Digital Rev in 5D3 serial no. controversy.

Status
Not open for further replies.
simon n said:
It's not an Asian label either, it's a counterfeit.
Click to expand...
I didn't mean it was an Asian market label as far as I am aware all new canon cameras have the same label from the factory
What I have read is that canon refurbs have the label and SN changed but what that looks like I have no idea
 
Ive got posts over on POTN as well but after reading this thread i get the impression some people commenting on the Simon's problem haven't bothered to read the the whole thread on POTN first.
The label, and serial number do seem to be the issue, but as pointed out by a few people, and Canon themselves, the label doesn't look right. Its not a Canon label. The lettering is wrong, so i cant see that it can be an official Canon refurbished camera. With Canon branding i imagine they would use a standard font across all their labels etc, yet the one using on Simon's and the other guys labels are just not correct.
Even if they do change the serial numbers wouldn't they would change the in camera number as well?
According to Simon DR said send it back and they will get a new serial number and label put on it. That doesn't sound like they think someone is pulling a fast one, to me that sounds like they know whats needed to be done already without any investigation etc.

Thats how i see it anyway.
 
+1 for the above. It does seem DR are dragging their feet over this. IMO any retailer worth their salt would of already exchanged the camera for a new one and avoided all this bad publicity. They should of arranged a replacement as soon as they'd got the proof of the letter from Canon regarding the counterfeit label and then they should of had an 'in house' investigation to find out how it happened and to prevent it happening again.

On the POTN thread it seems a second camera has turned up with a similarly changed label but without any problems to the camera. For those interested, this is what my label looks like on the bottom of my 5D3, which was bought from Hdew Cameras in the UK, with a few digits removed for safety. If you happen to see the photos on POTN you'll see only a slight difference in the labels. Main point is the "o" in No. and the spacing of the figures.

8199782945_8aedc606c9_b.jpg
[/url][/IMG]
 
More than anything though Stuart, the Canon moniker is different, as is the image of the bin.

I never would have noticed, unless presented with a genuine one. This is getting on my tits now, no apology or anything from them, and I've done all the leg work with great effort to prove to them. Still nothing. Anyway, it's in the hands of Canon themselves now, not just UK.

I also want to continue to say thanks very much for all this information, without you guys, i would still be very much in the dark. Cheers, i owe you a merlot or 2.
 
Last edited:
Well, I won't be buying from DigitalRev any time soon if only because they should have sorted it by now.
 
:agree::agree::agree:
 
I posted this in the other thread on here that this is being discussed in.

I was always under the impression that a small indentation was melted into the camera body next to the serial number to identify a Canon refurbished body. I'm curious to hear if there is such a mark under the fake serial.

I can't find anything to actually back that up now though.
 
Last edited:
Next email to them need to be a carefully constructed one, leave no room to manoeuvre and no misunderstanding of what you require and what needs to be done to solve the situation. It needs to be TO THE POINT, concise and clear.

Should not sound frustrated or angry. Something like.

"Dear sirs

I refer to our previous exchange of emails and write to confirm that Order #2353465463 has been returned and received by you as confirmed by UPS.

As instructed by my credit card company the item is hereby returned for a refund. The item has been confirmed by Canon UK's email (Exhibit A) dated X, the camera contained a counterfeit serial I would be grateful for a full refund of my money in the sum of £X.

I look forward to your response forthwith.

Yours faithfully"

Bearing in mind a couple of things:

1 - They are in Hong Kong, you going on about items not as describe could be meaningless as their consumer law could be different enough for you to have no leg to stand on, besides, for you to do anything about it require you to go over there to file a law suit in a local court.

2 - Stay polite, you don't want to come across as an emotional wreck. It doesn't help.
 
ive had a reply from DR, they are going to be in contact with Simon directly on this matter but dont want to comment directly until they have sorted it all out.
 
matty said:
ive had a reply from DR, they are going to be in contact with Simon directly on this matter but dont want to comment directly until they have sorted it all out.
Click to expand...

:thumbs: great stuff Matty - thanks for the update ;)
 
By reading the latest on this saga on POTN it looks as though DigitalRev will indeed be replacing the camera for a new one. IMHO this should of been authorised and swapped within the first week and not 3 weeks after the first post was made. Had they done the right thing in the first place all this negative publicity could of been avoided.

