Friendly suppliers?!

[bananaman]

Have FINALLY had Currys pick up my unwanted Toshiba 36ZP38, after a second set showed the interference problem with progressive images.

( See separate thread;
http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=103611 )

Assuming all goes well with the refund, , I have now decided to buy a Panasonic 36PD30, and to be honest, am really looking forward to it!!

However, I am well aware that a number of guys on here have had problems with their PD30s and there have been a lot of returns. The crux of my post is this ( if this is allowed by the moderators): does anyone have any recommendations as to suppliers to specifically avoid or use when getting my new telly?

Bearing in mind the gamble that is buying one of these TVs, and given my desire to have a damn good telly if I'm spending a grand-and-a-half, I need to know if there any suppliers who will wash their hands of a dodgy TV once they've had it delivered, or conversely, of any suppliers that will be 'happy' for me to phone up for the nth time and say I'm STILL not happy with the dirty screen effect, colour bloom, buzzing, etc..!

I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest supplier, as I'll be using my Barclaycard to claw back any price deficit that I find. I'm obviously more concerned that I get a supplier who is sympathetic to the fact that there some of these sets DO suffer from poor quality control and that I won't be happy until I get a shining example of one!!

So - can anyone point me in the right direction?!

Many thanks in advance, guys.

 

[fatbob]

Hi,

My recommendation would be to try and use one of the large department stores such as John Lewis or House of Fraser.

These stores will also price match any cheaper offers you might find (although only with another shop, not an internet only dealer) and will provide you with a free five year guarantee.

They also have a decent reputation when it comes to dealing with faulty or sub standard gear.

There are dealers that have a bad reputation and should be avoided, but I can't mention them as I'll be breaking forum rules.

As a general rule I would always try and buy something like a tv from a reputable shop rather than buy from a distance. Problems are always more likely to be dealt with properly when you can speak to a dealer face to face, rather than having to depend on the dealer returning your phone calls, emails etc.

I hope you have better luck with the PD30 than you did with the ZP38.

 

[bananaman]

Cheers for the help, fatbob.

I have to admit, I wasn't sure whether or not I was being a bit naughty by asking for opinions on bad suppliers - maybe if I only asked for recommendations of good suppliers only, I'd be alright!!

Thanks for the advice, though. Yours is pretty much the opinion of others that I've asked, in that I'm better off going to a 'bricks-and-mortar' supplier rather than a purely internet one. Don't get me wrong - I'm not implying that their service is any worse than some of the larger departmental stores, just that it's sometimes easier/more reassuring to have an actual shop to walk into and make a complaint, rather than being left at the mercy of e-mails and answerphone messages !!

John Lewis seems to be getting the thumbs-up from a lot of people for the three reasons you list - it's just that it's going to be a train or car journey to get to the nearest one !! Nevertheless, considering the amount of money I'm spending and the peace of mind that I'll be getting, I think that a bit of petrol money is a small price to pay!!

Cheers again for the help, mate - I'll let you know how I get on!!

 

[bongpig]

Ive recently had dealings with unbeatable.co.uk and found them pretty good. I ordered a TV that couldnt be stocked in the end. A potential nightmare was to follow I thought, but not the case.
Thier phone lines are never busy, Ive never been put on hold and e-mails were always answered.

On top of that, they are one of the very few online retailers who offer a nice reasonable cool off period ( 21 days ), in case you change your mind. 99% of online stores only offer 7 days which is a joke. JL offer 28 days which is excellent.

And with thier extended warrenties being very affordable, Unbeatable get a thumbs up from me.

 

[Ed Selley]

Although their stock variety isn't epic, I'd give Alders the nod as they were extremely good with us and like JL, they give 5 year warranties. Delivery was on the alloted day, very early in the time frame and was fast.
What more could you want?

 

[bananaman]

Thanks for the extra advice, guys!!

I've actually been in touch with John Lewis this afternoon, and even though their closest store is a fair few miles away, my postcode falls within their maximum 'free delivery' radius - , so it's free delivery for me .

They also confirmed the price-match policy and said that they would match any high-street/bricks-and-mortar-type shop, so another thumbs-up there, then!!

The 5 year guarantee was also confirmed - piece of mind counts for a lot when I'm spending £1500-£1600!!

The one thing I was slightly uncomfortable about was the returns policy. I asked a general question - 'Do you still do the 20-day cool-off period?' - to which the reply was 'No.'. You see, because the item is not a stock item, and has to be especially ordered on a one-for-one customer demand basis, I was told it is not covered by the cool-off period policy. By all means, if there's a fault with the telly, then it's covered, but otherwise it's not.

I explained that I was particularly worried about the Panny 36PD30, because I'd heard that a lot of the sets had not met the standard of quality control expected of a TV of this calibre and the assistant said that he himself was familiar with faults on this particular set. However, if the fault was bad enough to warrant a return, then I would get a replacement, but not before the JL engineers had been out to inspect the 'faulty' set....

This just has me a little worried... I'm ordering the Panny after sending back two Tosh 36ZP38s, which were displaying an interference pattern on progressive DVDs. This has since been acknowleged by Toshiba as a known fault that they are now remedying, but friends/family had all told me I was being too picky over the image-quality. For something as subjective as picture-quality, and with me obviously having very high expectations, I'm just concerned that I'll be unhappy, but the JL engineer may turn around and not see the problem as bad enough to warrant a repair/return... leaving me with an expensive TV that I'm unhappy with...

Oh well - I'm going to have to sleep on it...

I'm going to have to decide what to do soon, though - I've been without a telly now since Sunday, and I've already got withdrawal symptoms!! Mind you, my CD collection is getting a helluva workout!!

Cheers guys - .

 

[bananaman]

Just to update you guys...

Phoned JL this afternoon - they can't source the 36" Panny for 4-5 weeks!! As I said before, it is not a stock item, so they have to order each telly in from Panasonic as each customer requests it. They have been in touch with Panasonic and they are currently experiencing delays, so neihter JL nor (they say) any other supplier will be getting more stock in until 'early March'. JL were honest enough to say that they therefore wouldn't like to put a date on it, so covered themselves with the 4-5 weeks statement. Shame really - I'd got my mind set on them and every one of their shops I've called has been extremely friendly and helpful

Looks like I'll be getting a next-day-delivery from Comet then, . No 5-year warranty, but I can have it for this weekend if I want!

I'll let you know on the Panny sticky if there are any problems, but many thanks for all the input guys!!