Digital Rev in 5D3 serial no. controversy.

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modchild

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Just been reading about a big problem involving a Canon 5D MkIII, a customer and a counterfeit serial number. Have a read of the thread here http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1242404&page=5 as it makes for very interesting reading.

Although I've read a lot of threads about how good DR are the fact that after all that the customer has found out they still don't want to refund him, only repair it, re-badge it and return it, means I for one won't be using DR ever.

I seriously hope the guy gets this sorted, but if you bought your 5D MkIII from DR it might be worth having a check on the serial number on the bottom and comparing it to that of the exif of a shot.

Maybe if the mods feel this could be seen by more people if they move it to another forum please feel free to move it.
 
Wow, that all seems incredible ... I can't believe that DR are shooting themselves in the foot like this - only way is to demonstrate good customer service and explain how this could possibly have happened.
I can imagine there will be some very worried DR customers out there after hearing about this.
 
I would bet that a previous DR customer, who had a problem with their camera has switched the labels - and as such returned their faulty camera to DR for a refund.

Pretty crappy though... Aren't DR a member on here?
 
gramps said:
Think he means registered as a member of TP :)
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He just registered on TP purely for insurance?
:thinking:
I must be missing something here.
 
thats one hell of a prob for DR to solve... they're cost cutting (no doubt) has well and truly chucked them in the deep end with dodgy products going here and there, and DR are now struggling to excuse their way out of it..

heres to hoping the other linked thread original poster gets this ressolved, and pray no more issues like this occur- and hope its a one off which sadly i fear its not
 
Sounds like it was a refurb sold as new to me. I bought a Canon refurb once and the serial number sticker on the box had been covered with a new label with another number. I didn't check the number on the camera though!

Al
 
I had a run in with my 7D, which was eventually swapped but they weren't exactly helpful and even outright lied - bought via ebay, found its a different arm with much less cover, I had even contacted DR before the purchased and confirmed but they still didn't honor.

Sure they swapped the faulty camera - after weeks of fighting, ignored emails ect ect.

I'm not a fan.

I understand their website arm is better though.
 
And I thought DR were the geeky darlings of the online photography world? They even have a dedicated forum round these parts! So this comes as quite a shock.

Personally I never understood the appeal of their long-winded go-nowhere videos. But it is nice to see a face attached to a company once in a while. Even so, I doubt I would ever buy from them after hearing this. Even if it does get sorted in the end.
 
blimey.. just read through the whole bit......

now excluding Simon's fiasco.... what exactly is the difference between uk sourced and grey import

i,e,

I buy 2 camera's... lets go for a Canon 7D.

a) is bought from warehouse express
b) is bought from Panamoz...


Other than disputes about warranty... what exactly would be different (other than the charger plug!)
 
As I understand it, not a thing, from what I've read of panamoz you even get the UK charger
 
MWHCVT said:
So as I got bored reading that thread but could someone please clarify are we talking a counterfeit s/n or and out of market s/n
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It is likely a refurb camera that got back into the supply chain and ended up sold as new. Whether it is known by DR is another matter.

What is true is that people who has problems makes the loudest noise. Those who have no problem, well, they have no reasons to make noises or go online for a few days posting how great service they got.

I've checked my 5Diii (both of them) and both of their serial matches, one was sourced from the US from Kerso and the other from DR.
 
I don't get it though - the thread on the other forum makes it look like a serial number would be changed when a camera is refurbed. Surely the serial stays the same if a device is refurbished?
 
OutLore said:
I don't get it though - the thread on the other forum makes it look like a serial number would be changed when a camera is refurbed. Surely the serial stays the same if a device is refurbished?
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My 35L has a new serial after repair from Canon Elstree last month.
 
Raymond Lin said:
What is true is that people who has problems makes the loudest noise. Those who have no problem, well, they have no reasons to make noises or go online for a few days posting how great service they got.
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yep (y) and will be very interesting to see how it pans out, I have had a few dealings with DR this year and apart from the over cautious security system(but if you think about it better that than not cautious enough) I cannot fault them..


