Bang & Olufsen
Reviews and Complaints

Not the customer service you'd expect from a luxury brand...

I purchased a pair of B&O earbuds on holiday in NYC from a Bang & Olufsen store, which unfortunately was defective (one side depletes battery much faster than the other).

Upon contacting Bang & Olufsen customer service on 1/7/22, they refused to assist me in coordinating my return (despite the fact it is within the eligibility window), specifying each store is "independently owned and operated" and that I would have to go back to NYC (I live in San Francisco).

As an initial matter, it's disappointing that Bang & Olufsen did not apologize for selling a defective product, but importantly they made no effort to help me in securing the return under their policy. From my experience, Bose would have emailed me a return label with no questions asked.

I would be very wary of purchasing anything from a Bang & Olufsen brick and mortar store and have had an overall poor experience with their customer service.

to John

I was under the impression that Bang & Olufsen made products of the highest quality, which also happened to be aesthetically pleasing - this couldn’t be further from the truth. After using my beosound balance for one month, I started experiencing connectivity issues when streaming from my mobile devices. This problem curiously started after a recent software update. I reached out to B&O, only to be given the run around for 3months. Endless troubleshooting, incorrect diagnostics on multiple occasions and customer service representatives who had zero technical knowledge or common sense. After months of painstakingly reporting each incident of streaming interference, sending B&O exact time stamps (with videos), forwarding data logs and providing remote access to my speaker, they still have failed to even successfully identify the issue. The company refuses to exchange the speaker for a new one and demands that I pay for shipping to one of their service centers on the other side of the country, just to physically look at the speaker. To add insult to injury, they are making me pay for packaging and shipping of the defective unit.

Not only is this speaker one of the most expensive pieces of garbage in its class, the manufacturer has zero interest in fixing the issue in an efficient manner.

I received my Beosound 1 New York Edition yesterday. This was ordered from Bang & Olufsen's online store. It was not shipped in adequate packaging. The packaging is also not discrete. Bang & Olufsen's logo is printed in big bold letters on the packaging. This probably resulted in sinister handling of the delivery. UPS tossed it around like a soccer ball. It arrived banged up. I called Bang & Olufsen's support line. They opened up a case and marked it urgent. I want it replaced - however - it's a limited edition and sold out. I am left in complete suspense and with buyers remorse. This is not the type of experience I expected. My request to speak to a manager was declined. The representatives are not empowered to resolve anything. They just create a case and you're expected to hope for the best thereafter. Such a nightmare and a completely unexpected one. I hope Bang & Olufsen can make this right. I will update this review based on the outcome.

I will accept a replacement in another finish if The New York Edition stock is depleted. Bronze would be my alternate choice. Can packaging be replaced? I'm worried this issue will only repeat itself.

Arrange a replacement and add more packaging. This isn't rocket science.

A careless B&O employee shipped the product as is and now I'm the one who has to go through all this non-sense.

If it was packed properly - it would have survived shipping.

Your price tag on your products means nothing if this is how you treat your own products and customers. Appalling and condescending service!

I have purchase Beoplay H5 Bluetooth headphones on Oct 2017, when purchased itself was not charging and in initial troubleshooting it was found that the earpiece was faulty and I have received a replaced headphone.

Now, after using this replaced headphones for nearly 06 months I have noticed that the "textile braided cord" which is connecting both the earpieces are shrinking & tearing apart and also creating permanent bends in multiple places. Am wondering to understand that how it could be caused in a rubber cord with nylon lashing over it.

This product was purchased solely for its unique feature of braided textile, durability and stylish design. In this product's advertisement, the company is claimimg that the Beoplay H5 headphone comes with "Premium Durable Material" Then i am failing to understand how it is going bad in such a short span of time.

