Panasonic PT-AE300

berserkgoose

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Hi,
I just purchased a 'brand new'AE300 from a (quite) well know online retailer, and am very impressed with the PQ overall. However a couple of things are bugging me;

1. As soon as I switched the unit on I noticed a permanently lit bright blue pixel in the middle of the screen. It is only really visible on dark scenes but I can see it quite easily during them.

2. I checked the lamp runtime and it was already on 7 hours (and set to high power) when I switched the unit on for the very first time.

Also all the bags etc had already been opened, including the bag on the carry case, and the batteries for the remote had been used, instruction manual looked slightly worn (not that i'm too bothered about that).

it actually seems to me that this may be a unit which has previously been returned by another customer.

I would like an opinion on what to do about this- Would you ask for a replacement?

I don't really like the fact that this appears to be a 'used' machine even though I paid for a brand new one.
 
I'd contact the retailer explaining the situation & demand what you paid for - a new PJ.

You should be reasonable though, give them an option. Either 1. a new/sealed replacement. 2. Full refund. 3. Small claims court.

Best of luck :)
 
You should be reasonable though, give them an option. Either 1. a new/sealed replacement. 2. Full refund. 3. Small claims court.


Very reasonable, that ;) and the proper way to proceed....... If I'd been sold that as a "new" product, I'd be quite ******ed off..........


Sean G.
 
Originally posted by theritz
I'd be quite ******ed off..........


Given the fact there's also a stuck pixel I'd be changing that "quite" to "very" and add a few more asterisks! :laugh:

Name and shame, I say :nono:
 
Goof,

Name and shame, I say

Steady......... no point in organising a witch hunt - let the guy sort out his problem with the retailer/supplier without having a slagging match online here.

My 2c.....


Sean G.
 
I suppose you're right Sean, just that that's pretty awful business practice and I wouldn't like to be subjected to it.

Still, could've been an honest mistake and they should be given the opportunity to correct the problem before I get my stake and matches out :D
 
I would try and get them to do a dead pixel check on the next unit they provide (assuming that they do send out another) even if you have to pay some £. I guess this unit was probably returned due to that blue pixel.

Sort of demonstrates that pixel deficient projectors do get returned to the marketplace (which might inidcate the answer to that age old question - what happens to projectors rejected from DPC's)
 
If you have no luck with the supplier with regards to an exchange for a new unit then contact panasonic. I know 1 blue stuck pixel is within tolerence but I bet if you phone the customer support number and not the product support number they will arrange to have it repaired. They did it for me two weeks ago.
But before going down this route demand a replacement from the shop you bought it from.
 
Thought I would update anyone prepared to listen with this. By the way I forgot to mention in my first post that i DID actually pay for a pixel check.

Anyway I complained by email on 19/12 as I could not get through on the phone at all, they came back with a uniform response which pretty much says to me that they hardly bothered reading my complaints (i.e 'You will be charged £35 if it is found not to have a fault' (what about the fact it wasn't a new unit???) and 'if it's a DVD player please return the discs that won't play'??? etc.)

After sending the unit back myself on 4th Jan (they advised the courier the wrong address) I got a confirmation via email that it was faulty and a new unit will be allocated and despatched to me shortly. (The courier then turned up to my correct address to collect the faulty unit!!??)

Which reminds me, before I forget with my original order I paid extra for a 'timed' delivery before 10am (which I needed as I was supposed to be going to work at 10am) but the courier said it went on a regular delivery (it arrived at 1pm) and that the supplying company should refund any extra I paid. I mentioned this in my first complaint but was completely ignored.

After chasing them up a few times (the website said they had stock but I was still waiting nearly 2 weeks after they confirmed despatch 'ASAP') I received the replacement yesterday 19th Jan. As soon as I opened the Box, I had my suspicions. It was certainly all the same accessories which I packed away when I sent my old unit back, same scuffs on the instruction manual etc. Powered the unit up. SAME F*****G UNIT!!!! SAME STUCK BLUE PIXEL!!! SAME HOURS ON THE LAMP!!!!