JohnN said:
As I understand it, not a thing, from what I've read of panamoz you even get the UK charger
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not in my case, 60d recently from Panamoz came with a UK adapter for the non UK charger
 
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Whatever the conclusion about how this happened e.g. refurb, 'iffy', or whatever, what makes it suck is the alleged failure on the part of DR to resolve the issue immediately and at no cost to the buyer following the information about its status from Canon.

You can sell 20,000 products but one 'smelly' issue like this can lose you an awful lot of business ... seems foolish for the cost of postage.
 
I personally think this is an epic fail by DR. There's no reason why they couldn't have arranged a delivery of a new 5D3 kit and a collection of the original kit for return. Whoever was responsible for the counterfeit label wants to think about how its likely to affect future sales for the company.

I've just started a warranty claim for a lens I bought from Panamoz and the response couldn't have been better. I received an email telling me where to send it and they said as soon as the lens is checked and a fault found they will send a new lens straight away. No messing about with paying for a repair and getting reimbursed. I've never had a problem with any of my other purchases from anywhere else.
 
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That is one shocking story, I hope Digital Rev get their act together soon!
 
Why on earth would canon change the serial number??? I'd assume they'd mixed it up with another to be honest...

The serial number should stay with the item for life. Changing it is just weird. I can't see why canon would do it.
 
srichards said:
Why on earth would canon change the serial number??? I'd assume they'd mixed it up with another to be honest...

The serial number should stay with the item for life. Changing it is just weird. I can't see why canon would do it.
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That's exactly my point. It's like your car getting a new chassis number when it goes for an oil change :LOL:
 
Raymond Lin said:
My 35L has a new serial after repair from Canon Elstree last month.
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Having thought about this a little more, are you sure they didn't just send you a refurb or a new lens? Maybe they figured the labour cost would be higher than sending you a replacement?

Or would it have required a new "body" as part of the repair? Perhaps if that was changed then the serial would change?
 
OutLore said:
Having thought about this a little more, are you sure they didn't just send you a refurb or a new lens? Maybe they figured the labour cost would be higher than sending you a replacement?

Or would it have required a new "body" as part of the repair? Perhaps if that was changed then the serial would change?
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The window for the focal distance was cracked.

XJepel.jpg


They replaced the entire barrel it seems which is what the serial is etched on. I have the work order somewhere but it says something about cleaned, calibrated etc, if its a new refurb then they don't need to do any of that.

The work order also specifically states, in capital letters of the words NOTE NEW SERIAL.
 
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from what i could understand from the actual initial thread, the actual label itself was not a canon fitted and supplied one.... the serial number itself displayed was questionable....
 
i think this is canon europe spitting the dummy because the buyer bought a camera from outside its territory. on page 3 of the thread it looks like DR offer to repair and refund shipping costs, and will get an official note from Canon in the region to say its genuine...with that in mind it looks like FUD from canonUK have put the fear of god into the buyer who has popped on the internet, and the FUD has spread. good work Canon UK.
 
matty said:
i think this is canon europe spitting the dummy because the buyer bought a camera from outside its territory. on page 3 of the thread it looks like DR offer to repair and refund shipping costs, and will get an official note from Canon in the region to say its genuine...with that in mind it looks like FUD from canonUK have put the fear of god into the buyer who has popped on the internet, and the FUD has spread. good work Canon UK.
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I had to google FUD but I think your right (y) I think it's about time all electronics came with a international warranty :shake:
 
Really poor shadow cast over DR looking at the way ths guy has been treated regardless. Personally it would really make me consider if I wanted to buy from them in the case of such issues arising.
 
:agree:

It would be good if DR could respond to reassure us TP members :shrug:
 
another question that i dont recall seeing in the other thread....


...was the box sealed when it arrived???
 