I purchased my Beolit 17 from a friend in U.S., I was so excited with the product features and it amazes me with the quality of the sound especially using in a medium size room. I started using it and just last June 1, 2018, the battery indication went and the sound at minimum even though the volume is full. I recharged it but the sound was at a very low level that even listening on the Iphone speaker is more louder. Please help

I purchased a pair of headsets beoplay H7 in France around Xmas 2015. I started experiencing issues when recharging the batteries, where the headset would simply not charge with the light flashing red. I tried different cables at my local B&O store with the assistance of the staff and we have even tried to change the batteries with no success. Following the advice of the staff who had been aware of the issue for a few months I then contacted the Support Department. The only suggestion I received was to change battery (already tried with staff, did not fix the problem) and because the headset was not out of warranty (by less than 2 months) there is nothing that can be done. Overall, the experience has been pretty appalling, from in store staff who despite their best effort could not really help to the complete lack of support from the so called "support team". I can not stress enough my disappointment in the way the situation has been handled by a company up until now I had a lot of respect for. At no point in time have I been offered an acceptable level of assistance or even the possibility to get the unit checked or fixed even at a cost. I just wish that this is an isolated incident but reading other posts, it is pretty clear that this is not the case.

Hi there,

I recently purchased the B&O A1 speaker, and have been sorely disappointed with the performance.

When i first used the speaker i could not figure out why it keep turning itself down. I looked it up and found out it was due to using an a high volume or over heating. As time has passed the problem seems more regular and at lower volumes. For example today I've been working from home and have not been able to play a full song at the anything over 60% after using the speaker for more then 30 mins. Also the change cannot keep up with the power consummation. So the speaker dies while being plugged in mid song.

I have owned Boss speaker before and never had this amount of trouble. I hope something can be done to restore my faith in Bang & Olufsen, as i was shock to find out the low standard of this speaker. It can be very frustrating to use.

Thank you for you time,
Emmett Doherty

[protected]@gmail.com
[protected]

Hi,
I am a customer who had purchased an A9 with additional cloth speaker cover. Till today's and 4 personal visit/complaint to your Kuala Lumpur showroom, there has been no feedback. The last visit was early this month which I demanded for a refund.
How is that a company renown for superior products charging at a premium rate cannot perform a simple follow up on a purchase since March 2017?

I have a Beolith 12, no more batteries available, no more connection via WiFi possible, no more connection for update available, no contact on internet with the company possible, language for Luxembourg on internet is "Dutch", no more help in agreed shops in Luxembourg (Lineheart) available for this device... a really big [censor]. I can't recommend this company at all because of an inexistant service.

To whom it may concern,

on August 14 around 4 pm I went to Bang & Olufsen store in Fashion Valley, San Diego, California. I was decided to purchase the top of the line headphones - wireless with special features. A sales person I spoke to, told me yes I can get discount. As I approached the cashier to pay, he started to adding more and more to the original price. Discount or no discount was not the deal braker for me. That attitude from the sales person who told me yes discount, then treated me like I have no clue what was said before, was the dela breaker for no sale. I have no problem of paying the full price, I was excited and ended up very disappointed. Store of such a caliber like Bang&Olufsen truthfully should use better selling methods than manipulation and deception. And if mispoken, simple I am sorry would be more than customer-friendly.
I hope to hear from you.
Respectfully yours,
Richard Sulik
+[protected]

**I purchased a Beoplay A1 (May 2017), 2-3 days later I took it back as it did not charge properly. More than a week later they "fixed it" by replacing the charging cable. 1-2 weeks later the product does not charge fully ie. It is supposed to charge within 3 hours and indicate green light. I charged the product for 24hours+ in two differnet sockets and still shows not charged full as result flickering orange. I returned the product demanding a new replacement with no success. Not even a mail addressing my concerns. Just saying and upgrade to software fixed issue number two**

I am stunned that a company with such a strong brand and message of quality does unfortunately not align with the buying/post service experience. I would argue any product from a shirt to a car that you buy and is not 100% will be exchanged on the spot at any other reputable company. I would also argue that if new customers are made aware that the product they might buy at Bang & Olufson might not be 100% working and if so, "Deal with it" is the approach that they would not purchase it.

