Do I have much chance of a replacement or refund?

[simon1]

I bought an Hitachi 32WF810 w/s tv from Sound & Vision in Bolton for £950 mail order in May/June last year. I paid by credit card.

I was very pleased with the set at first, particularly the built in DD and DTS. Later I noticed a problem with the geometry (top right of teletext or on-screen menus is dragged upwards). I decided to live with this flaw at the time, but it has become more and more annoying. I recently changed to a Hitachi vcr and Hitachi dvd, and the on-screen menus of both of these highlight the geometry problem more than ever. I find I can no longer put up with this.

When the set was just a couple of months old, stange symbols started appearing on the screen occasionally when playing back video tapes. The symbols looked like this: 0` 0` If you pressed menu twice they would disappear. There was nothing else untoward when this happened, so I didn't want to make a big deal about it.

After a while longer I contacted Hitachi to get the tel. no. of the local authorised repair agent. I wanted them to see if they could improve the geometry and mentioned the strange symbols. On their visit they didnt even attempt to alter/improve the geometry, they said they would have to speak with Hitachi and get back to me. Two weeks later they informed me that the EPROM chip would need to be replaced as this was causing the strange symbols - the set would have to go in the workshop.

I decided against the repair at this time, because I felt I had more to loose than gain by accepting the repair (afterall, the symbols only appeared once in a blue moon), I would have been without the tv for a number of weeks and the set would probably get damaged or scratched whilst away.

I haven't so far contacted the retailer about any of this.

I did wonder if the problem with the strange symbols might have been somehow down to the Toshiba video I was using, afterall it only happened on playback of a tape, and I intended changing to an Hitachi video when funds allowed.

After recently buying the Hitachi vcr and Hitachi dvd, I still get the strange symbols. They appear more often now and in different guises. I saw a 1" blue square appear the other night for the first time, blue isn't even featured in any of the on-screen menus.

Over christmas a brand new fault started occuring. The set would switch itself on/off, on/off, on/off repeatedly for about half an hour. Each time the indicator on the front of the set would blink, just as if someone was opperating the remote (I ruled out the remote by taking out the batts).

I have also noticed colour staining in the bottom corners of the screen and bluring of the picture when a camera pans on terrestrial broadcasts.

After spending such a large amount of money, the set being as big as it is, and the amount of faults (all of them being intermittant, apart from geometry) - I am very reluctant to accept a repair!

I take a great deal of care with my possessions and I very much doubt the tv would be returned to me in the same condition as it left. There would be no guarantee that the same faults would not re-occur.

What can I do now? Have I lost any hope now of a refund/replacement, with it being 6/7 months old?

If I'm after a refund/replacement, is best to inform the retailer of the original fault (stange symbols) or should I keep quiet.

If I do have to accept a repair, what can I do or say to improve my chances of good service and the tv looked after whilst away?

What can I do if the set is returned to me damaged/scratched or still has faults?

I have noticed there are two or three on-line retailers dealing in 'graded' versions of my set. Should I be concened at this? Perhaps Hitachi have had more sets than average with faults?

Any help, advice or previous experiences in having sets repaired/replaced would be greatly appreciated and acknowledged.


Thanks

Simon

[SILVERBACK]

with my experience mate an when it comes to getting refunds off faulty goods i have had a lot lol.i would have to say a repair is as good as it will get i have had probs with comet,currys and courts the 3 C`s the sign of the devil lol.all tried the "oh you have had it 28 days a repair is all you will get" an all of them after mentioning trading standards backed down.i got my refund an never returned courts where especially very poor.unfortunately trading standards are only good upto the 2 to 3 months mark at a push.you will find it hard if not near impossible to get a refund in my opinion im sorry to say.but you could always try the trading standards it worked for me on numerous occasions but like i said my goods where all well within 3 months old an it did take a far bit of hassle getting my refund.good luck an dont forget to tell us how you got on.while we are on the subject of poor customer services i think we should have a name an shame part to this forum.any way like i said good luck

[simon1]

Thanks silverback


I agree, yes we should have forum headed 'Retailer Reviews'

[SILVERBACK]

my pleasure mate hope you get it sorted one way or the other

A problem with a retailer reviews like you suggest tends to result in mostly bad reviews. Take a look at the play247 thread currently running on these forums.

I'm very happy with play as are many thousands of others. Once a thread begins about a retailer then everybody jumps on the bandwagon. Similar case with Techtronhics.

I'm not saying there shouldn't be warnings about shoddy customer service - I'm all for that. I just think it should be tempered in the scheme of things.

Look at watchdog et al on TV. They drag some retailer in to defend a single case which is taken out of context of several thousand sales over the period of the dispute.

Its not acceptable I agree, but sometimes the retailer is trying but is a lumbering in-efficient hippo and takes ages to do anything.

I'm currently in dispute with a independant retailer about my sony projector not driving an automated electric screen due to not having enough power. this was discovered outside the one year warranty period. They are dealing with it, albeit too slowly for my liking. In theory its still covered by EU ruling of "fit for purpose" so I'm not rocking the boat. Yet.

I think if this new section is started, it should be moderated somewhat. If there is a bad retailer (and where Simon bought his TV last year I had problems with in 1999) then it should be highlighted. But it shouldn't be a witch hunt.

A problem with retailers like the three Cs and the Dixon group and others is that they employ wet behind the ears children who have had no training in customer service or consumer law most of the time. you really have to dig your heels in to get a quality service. Same goes for in depth knowledge of the products they sell. Or lack of !

I don't think its a specific retailer, more often its the marketplace they are in. All the retailer in the AV arena, (big boys - not independants (usually)) tend to sing from the same hymm sheet and they very rarely go out of thier way to stand out from the crowd. Why? Because good customer service has a monetry cost involved, and nowadays its all about the bottom line.

I think it is a sad state of affairs. But I think we should sing the praises of retailers as well as the highlighting bad service.

Just my 0.29 Euros worth

Graham

[simon1]

Fair point, I guess.

[Iancity]

One action you may want to take is to contact your credit card company. I have had a few probs with a Sony that has been replaced twice (by the retailer) but they refused a third replacement when the same fault occurred and offerred repair only. Spoke to Sony about this and they said draft a letter etc, whilst that was being composed I rang the credit card co (Capital One) and I was most surprised - they were very helpful and said if I was in receipt of faulty goods and was not happy they would certainly intervene. As it happenned, Sony agreed to replace set (even though retailer would not - fair do's to Sony) so never got anyfurther with the credit compnay, but it is certainly an option worth pursuing if all else fails. Good Luck

[simon1]

Thanks, Iancity