Am I being unreasonable?

Stiglet

Stiglet

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SJ
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Am not sure if I am being a grumpy cow and this is the norm but I was just abut to embark on a great days togging when 5 shots in and my Sigma 18-200 lens doesnt work anymore (and its not that old), some tiny screw falls out and can here something rattling inside. So I take it back to a large well known camera shop where I purchased it and they said they will send it off to repair can take 4 weeks still might not fix and it they can send it away to repair up to 3 times.

Now if I am spending £350 on an item I would expect a bit better than that, given that I could lose money if I sold the pics. If my dvd broke so quickly and I returned it to the shop they would just give me a new dvd?

Is this not the same with cameras and Lenses?

Or am I just being utter grumpy as now rendering me cameraless for 4 weeks has kind of ruined 4 weeks worth of plans. And I dont have the funds to go buy anything else.
 
i think the words "kick off" spring to mind


I had warranty on my camera (4 months old) it broke so demanded another - they were going to send it off taking 3 weeks etc so i kicked off and got a new camera.....

If you do not kick up a stink they will take the pi55..... demand to speak to management - write a letter be completely OTT (but not rude)!.... and you will get action

just what id to to be honest!
 
Thanks. I did make my opinion quite clear but the chap just said this was typical practice accross the board, is this the case? as if it isnt then I will think very carefully about where i buy my lens from next time
 
Had similar issues with a high street retailer over a sat nav, less than a month old, first time using and faulty, got the same rubbish, have to send it for repair, had to take it all the way to director level, but got my new unit.
 
It sounds like a company i used to work for, that is their policy on warranties and repairs, so firstly don't blame/get angry at the sales person - They will just be doing as told/trained. If its under 28 days then take it back and ask for a refund/replacement, otherwise start looking into fit for purpose, im not sure how valid it is as they accept it has a fault and are providing a repair. But you may be entitled to a replacement/refund.
 
I think this kind of thing stinks, IMO if you buy something and it goes wrong within the warranty they should just replace it!
Sending it off to be repaired always seems unfair to me but that's how these things seem to work :shake:

Why don't they just refurb the returns and sell them on, and look after their customers who have been let down by their substandard products :annoyed:
 
Have a word with your local trading standards as they can explain your statutory rights. The item has to meet the advertised specification ( and that would not include screws fally out!). You should be able to demand a fully working replacement, but a lot depends on how long you have had it and length of time required for repair.
I am inclined to agree with Suze, but you will strengthen your hand if you can show you know your stuff and can quote the law to them.
 
I'd try contacting Sigma direct.

Off topic but, I bought a bass that I wasn't happy with (cosmetic damage) after spending £900 and waiting 4 weeks to get it shipped out. The shop basically lied to me and tried to fob me off with the same instrument cleaned up. I obviously rejected it and informed Fender direct. They were not happy with the retailer and sent me out a brand new bass directly to me :) The main cause of the damage was bad quality control on Fenders part.

So I'm sure Sigma will not be pleased to know a main distributor of theirs is not co-operating with you.
It's a fault by Sigma not the shop, so they should be dealing with it.
 
Thanks for all the info and replies!

Just for record I didnt get angry with sales person, I am in a position to be often on the receiving end (but we replace) so I even stated I am not getting at you personally but your are currently representing this shop and I would like my opinions passed on.

I think I am going to contact Sigma direct with a few trading standards quotes.

At the end of the day though if they want return custom and happy customers given in the service industry relys on 80% of their sales from reccomendations it would be in their best interest to replace it, as said previously they can still repair and sell it recon.
 
Hi Stiglet! How you keeping (apart from this!!)
Did you take your son up to Scampton? Sorry to hear you're having problems with the lens. Good luck with Sigma. ;)


Kev.
 
Hey Kev :wavey:

And well no I havent started a job, and plus them crashing in other counties didnt help lol hoping to get back up there again soon though loved it. And been practising my tracking and panning with race cars so should have improved now lol

Hows you? Been up there much?
 
Most companies would return it for repair at that age to be honest. If it was under a month old or possibly two that would be different.

