Nikon Customer services. Your Experiences

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TG.

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Not quite sure if this is in the relavant section, but if not, could a mod please move for me. Anyway i have recently had reason to send my Nikon D700 back to the Nikon service department, all explained in this thread HERE anyway, the downside being that they are going to charge me £326 for the repair, to say i was fuming is an understatement, the camera was purchased in late 2009, and although out of warranty, it only has just under 9000 actuation's on it, which i personally think is minimal for a camera like this. Anyway i phoned the customer service the other day, and spoke to a manager who said he would look into it for me and call me back yesterday, but no call, so i have called back today, and have had to leave a message on his answer phone, maybe i'm being a bit premature here, but i had a bit of a trawl on the net, and read some pretty bad reports about Nikon customer service, so i just wondered what your experiences are, good or bad, before i go into panic mode, lol :)
 
It does seem a bit premature tbh, your camera is out of warranty and even with the "not fit for purpose" claim it will take time for them to assess and possibly try to bend the rules for you.

At least give them a chance to respond, if there's a manager dealing with your case for all you know he's gone on holiday or is off work and no other managers know anything about your case.

To me it seems like you were expecting to send off your camera and have a short turn around repair despite being out of warranty which they're not obliged to do, unless you take them to court and win.

Patience is a virtue, especially when you want them to do something they're not obliged to, it would all be purely out of goodwill.
 
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If the camera is out of warranty then it doesn't really matter if it has 150,000 actuation or 10. If it breaks out of warranty then you are liable for the repair costs. I agree that Nikon should be as helpful as possible and at least return your calls when they say they will but at the end of the day, you've been unlucky that your camera has developed a fault but that's the risk you take when you buy a piece of technology.
 
Shutter count is really irrelevant. The figure all manufacturers quote is a "mean", so some fail before and some after. If it fails in the warranty period it gets fixed. Outside of that we pay.

No one is going to regularly honour an expired warranty.
 
If Nikon don't come back with a positive response, on this issue, I'd advise contacting your local trading standards office. There is an expectation that a piece of equipment like this should function for a "reasonable" amount of time.
 
johnnypanic said:
If Nikon don't come back with a positive response, on this issue, I'd advise contacting your local trading standards office. There is an expectation that a piece of equipment like this should function for a "reasonable" amount of time.
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Purchased sept 2009 - so 3 years. I'm pretty sure no electronics are warrantied for that length of time, it's even longer than what some car manufacturers offer. I'd have said that was beyond a reasonable amount of time, seeing as most electronics have just a 1 year warranty, but your opinions may differ.
 
faddius said:
To me it seems like you were expecting to send off your camera and have a short turn around repair despite being out of warranty which they're not obliged to do, unless you take them to court and win.

Patience is a virtue, especially when you want them to do something they're not obliged to, it would all be purely out of goodwill.
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I guess it did probably come across like that, however the chap said he would call me the next day and never did, and i did explain that i wanted it back for a holiday in a couple of weeks, however, i have now been back in touch with him.

-Rob- said:
If the camera is out of warranty then it doesn't really matter if it has 150,000 actuation or 10. If it breaks out of warranty then you are liable for the repair costs. I agree that Nikon should be as helpful as possible and at least return your calls when they say they will but at the end of the day, you've been unlucky that your camera has developed a fault but that's the risk you take when you buy a piece of technology.
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I'm fairly sure if you had a camera that failed after 10 shots you would want it repairing out of warranty, as would any reasonable person, i don't really think luck comes into it, i think a near 2k camera should last a good few years without fear of major repairs.


PsiFox said:
If it fails in the warranty period it gets fixed. Outside of that we pay.
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Surely that would depend on how much out of warranty it is, and what sort of state it's in ie if i were a war photographer out in afghanistan for 3 years, whereas my kit was getting battered by sand and what ever else, fair enough, but not the use this camera has had.

faddius said:
I'd have said that was beyond a reasonable amount of time, seeing as most electronics have just a 1 year warranty, but your opinions may differ.
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Well if you think 3 years warranty on a piece of 2k kit is beyond reasonable, i guess your entitled to that opinion, i suppose you could argue, why do manufacturers offer extended 3 year warranties, i'm sure even they expect things of this cost to last a few years beyond 3.
 
SOGA, assuming (I can't remember if this applies in your case) you are the first owner. If you are and you used a cc to buy the camera then get in contact with them too, as they are jointly liable.
 
Ive PM, but for everyone else, my experience wasnt faultless.