Now I don't know if I'm allowed to metion the name of this retailer on here, but this is the worst customer service I have received in all of my 27 years. They are gonna get such a snotty complaint today. If I don't get a positive response then, Grrrrr.
 
Name 'em and then hang 'em.

Well maybe just name them.

That is shoddy and I would be very p###ed off if that happened to me. From now on I would be taking no prisoners from them.

Jack
 
In all my years, i have never heard such a bad story, my heart goes out to you mate. I think you should name them so people like us can reward other companys with excellent CS with our business !
 
That is just stupidity,

I would name them, it is the only way that the level of service that we as consumers receive will improve. If companies believe that poor customer service is acceptable and that they won't lose and sales over it they will just continue with their current standards.

If everyone knows the poor customer service of a company, they will hopefully avoid them, and they will be forced to either improve their service or go out of business (and as far as I can see rightfully so in this case).
 
Make sure you have all your paperwork in order such as letters and emails - and detail any conversations you've had with them (inc dates and times if poss) just in case you need to take it to small claims.

Chris
 
I think the company should be named. As is, this thread is damaging the reputations of everyone selling AE300s.

If I wanted to order one today, how do I know its not from these cowboys? In which case I'm not gonna order one.
 
I'd be interested to know who this is also.

This isn't a case of one easily made mistake.... it's a whole raft of screwups bolted on to a bad attitude with a large dose of zero customer service.

If you don't want to name them directly then make it obvious who they are.... for everyones sake.
 
Originally posted by sapgem
I think the company should be named. As is, this thread is damaging the reputations of everyone selling AE300s.

If I wanted to order one today, how do I know its not from these cowboys? In which case I'm not gonna order one.

what he said!

you gotta let us know.........for our piece of mind, ;)

as i am looking to buy one real soon.
 
If we can give praise when it's due then we can give brickbats too, please tell us who it is, to protect our interest, not theirs!
 
Now then berserkgoose.

A lot of people on here are very interested on whats happened to you.

A lot of them are in the market for buying a new machine whether it be a 300 or not. The point is do they gamble and maybe buy from who you have, and end up posting about a dogdey trader?

Put your self in our position.

If you do not want to name the trader post it.

If you have resolved the issue post it.

If neither please have the decency to post it.

Otherwise a lot of people are wasting there time responding to this post!:nono:

Jack

PS No offence meant if you have a reason for not posting :D
 
OK, I was gonna wait to see their response to my latest complaint before I posted again but I suppose it's only fair to warn you.

It's Techtronics.com, I suspect that you guys will not be ordering from these anyway as the AE300 is available cheaper elsewhere at the moment, but at the time when I ordered these were the cheapest I could find.

If you do order one from them you just might end up with the one I got (twice).

I seem to remember reading on their website a statement along the lines of 'people are jealous of our meteoric rise within the web trading community are trying to discredit us by posting false information etc on the internet'. Well I can tell you that this is 100% genuine. If they don't want people posting things about them they should sort themselves out and give a better service.

I would like to add that a friend ordered the same product from Techtronics just before I did and has had no problems whatsoever. No doubt he would have if there had been any reason to return it.:mad:
 
Techtronics have developed a reputation for bureaucracy as a search in this forum on their name will reveal several tales of woe, however the same search will reveal many who have successfully ordered what they wanted. I think like many large expanding companies the details tend to get overlooked, just look at all the compaints levelled at the DSG group (Dixons/Currys/PCworld). The key thing in this kind of case is to try to deal with the same person (ask for names) or at least department to avoid your problem being shunted back and forth between employees who do not have the full picture. As also suggested by others here warning most companies of further action does often wake them up and lead to results. Beserkgoose I hope they do eventually thus resolve this to your satisfaction.
 

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