[Gilzor]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone here might be able to offer suggestions on a long-running problem I'm facing with both Panasonic, and their suggest third-party repair engineers.

I'm the owner of a 50 inch Panasonic GT 30, which I bought in July 2011. Around October of last year I began to notice what appeared to be a smear down the upper right corner of my set - looking sort of like image retention, even when their wasn't an image there to cause it. Effectively, it looks like three vertical slashes down the upper right side of TV.

I use my TV often, for games, TV, films... the usual. I went to Panasonic's website and found their support section. Entered my details to find the closest relevant engineer service. And I contacted them.

I was told by this company (not sure if I'm allowed to mention them in here ??? ) that not only do Panasonic "not make gaming TVs" (where I said the issue was most prevalent, though it's visible in films and TV too when the image is bright) but that they wouldn't be able to send someone to inspect the set, where I personally could demo the problem to them.

I should mention at this point that this was early November.

It's now 13th February and the issue is *STILL* not resolved! I'm tearing my hair out here because I spent almost £1,400 on this TV and I'm eating up my one year's warranty!

In short: the repair service is incredibly lax and only contacts me, on average, once a week. And it's almost always after I chase them, kicking off at the lack of updates.

They asked me to photograph the issue with the TV and send it back to them to forward onto Panasonic Technical. I took several pictures, popped them in a zip file and sent them over. After about two weeks of no contact whatsoever, they then told me that they couldn't actually open the images to see the issue... BUT THEY FORWARDED THEM TO PANASONIC TECHNICAL ANYWAY!

It absolutely blew my mind that a technology company didn't even know how to unzip screens, even after I had clearly referred to the screens as "being zipped up" and popped on YouSendIt.com - a temporary online server for them to donwnload from.

After a week or so of no contact AGAIN, I asked if there had been any resolutions on Panasonic's behalf. I was then told that - christ - EVEN PANASONIC COULD NOT OPEN THE SCREENS! But it gets worse... Panasonic were trying to open the zip file in WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER!!!

Panasonic told the engineers to advise me that I need to resend a different video type as they couldn't play the zip file contents... WHICH WERE SIX BLOODY JPEG IMAGES I TOOK ON MY IPHONE.

That was the last I heard of it... this has been going on for over two months now and I'm absolutely devastated that it is taking this long to sort this. I understand that Panasonic has more than one engineer repair service but it's the principal of the matter that counts here.

I am not, in any way whatsoever, feeling like a valued customer...

[arenaman]

Originally Posted by Gilzor

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone here might be able to offer suggestions on a long-running problem I'm facing with both Panasonic, and their suggest third-party repair engineers.

I'm the owner of a 50 inch Panasonic GT 30, which I bought in July 2011. Around October of last year I began to notice what appeared to be a smear down the upper right corner of my set - looking sort of like image retention, even when their wasn't an image there to cause it. Effectively, it looks like three vertical slashes down the upper right side of TV.

I use my TV often, for games, TV, films... the usual. I went to Panasonic's website and found their support section. Entered my details to find the closest relevant engineer service. And I contacted them.

I was told by this company (not sure if I'm allowed to mention them in here ??? ) that not only do Panasonic "not make gaming TVs" (where I said the issue was most prevalent, though it's visible in films and TV too when the image is bright) but that they wouldn't be able to send someone to inspect the set, where I personally could demo the problem to them.

I should mention at this point that this was early November.

It's now 13th February and the issue is *STILL* not resolved! I'm tearing my hair out here because I spent almost £1,400 on this TV and I'm eating up my one year's warranty!

In short: the repair service is incredibly lax and only contacts me, on average, once a week. And it's almost always after I chase them, kicking off at the lack of updates.

They asked me to photograph the issue with the TV and send it back to them to forward onto Panasonic Technical. I took several pictures, popped them in a zip file and sent them over. After about two weeks of no contact whatsoever, they then told me that they couldn't actually open the images to see the issue... BUT THEY FORWARDED THEM TO PANASONIC TECHNICAL ANYWAY!

It absolutely blew my mind that a technology company didn't even know how to unzip screens, even after I had clearly referred to the screens as "being zipped up" and popped on YouSendIt.com - a temporary online server for them to donwnload from.

