A cautionary tale
Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2005 9:30 pmHi,
I've been pretty quiet on this site for a few months. For various reasons I haven't taken many photos. One of these reasons is an experience I had with a supposedly reputable Camera retailer in Melbourne. Here is that story:
In early July the warranty on my camera expired and given the number of times it had been in for repair (four or so) I decided I should get a replacement. The old camera had been repaired but still had intermittent faults that would never happen in the shop. Unfortunately, the model had been superseded and the maker had chosen to encrypt the white balance data in the RAW files of the new model. Anyway, I rang around several camera stores and found that one of them had one of the old model still in stock. So I drove over and bought it.
I drove home, connected a lens to the camera and found it would not focus. I then tried another lens, which again would not focus. This was the case for four of my six lens, all of which worked on my old camera. The common feature was that the lens that did not work had internal motors while those that were focussed from a motor in th camera body were fine. I was a little upset but figured the retailer would make it right the next day.
The next day (Saturday) I drove back to the retailer and demonstrated the fault to one of its staff. After allowing me to demonstrate the fault he shrugged and said that it was a warranty issue. I was most upset by this and pointed out that under the Trade Practices Act I had a right to a refund as the store had not sold me goods in saleable condition. This was refused and I was informed that the store could not possibly test every item it sold. I asked to speak to a manager and was told that none were on duty. I asked that a manager be called at home and was again refused. Eventually the staff member, after I stood my ground for twenty minutes or so, gave me the business contact details of the manager and said I could contact him on Monday if I wished. I eventually left the store extremely unimpressed.
As I needed a superseded model I elected to have the camera repaired by Camera Clinic who were superbly helpful and courteous. The repair involved replacing the main circuit board, the AF sensor, the AE sensor, the CCD and rear display unit (which had a hot pixel).
The moral of the story is that when buying a camera make sure you enquire about the store's return policy and get it in writing. After this experience I will probably buy all further cameras from Ted's who have a lemon guarantee. In addition, insist of testing the camera before you pay for it and leave the store. You will save yourself a great deal of grief. It may be silly but this whole episode has sucked a great deal of the pleasure of photography out of me.
If you wish to know more about my experience feel free to contact me via email on brucecrawford@optusnet.com.au
Regards,
Bruce
I've been pretty quiet on this site for a few months. For various reasons I haven't taken many photos. One of these reasons is an experience I had with a supposedly reputable Camera retailer in Melbourne. Here is that story:
In early July the warranty on my camera expired and given the number of times it had been in for repair (four or so) I decided I should get a replacement. The old camera had been repaired but still had intermittent faults that would never happen in the shop. Unfortunately, the model had been superseded and the maker had chosen to encrypt the white balance data in the RAW files of the new model. Anyway, I rang around several camera stores and found that one of them had one of the old model still in stock. So I drove over and bought it.
I drove home, connected a lens to the camera and found it would not focus. I then tried another lens, which again would not focus. This was the case for four of my six lens, all of which worked on my old camera. The common feature was that the lens that did not work had internal motors while those that were focussed from a motor in th camera body were fine. I was a little upset but figured the retailer would make it right the next day.
The next day (Saturday) I drove back to the retailer and demonstrated the fault to one of its staff. After allowing me to demonstrate the fault he shrugged and said that it was a warranty issue. I was most upset by this and pointed out that under the Trade Practices Act I had a right to a refund as the store had not sold me goods in saleable condition. This was refused and I was informed that the store could not possibly test every item it sold. I asked to speak to a manager and was told that none were on duty. I asked that a manager be called at home and was again refused. Eventually the staff member, after I stood my ground for twenty minutes or so, gave me the business contact details of the manager and said I could contact him on Monday if I wished. I eventually left the store extremely unimpressed.
As I needed a superseded model I elected to have the camera repaired by Camera Clinic who were superbly helpful and courteous. The repair involved replacing the main circuit board, the AF sensor, the AE sensor, the CCD and rear display unit (which had a hot pixel).
The moral of the story is that when buying a camera make sure you enquire about the store's return policy and get it in writing. After this experience I will probably buy all further cameras from Ted's who have a lemon guarantee. In addition, insist of testing the camera before you pay for it and leave the store. You will save yourself a great deal of grief. It may be silly but this whole episode has sucked a great deal of the pleasure of photography out of me.
If you wish to know more about my experience feel free to contact me via email on brucecrawford@optusnet.com.au
Regards,
Bruce