But good luck!
 
yes the not fit for purpose - they hate that lol

and the sales of goods act 1979 (faulty goods)

just quote a bit of law and it works.......

just did that as part of my degree and a bit of knowledge gets you places :)

jsut dont be arrogant/rude about it (doubt you will but just saying)! just be confident and clued up :)
 
Yeah thanks Suze!

And that Age? :lol: its not even a half a year old, if this is the average life span of a lens then am no longer thinking photography is the hobby for me :lol:
 
Stiglet said:
Yeah thanks Suze!

And that Age? :lol: its not even a half a year old, if this is the average life span of a lens then am no longer thinking photography is the hobby for me :lol:
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Something 1 day old has an age. I know its tough and I wouldn't be happy about being without something I had paid for but the reality is that at older than 2 months most items would be returned to the manufacturer for repair.
 
Yeah but as I said before..customers talk, especially peed off ones, I would not wanting my Lens to be getting a rep of only lasting a few months and would happly oblige a replacement, gives off the impression that it is uncommon to be faulty, if it is standard practise to repair them (because no non faulty ones are available) this just screams this is something thats happens often to them and therefore I may take my business elsewhere
 
They are conforming to the law, they haven't refused to have it repaired.

It stinks I know, and personally I'd cause a fuss and take it further, but unfortunately they are within the law.

Good luck sorting it out. I agree with Ed, if something fails within the warranty period, they should just replace it.

There are so many shops that I boycott that I am running out of places to shop because of lousy customer service :thumbsdown:
 
I feel for you I really do but...

Expecting a third party supplier of goods to replace them after being over 30 days old if they are faulty is not expected in any line of retail. The contract with most suppliers like Canon, Nikon Sigma etc will be the facility to get a credit note or replacement for faulty goods if found to be faulty within 30 days of purchase. After that the manufactures guarantee should and will kick in. The place you bought it should act as an agent on your behalf and send the item away for you. Only the weak minded would take it back and replace the item because there is no way to recover the cost.
 
If you bought it with a credit card a whole new lot of rules kick in as they credit card company accepts some degree of responsibility and you could go down the route of not fit for purpose through them, get a refund and purchase a replacement elsewhere.

If you are desperate to use the camera, why not try a lens hire company as a temporary stop gap. you could also try the ' can you lend me a demo lens while mine is away ' ploy. It might work.
 
suze23 said:
yes the not fit for purpose - they hate that lol

and the sales of goods act 1979 (faulty goods)

just quote a bit of law and it works.......

just did that as part of my degree and a bit of knowledge gets you places :)

jsut dont be arrogant/rude about it (doubt you will but just saying)! just be confident and clued up :)
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I have worked in retail nearly all my life, you could quote the sales of goods act at me until you are blue in the face, wouldn't get you anywhere I'm afraid. As required the retailer must remedy the fault within a reasonable period of time.
Personally I think this sucks too as my 2 month old alpha a500 is in sonys right now. But I know legally there is nothing else I can do. It used to really annoy me when people would have a go when there was nothing you could do about it.
Hell it would have made my life so much easier if I could just give someone a new item, and they would have been happier, but sometimes you just have to do what the suppliers require.
Good luck to you, hope it all works out, just remember it's usually the manufacturers that make the rules not the retailers.
 
Yeah am going to the manufactor not the shop now, and well as for its all legal there is nothing you can do, yes there is I can take my business elsewhere in the future and express my dissatisfaction with a product as loudly as I see fit. I might be one person but how many views has this thread has in one day? and alll people who would be a direct target customer for their product.
 
The company is working within the law and has offered to sort the problem by a repair. That is all they need to do, it shouldn't cause you much inconvenience, 4 weeks without a lens is an inconvenience in my eyes.