It also looks like the second one found with a counterfeit label will be collected and sorted ie. relabelled by Canon asia to an authorised serial. DigitalRev have claimed the problem arose from one of their suppliers, which means there could be a lot more out there, but IMO DigitalRev have to take responsibility for their negligence.

I'm truely glad that the 2 owners are getting the result they should of had and I hope DigitalRev don't suffer too badly from this, I wont be buying from them in the future but I only use Panamoz and Hdew Cameras for my purchases as I trust these sellers.

Digital, with ref below, I agree the second one should of been replaced and not rebadged, but that is what Wolfyccfc has agreed to so if the customer is happy to proceed then so be it. He has now been offered an extended warranty by DR for another year so I'm sure he'll be happy with the outcome.
 
Last edited:
modchild said:
By reading the latest on this saga on POTN it looks as though DigitalRev will indeed be replacing the camera for a new one. IMHO this should of been authorised and swapped within the first week and not 3 weeks after the first post was made. Had they done the right thing in the first place all this negative publicity could of been avoided.

It also looks like the second one found with a counterfeit label will be collected and sorted ie. relabelled by Canon asia to an authorised serial. DigitalRev have claimed the problem arose from one of their suppliers, which means there could be a lot more out there, but IMO DigitalRev have to take responsibility for their negligence.

I'm truely glad that the 2 owners are getting the result they should of had and I hope DigitalRev don't suffer too badly from this, I wont be buying from them in the future but I only use Panamoz and Hdew Cameras for my purchases as I trust these sellers.
Click to expand...

The second one should be replaced with a new one. Why are any cameras being relabelled? Why are relabelled cameras being sold as these two were?

Relabelling would indicate to me that they are not fresh out of the factory, brand new and unused, but have had to have some 'attention'. On that basis, potential buyers should have been warned and they shouldn't have attracted the same price as fully legitimate cameras.
 
These sagas do IMO bring into doubt the legitimacy of the supply chain
surely they would be an authorised canon distributor and as such their supplier would have been canon Asia IMO
it appears this may not be case
 
digital said:
The second one should be replaced with a new one. Why are any cameras being relabelled? Why are relabelled cameras being sold as these two were?

Relabelling would indicate to me that they are not fresh out of the factory, brand new and unused, but have had to have some 'attention'. On that basis, potential buyers should have been warned and they shouldn't have attracted the same price as fully legitimate cameras.
Click to expand...

If the camera is repaired, and then label replaced by canon itself to match, it'll be as genuine as you can get. The actual product itself is real, only a fake sticker. The caveat is it should be sold as refurb. Not new.
 
Raymond Lin said:
If the camera is repaired, and then label replaced by canon itself to match, it'll be as genuine as you can get. The actual product itself is real, only a fake sticker. The caveat is it should be sold as refurb. Not new.
Click to expand...

That's the point I was making. Buyers were not warned that the product they were buying wasn't 'fresh out of the factory, brand new and unused', but had had to have some 'attention'. I didn't doubt that they were genuine, just that they shouldn't have been sold as being identical to others that had not had the labels changed.
 
some of you will have seen my post on POTN but to confirm DRev have offered to collect the camera and state that Canon Hk will service and rectify the label on the camera.

My quandary now after thinking about it is that i have to send a perfectly working camera half way around the world and back to basically have a label changed! I'm wondering whether the risk of this i.e loss/damage in transit and being without the camera potentially over xmas is more of a risk than being able to service the camera in the future in the UK. I really don't want the hassle of a missing or damaged camera which although might be rectified in the end could drag on for months. The camera is one of the biggest purchases i have ever made.

I have to say again that in my case DR have been very prompt and dealt with the issue very well. I understand that Simon had a little more trouble in engaging them but all is well that ends well and hopefully he will have a new baby soon.
 
wolfyccfc said:
some of you will have seen my post on POTN but to confirm DRev have offered to collect the camera and state that Canon Hk will service and rectify the label on the camera.

My quandary now after thinking about it is that i have to send a perfectly working camera half way around the world and back to basically have a label changed! I'm wondering whether the risk of this i.e loss/damage in transit and being without the camera potentially over xmas is more of a risk than being able to service the camera in the future in the UK. I really don't want the hassle of a missing or damaged camera which although might be rectified in the end could drag on for months. The camera is one of the biggest purchases i have ever made.

