I have had an Olympus digital camera for approximately a year, however it has just developed a faultt - the down button does not work, meaning I can't use the menu properly.

(It hasn't been dropped or mis - used)

The problem is I threw my reciept away (only about a month ago )

Went to PC World where I bought it from and they basically said they could do nothing as I didn't have my reciept.

I asked them if they could look back in there records, he said that was a no go (then why do they always ask you for your postcode when you buy something FFS ! )

So can anyone suggest what I do next ? This was a £250 camera and I'll be buggered if am only going to get a years use out of it

Thanks

Matt

 

Its a tricky one, did you pay by credit card and possibly trace it through that?

I work for an electronics manufacturer and have had a couple of similar cases with high street stores. Whilst the stores themselves generally don't want to know about helping you by searching through the records you might find that if they have a customer services department/helpline type thing they might be more interested.

HTH

David

Edited to say might be worth asking the manufacturer if they can confirm the date of manufacturing by serial number. Its going to be borderline if its about a year ago but you never know.

 

Did you buy it using a debit/credit card? All you need is proof of purchase, a statement showing the transaction is a perfectly acceptable proof of purchase.

Maybe speak to CAB about this, the shop may just be trying to worm out of their responsibilities.

Did you register the camera with the manufacturor for warranty? If so then it could be worth contacting them directly.

Might also be worth contacting the manufacturors approved repair centre. I sent a mobile phone back to have a new screen with a covering letter saying it was 2 years old (and way out of warranty) and that I'd happily pay for the repair. They fixed it FOC anyway as it was still a fault that would have been covered by warranty.

 

Buy the same camera NOW, return the faulty one and demand a full refund on the new receipt - SORTED!!

Pete

 

Sneaky but you'd probably get away with that actually

 

I've rang PC World's "customer service helpline" (if ever there was a contradicting sentence that has to be it) and even they say they can't look back through the records either

 

Looks like their customer services are as good as the shops then!

Options seem to be then...

1.) If purchased by credit/debit card see if you have a statement.
2.) Contact the manufacturer to see what their take on it is.
3.) If all else fails speak to the CAB perhaps?

Or of course if you can still get hold of the same camera from them and all else fails go with pslewis' suggestion

 

not a bad idea did that with my mobile a couple of years back

 

I work for the forces of darkness that is PC World - please dont hate me

PC World changed its till system about six months ago and I believe that they can not trace items back beyond this now. I will check this tomorrow and see if this is true.
I can only speak about the store where I work, but we would look up a transaction for the customer and if we could find it we would then be in a situation to help. As I said, I dont think we can go back further than the new system install date. I know thats mad and it frustrates the hell out of us and we can appreciate its not good for the public as well.


As already suggested, if you can find your credit card receipt then you could try sending a copy of that to customer services with a covering letter.

Did you fill out the Olympus warrenty card ? If you did then they should be in a position to help you.

This last bit is a million to one, what store did you buy it from ? Anywhere in Essex ?

I hope you get it sorted.

 

Thanks for your help

I do recall him muttering something about new tills, that explains it then.

I bought it from the Harrogate branch.

I can't recall if I filled the warranty card out or not - I'll see if I can find a number for Olympus in the morning.

 

go back to the store and politley ask to see the manager,

explain the situation, and ask them to check there sales records for the month/ day in question.

provide them with enough data, cc card details etc, and they will find it,

they got you out by fobbing you off, by law they have to keep records of sales transactions,, good ol dp !!

if the manager gets arsey, just ask for his name, and the name of the area manager, and explain you will escalate this..

btw your camera sales slip or operating manual, should have been endorsed by the shop for the gtee to be valid.

we had the same issue with comet, and they were fine.

they can find it , how do you think they do the warantee stuff.

also contact your cc compnay, they will have records also.

mart

 

Matt; I havent read the other posts so I dont know if this has already been said, but..... Call Customer Services and request a duplicate receipt, they will have taken your details when you bought the camera. If youve moved give them both addresses; theyll send a duplicate receipt to your current address. If its less than a year you may be able to get a duplicate frm the supplying store but most stores used a different pos system to what they have now and the till data wasnt ported over at store level when they were upgraded.

If you have any problems PM me and I will probably be able to help you sort them out.

Simon

 

That isnt the case; had you spoken to the Customer Service, (not Branch Call Handling) team theyd have looked at the captured till data and sent you a duplicate receipt.