After a week or so of no contact AGAIN, I asked if there had been any resolutions on Panasonic's behalf. I was then told that - christ - EVEN PANASONIC COULD NOT OPEN THE SCREENS! But it gets worse... Panasonic were trying to open the zip file in WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER!!!

Panasonic told the engineers to advise me that I need to resend a different video type as they couldn't play the zip file contents... WHICH WERE SIX BLOODY JPEG IMAGES I TOOK ON MY IPHONE.

That was the last I heard of it... this has been going on for over two months now and I'm absolutely devastated that it is taking this long to sort this. I understand that Panasonic has more than one engineer repair service but it's the principal of the matter that counts here.

I am not, in any way whatsoever, feeling like a valued customer...

Go via the retailer, you should have done that initially as it's their responsibility to sort it, sounds like it's been a nightmare, I wouldn't have put up with it.

[Gilzor]

Sorry, I should have said... I did contact the retailer and they told me the TV was outside of their 30 day returns window so it now became an issue with the manufacturer.

[Scooby2000]

Whose your retailer? they need to be your first port of call if you have an issue with your set. Then Panasonic, if the engineer Panasonic put you in touch with ask to deal with another. I have two options near me, one in Cambridge and one in Peterborough, Panasonic have used both with me.

[arenaman]

Originally Posted by Gilzor

Sorry, I should have said... I did contact the retailer and they told me the TV was outside of their 30 day returns window so it now became an issue with the manufacturer.

You've been fobbed, which retailer was it?

[Scooby2000]

Originally Posted by Gilzor

Sorry, I should have said... I did contact the retailer and they told me the TV was outside of their 30 day returns window so it now became an issue with the manufacturer.

Thats bull, tell them under consumer rights they are responsible for your set should there be an issue. They can be for up to 6 years.

[Gilzor]

Originally Posted by Scooby2000

Whose your retailer? they need to be your first port of call if you have an issue with your set. Then Panasonic, if the engineer Panasonic put you in touch with ask to deal with another. I have two options near me, one in Cambridge and one in Peterborough, Panasonic have used both with me.

Hi mate,

PRC Direct is the retailer. I called them after speaking to the engineer initially, as he advised me to see what entitlements I had left in terms of replacement, etc. Turns out I have absolutely nothing.

Like I say, I get that it's easy to jump to a different engineer but what's bothering me more than anything is both this first recommended engineer *and* Panasonic are both making a pig's ear out of this.

[Scooby2000]

Originally Posted by Gilzor

Hi mate,

PRC Direct is the retailer. I called them after speaking to the engineer initially, as he advised me to see what entitlements I had left in terms of replacement, etc. Turns out I have absolutely nothing.

Like I say, I get that it's easy to jump to a different engineer but what's bothering me more than anything is both this first recommended engineer *and* Panasonic are both making a pig's ear out of this.

For the first 6 months the retailer needs to prove theres no fault or they must offer a repair or replacement with no cost to you.

OK your just out the 6 months but they are still liable and should act under your manufacturers warranty.
You contact them, they contact Panasonic and arrange an engineer to come out at no cost to you.

[Gilzor]

Originally Posted by Scooby2000

For the first 6 months the retailer needs to prove theres no fault or they must offer a repair or replacement with no cost to you.

But my 6 month period is up. I bought the set in June (I just double-checked my receipt, originally thought it was July).

[Scooby2000]

Originally Posted by Gilzor

But my 6 month period is up. I bought the set in June (I just double-checked my receipt, originally thought it was July).

Yep just done an edit.

[arenaman]

Originally Posted by Gilzor

But my 6 month period is up. I bought the set in June (I just double-checked my receipt, originally thought it was July).

There should be a record of you calling them, if not you should have proof of you contacting the engineers that have been shocking so far. Either way as long as it's reported within 6 months then they will have to do the running around. After 6 months they may ask you to get an engineer's report to send to them to prove it's faulty, I wouldn't stand for this, you should have no problem proving it was found to be faulty within 6 months.

[arenaman]

This guide should help

Consumer Rights: "Give me my money back!"...

[Gilzor]

Thanks for the help, guys.

I'm just utterly shocked that both Panasonic *and* one of their recommended "expert" repair companies can behave so shoddy in such a circumstance.

Two months waiting for a repair... unbelievable...

