Canon guarantee's!!!

[snapper8v]

I bought a Canon 580EXII on 1st September 2008 for £249.95 (a special offer at Wilkinson Cameras, Preston) and in the 1st week of October 2009, I was experiencing intermitent problems with it (over exposing & not firing). With one thing and another, I finally got round to sending it to a Canon authorised repair centre after Christmas where they quoted me £257.33 to have it repaired (the flash head had become derailed which also damaged a PC board)!!! I've asked Canon if they're able to reimburse me the cost of the repair or at least the parts (£145.00) as, as far as I'm concerned, the flash failed 13 months after purchase. They're reply was that the unit was out of it's 12 guarantee and they can't help.

This is supposed to be a professional piece of equipment, yeah right

 

[Mr Rudesing]

As I understand it, The Sale of Goods Act (1979) requires that any goods are a) as described b) of satisfactory quality and c) fit for purpose. Regardless of any manufacturers warranty, it is expected that goods will last for a reasonable period of time. In the case of this flash a reasonable period of time would be more like 5 to 6 years rather than 13 months.

The only difficulty you may face is that after a period of 6 months after purchase, the onus is on you to prove that the problem was not caused by you (such as excessive wear and tear, or being dropped or other damage), but by a manufacturing or design fault.

So if I were you I would go to Canon stating the SOGA to see what their response is. Also, I would be after more than just the cost of the parts, as under SOGA your are entitled to claim your money back, less recision (that is a deduction for any usage you have had of the goods). When faced with a potential SOGA case, a lot of companies will reach a settlement. Somebody I work with actually managed to get a full refund on a faulty iPod after he had been using it for 4 years.

Good luck.

 

[grumpybadger]

Sale of goods act is between retailer and consumer and not manufacturer/importer and consumer

 

[Mr Rudesing]

Sale of goods act is between retailer and consumer and not manufacturer/importer and consumer

That is true - I misread the original post and thought the OP had got it direct from Canon. The same rules apply though, and the OP should approach the retailer instead. The retailer actually may be more inclined just to replace it and send the broken unit back to Canon rather than get into a possible SOGA dispute.

 

[User Name]

Google "Two year warranty EU law" and see if applies to your case. Although they will probably say the unit has been dropped or forced if the PCB is damaged.