Simon

 

Pete, even though the REPOS data wasnt ported to Eclipse at store Customer Services have access to it all. Matt's local store could have done a lot more than they seem to have done to help; when this happens its usually through ignorance rather than being slack though.

The warranty card wont have been endorsed Im afraid as this isnt required for repair. This shouldnt be relevant though as you will have been asked for your address details for warranty registration at the time of purchase; as long as they didnt make a mistake, which youd have seen on the receipt, then the information will be kept for about three years, after which time it will be deleted.

Simon

Simon

 

As posted earlier buy another camera, get another receipt, take back faulty one for refund. Don't forget the Sale of Goods Act is on your side.

 

I've done this many times. Always works a treat Ranks up there with abuse of the Argos 28 day no quibble money back policy, which is ideal for items which you may only need to use once

 

Sorry to say but I used Argos once for this and worked with no problems.

 

I would hasten to point out that it was just an idea I had ..... I would NEVER think of doing anything so unethical!!

Simon seems to be 'in' with PCW - he is your best 'honest' option!

Pete

 

Id been keeping it a secret Pete, but when I left Uni as a mature student the only job I could get was as a PCServicecall engineer working for Mastercare. My girlfriend resolves complaints for Simon Turner, Group Managing Director, which is a big job as you can imagine.....

Simon

 

Chav

 

OK, an update...

Can you believe after turning the house upside down a final time, I found the reciept

I'm not sure if this is good news or not, as I purchased the camera over a year ago - I'll be off to PC World with it anyway tomorrow, but am I fighting a losing battle I'm sure it will only come with a 1 year warranty

Even so, I don't expect a fairly expensive camera to stop functioning properly in just over a year (13 months 21 days to be precise)

Does the Sale of Goods act state it should last x amount of years or something

Everyone's comments have been appreciated, keep them coming

 

Initially you will be shined on by the store; mostly out of ingnorance. You need to approach PCW Customer Services in Sheffield; it would be better if you wrote to them rather than telephoned or emailed. It is your responsibility to establish that the kit is faulty and an engineers report may be required; you will have to stand the cost of this although it will be reimbursed.

DSG have two options; either repair the kit for you or offer you a depreciated credit. If you have any problems then you are welcome to PM me and I will see if I can get it sorted out for you.

Please bear in mind though that the CS team which has less than 15 members has to take hundreds of calls a day and the vast majority of these are trivial and pointless. A fair proportion are ridiculous but they cant tell the fools to f*ck off.... Well under 10% of all complaints have any substance; friendly callers/correspondants make a lot more headway...

Simon

 

I think you KNEW it was over a year and tried it on!!

You are stuffed basically, look on the bright side - you can now buy the best value camera of the moment ...... Canon 300D!!

SORTED!!

Pete

 

A decent piece of kit like an Olympus camera should last for well over a year; whether it should last for six years (the limit of the vendors responsibility in law) is for someone else to decide. This is relevant only where a depreciated credit is being calculated though. Its common to state that a notebook PC will only last for three years and so after 18 months youd be looking at a depreciated credit refund of 50% of purchase price; bollocks in my opinion but I was fighting a losing battle.....

 

Old news now, but I checked today and GC8 is quite correct with his information.

I agree with writing to Customer Care and see if you get any joy, nothing to lose by this.

Good luck m8

 

Assuming you don't get anywhere with the warranty a last resort might be to attempt a repair yourself. These switches can sometimes be rescued with a dose of switch cleaner, you will need to take it apart though.

Allan

 

GC8 - I took your advice and wrote a very nice letter to them explaining the situation - just got back from holiday and theres a nice letter on the doorstep and a £50 voucher.

Result

Initially I was a little dissapointed, but having spoke to a fair few people they seem to think I've come out of it fairly well...but I'm still left with a £200 camera that doesnt work properly...

Is it worth ringing Olympus to see if they could repair it do you think ?

Matt

 

Matt; send me the details of the letter via PM and I'll see what I can do. Im particulalry interested to know whos signed it too. At this point my advice to you would be hold on, and dont use the voucher.

Simon

 

Simon,

I've left the letter at work, as soon as I get to work I'll PM it.

Thanks for your time

 

Pleasure. I always tried to ensure that DSG kept straight with people when problems got to my level; it was an uphill struggle though.

Simon