The Oticon Connect Clip Scam

#52

The only way to kill an otherwise healthy battery is to either frequently discharge it deeply or to leave it in a deeply discharged state for a long period of time. No batteries last forever, but properly cared for (i.e., not deeply discharged and kept charged), they will last a long time. I’ve used my CC for several hours a day, 5 days a week and it holds a charge just as well now as it did when it was new.

My point is that properly cared for, a CC will last a long time. Calling it a scam (not attributing that to you) is uncalled for.

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#53

First I use my Connect Clip every day, and when I come home I plug it in to charge it right along with my phone. It was properly cared for. I know all about Lithium Ion batteries as I sold over 900 of them last year along with the chargers for a product I make. Guess what? Every once in a while, regardless of proper care, there is a funky battery and I have to replace it.

When you advertise a $250 product can have the battery changed by sending it in for service, when the truth is, they will not change the battery, That is a SCAM! It is called BAIT and SWITCH. I have been a Licensed Private Investigator for 43 years with a PhD in Criminal Psychology. Bait and Switch is the very definition of a scam. You induce someone to buy something with false advertising and then when the purchase is made you change the conditions of the inducement or fail to honor it.

Remember something, I had my audi call Oticon about sending my CC in for a battery replacement, as they advertise, I was willing to pay for a new battery. That is when they told me that they didn’t do that and I would have to buy a new one. I protested that their advertising said they could replace the battery and I was simply given the, “Well that isn’t accurate even if it is in writing.” So I bought a new one and then I took it up the corporate ladder. Had they not made things right I would have filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Consumer Fraud Division of Nevada and I would have won.

Did they do that intentionally? I don’t know. Makes no difference. They have an obligation to honor their advertised claims and make things right. And that is what they did. They made things right and admitted there was an error.

#54

So your CC failed prematurely. That doesn’t make it a “scam”, particularly considering that they replaced it.

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#55

“Hearing aid manufacturers are not ethical nor are the glorified hearing salespeople (aka audiologists) that sell them”
As are most generalizations, this falls far short of being accurate. I have had several Oticon HAs and three different audiologists over time and have been totally and completely pleased.

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#56

Please do not speak for “everyone”.

3 Likes
#57

OK everyone but PRR.

#58

You do not speak for me either.

#59

Certainly not for me.

#60

Nor for me!
What’s an Oticon Connect Clip?

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#62

Hi darylm. It may be misleading to generalize from personal experience regarding battery life.

I have used my connect clip almost continually for several years. I bought it when I was fitted with OPN 1 shortly after their introduction. At that time the connect clip needed recharging every four to eight hours depending on in which mode it was being used. Now it needs to be recharged every one to two hours. This connect clip has always been recharged and maintained according to Oticon guidelines. It has always been recharged as soon as the indicator light goes orange/red and has been fully charged each night.

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#63

My connect clip is connected to the home phone connect 2, some days I do not have to take by one call some days I take calls on an off most of the day. My connect clip gets charged nightly. If I am only using my connect clip as a remote which happens most of the time I could go three or four days without charging it.
The real issue I have faced it the connect clip is that if I have it connected to my iphone then even with the iphone powered off it will not connect back to the phone clip without being paired to the phone connect again. So I have given up on using the connect clip with my iPhone. I have also found issues with using the connect clip with the iphone and also having the aids connected to the iPhone, that being the streaming will break up or I will only have the streaming to one aid, normally the right aid and that is my worse ear and I do not understand the caller at all.

#64

How many years is “several”? I ask because it’s somewhat vague and to point out that even a well-cared for battery will not last forever. Batteries lose a bit of capacity every time they are discharged. This applies to car batteries, phone batteries and ConnectClip batteries - every type of battery. The only time I’ve seen the recharge indicator is when I’ve forgotten to charge it after using it for a day. I normally charge it every day after I use it. It’s very rare that it won’t last the entire day. The battery in your ConnectClip needs to be replaced.

#65

I almost never use the ConnectClip with my iphone, because it’s not really necessary. I find that the built-in microphone in the iphone works well enough. Also, I normally have it connected to my laptop, where it is necessary. I occasionally use it with my android phone.

#66

Until we got the new vehicle I used in when driving because here we are not allowed to even look at our phones. So I normally have it in a pants pocket or in the glovebox. But I find it so stupid that we are not allowed to even look at the phones but the displays in the vehicles now or more distracting then the phones ever were.

#67

Hi daylm, I got my OPN 1 aids shortly after they were available in the USA whenever that was. My audiologist told me about them at my annual hearing check and I jumped on board. Maybe 2017. Sorry I can’t be more specific. I’m too lazy to look up a more exact date. You are absolutely correct that the battery needs to be replaced because it has reached it’s discharge/recharge cycle limit. I’ve not done that because I’ve not been willing to give up my Connect Clip for whatever time it might take to replace the battery. Instead it’s kept plugged in continually to a cell phone sized power pack. I could replace the battery in minutes because I"m skilled at working with and soldering mini/micro printed boards and have the necessary equipment. In the on rush of tomorrow I just haven’t taken the time to get a suitable Li-Po battery.

#68

If anyone has a Connect Clip they don’t use and would like to sell, I’m in the market.
That would give me a bridge to get the battery in my existing Connect Clip replaced by Oticon.

#69

I have been following this thread for awhile. I had a connect clip while auditioning the OPN and it never gave me a problem.

I do not believe the OP is disputing battery life or any of that. He is upset that Oticon stated that they would replace batteries in the connect clip…they indicated battery service was available for the unit. Then when the OP attempted to have a battery service done, he was told that Oticon did not do battery service on connect clips. As such, it makes the device…disposable. That is not what he agreed to in the sale. As such it is, by letter, a scam. I don’t believe the intention was there. Oticon made it right after some pressure. As such, perhaps Oticon doesn’t deserve the vitriol existent in this post…

As a fyi,
I wear Resound products and use their Phone Clip extensively at work. I have three that I cycle through. I bought one through my audiologist. The rest, off eBay. I have about 5 of them all told. I had one order that was bad and the merchant accepted a return and refund. When one gets to the point it wont hold a charge, I will crack it open and see if I can replace the battery.

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#70

Well from what I’ve gathered Oticon finally gave in on the “Connect Clip Scam” and will offer free classes to anyone who wants to learn how to solder battery wires to a new replacement battery for the connect clip. Of course you have to provide your own soldering iron and replacement battery since Oticon is “paying out of pocket” for free soldering training classes.

#71

Good humor, hold4triple! I ruined the first few micro circuit boards on which I was instructed. It’s an infuriating and expensive learning curve. At my age I need hearing aids, bifocals, and a stereo microscope to solder anything smaller than 18 gauge wire.

#72

Ummm…I don’t know it either…