Top critical review
1.0 out of 5 starsWithings avoids customer contact and warranty replacement for defective products
Reviewed in the United States on February 15, 2024
I can’t recall ever writing a one-star negative review on Amazon, but unfortunately, Withings has policies in place that are so egregious and so far below what is normal among health products firms for customer support that I think that this info deserves to be shared.
I purchased a Withings Body Smart Scale in June 2023 that came with a two year warranty. A few weeks ago (January 2024) the scale’s weight accuracy became erratic and its body scanning also became erratic. (Please see the attached image of the 2.3 lb variance in six simultaneous weighings for the same person). After going through Withings’ trouble shooting and not solving these issues, I attempted to reach out to the company with a warranty claim. That was easier said than done.
Withings does not publish ANY contact information on its website. No telephone number, no email address, no physical address, no “contact us” form.
Clicking on the “Contact Us” button loops back to a FAQ list. One needs to wade through and decipher a bunch of URLs to actually find a means to contact Withings customer support. [Pro tip: the Better Business Bureau lists Withings’ telephone number and provides a “Contact this business” email form.]
It isn’t easy to find, but Withings does offer an appointment calendar for customers who need to speak to a customer service or tech support person. I sought an appointment on their calendar. Withings scheduled it THREE MONTHS OUT for a simple warranty claim. So in order to file a warranty claim Withings wanted to make me wait three months???
[3/8/24 update: My call with Withings Tech Support was scheduled for today. After waiting almost three months, Withings did not show up for the call. I sent an email to the Withings person who was scheduled for the call, who did not respond to my email.]
Withings' “Chat” function on their website is not staffed during at least some of the hours that it claims to be open. I waited for 7 hours during one day a few weeks ago and my chat request was never responded to.
In looking through the Withings Forums and at Withings’ BBB complaints, I found that for at least the past two years, customers with tech support questions or warranty claims had found it near impossible to get in touch with Withings support staff. Clearly my experience wasn’t an anomaly—Withings apparently had been treating all of its customers just as poorly.
After a few days in attempting to reach Withings, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau based on Withings' policy of making it difficult, if not impossible, for their customers to file valid warranty claims. [Note: the BBB give Withings a “D-” rating.]
The day after I filed the BBB complaint, Withings got in touch. They sent me an email asking for details on the warranty claim. I provided the details they requested. Withings ignored the data I provided that evidenced that the scale was not performing to spec, told me that the scale was performing properly and that it did not need to be replaced.
I asked Withings multiple times via email to address the evidence I provided that proved that the scale was defective. At no point in weeks of email exchanges did Withings ever actually address the problems I was having with the scale, and always continued to claim that the scale was performing correctly, even though simultaneous weighings for the same person a few minutes apart varied by more than two lbs, while the scale is supposed to be accurate to +/- .1 lb, the scanning function only functions intermittently, and the scale is only six months into a two year warranty.
The bottom line: there is overwhelming evidence that Withings has policies in place to limit customer interaction and to prevent customers from being able to make valid warranty claims on defective Withings products.
I have been a Withings user for a number of years and this was my fourth Withings scale.
Withings used to have normal service and support, but that has now obviously changed. Buyer beware.