[Gilzor]

Originally Posted by arenaman

This guide should help

Consumer Rights: "Give me my money back!"...

Thank you mate!

[arenaman]

From PRC's T&Cs


"Product Guarantee
The manufacturer guarantees all purchases for a period of 12 months, unless stated, from date of invoice. The guarantee excludes faults caused by accident, neglect or misuse by the customer. In addition, routine maintenance (cleaning of dirty audio/video heads etc), consumables (styli, plug fuses, cables, batteries, etc), cosmetic damage and tuning of channels are not covered. The full cost of service will be charged if no fault is found with your product.

If your product should fail within this period, our Customer Service Department will arrange for repair, either in your home (for non portable products on UK mainland) or by return to the manufacturer's authorised service agents. Customer Service Department can be contacted on 020 8911 0350 Monday - Friday 9.30am to 5.30 pm and Saturday 9.30am to 1.00pm."



I'd point out to them that they failed to comply with their own T&Cs when they fobbed you off to the manufacturer

[Gilzor]

How's this??

Hi,

I'm contacting you with specific reference to this part of your Customer Service page:

"All products supplied are covered by the terms and conditions of the manufacturer’s guarantee for a minimum of 12 months (unless otherwise specified) from the date of purchase. In the unlikely event that you need to report a faulty or damaged product please contact our Customer Services Department."

I purchased a 50 inch Panasonic GT30 in June of 2011 (please find receipt for purchase at the bottom of this mail). The TV has been excellent for the most part, up until around October of last year - when I started to experience what can best be described as a couple of vertical "smears" running down the upper far right of the screen itself. They are most evident when watching bright scenes, and it doesn't matter whether it is a Blu-ray or standard-def TV signal.

I see these smears most of the time in videogames, which is what the TV was purchased for.

As the set is still covered by the standard 1-Year Manufacturer's Warranty and in accordance with Consumer Rights, I would please like to arrange for this issue to be looked into (and in an ideal world, an engineer sent to inspect the TV where I may be able to demo the problem before it is taken away). I should also mention at this point that I did call PRC Direct in November to discuss the set and was informed that any issues I had with the TV would now have to be taken up with the Manufacturer, which of course does not comply with the rules stated on the official PRC website.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you,

[arenaman]

To be honest at this stage I would phone up PRC with your receipt to hand, speak to a supervisor about what the fault is the way you were fobbed off and let them know you want them to refund, repair or replace (their choice) as per their obligations under the SOGA. Don't be fobbed off, it's a legal requirement that they comply.

If they want proof of the fault being reported within 6 months send them copies of emails or do you know who you spoke to at PRC initially?

Just let them know you'll make an official complaint if they don't play ball but don't go in all guns blazing, just gauge the situation.

My guess is that if you're firm, polite and clued up they'll comply and send an engineer round to investigate.

[Gilzor]

I don't have their name, unfortunately.

Just checked my mails - I first contacted the Panasonic engineers reporting the issue in November, so still within that initial 6 month period.

And I have another email stating that I spoke to the retailer and all they could say was that it was outside the 28 day returns. So there are definitely references here.

[arenaman]

Originally Posted by Gilzor

I don't have their name, unfortunately.

Just checked my mails - I first contacted the Panasonic engineers reporting the issue in November, so still within that initial 6 month period.

And I have another email stating that I spoke to the retailer and all they could say was that it was outside the 28 day returns. So there are definitely references here.

That's good, post us some pics of your TV if you can so we can hazard a guess at the problem.

Keep us posted on your progress. Between this forum and the moneysavingexpert forums I've gained so much knowledge about my rights I'd have been clueless without them

[CapoJay]

Originally Posted by Gilzor

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone here might be able to offer suggestions on a long-running problem I'm facing with both Panasonic, and their suggest third-party repair engineers.

I'm the owner of a 50 inch Panasonic GT 30, which I bought in July 2011. Around October of last year I began to notice what appeared to be a smear down the upper right corner of my set - looking sort of like image retention, even when their wasn't an image there to cause it. Effectively, it looks like three vertical slashes down the upper right side of TV.

I use my TV often, for games, TV, films... the usual. I went to Panasonic's website and found their support section. Entered my details to find the closest relevant engineer service. And I contacted them.