The fact is my product is not even 1 month old and it has spent 1.5 weeks in "repairs" (1. "needs new cable" and now "software upgrade") and funny enough both issues related to the charging function. Now I am being told I need to accept paying R5k for a brand new product that already is showing durability issues. So I can only imagine how long this product's lifetime would be given it short life already.

Please also note that if you do not exchange for a new product (which I paid for) or refund that I will make my experience heard because obviously following the honest route is not honored.

I am confident everyone on CC would be an just as unhappy customer as me if this was you buying someone a gift that doesn't work 100% and now have to say don't worry now its fixed, after a month.

To whom it concerns

I am very disappointed of the service level from your Centro Santa Fe shop in México City.
Just bought an A9 beo play last Saturday with Mr Juan Antonio Rodríguez. They did not had the wall mount bracket and promised it for first time next Tuesday. Mr Rodríguez was also going to send the invoice through mail as he stated this would avoid waiting some ten minutes at the store which I gladly accepted. He was courteous and service oriented during the products demos and sale process.
That following Tuesday I eMailes Mr Rodriguez stating I would not be there that day and requested store hours for the following day Wednesday, after his response that the store would open 11am I confirmed will be there 11am to fetch the bracket. At 11:15 another attendant informed there was no mounting bracket, contacted Mr Rodríguez and answered that depending on traffic the bracket could be there in 30 minutes an hour or more. I am totally dissatisfied as the promised time was for the prior day at 11am. I am not talking about a Best Buy $10 dollar unit, this is B&O and I expect a different level of service. Delivering on commitments.

Best regards,

José Manuel Villafaña N.

Bang & olufsen store in beverly hills 369 north rodeo drive beverly hills, ca [protected]-7785 rip-off, grand theft, larceny, thieves! the beverly hills rodeo drive bang & olufsen store ripped me off and stole my money. I paid a total of approx $1, 000.00 for one of their phones in mid 2006. the phone did not work properly (static) so I returned the phone and the gave me a credit slip and told me I can use it anytime and it would never expire. periodically when I was in the store, I looked around to buy something else but never really found anything I wanted and always asked if my credit slip was good and they always told me yes it was. recently, I went in to the store to buy a gift for my son's oncology doctor and again, I couldn't find anything for $1, 000 apart from phones so I asked if I can just get my money back. thor, a salesman there, told me I can buy anything I wanted in the store with my credit but to get my money back he would have to call and ask corporate. I left my number and trusted he would call me. I literally called everyday for a week and he never got back to me, always out or busy with a customer. finally I got him on the phone and what he told me shocked me. he said I not only can not get my money back, but I can't use the credit to buy anything in the store. I said why? I paid you a $1, 000.00 and you must give me something of the same value from your store or my money back, otherwise that is larceny. he said there is nothing he could do because, he said when I bought the phone in 2006, the store was owned by a franchise and the franchise went out of business (I wonder why) and corporate took over and thus they did not owe me the money but the franchise owner did. I said my credit invoice says "bang & olufsen beverly hills, not a franchisee's name. again, he started the appoligy script. I asked for the manager, his name is terry, he got ont he phone and what he told me shocked me more then what his salesman thor told me, he said that I could not have my money back and I would not use my credit slip in the store unless, I spend over $10, 000.00. if I spend over $10, 000.00 he said he would give me my $1, 000.00 discount off of my purchase. and he said the company cfo told him to tell me this. how do you like that!? this company is a dispicable company with criminal corporate policies. they should be charged with grand theft and larceny. they should be put out of business so honest companies can take their place and not rip off innocent consumers who paid good and hard earned money, only for this company to take it from them and not give any consideration in return. never buy from them!

I had three Bang & Olufsen phones. Volume was not working properly. Salesman told me I needed new batteries, at a price of $37 each. I ordered them. The phones still did not work after new batteries were installed, and the company refused to take back the two that had not been opened. I corresponded with company; no response. When I tried to return them another salesman said it sounds like a microphone problem, which would mean a different repair. This is second time Bang & Olufsen let me down. Phones cost $1, 000. I replaced them with $75 Panasonic set of three.