What model of Freebox was it otherwise?

--
asky | I disapprove of what you say,
| but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

marjou · Answer

Uh, I’m sorry, I don’t know at all! It’s my brother who took the subscription with Free, so I have no idea if he signed a contract. And I can’t even ask him, he doesn’t live with me anymore!

And besides, Thierry, it’s not my fault I have bad luck and that lightning struck my place :p but I admit it gave me a nice fireworks show! Sparks everywhere that I could have done without!

Okay, I’ll try to check on the contract, thanks for the advice.

marjou · Answer

My Freebox turns on, does the "snake" but does not synchronize with AsKy. So I think that if I had a power issue, it wouldn't turn on at all. However, in the 3 days leading up to its failure, I had quite a few connection problems, to the point where I couldn't surf the web anymore.

Otherwise, my model was: Freebox 4

marjou · Answer

well, my insurance covers this kind of damage. I need to go see them... we'll see what they can do.

Christian* · Answer

A rented device does not belong to you. If anything happens to it (especially lightning), it must be replaced by the owner unconditionally. You need to tell the hotline that it no longer works without giving a reason, and it must be replaced.
When I was with Tiscali and my triway was struck by lightning, it was replaced in 1 week!

lili25 · Answer

I recommend that you call a consumer service; there is one in every "big" city, it's the best option, they can inform you of your rights!! Keep us updated!!

marjou · Answer

Hello everyone again!

Well, I have more problems. I have no telephone line, but the internet is working anyway! I’d like to know how that’s possible? Well, anyway, France Telecom is coming to test my line on Monday; I will keep you updated.

In any case, thank you for your advice ;)

Hugs and have a good day!

marjou · Answer

Well, there you go, France Telecom tested my line and it's working again, but the Freebox is a no-go. I still need to call to find out if they'll charge me for it. Hello, phone bill after that! Anyway.

marjou · Answer

Well, there's some news! As for the phone line that still isn't working, it's not coming from my end; plenty of people are in the same situation as me since that damn storm last Monday. So that's one thing sorted. Now all that's left is the Freebox...

Talk to you soon for the rest of the story.

antic80 · Answer

400 euros for the Freebox is a bit expensive anyway   for me the only solution is to stop going with Free, it's cheap but it's crap and the technical support is terrible.

marjou · Answer

yayyyy after a good number of calls, Free has finally decided to send me a Freebox for free!  thank you everyone for your advice.  have a nice day.

fabrice93300 · Answer

Marjou, don’t celebrate too soon; my transformer had blown and three weeks after they told me I would receive a new one, I still hadn’t received anything and had to go buy one myself; after six months of complaints, calls, emails, and registered letters, I got one month for free... So tell me how it went for you in a few months then lol.

thierryroumar · Answer

Here is my personal experience,
Lightning struck my neighbor's EDF meter yesterday at 11:00 AM
No EDF in the neighborhood.
Freebox V4+ Power supply out of order
TPH Assistance: replacement with a new box: 190 Euros
Called my home insurance: Being insured for full replacement value: 100% coverage
Small advice: be sure to check your contracts ..... it can cost you a lot.....
Regards

Thierry

bidolivier · Answer

I had the same problem at the beginning of June, a burnt-out Freebox and central unit, and I paid €190 for the Freebox (in the general terms and conditions, it states that if the user is unable to return the borrowed equipment (and not rented), then they must reimburse it (price varies depending on the modems, there is a price list page)). I found all this out because my insurance required proof from Free in order to reimburse me, and if you provide the invoice, it's sufficient (the one that will be issued the month after the painful payment). FREE would be the only ISP to charge for the replacement of the box in the event of a disaster. TO KNOW: NEVER SAY THAT LIGHTNING STRUCK YOUR PLACE OR THAT OTHER DEVICES ARE DAMAGED because in that case it is considered simply broken and will be exchanged for free (someone from the hotline told me this). If you are honest with them, they will want to squeeze some money from you because you might be “potentially” reimbursed by insurance.

However, if anyone knows more about insurance reimbursements, because they are applying a depreciation on the Freebox of 25%, so €47.5 from my pocket and 40% on my central unit, except that they do not calculate it based on the new price of the damaged device but on the repair costs of the PC, which is 4 years old, 40%. Having requested a current basic configuration, I received a quote of around €360, so they are reimbursing me €220 for a PC that was worth €751 four years ago!! I therefore made a “muscular” quote of €743 (because you must not exceed the initial value) and as a result they will pay much more, at least €440, I will get back the PC I had before.

musestoi · Answer

Freebox Revolution out of order following a storm on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, around 5 PM. Submitted an "incident ticket" around 5:30 PM. Wednesday morning, response from Free: we are sending a technician on Friday the 12th at 11 AM... Exchange of Freebox at the beginning of the following week. Personally, I say "not bad and well done Free" for their efficiency!
Note: unplug your phone line when a storm is coming... Inform Free that your box is out of order due to a storm, the exchange will be faster and without the need for a technician's intervention!

[freebox] what customer service after lightning strike?

31 réponses

Samsung j5 unable to answer

Scam of the suvedene highway

Minecraft restore the cursor and the bar.

My ps3 keeps shutting down on its own...

Samsung series 4 led tv logo display...

How to enable bluetooth on a samsung tv?

Ctrl key issue

[metin2] sura ...

Freebox tv locked step 2 or network

Error 46 (brother dcp-150c) cleaning impossible