I was told by this company (not sure if I'm allowed to mention them in here ??? ) that not only do Panasonic "not make gaming TVs" (where I said the issue was most prevalent, though it's visible in films and TV too when the image is bright) but that they wouldn't be able to send someone to inspect the set, where I personally could demo the problem to them.

I should mention at this point that this was early November.

It's now 13th February and the issue is *STILL* not resolved! I'm tearing my hair out here because I spent almost £1,400 on this TV and I'm eating up my one year's warranty!

In short: the repair service is incredibly lax and only contacts me, on average, once a week. And it's almost always after I chase them, kicking off at the lack of updates.

They asked me to photograph the issue with the TV and send it back to them to forward onto Panasonic Technical. I took several pictures, popped them in a zip file and sent them over. After about two weeks of no contact whatsoever, they then told me that they couldn't actually open the images to see the issue... BUT THEY FORWARDED THEM TO PANASONIC TECHNICAL ANYWAY!

It absolutely blew my mind that a technology company didn't even know how to unzip screens, even after I had clearly referred to the screens as "being zipped up" and popped on YouSendIt.com - a temporary online server for them to donwnload from.

After a week or so of no contact AGAIN, I asked if there had been any resolutions on Panasonic's behalf. I was then told that - christ - EVEN PANASONIC COULD NOT OPEN THE SCREENS! But it gets worse... Panasonic were trying to open the zip file in WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER!!!

Panasonic told the engineers to advise me that I need to resend a different video type as they couldn't play the zip file contents... WHICH WERE SIX BLOODY JPEG IMAGES I TOOK ON MY IPHONE.

That was the last I heard of it... this has been going on for over two months now and I'm absolutely devastated that it is taking this long to sort this. I understand that Panasonic has more than one engineer repair service but it's the principal of the matter that counts here.

I am not, in any way whatsoever, feeling like a valued customer...

Welcome to the club my friend there are a lot of us on here who can whole wholeheartedly sympathize. I have the exact same TV and i am currently in the process of returning it to the retailer due to the green tinge fault. I would try to concentrate on dealing with your retailer directly, impressing upon them the severity of the fault. As you have already seen Panasonic have no real desire to deal with the problem. One part of your post cracked me up though and this sentence should be used in future to exemplify the ineffectiveness of the company - "Panasonic were trying to open the zip file in WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER!!!"

[Gilzor]

Originally Posted by CapoJay

Welcome to the club my friend there are a lot of us on here who can whole wholeheartedly sympathize. One part of your post cracked me up tho and this sentence should be used in future to exemplify the ineffectiveness of the company - "Panasonic were trying to open the zip file in WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER!!!"

Word-for-word, what I got:

"Panasonic cant read your files either. They need to be sent in Mpg 2 or 4 or something that will playback on windows media player with the size less than 4 mb"

I swear, in about three emails prior to this I kept referencing the "Zipped screenshots" I had sent.

*Slaps head*

[Gilzor]

Originally Posted by arenaman

That's good, post us some pics of your TV if you can so we can hazard a guess at the problem.

Keep us posted on your progress. Between this forum and the moneysavingexpert forums I've gained so much knowledge about my rights I'd have been clueless without them

Hi mate!

I'll be sure to upload them tomorrow, as they are saved on my work PC at the moment. May take an extra layer of scrutiny but I'm sure you'll notice it. What makes it more annoying is that it's one of those "once you see it, cannot unsee it" things. And it is only in the upper far right of the screen.

[CapoJay]

Originally Posted by Gilzor

Word-for-word, what I got:

"Panasonic cant read your files either. They need to be sent in Mpg 2 or 4 or something that will playback on windows media player with the size less than 4 mb"

I swear, in about three emails prior to this I kept referencing the "Zipped screenshots" I had sent.

*Slaps head*

Sounds to me like they're trying to dodge the problem to be honest excuses, excuses. Is your fault similar to the green/purple tinge? there's plenty of pics in the thread you could use as a comparison.

[Gilzor]

Originally Posted by CapoJay

Sounds to me like they're trying to dodge the problem to be honest excuses, excuses. Is your fault similar to the green/purple tinge? there's plenty of pics in the thread you could use as a comparison.

