Europe: Epson extended warranty fake?

willemvelthoven

RD1 user
Local time
11:43 AM
Joined
Jun 18, 2005
Messages
33
later addition: Epson have reacted and replaced my camera. It is still unclear who at epson europe of whitch departement or organisation is responible for the warranty...

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I'm loosing my trust in Epson as a manufacturer because of multiple failures in their RD1 product.

More importantly, I'm loosing trust in Epson as a whole. They don't seem to know what they promise. I'm working for 4 weeks now to get help from Epson. I get confirmations but they don't deliver. I'm still stuck with a broken camera.

I was looking into buying an other premium Epson product: a wide format photo-printer. but I think I have to wait to see how this develops.

This is what (not) happened till now, please let me know if you have any relevant experiences or tips:


Epson Europe promise RD1 buyers that become members of the RD1 user club (by the enclosed form or through website) an additional "Exclusive 1 year replacement service warranty relating to date of purchase".

But they do not deliver (I'm asking them for 4 weeks now!)

My second RD1 developed a serious problem after 5 months. I did not feel like sending my camera in for an unpredictable stretch of time. So I was happy to have the extended warranty from Epson!

1: I went to my dealer. They checked my RD1, confirmed the problem that was not present in their two stock RD1's. They didn't know about any exchange warranty. They called Epson. Still no idea.

2: I mailed to the Epson owners club site. I was mailed back and called back from England. The friendly person on the phone told me that the club website is maintained by a marketing organisation, not Epson. He promised to relay my help request to the responsible persons at Epson. I have not heard from them anymore.

3: I called Epson Europe in Amsterdam myself. The persons on the phone did not know about the warranty. They were nice, called me back several times. Eventually, they confirmed the existence of the extended warranty and told me to call the Epson Germany hotline.

4: I called the Epson hotline. they had never heard of the extended warranty. they were nice. they called me back several times. I sent them a written detailed description of the problem. I got an automatic mail about the repair of my printer(!). I called them again. they called me back again. they were nice again. they confirmed the existence of the extended warranty. they called me back again. they were nice again. they agreed that my camera needs a repair and that I have a right to an exchange. they gave me an RMA. they told me to call Card Services, the company that provides Epson service in the Netherlands.

4: I called Card services. They had never heard about the exchange program (not the person that answers the phone but the boss of their boss. the person you get on the phone after a lot of insisting and explaining) they said the only procedure they know is to have me send the camera to them. they check it and decide whether it needs a repair. if so, they will send it to Germany. and then they don't know what's going to happen but after a non predictable amount of time the camera, or a replacement if int cannot be repaired, will be sent to them from Germany. if they get the camera. they will send in back to me. eventually.

This is the same service as one gets with a $99 printer. only the sending to Germany would not be needed;-)

The two managers that I spoke to at Card services were both polite, friendly and helpful. also knowledgable. One of them told be that he had heard from the extended warranty before. He had tried to find out about it. He could not get any information about it from Epson. He asked me to write the whole story up and send it to him so he could try and find out how to help me.

I'll call Epson Germany and Epson Europe again tomorrow but I am turning in to an unhappy, angry customer. One that owns a truely great but unreliable camera...

Any help would be appreciated.

thank you.

willem@mediamatic.nl

to be continued...
 
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May i give you a (free ;-) lawyer's advice Willem?
Send Epson Europe (who issued the replacement warranty if i remember well) a fax + registered letter recalling in detail your efforts to find out an amicable settlement and threatening them in polite terms to file an action against them if they don't replace the camera right now according to their commitment.
It often works ;)
Best,
LCT
 
Willem,

Curious who your dealer is (i'm in Holland too but bought the camera in Germany)..... he should AT LEAST do all the calling for you to get you a new camera through Epson! They sell a camera with a form in the package that mentions the exchange warranty ........... i go a step further: i expect the dealer to exchange the camera (if they have one in stock) for you and see they get a new one through Epson to sell in the Shop.
With this kind of service there is no point to go to a dealer at all ..... a good argument to buy the cheapest through the internet!! (which i hate to do myself)


BTW ... you mention extended warranty ... to my knowledge it's not extended .. but it is just a 1 year EXCHANGE garanty ... that's what the RD1 owner-club leaflet says ! There is no mention of guarantee at all with the camera otherwise.

So my advise is ... go to the dealer .. wait untill the shop is full of customers and start to shout!! Not very polite .. but they ask for it!


Good luck!

Han
 
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Willem,
The exact wording on my U.K. version of the Epson warranty is:
"....provides you with an exclusive 1 year replacement service warranty. This entitles you to recieve a loan camera should your Epson R-D1 require service within its first year". They are only offering to loan you a camera while yours is being repaired, athough in practise most people here experiencing problems have been given replacements (sometimes on more than one occassion).

I think you would be best to follow Han's advice and pursue it via your dealer. In the U.K. we have the "Retail Shops Act" which forms a contract with the dealer on purchase and requires the shop to replace or repair defective products (defined as "not fit for the purpose intended"), I'm not sure if this is E.U. wide legislation, but its quite likely.

Hope you can get it sorted soon.

Jim
 
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Epson is moving...

Epson is moving...

After about 18 phonecalls and mails, and desperate postings in various epson forums, yesterday i recieved a phonecall from a friendly representative of a german service organisation. she told me to keep my camera ready for a pick up and replacement by TNT. i sure hope that the normal service organisations that work for Epson Europe will get the protocol now. I'll keep you posted on the developments.
 
I've gotten a replacement!
Epson told a german service organisation to send me a rpelacement and pick up my broken r-d1. last friday they did. the replacement is a well adjusted used r-d1 that they'll pick up after returning my own body. (the serial number of the replacement happens to be only 25 lower tha that of my own body, how many of these did they sell in EU?)
 
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