I have to say again that in my case DR have been very prompt and dealt with the issue very well. I understand that Simon had a little more trouble in engaging them but all is well that ends well and hopefully he will have a new baby soon.
Click to expand...
The only problem i see with that is that canon uk won't repair it in the future and if you do in a the future try to sell it on for a 5d mk 4 will anyone buy it
 
wolfyccfc said:
some of you will have seen my post on POTN but to confirm DRev have offered to collect the camera and state that Canon Hk will service and rectify the label on the camera.

My quandary now after thinking about it is that i have to send a perfectly working camera half way around the world and back to basically have a label changed! I'm wondering whether the risk of this i.e loss/damage in transit and being without the camera potentially over xmas is more of a risk than being able to service the camera in the future in the UK. I really don't want the hassle of a missing or damaged camera which although might be rectified in the end could drag on for months. The camera is one of the biggest purchases i have ever made.

I have to say again that in my case DR have been very prompt and dealt with the issue very well. I understand that Simon had a little more trouble in engaging them but all is well that ends well and hopefully he will have a new baby soon.
Click to expand...

It's strange that they will replace the other guys but rectify yours. I wouldn't accept a rectified one after everything that has gone on. I'd be looking for a refund.
 
So would i for definite, i have opted for a brand new replacement. Second chances and all that, plus i believe DR will go out of their way to source or send me a proper one this time, as promised.
churz.
 
Last edited:
wolfyccfc said:
some of you will have seen my post on POTN but to confirm DRev have offered to collect the camera and state that Canon Hk will service and rectify the label on the camera.

My quandary now after thinking about it is that i have to send a perfectly working camera half way around the world and back to basically have a label changed! I'm wondering whether the risk of this i.e loss/damage in transit and being without the camera potentially over xmas is more of a risk than being able to service the camera in the future in the UK. I really don't want the hassle of a missing or damaged camera which although might be rectified in the end could drag on for months. The camera is one of the biggest purchases i have ever made.

I have to say again that in my case DR have been very prompt and dealt with the issue very well. I understand that Simon had a little more trouble in engaging them but all is well that ends well and hopefully he will have a new baby soon.
Click to expand...

I understood that they would send a new replacement out to Simon as soon as he provided evidence that the previous one was with the carrier. If that's correct, then you could have a replacement within the week. Panamoz have got my orders to me by Monday after paying on the previous Thursday.

It seems to be very odd that the two of you are being treated differently with you getting the less favourable treatment despite having the same problem.
 
DR have assured me that they will send a brand new replacement on my receipt of collection from the courier. I shall do that as soon as the courier arrives tomorrow, and i do hope DR honour this as promised. They really do need to be exonerated of any misgivings and blame as far as they are aware. I had evidence from Canon, Exifs and the Canon SC of the counterfeit, and have included copies of these with my return to DR for their records, along with bills that i have paid to send and receive the camera from Glasgow. I shall leave DR if they want to include goodwill.
It will be interesting how DR deal with Wolfy, but i recommend he gets a NEW replacement as future servicing will be problematic, but, it really is upto him on this, and what he decides.
 
Simon,

As I stated on my pm I am in a bit of a quandary but the more you say about the exchange the more I agree, I sent dr a mail earlier this evening asking fore some options instead of return I.e guarantees of service if it does become faulty. However I have since requested if they would exchange as after spending so much money I believe I deserve a pukka new body. Don't believe DR should bare the brunt of this but they are the retailer and need to pass the costs back down to their supplier.
 
Totally agree matey. You have the same evidence as myself mate, but as i said, it's upto you. As far as what DR should do, they should offer and indeed send you a brand new replacement, otherwise, if you are like me, the problem will always niggle you in your subconscious. You've had the email from Canon stating ALL serials should match on a brand new body, no question, and they have firmly stated the label is counterfeit. I would push them for replacement mate, i really would.
 
Good to see that this problem has been sorted out.
 
modchild said:
By reading the latest on this saga on POTN it looks as though DigitalRev will indeed be replacing the camera for a new one. IMHO this should of been authorised and swapped within the first week and not 3 weeks after the first post was made. Had they done the right thing in the first place all this negative publicity could of been avoided.

