Essential Photo - terrible service, horrible new warehouse

LongLensPhotography

LongLensPhotography

Th..th..that's all folks!
Suspended / Banned
Messages
18,695
Name
LongLensPhotography
Edit My Images
No
bought AD400 from them in April. Unit turned out an absolute lemon. Bracket was made out of some porous crap and broke on day 1,

they couldn't fix (replace bracket) for months and months. Flash hence never got any use.

Now they are sort of repairing the bracket.

But here is the bad news. The flash also had a terrible copy of a battery. It would lose charge in literally just a week or two. Now it is f*****g dead. And these sods, against the law are claiming battery is nothing to do with them and are holding me to ransom.

There new location is a filthy horrible warehouse amongst some low level local repair garages, not even a business name on the building.

Staff I dealt with on site were dead unprofessional.

Whatever happened to them this is now a company to avoid at all costs. Order your godox from ebay, amazon or direct from China. Avoid these clowns, who actually lost their Pixapro brand just weeks ago. LOL
 
On that note I would also advise avoiding AD400 Pro due to really poor battery design. Internet is full of horror stories like mine.
2x AD200 + AD-B2 does the same thing except they work really well, and by far outlast full charge AD600 Pro on the shoot.

The 600 also has a similar crappy battery. It is ever so slightly better by being considerably larger but still made out of the same outdated s***. I am actually shocked to see that the new 600 II model uses same old battery design. One to avoid for sure. Bar AD200's I'd be switching to Westcott or some other brand right now.
 
I called WEX just to check their warranty policy. They cover full flash for 12 months. As it should be... Essential Photo is onto something very fishy here. Probably illegal.

I need to get this sorted so I can at least sell on the stupid thing
 
LongLensPhotography said:
I called WEX just to check their warranty policy. They cover full flash for 12 months. As it should be... Essential Photo is onto something very fishy here. Probably illegal.

I need to get this sorted so I can at least sell on the stupid thing
Click to expand...
No body covers the battery including WEX.
 
Last edited:
f/2.8 said:
The link you posted clearly says that batteries are excluded from warranty. :ROFLMAO:


Very confusing when it says 6 months warranty on batteries in another part. Their website is a bombscare.
View attachment 438989
Click to expand...
Yes, there are faults with the website, but the page clearly states that all batteries are covered. The only exemption, clearly marked with an asterisk *, refers to "All Softboxes & Accessories*". So, if a softbox has a battery (which it doesn't) then the battery isn't covered. If an accessory such as a radio trigger or a remote control has a battery then that isn't covered either. I agree that it could have been expressed more clearly and more succinctly.
6 Months Warranty
Feiyutech
Godox
Lencarta
NEEWER
VISICO		BOYA
Hakutatz
Life of Photo
All Softboxes & Accessories*		All Batteries
Glass Products (Flash Tubes, Modelling Lamps & Glass Covers)
Refurbished items
 
Had to close 3 pop-ups on that site too. That's 3 too many!
 
www.essentialphoto.co.uk

Warranty

In the unlikely event that you do have any issues with your item under warranty, EssentialPhoto & Video offers a speedy UK warranty. With our very own in-house repair team based in the UK, any warranty cases will be dealt with faster than most, without the need to be sent overseas. We’ll try our...
www.essentialphoto.co.uk www.essentialphoto.co.uk

6 Months Warranty
• All Batteries & Chargers
• Glass Products (Flash Tubes, Modelling Bulbs, Glass Covers etc)
• Modifier Consumables (Grids, Diffusers etc)
• Smoke Machine Liquid
• Foldaway Backgrounds
• Hot-Shoe**
• Rainbow Series LED Tubes
Click to expand...
 
Gav. said:
www.essentialphoto.co.uk

Warranty

In the unlikely event that you do have any issues with your item under warranty, EssentialPhoto & Video offers a speedy UK warranty. With our very own in-house repair team based in the UK, any warranty cases will be dealt with faster than most, without the need to be sent overseas. We’ll try our...
www.essentialphoto.co.uk www.essentialphoto.co.uk
Click to expand...
maybe if you buy those separately....