Oh I definitely have a green tinge problem. I sent my TV in for repairs with a different repair outfit (who I've avoided this time) because of that very issue. They called me up the day they were testing it, telling me they just watched two hours of golf and could not replicate the issue so were sending it back to me.

Golf..... they were watching GOLF to test a green tinge problem... possibly the greenest sport there is...

[CapoJay]

Originally Posted by Gilzor

Oh I definitely have a green tinge problem. I sent my TV in for repairs with a different repair outfit (who I've avoided this time) because of that very issue. They called me up the day they were testing it, telling me they just watched two hours of golf and could not replicate the issue so were sending it back to me.

Golf..... they were watching GOLF to test a green tinge problem... possibly the greenest sport there is...

Utter incompetence, how are these people even in the job in the first place? I bought my TV over Christmas and on the night i finally pulled the trigger and purchased i found this forum and the green tinge thread then i got my TV and it had it I think its totally disrespectful to treat customers the way PS has. I doubt id buy another product from this company now.

[deon444]

can i jump into this post and ask for some advice as this is about returns,repairs and the soga.

bought Vt30 in July,got a fault in December.

went to retailer who fobbed me off and told me its down to Panasonic to fix it.

was a month without my set and came back with the same fault and now has some other faults.

i would like to know if going to Panasonic to fix it has given the retailer the right to not to give replacement/refund and now i will have to just deal with Panasonic.

i will be calling my retailer today about my set and they may wanna try a repair,but i don't want a repair as it was not fixed the first time but don't want to mention it if works against me if i say i had a repair done on it already.thanks in advance

[Scooby2000]

Originally Posted by deon444

can i jump into this post and ask for some advice as this is about returns,repairs and the soga.

bought Vt30 in July,got a fault in December.

went to retailer who fobbed me off and told me its down to Panasonic to fix it.

was a month without my set and came back with the same fault and now has some other faults.

i would like to know if going to Panasonic to fix it has given the retailer the right to not to give replacement/refund and now i will have to just deal with Panasonic.

i will be calling my retailer today about my set and they may wanna try a repair,but i don't want a repair as it was not fixed the first time but don't want to mention it if works against me if i say i had a repair done on it already.thanks in advance

Your retailer sold you the item, your retailer is liable if the product is not fit for purpose. Its the retailers responsibility to ensure the product is fixed, replaced or you are refunded. Within 6 months the retailer must prove the item was not faulty at the time of purchase and fit for purpose. After 6 months they can argue a product was fine when sold, but they are still responsible for the item up to 6 years, or whats considered a reasonable period of time. The Sales of goods act is law, retailers must follow it, it takes president over any contract with the retailer. Consumer rights are what you have under the UK law. Most retailers change their tune when you demonstrate your awareness of your rights.

[deon444]

Originally Posted by Scooby2000

Your retailer sold you the item, your retailer is liable if the product is not fit for purpose. Its the retailers responsibility to ensure the product is fixed, replaced or you are refunded. Within 6 months the retailer must prove the item was not faulty at the time of purchase and fit for purpose. After 6 months they can argue a product was fine when sold, but they are still responsible for the item up to 6 years, or whats considered a reasonable period of time. The Sales of goods act is law, retailers must follow it, it takes president over any contract with the retailer. Consumer rights are what you have under the UK law. Most retailers change their tune when you demonstrate your awareness of your rights.

actually i just come off the phone to the retailer,and all they said was to ring Panasonic as the warranty is with them,i did quote the soga but claimed that that's not the case and i must ring Panasonic.

anything i said he just claimed that it was down to Panasonic and that they don't have to do anything as i need to go to Panasonic.

was getting annoyed as he was really ignoring anything i said,so i had to put the phone down.

now i have to work out what to do next

[arenaman]

Originally Posted by deon444

actually i just come off the phone to the retailer,and all they said was to ring Panasonic as the warranty is with them,i did quote the soga but claimed that that's not the case and i must ring Panasonic.

anything i said he just claimed that it was down to Panasonic and that they don't have to do anything as i need to go to Panasonic.

was getting annoyed as he was really ignoring anything i said,so i had to put the phone down.

now i have to work out what to do next

Ok who is the retailer?

[deon444]

Originally Posted by arenaman

Ok who is the retailer?

ask electrical in central London