The not suitable for purpose is often banded about but you need to prove this was the case at time of sale and as you have had a few months of use with no complaint then it was probably ok when you bought it. If you can find out if the fault is a common problem with this lens then you have an inherent fault and yes it isn't suitable for purpose but to conform with the Sales of Goods Act they need to offer a repair, replacement or an refund, they are also within their rights to make a deduction from the refund for the use you have had from the lens once you accept their solution you can't ask for a refund instead. You have to give them a chance to put it right a single repair is acceptable 2 repairs is pushing it 3 or 4 not a chance you can then request a replacement or refund.

Where is this at currently? have you agreed to the repair or did you leave the shop with your lens?
 
Its with me still, and it is a major inconvience to me, i have 3 events of 4 weeks I will now not be able to do and also I have 4 week old kittens I planned to photograph, in four weeks time they will have gone to their new homes so yes I do see it as a major inconvience to me, I havent spoke to Sigma direct about it at all yet though I assume they will just offer the repair as the shop did as well.

And I dont relly care if they are acting with the law or not, the point is I dont spend 350 plus on products that seem to have an exceptional short life span and very little in the way of customer services.

A few years ago a new LCD TV broke about 3 months in, it was replaced no quibble, I will use them again and again and recommend to others, companys like this I wont, my 350pounds is fair to valuable to me to be treated so badly by the retailer or the manufactor that I invest it in. whether they act with in the law or not.
 
Stiglet said:
Yeah am going to the manufactor not the shop now, and well as for its all legal there is nothing you can do, yes there is I can take my business elsewhere in the future and express my dissatisfaction with a product as loudly as I see fit. I might be one person but how many views has this thread has in one day? and alll people who would be a direct target customer for their product.
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As I said before I wish you the best of luck but it is the manufacturer that states the guarantee not the retailer. I used to sell sat nav and every manufacturer except one required faulty units over 28 days old went back for repair.
I checked with all the big retailers and they had the same policy. So as for shopping elsewhere, don't forget to ask what would happen if you are in the same situation again. You may find wherever you shop you'll get the same answer.
 
18-270 said:
Forgive me but is it not the manufacturer who is at fault if the lens is faulty not the shop? :thinking:
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Exactly I wont be buying a Sigma lens again if they only last a few months and are unwilling to recognise the inconvience/cost to me when it goes wrong due to their faulty goods.
 
ki_user said:
As I said before I wish you the best of luck but it is the manufacturer that states the guarantee not the retailer. I used to sell sat nav and every manufacturer except one required faulty units over 28 days old went back for repair.
I checked with all the big retailers and they had the same policy. So as for shopping elsewhere, don't forget to ask what would happen if you are in the same situation again. You may find wherever you shop you'll get the same answer.
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Well this was part of my question orginally, was this normal practise for other suppliers of lenses? as if its not then I know where to take my business. If it is then I am likely to take my business to a company that have fewer reports of Faults and better quality products I guess.
 
Your contract is with the shop not Sigma and Sigma COULD just send you back to the shop if they were being awkward. If one in 10000 break then someone is going to get the one that breaks. It is not unreasonable to expect that the odd item is going to fail. They are going to send it back and it might take up to 4 weeks. Is this unreasonable? They did say UP TO. Speak to the manager and ask him/her to ring them and ask them how long but I don't think that that is too bad. If it failed again then fair enough but things are going to fail.
 
Give the shop a sob story and see if they can lend you a lens of equal or near as damb it, that way you will not loose out.

To be fair though a lens that is a few months old needs to repaired not replaced, think of all the things around your house that you have bought and the same will apply to them aswell, they are reparing a faulty item, which is what a warrenty is for.
If this screw had fell out at say 14 months would you feel the same way??? given that maybe it should not have fell out then.

These things happen and saying that you will take you buisness else where is fine, and they will probably expect that, but seeing as the amount of lens they sell year on year with no problems at all would it really affect their buisness?? doubt it, and all the people on here reading this will suddenly not think ooohh must not buy sigma as they fall apart, many people on here have sigma and had them for may years with no probs at all.