There is just no way half of your expensive light is not covered by standard warranty.

WEX told me clearly on the phone the whole package including battery IS covered.

Now if it wasn't this has further implications that your phone or laptop batteries aren't covered. This is getting rather ugly and I believe very illegal
 
Last edited:
LongLensPhotography said:
Internet is full of godox battery problems

godox ad400 battery not charging at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.
duckduckgo.com duckduckgo.com

so clearly they are just trying to save their bacon any way they can while throwing customers under the bus

may just have to do this if I even manage to get it back,.,.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10jV2JEt2BM


then get rid of it
Click to expand...
Note that 'the internet' tends to magnify problems, with people repeating issues that others have had - I'm not saying there aren't sometimes issues with Godox batteries, and you've clearly got a faulty unit, but Godox work on the basis of selling high quantity - I've no idea how many AD400 have been sold, but it will be far more than the number reported with faulty batteries.
 
Faldrax said:
Note that 'the internet' tends to magnify problems, with people repeating issues that others have had - I'm not saying there aren't sometimes issues with Godox batteries, and you've clearly got a faulty unit, but Godox work on the basis of selling high quantity - I've no idea how many AD400 have been sold, but it will be far more than the number reported with faulty batteries.
Click to expand...
I am sure there are plenty of happy users as you say, and these tend to be daily users that also recharge daily, and presumably got a fresh battery to start with.
It seems mine wasn't so fresh, and my usage was curtailed to bare testing due to broken bracket all this time. Basically very unlucky.

The 600 pro has an unknown history prior to purchase. It would work well for most of the session but quickly lose charge and power off towards the end. Or discharge noticeably over a few weeks if unused. The 200s get most use, due to weight and acceptable power delivery. Basically, never leave with one without the charger. Even a few minutes will allow finishing the work...

This sort of sounds like the same sort of deterioration pattern.

LiPo batteries are now quite old technology. I'm sure China has better these days if they wanted. I started reading a document linked in that video, and it is quite scary on multiple levels:
www.instructables.com

Restoring/Recharging Over-discharged LiPo (Lithium Polymer) Batteries!

Restoring/Recharging Over-discharged LiPo (Lithium Polymer) Batteries!: LiPo batteries should never be discharged below 3.0V/cell, or it may permanently damage them. Many chargers don't even allow you to charge a LiPo battery below 2.5V/cell. So, if you accidentally run your plane/car too...
www.instructables.com www.instructables.com
It is the *recharge* phase that would cause a fully discharged LiPo to catch on fire, not the discharge phase.
Click to expand...
anyone remember one these e-scooter fires articles? There are loads
And secondly:
LiPo batteries should never be discharged below 3.0V/cell, or it may permanently damage them.
Click to expand...
He makes that very clear multiple times, meaning this battery may in the best case have seriously compromised capacity, and worst case may present an outright fire hazard during any subsequent recharge cycle.

Now it is worth noting that these lovely sellers at Essential Photo are offering me to do exactly that for a fee or £31. Wasted money on a defective and dangerous battery.
 
Do Godox offer a manufacturers warranty if Essential Photo are not playing ball?

What do Essential Photo say when you point out the terms of their warranty regarding batteries?
 
technically this is a "pixapro" light. So that would essentially rule out godox directly. I could always ask. P.S. Pixapro brand is now finished.

I am actually trying to get Essential Photo to explain me why they are treating my light as only having 6 months warranty. I certainly wouldn't have bought it if that was declared at the time of sale.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
maybe if you buy those separately....

There is just no way half of your expensive light is not covered by standard warranty.

WEX told me clearly on the phone the whole package including battery IS covered.

Now if it wasn't this has further implications that your phone or laptop batteries aren't covered. This is getting rather ugly and I believe very illegal
Click to expand...
They didn’t cover the battery on my AD200 when it died after 7 weeks.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
technically this is a "pixapro" light. So that would essentially rule out godox directly. I could always ask. P.S. Pixapro brand is now finished.

