Broken camera under guarantee!

*Lees*

Just wondering if anyone can advise me on this situation..

I got a sony camera as a present at christmas, last week while I was away for the weekend it was working fine. I had been taking pictures but when I turned it on again the lense wouldn't come out and an error message saying "turn off and turn back on" came up on the screen, I did this but everytime the same message came up. I can still turn the camera on and playback pictures already taken but the lense won't come out to take more pictures.
So, I brought the camera back to where it was bought. I produced the reciept and the camera and told the guy at the counter what had happened.

He went on to say I would need to pay €80, they would then send the camera back to Sony. If they say the camera had been dropped or water damaged I don't get my €80 back but if its a genuine fault they will fix or replace the camera. I knew my camera wasn't near any liquids and it definitely wasn't dropped so I told him I would like to send it off.
As he was filling out the necessary forms I had a think about it and decided that €80 was a lot of money if they turned around and said they weren't going to fix it!! The camera originally cost €180 so it's almost half the cost of the camera!! I questioned him on why I needed to pay €80, he said that it's how much Sony charge them for checking the cameras. I was just about to leave the shop when he handed me a card of a place that would check the camera for €25, they could confirm if it was a genuine fault and I could then go back to the shop and hand over my €80 in confidence!!
So I left the shop with full intentions of bringing my camera to this repairs place, it's just that anytime I think it through I feel as though it was wrong of them for asking me for €80 as the camera was under guarantee and surely I shouldn't have to pay for them to check the camera?
Thanks..

Elessar

You should not have to pay anything for warranty work. Do you have the original manuals/warranty card that came with the camera? What does that say?

Either way it is ridiculous to get charged for warranty work, I don't know of any other company that does this. Tbh I doubt you'd ever see that money again even if it was non-accidental damage. Did you ring Sony directly? They should have a support line.

This could just be the stores way of putting off customers so they don't have to deal with returns.

Whatever you do, don't pay it. If sony/the store refuse to fix the camera without the cash they are acting illegally.

What I would do is:

Ring Sony directly and see what they have to say. Make a complaint if necessary.
Ring the National Consumer Agency/Consumers association and get their opinion.
If you can't deal directly with Sony, and the store won't budge, you can start thinking about other options like the small claims court. But I imagine with a call or letter of complaint to Sony directly, that they will sort it.

snappieT

I used to work in a store that would be taking in cameras, including Sony ones. Of course, we weren't trained in how to tell if a camera has suffered liquid or impact damage, so when repairs were sent off, this was the procedure:

Tell the customer that, if found to be accidental damage, they would be given the option to pay for the repair, or just have the camera sent back as-is. We would send the camera off, get a quote from the repair shop (if damaged by accident), and call the customer with this quote. When they came to pick the camera back up, they would pay the charge (if they chose to have the camera fixed). Of course, there was no charge if it was a genuine manufacturer's fault.

If we could do it, I don't see why any other shop couldn't.

*Lees*

Elessar wrote: »

You should not have to pay anything for warranty work. Do you have the original manuals/warranty card that came with the camera? What does that say?

I have the original box that the camera came in, there's nothing there referring to any guarantee/warranty but at the bottom of the purchase reciept it says "your receipt is your guarantee"
Should there have been some other stuff inside the box??

Elessar wrote: »

Did you ring Sony directly? They should have a support line.

This could just be the stores way of putting off customers so they don't have to deal with returns.

Whatever you do, don't pay it. If sony/the store refuse to fix the camera without the cash they are acting illegally.
.

No, not yet but I will definitely give them a call and see what they say!! That's exactly what I thought about the shop trying to put people off, even when I said I would pay they €80 he was really putting me off with comments about the camera looking worn!It really doesn't, I don't have a case for it so naturally there are some very light scratches on the screen but apart from that it's perfect!! I haven't even used it a whole lot, maybe half a dozen times since Christmas!!
When I changed my mind and told him I didn't want to send it off he looked relieved to be honest!!

Elessar wrote: »

Ring Sony directly and see what they have to say. Make a complaint if necessary.
Ring the National Consumer Agency/Consumers association and get their opinion.
If you can't deal directly with Sony, and the store won't budge, you can start thinking about other options like the small claims court. But I imagine with a call or letter of complaint to Sony directly, that they will sort it.

Thanks a million! I will get onto Sony and see what they have to say!

foggy_lad

you have certain statutory rights and you should deal with the store where you bought the camera to get these. sony have no obligation towards you but the store are obliged to replace repair or refund if the fault is due to poor workmanship etc. how they arrange to have the camera examined is their business and should not entail any charge to you for assessment of damages etc.

go back to the store and tell them your camera has stopped working and you want them to have it repaired replaced or failing these options you will seek a full refund, the shop can not just claim customer damage because they dont want to send the camera off to sony for repair and can certainly not charge €80 for sending the camera off for assessment!

many people will tell you that is is often faster to deal directly with the manufacturer but many others have experience of being given refurbished replacements for brand new products when they were expecting a new replacement, remember the manufacturer does not have to do anything for you and is really only interested in keeping their own costs to a minimum!

