Garmin SA- will find any excuse to get out of a warranty

I purchased a Garmin Vivo Active 4s almost 2 years ago. It worked perfectly until it didn't. Last month over a 48 hour period, the watch battery started to fail. It would not hold charge for more the 1-3 hours. I disabled various settings, did a software update, bought a new charger etc and nothing worked.

I eventually sent Garmin an email asking for advice and after a week I finally received a reply. I sent the watch in, I phoned after 10 days as I had not heard anything back from them. Eventually, after the 4th call I got through to someone, they said I should be patient and someone would get back to me.

A few days later I received an email with an attachment. The email didn't have any explanation so I opened the attachment and found a quotation and tech report about the watch.

Before I get into the nitty gritty, my watch has a small crack on the screen from a table I knocked it on within the first 6 months of owning the watch. I have never had any issues from the surface crack.

Here is a summary of what was in the attachment: Hard reset done Software upadate done Battery cycle charge completed Error check cleared Battery test completed FAILED. Battery not lasting according to spec Battery not replaceable *CRACKED SCREEN *Physical damage void warranty

I have been fighting Garmin, I have sent numerous emails, and I phoned every SINGLE day trying to speak to someone to challenge this. After about the twentieth call I got through to someone.

The lady on the call was very polite but unhelpful as we just went round in circles. I asked her if the crack was the proximate cause of the battery malfunction, which she rep****, "No, it is because the battery has failed" and I asked her then how can you void the warranty for something that wasn't the cause of the issue? She also agreed that it is not fair but it is the 'rules'.

I completely understand, that if I had smashed my watch and the crack caused the watch to fail I would lose my warranty but that is not the case at all according to the technical report.

No one is answering my emails or my calls. I have spent over an hour in total on hold, and I have used over R2OO on airtime and have hit a dead end.

I have read online that Garmin watch batteries are shocking and last from 1-2.5 years- the amount of complaints is scary.

I would just like my watch replaced without having to buy a new one. I said to the Garmin Employee on the phone, if I fixed the crack on the glass and sent it back in, would you replace the watch? Her response, " YES"

Is there anyone that has had a similar issue?