I am actually trying to get Essential Photo to explain me why they are treating my light as only having 6 months warranty. I certainly wouldn't have bought it if that was declared at the time of sale.
Click to expand...
There are some template letters on the Citizens Advice page quoting the relevant legislation that you may find helpful. Failing that the standard letter before court action may prod them into a refund
 
Not fit for purpose, is the rd I would be going down, small claims court, or chargeback, if your bank will do it.
 
After having no issues with them previously I just had an abysmal experience with this company. Can only echo what has been said already. They sent me completely the wrong item and they are absolutely awful business to deal with. I won't use them ever again and it's very telling that they had to delete their Google Business profile due to the very poor reviews. I wish i had of known how bad they are before purchasing from them but they do a great job of making sure negative reviews are not seen.
 
Last edited:
LongLensPhotography said:
bought AD400 from them in April. Unit turned out an absolute lemon. Bracket was made out of some porous crap and broke on day 1,

they couldn't fix (replace bracket) for months and months. Flash hence never got any use.

Now they are sort of repairing the bracket.

But here is the bad news. The flash also had a terrible copy of a battery. It would lose charge in literally just a week or two. Now it is f*****g dead. And these sods, against the law are claiming battery is nothing to do with them and are holding me to ransom.

There new location is a filthy horrible warehouse amongst some low level local repair garages, not even a business name on the building.

Staff I dealt with on site were dead unprofessional.

Whatever happened to them this is now a company to avoid at all costs. Order your godox from ebay, amazon or direct from China. Avoid these clowns, who actually lost their Pixapro brand just weeks ago. LOL
Click to expand...
Hi! My name is Ling from PIXAPRO and I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your feedback—it really means a lot to us. Looking back at the timeline, we had just settled into our new warehouse, and our showroom was still a work in progress. I’m truly sorry if any of the messages on our website were unclear. With our business growing, our new warehouse is now double the size of the old one, and we’ve got a much broader selection of stock. It was a tough time for us, especially with the old building; our contractor took longer than we anticipated to fix the leaks and complete the finishing touches. It definitely wasn’t easy, and we should have closed the showroom during that time. I’m not sure if this message has reached you, but it’s not the impression we want to leave with our customers. This move was crucial for us to enhance our service and provide a wider array of solutions for our customers. However, the transition last year did add a lot of stress internally, and we weren’t at our best during that time. We’d love to welcome you back to our showroom and warehouse. Our team has expanded too—we now have 18 full-time staff members working across both B2B and B2C channels, and we’ve even launched a loan department. https://hire.essentialphoto.co.uk/ We have a project department to handling studio installation project.
 
When it comes to warranties, we're doing our best to keep everything as straightforward as possible. You can check out the details here: https://www.essentialphoto.co.uk/pages/warranty. We offer a 6-month warranty on the battery, and any equipment that includes a battery will come with a battery care leaflet. We also make an effort to send out seasonal reminders when the temperature drops, so keep an eye out for those on our social media and in our email marketing. Plus, we have several blogs available that provide tips on battery care during winter: https://www.essentialphoto.co.uk/bl...ted-during-winter?_pos=2&_sid=bf2f0a75c&_ss=r and https://www.essentialphoto.co.uk/blogs/news/battery-maintenance-and-care?_pos=3&_sid=bf2f0a75c&_ss=r. We genuinely care about your experience, and I completely understand your frustration. Our team is dedicated to serving our customers, so please know that we're here for you.
 
I've approved the two posts above from Ling Tan / Essential Photo / PixaPro because it'd only fair to let them respond to the criticism in this thread. Indeed we are pleased to see another Photography retailer takes notice of what is posted in TP. Fair play to them.
 
Ling Tan said:
Hi! My name is Ling from PIXAPRO and I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your feedback—it really means a lot to us. Looking back at the timeline, we had just settled into our new warehouse, and our showroom was still a work in progress. I’m truly sorry if any of the messages on our website were unclear. With our business growing, our new warehouse is now double the size of the old one, and we’ve got a much broader selection of stock. It was a tough time for us, especially with the old building; our contractor took longer than we anticipated to fix the leaks and complete the finishing touches. It definitely wasn’t easy, and we should have closed the showroom during that time. I’m not sure if this message has reached you, but it’s not the impression we want to leave with our customers. This move was crucial for us to enhance our service and provide a wider array of solutions for our customers. However, the transition last year did add a lot of stress internally, and we weren’t at our best during that time. We’d love to welcome you back to our showroom and warehouse. Our team has expanded too—we now have 18 full-time staff members working across both B2B and B2C channels, and we’ve even launched a loan department. https://hire.essentialphoto.co.uk/ We have a project department to handling studio installation project.
Click to expand...
It is nice to hear that are you making a progress with your showroom.

