Dear Sirs,
I bought a Pioneer PDP-428XD from your Ilford store on the 17th January for £1550, plus £40 to have it delivered to my home in Cambridgeshire. After a couple of weeks of use, I realised that the display had a fault. When viewing a large area made up of one colour (such as the pitch on a football match, the background graphics on a video game, or the sky in a movie or television show) and the camera begins to pan or track across the image, a pattern of vertical, shadow-like stripes over the image is clearly visible. I believe this effect has been described as 'dirty screen' by other customers who have spotted the issue, and was rife in Pioneer's 7G range of plasmas. It is particularly noticeable when viewing photographs, watching sport and playing video games, although it can be distracting when watching films on Blu-ray and DVD. The problem is well documented online, and has been attributed by some to "delamination of the filter".
When I spoke to Pioneer on the phone about this, they immediately referred me back to PRC for a replacement as I was within 28 days of purchase. I phoned the Ilford store and spoke to a guy who agreed to have a new 428XD to be delivered to me. A week passed, and I heard nothing. Then, as it had been 27 days since I purchased the original, I phoned PRC back to find out what was going on. I was told that I had been confused with another customer, and they were very sincere and apologetic. A few days later, the replacement 428XD arrived. To my horror, it was transported off the van upside down, and when I opened it up the power cable had come loose from the packaging and had been sliding up and down inside the box, potentially damaging the plasma. I was unable to set up and test it for a couple of days due to other commitments, but when I finally did on Friday of last week I discovered that not only did the replacement have the same 'dirty screen' issue, but it was slightly worse! I have tried to live with the issue for a few days now, but I'm afraid I find it too distracting during normal use. A £1550 television should not have distracting flaws out-of-the-box, especially when cheaper alternatives do not appear to exhibit the problem.
Because I feel I am unable to live with the TV's faults, I would like to return it to PRC for a full refund as soon as possible. Your company have been fairly helpful regarding the issue so far, and I don't want to put you through the hassle of sending me yet another replacement. Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, goods sold must be "of satisfactory quality" and "fit for purpose". For a premium TV costing £1550, I do not find a distracting picture flaw to be of satisfactory quality, and because it inhibits my viewing pleasure it is clearly not fit for purpose.
Many thanks for your cooperation, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Simon Young