Seems that the serial on the label and the serial reported by the camera in the EXIF are different as well - not what you'd expect from a new camera, surely?
 
nope. question remains though..sealed box? also some guy on page 50000 of that thread had the same problem with a camera bought from Canon somewhere so maybe the problem is with Canon?
 
matty said:
i think this is canon europe spitting the dummy because the buyer bought a camera from outside its territory. on page 3 of the thread it looks like DR offer to repair and refund shipping costs, and will get an official note from Canon in the region to say its genuine...with that in mind it looks like FUD from canonUK have put the fear of god into the buyer who has popped on the internet, and the FUD has spread. good work Canon UK.
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Pay for a new camera then find it isn't new?
Then agree to a "repair and refund of shipping costs"?
I don't think I would be agreeing to this either, if I pay for a new item I expect it to be new and if it isn't I expect a refund or a new replacement.
Whether or not Canon are "spitting the dummy" wouldn't be my concern, my concern would be getting a 'not-new' camera for my 'new money'.
 
matty said:
another question that i dont recall seeing in the other thread....

...was the box sealed when it arrived???
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I bought a sealed 50D from jessops. It came with a 4mb card in it with photos of the shop and staff.
"oh we'll just keep the card on us " was their response, nothing about it being resealed.
It went back for a full refund after I contacted head office and I've never used jessops again as this was the third time they tried to fob me off with ex demo stuff.

I may have mentioned it once or twice on here ;)
 
Hi, just a little bit of info from me regarding this.

Canon repairs in Glasgow where my camera was sent, DO repair grey imports, and bill the source where the camera was bought from, if their warranty offers this. However, they couldn't touch mine, as the LABEL was counterfeit, and so was the serial. And, no, the box wasn't sealed when i got it, as the extra battery, memory card and DR warranty card was in it.
I have an email stating why they wouldn't touch the camera… it was because of the label AND serial. An excerpt from the email to me:

"it's not the fact that the camera is a 'grey' import
that caused an issue, just that the serial number sticker was replaced by a
counterfeit. We're at a loss as to why this happened, since we see quite a
lot of products under warranty from Digital Rev and they normally don't
present a problem to us…"

DR offered a repair, yes, but offered to refund shipping costs, But only if they found there was a problem. They also stated that they wouldn't cover more than £40, but the cost inc insurance for £2,000+ to send back was £160…. they quite insisted they send it back to them. Only when i pointed out that their warranty offers "local" i insisted i send it within UK.


From DR:


Thanks for your reply. A return form for the camera is attached; please include a copy with the parcel and let us know:

1) Sent Date
2) Carrier/Shipping Company Used
3) Return Parcel Tracking Number

Please note:
-Please deliver using registered airmail or normal carrier and ensure the postage fee is NOT over 60 AUD (GBP £40) or equivalent. Please keep a copy of the return shipping invoice/receipt.
- Please email us a copy of the return shipping invoice/receipt
- Please return to the address provided on the form
- The return form is only valid within 7 days of being issued to the customer.
- Repair fees and related costs will be charged to the customer for fixing non-manufacture defects.
- Repair fees and related costs will be covered under warranty for fixing manufacture defects.
- Return postage will be refunded if the problem is a confirmed manufacture defect.
 
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Even after i presented them with the letters from Canon UK and Glasgow, they still wanted me to post the camera etc, and get a receipt of postage for them IF they find a problem, and then they would pay me back, but only for £40! They also said they would fix it, and swap the serial again…. this is when i really started to get irate…. They have evidence of a camera which has a fault ( a sensor fault), 2 letters from Canon, both telling me the label and serial is counterfeit which i sent them, then i find out the Exif Data serial AND camera serial do not match, theres more shutter actuations than i have taken, it's all a bit of a nightmare. No apology or anything, and still insisting i shell a further £160 first to post, and then send them a receipt. If anyone can get a parcel sent to DR with insurance for £2,800 and weighs 1.5kg for no more than £40, then i would love to know!.
Anyway, the postage is NOT the issue, it's the fact it's been tampered with, and sold as new to me, which it clearly isn't. Especially after the EOScount and EXIF data programmes that i was pointed to by members of POTN. Without this, i would have been clearly in the dark.

Before i forget, i owe Raymond an apology. Sorry for last night matey, i was really, really hacked off over all this, i really feel low right now mate. Sorry.
 
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