Regarding AD400 PRO battery you sold me, and by the looks like many others - no it is not user fault. It is a faulty reset / battery level button that doesn't properly link up with internal reset button. While the fault is minor it can cause a lot of grief and extra expense. The fix is simply just remove the 2 screws and plastic cover and press the exposed button, the re-assemble.
You clearly knew that, but you didn't tell me, didn't replace or repair a defective battery (the button link) and instead lectured me and charged me for the service that wasn't needed. I really am not impressed with that or the fact I need to carry a screwdriver with me and this light to this very day!!!!
 
LongLensPhotography said:
It is nice to hear that are you making a progress with your showroom.

Regarding AD400 PRO battery you sold me, and by the looks like many others - no it is not user fault. It is a faulty reset / battery level button that doesn't properly link up with internal reset button. While the fault is minor it can cause a lot of grief and extra expense. The fix is simply just remove the 2 screws and plastic cover and press the exposed button, the re-assemble.
You clearly knew that, but you didn't tell me, didn't replace or repair a defective battery (the button link) and instead lectured me and charged me for the service that wasn't needed. I really am not impressed with that or the fact I need to carry a screwdriver with me and this light to this very day!!!!
Click to expand...
Thank you for your kindly reply. As a business, we are unable to advise customers to disassemble or carry out internal adjustments on batteries or lighting equipment. Providing such instructions could pose safety risks and may void warranties, and we cannot assume a customer’s technical experience or tools. For this reason, our policy is to inspect units through our service process rather than recommend self-repair solutions. We regret that the outcome did not meet your expectations and that this situation has caused ongoing inconvenience. Thank you to share your thought and experience with us. We are very much appreciated of you taking time to let us know all these.
 
Ling Tan said:
Hi! My name is Ling from PIXAPRO and I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your feedback—it really means a lot to us. Looking back at the timeline, we had just settled into our new warehouse, and our showroom was still a work in progress. I’m truly sorry if any of the messages on our website were unclear. With our business growing, our new warehouse is now double the size of the old one, and we’ve got a much broader selection of stock. It was a tough time for us, especially with the old building; our contractor took longer than we anticipated to fix the leaks and complete the finishing touches. It definitely wasn’t easy, and we should have closed the showroom during that time. I’m not sure if this message has reached you, but it’s not the impression we want to leave with our customers. This move was crucial for us to enhance our service and provide a wider array of solutions for our customers. However, the transition last year did add a lot of stress internally, and we weren’t at our best during that time. We’d love to welcome you back to our showroom and warehouse. Our team has expanded too—we now have 18 full-time staff members working across both B2B and B2C channels, and we’ve even launched a loan department. https://hire.essentialphoto.co.uk/ We have a project department to handling studio installation project.
Click to expand...

After very recent conversations with your staff I can safely say that your staff have a terrible attitude and are very difficult. They can also be quite rude and are more than happy to tell outright lies. Best of luck.
 
Last edited:
Ling Tan said:
Thank you for your kindly reply. As a business, we are unable to advise customers to disassemble or carry out internal adjustments on batteries or lighting equipment. Providing such instructions could pose safety risks and may void warranties, and we cannot assume a customer’s technical experience or tools. For this reason, our policy is to inspect units through our service process rather than recommend self-repair solutions. We regret that the outcome did not meet your expectations and that this situation has caused ongoing inconvenience. Thank you to share your thought and experience with us. We are very much appreciated of you taking time to let us know all these.
Click to expand...
Quite frankly your investigation should have concluded the battery buttons are not linked properly and therefore the unit is FAULTY / not as described
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top