PCPhoto

OP .... go back to the store and if they tell you that it will cost you €80 to send it off and you dont get your €80 back ask them to put that in writing for you - if they ask you why tell them straight out that you want to bring it to the National Consumer Agency to check if its illegal for them to charge you for something that is under warranty.

if they decline to give it to you in writing ask them why - if they then refuse then you can simply tell them that you will be forced to bring the matter further. (dont mention solicitors or anything just say bring the matter further - if you really need to you can/should quote the sales and services act - you can find it yerself :P:P)

Anyway - you are 100% in the right.

wmpdd3

I don't see anything wrong with this charge.

Imagine if you return your car to a garage within warranty complaining of engine trouble, the mechanic checks it out and finds you have put petrol in a diesel car. Should the mechanic not be paid for their time?

Most laptop repair companies charge for 'customer damage' and 'no fault found' service queries. They hold your machine and if you don't pay you don't get your machine back.

Atleast this way the shop doesn't have to chase money after sending the camera away.

Kensington

Cowboys, Ted!

€80 charge is madness. If it's under guarantee, you shouldn't pay anything. If the fault is due to something you did, they won't repair it without payment or may use your camera as security (ie. you don't pay for the work done, you don't get your camera back!)

You may be quicker to bypass the shop altogether and deal with the service agent instead. MF Services, in Cork, do Sony camera repairs. You can ring them on (021) 4348988 (choose Option 4) and they should be able to arrange to have the camera repaired. You will need a copy of your original purchase receipt which you'll need to place in a box, with the camera. Send just the camera - no batteries, memory cards, straps etc. I'm sure they'll explain this to you on the phone if you ring them.

Unless they deem the fault to be user neglect (accidental or otherwise), you won't be charged a cent. If they do feel the damage is a result of neglect, they'll seek payment before they do any work.

Of course, as a matter of principle, you may wish to take up the issue with the shop. By law, they must deal with your complaint, if you insist, as your contract is with them. However, you probably want the camera sorted ASAP and dealing direct may be the easiest way forward.

foggy_lad

wmpdd3 wrote: »

I don't see anything wrong with this charge.

Imagine if you return your car to a garage within warranty complaining of engine trouble, the mechanic checks it out and finds you have put petrol in a diesel car. Should the mechanic not be paid for their time?

Most laptop repair companies charge for 'customer damage' and 'no fault found' service queries. They hold your machine and if you don't pay you don't get your machine back.

Atleast this way the shop doesn't have to chase money after sending the camera away.

if you return your car to the garage they do not insist on you paying a fee before they even look at the car "just in case" it is your fault or the issue is not covered by your statutory rights!

*Lees*

Well, I got onto the National consumer agency who did say that I shouldn't have to pay the 80euros.
I then rang the shop and the guy explained that they can also take the camera and send it off, if Sony say that the camera had been physically damaged then the shop are liable to pay the 80euro, they can also instead give Sony back the camera to scrap instead of the 80euro but he said this was a very awkward process, Sony sometimes refuse saying the customer needs to pay and then the shop get stuck with the fee. He said that a lot of the time people come in with cameras that have been water damaged or dropped and the shop can't tell without sending them off to a technician who then sends a detailed report back to the shop! They do use the 80euro deposit to stop people returning their cameras and pretending that nothing happened when they really know they broke it themselves.
I rang MF services and they too take the 80euro deposit. If the camera is found to have been physically damaged then the 80euros goes towards the repairs.

parsi

That's the standard charge in ireland for Sony Warranty Service though MF Services.

I had a camcorder which was subject to a recall notice and I had to pay €75 (then) to MF Services before it would be accepted.

They claim it's Sony practice but yet for the same problem Sony were supplying a freepost envelope in the UK. I rang Sony Ireland about it but their PR person was unbelievably ignorant and denied that I had to pay the charge. fter emailing the relevant paperwork I never heard any more.

I can undertsand it from their point but from my point it looks like you are relying on their honesty to diagnose a warranty-related fault.

Be careful with MF Services - they sent me someone elses shaver and took over 2 weeks to collect it back.

*Lees*

Just rang TVAE, the place that the guy in the shop originally gave me the number for. I can drop the camera out to him, he will check it for €25 and he can say if it's been physically damaged!! He will take the €25 off the repair cost if its something not covered under the guarantee!
I'm going to go ahead and do that I think. Although I am certain I never dropped it or had it near any liquids it's hard to be 100% certain it didn't knock off something in my handbag or something!
I can't understand how they can do the same thing for €25 though!! :rolleyes:

Elessar

That is ridiculous. You don't have to pay any deposit for your camera to be examined under warranty. If the company claim it was accidental/water damage, they give you a quote AFTER they have looked at it. At least that is what happens in other companies.

Did you ring Sony directly?

orlaithd

Hey
This is a little off topic but I've experienced the problem you are having with your sony camera before with a new camera (well 6 months old).
Ended up bringing it to a sony centre and the guy in the shop said it was weird and we might have to send it off blah blah blah.
Then he asked had we changed the batteries- which we had and it turned out if the batteries you use in a Sony camera aren't sony the lense won't deploy. Its obviously a gimmicky thing so you have to onlyuse Sony batteries in Sony products.
So before you send it off check the batteries are Sony (might save you the arguement/€80 dispute with the shop) (which on topic I agree with other posters if its broken and within warrenty you shouldn't have to pay)

Kintarō Hattori

What shop was this OP? I work for a well known small chain of shops and we've never charged anyone for an item that is still under guarantee.