Just my 2 cents, not meant to sound cruel and good luck and hope you get sorted, i would still try the sob story and see if they will lend you a lens.

spike
 
Stiglet said:
Well this was part of my question orginally, was this normal practise for other suppliers of lenses? as if its not then I know where to take my business. If it is then I am likely to take my business to a company that have fewer reports of Faults and better quality products I guess.
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In reply to that then, the answer is yes it is normal practice. From a sat nav point of view if we took a unit back that was over 28 days old when it came back from repair we would have to sell that unit as ex repair. So we would loose money.
Now a lot of people would say so what, these people have never worked in a shop, with the ever increasing pressure from the directors to make profit is worse than pressure from the customers who don't want to wait for stuff to be repaired.

Saying that 4 weeks seems a bit stupid. This sounds like a maximum repair time, we quoted normally back within a week cut could take up to 4 weeks, though it never took 4 weeks.
 
ok lol am sticking with Sigma to contact here for now, their website says 3 weeks which I assume why the Shop says for.

And this is kinda my point if one in a 1000 breaks then its not really any skin off their nose to replace a faulty one instead of going through the pain in the arse of fixing it on the apparently likeliness it would still just break again. They can recon and sell the other and I doubt the money they would lose would be anything to them. So why not keep all their customers happy and maintain a good reputation instead off ****ing off people who are pontential repeat customers and also advocators for their product?
 
Stiglet said:
ok lol am sticking with Sigma to contact here for now, their website says 3 weeks which I assume why the Shop says for.

And this is kinda my point if one in a 1000 breaks then its not really any skin off their nose to replace a faulty one instead of going through the pain in the arse of fixing it on the apparently likeliness it would still just break again. They can recon and sell the other and I doubt the money they would lose would be anything to them. So why not keep all their customers happy and maintain a good reputation instead off ****ing off people who are pontential repeat customers and also advocators for their product?
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I appreciate what you are saying but manufacturers have tight budgets and replacing 3-10 items in a hundred (1 in a 1000 is not real!) would put the price up for every one sold! Some manufacturers do that but it depends on the product. Epson do because it is cheaper to replace than repair a printer but with something like a lens it is cheaper for them to repair them.
 
SpikeK6 said:
Give the shop a sob story and see if they can lend you a lens of equal or near as damb it, that way you will not loose out.

To be fair though a lens that is a few months old needs to repaired not replaced, think of all the things around your house that you have bought and the same will apply to them aswell, they are reparing a faulty item, which is what a warrenty is for.
If this screw had fell out at say 14 months would you feel the same way??? given that maybe it should not have fell out then.

These things happen and saying that you will take you buisness else where is fine, and they will probably expect that, but seeing as the amount of lens they sell year on year with no problems at all would it really affect their buisness?? doubt it, and all the people on here reading this will suddenly not think ooohh must not buy sigma as they fall apart, many people on here have sigma and had them for may years with no probs at all.

Just my 2 cents, not meant to sound cruel and good luck and hope you get sorted, i would still try the sob story and see if they will lend you a lens.

spike
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No if its happened in 14months I would think well am not investing 350 in a item that last just over a year i will invest it in Nikon. :lol:

I guess its just my personal view, I work for a company, if an item is faulty with in the warranty period it is replaced no quibble we sell the damage goods off as second hand. We dont lose much, but what we do have is an excellent customer service policy that will ensure our customers will come back again and reccommend us again again. I might be only one person but if this what there general practise then then I imagine there will be more than one person who feels the same about it.

I dont think your being cruel. My title is Am i being unreasonable? but to be honest the more i think about it and look into I dont think I am. Money is precious I will invest it more wisely next time.
 
cowasaki said:
I appreciate what you are saying but manufacturers have tight budgets and replacing 3-10 items in a hundred (1 in a 1000 is not real!) would put the price up for every one sold! Some manufacturers do that but it depends on the product. Epson do because it is cheaper to replace than repair a printer but with something like a lens it is cheaper for them to repair them.
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Oh i assumed the 1 in a thousand was an actual quote from something. If ten items in a hundred a faulty I think they have issues as a manufacturer.
 
Where have I kicked off?

And no the consensus seems to be no i am not being unreasonable but there is b****r all I can do about it :lol: other than shop else where. I
 
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