Started off well, the camera was collected FOC, I was promised phonecalls and some never appeared.
I was initially blamed for the damage and asked to stump up the £800 repair cost. I disagreed and told them to revaluate, which they did, and came back to say it in fact wasnt my fault, but a manuafcturing fault.
The camera was a year out of warranty and the lens a bit less.

Overall a good experience that was resovled to my satisfaction, but not without some pushing by me, If I hadnt have argued, I'd have paid the full cost for someone elses mistake.
 
TG. said:
I'm fairly sure if you had a camera that failed after 10 shots you would want it repairing out of warranty, as would any reasonable person, i don't really think luck comes into it, i think a near 2k camera should last a good few years without fear of major repairs.
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If you buy a camera with a 12 month warranty and you only use it for 10 shots in that time then it breaks on your 11th shot 13 months from purchase then yes you’d feel aggrieved but if the warranty has expired then it is tough luck. If you are the kind of person that expects a manufacturer to be liable for technical failures for longer than the standard warranty period then you need to purchase the extended warranties so you are covered.
 
-Rob- said:

If you buy a camera with a 12 month warranty and you only use it for 10 shots in that time then it breaks on your 11th shot 13 months from purchase then yes you’d feel aggrieved but if the warranty has expired then it is tough luck. If you are the kind of person that expects a manufacturer to be liable for technical failures for longer than the standard warranty period then you need to purchase the extended warranties so you are covered.
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Quite laughable really, but your entitled to your opinion, manufacturers must love people like you :D
 
How is it laughable? If you don't like the length of the warranty then you either don't buy the product or you buy an extended warranty.

If more people thought like you then no one would buy a camera with a 1 year warranty.

How are camera sales doing at the moment?
 
-Rob- said:
How is it laughable? If you don't like the length of the warranty then you either don't buy the product or you buy an extended warranty.

If more people thought like you then no one would buy a camera with a 1 year warranty.

How are camera sales doing at the moment?
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Of course it's laughable, and as for the comment

"If more people thought like you then no one would buy a camera with a 1 year warranty"

Is verging on the ridiculous, do you honestly think that people buy cameras (or any expensive item for that matter) with the expectation of only a years worth of usage ? i bet if you did a poll on here alone, most of the members would expect several years usage from a piece of equipment that cost £1800-£2000, your virtually saying it may as well be a disposable unit, which again is laughable, perhaps you can afford to go out and buy a new camera every time it develops a fault, or perhaps you just have more money than sense, who knows ? unfortunately the majority of people do not have that luxury, and they rely on something in law called "fit for purpose" that's why people go to small claims courts, up to 6 years after buying an item that has failed, and win there case. Quite honestly if i went into a shop to buy an item for £2000 + and they said it was likely to fail after 12 months, i would tell them where they could put it !
 
You really aren't reading what I am saying are you?

Just because a warranty runs out after 12 months doesn't mean the camera is going to break and need throwing away. What I'm saying is that if you buy a camera with a 12 month warranty and it develops a fault after 13 months then you have to accept that you have been unlucky and you are liable for the repair costs.

Yes a £2,000 camera should last for years and I bet 90%+ of them do, it's just the very unlucky few that have problems and need to shell out for the repairs.

Do you have the same opinion of cars? If you buy a brand new car with a 3 year warranty and the clutch goes in month 37 do you expect the manufacturer to replace it for free? No, you think you've been unlucky and pay for the repair.

Before replying again please read what I am actually saying and stop with your own laughable replies.
 
SOGA - Trading Standards Comments:-

"Durability There are no hard and fast rules laid down within the Act about how long anything should last because durability is affected by how often goods are used and how they are used. All goods have a limited shelf life, but it is often difficult to determine what you can expect. Many goods are provided with a guarantee from the manufacturer (for example, most electrical goods); the length of the guarantee is not a measure of durability. For example, washing machines usually come with a guarantee for 1 - 2 years from the manufacturer whereas the durability of a washing machine is typically 5 years. In England, there is a maximum period of 6 years after purchase in which you can seek compensation for goods that are not of satisfactory quality. The actual period in which you can claim compensation for any individual goods is dependent upon the durability of the product.

Note that the trader is not responsible for any faults in goods that you have caused yourself through misusing or altering goods. For example, you are not entitled to anything if you buy shoes for school and then damage them playing football because the shoes were not designed for that purpose. Likewise, you are not entitled to anything if you buy material to make curtains and then cut the material to the wrong size when making up the curtains.
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as gramps says above.

those who say they accept a pro nikon camera breaking down in so short a time are arguing for the sake of it and being very silly.
i wouldnt accept it nor would any reasonable person.

in the USA they get a longer warranty,why dont we.
 