It also looks like the second one found with a counterfeit label will be collected and sorted ie. relabelled by Canon asia to an authorised serial. DigitalRev have claimed the problem arose from one of their suppliers, which means there could be a lot more out there, but IMO DigitalRev have to take responsibility for their negligence.

I'm truely glad that the 2 owners are getting the result they should of had and I hope DigitalRev don't suffer too badly from this, I wont be buying from them in the future but I only use Panamoz and Hdew Cameras for my purchases as I trust these sellers.
Click to expand...

yes they should have reacted quicker, though to be fair, they only found out today what had actually happened. I dont know if I would say they are negligent, they buy product from suppliers, how are they to know that the supplier is slipping them a big pink one?

I do wonder where HDEW and Panamoz buy their stock....
 
So Matty do you feel happy to recommend members of TP buy from DP now?
 
To be honest you may be safer now with DR as if lessons are learnt stock of this nature may be caught further down the supply chain than the end customer. At the end of the day this has not been good for DR even though its not them who originated the stock.
 
Unless they check each camera before it goes out then they can't know. Most likely was supplier mistake/ pulling a fast one. I don't imagine the others check either or that every single buyer checks the box and exif serial no match.
 
srichards said:
Unless they check each camera before it goes out then they can't know. Most likely was supplier mistake/ pulling a fast one. I don't imagine the others check either or that every single buyer checks the box and exif serial no match.
Click to expand...

I'm be more surprised that in this digital age of barcodes and scanners that something like this isn't picked up at either the 'in' stage from the supplier or the 'out' stage to the consumer. DR may now find that it may have paid to do that or at least have tighter controls over it.
 
Last edited:
DayDreamer said:
So Matty do you feel happy to recommend members of TP buy from DP now?
Click to expand...

Yes. Ive bought a lot of stuff from them before now and im sure there are a good few other members who have with no problems. Remember, 1 person will tell as many people as possible about bad service, happy customers not so much.

wolfyccfc said:
To be honest you may be safer now with DR as if lessons are learnt stock of this nature may be caught further down the supply chain than the end customer. At the end of the day this has not been good for DR even though its not them who originated the stock.
Click to expand...

I think this is correct, people will be looking out for it as well as DR

graphilly said:
I'm be more surprised that in this digital age of barcodes and scanners that something like this isn't picked up at either the 'in' stage from the supplier or the 'out' stage to the consumer. DR may now find that it may have paid to do that or at least have tighter controls over it.
Click to expand...

They cant know that its been changed without taking it out of the box and connecting it to a computer to check exif, yes the sticker isnt the best quality, but if youre buying from an authorised supplier, why would you need to check??
 
matty said:
They cant know that its been changed without taking it out of the box and connecting it to a computer to check exif, yes the sticker isnt the best quality, but if youre buying from an authorised supplier, why would you need to check??
Click to expand...

This particular incident isn't the first of it's kind but I guess not everyone gets to hear about things.

If you are buying from an authorised supplier you would think it is safe but it isn't always.

The bigger organisations have counterfeit teams that do check stuff like this.

Another level of barcoding on the goods themselves and have stuff tied to a synched database would help some cases but I suppose cost plays a big factor.
 
graphilly said:
This particular incident isn't the first of it's kind but I guess not everyone gets to hear about things.

If you are buying from an authorised supplier you would think it is safe but it isn't always.

The bigger organisations have counterfeit teams that do check stuff like this.

Another level of barcoding on the goods themselves and have stuff tied to a synched database would help some cases but I suppose cost plays a big factor.
Click to expand...

I'm sure that lessons will be learnt in all areas of the supply chain.
 
Mine is being collected tomorrow for rectification, if not done by the 13th December a new one will be sent to ensure I have one for Xmas! Will keep you posted!

Wolfy
 
Also to point DR have extended my warranty until the end of next year out of good will. Also all e-mails have been promptly dealt with, I must have e-mailed back and forth around 6 times this morning in the space of 2 hours. Hopefully there supplier will in the end take some of the pain they have caused Simon, myself and also DR.
 
Good to see them being proactive and trying to sort the issue with you.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top