Nikon uk are hard to deal with,they tried to blame me for a inherent fault.
even when they agreed to fix,calls and emails where not returned in fact the whole thing was a disgrace to Nikons name.
 
-Rob- said:
What I'm saying is that if you buy a camera with a 12 month warranty and it develops a fault after 13 months then you have to accept that you have been unlucky and you are liable for the repair costs.
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The point is NO you don't have to accept it, unless your exceptionally gullible, it's not fit for purpose, and therefore you are within your rights to argue the toss with the shop/company, or if need be make a claim in the small claims court, if everyone like yourself took things laying down, what a field day shops/manufacturers would have. As for your argument with the car, that doesn't particularly hold any weight either, if i purchased a new car and did a 100.000 miles in it in 3.5 years, i would pay for a repair, however if i only did 100 miles in it, i wouldn't, and i would take things a lot further with the company. You seem to be missing the whole point of the original post, yes i know that the majority of people, will hopefully be lucky enough to have a Dxxx that lasts for years without problems, however in the unlikely event it breaks down after a fraction of the shots it's good for, i would say don't take it laying down, and argue your case with the shop/manufacturer.

straycat said:
those who say they accept a pro nikon camera breaking down in so short a time are arguing for the sake of it and being very silly.
i wouldnt accept it nor would any reasonable person.
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Indeed i couldn't have put it better myself :thumbs:
 
i am happy to report a positive dealing with nikon uk.

the battery catch on my D3s was playing up,rob the nps manager sent me a new one without going though all the normal difficulties.
 
-Rob- said:
Do you have the same opinion of cars? If you buy a brand new car with a 3 year warranty and the clutch goes in month 37 do you expect the manufacturer to replace it for free? No, you think you've been unlucky and pay for the repair.

Before replying again please read what I am actually saying and stop with your own laughable replies.
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A clutch isn't a warranty item, so that argument is dead in the water.

Uk law states items must be fit for purpose for up to 6 years.

If your camera breaks after 13 months and you just go out and buy a new one or don't challenge the repair cost, you are laughable.
 
straycat said:
i am happy to report a positive dealing with nikon uk.

the battery catch on my D3s was playing up,rob the nps manager sent me a new one without going though all the normal difficulties.
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That was good of him. People are always quick to complain (rightly or wrongly), but praise is harder to come by.
 
gramps said:
SOGA - Trading Standards Comments:-
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What you have quoted is only part of the story. The sales of goods act is not actually targeted towards the manufacturer but the store - http://www.oft.gov.uk/business-advice/treating-customers-fairly/sogahome/sogaexplained

I have worked for a manufacturer in the past so have been involved in these issues previously and have heard it all.

As the manufacturer, unless selling direct to the public, this does not apply in the same sense as quoted. The manufacturer must be able to supply the parts to maintain your product/repair your product, out of warranty can choose to charge what they want. Generally, there are no way to prove how much an electrical product is used, granted in this case shutter count makes it a little different.

Most companies will have some sort of goodwill but it will depend on how hard you are prepared to push. My honest solution would be get back on the phone and ask them for a gesture of goodwill.

There is also an EU Legislation which entitles you to return your item for a full refund for up to 6 years if faulty. However with that, first 6 months, retailer need to provide that your item is not faulty and reject your claim for refund. After that, it is the customers responsibility to prove the item is faulty for a refund.
 
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Indeed it is the seller who is responsible, however suggesting a request for "a gesture of goodwill" is tantamount to suggesting agreement that there is no liability.
 
-Rob- said:
How is it possible for you to put these 2 sentences in the same argument?
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Because its obvious a clutch isn't expected to last for 6 years as its a consumable item where as an electrical item is expected to last longer.

I hope you check your brake pads more often than every six years. :shrug:

Not really not that hard to comprehend.
 
TCR4x4 said:
Because its obvious a clutch isn't expected to last for 6 years as its a consumable item
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So if a clutch broke after 6 months you'd just roll over and take it because its obvious its going to break?

I think you need to work out what your argument is.
 
back on thread.............

another not completely happy experience. They completed repairs effectively and well in only a couple of days. Then put the repaired camera in a courier who promptly lost it, eventually finding it at East Midlands airport.

Not Nikon's fault I'm sure you'll say. Normally I'd agree except I live less then 10 minutes drive from Nikon UK, and had specifically instructed them I'd collect (theres even a tick box on the repair form for this)
 
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