I wasn't going to say anything initially and I'm glad you've all had good experience with them but I cannot exactly sing their praises Premier Ink and doubt if I would ever consider buying from them ever again. My experience could be an isolated incident of course.
I bought a Vanguard tripod and 3-way head around a month ago and discovered that there was a design fault with the head attachment procedure. Basically, the grub screws which attach the platform of the central column to the base of the head bore into the side of the base as the base was of a smaller circumference than the platform. My review of the tripod was made here on the forum.
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=239471
The issue was confirmed by Vanguard and also by Premier when I reported the fault to them. I called Premier to advise them of the problem, not to seek redress but to advise them of a fault which they might not have known of. Because both parties had accepted the existence of the faulty design, I felt I was secure in the knowledge that the item could be returned. It was only then that Premier told me that they had indeed known of the issue since January this year at a photo show and when a customer returned a damaged head. Yet despite this, they still continued to sell me and presumably others, this tripod and head combination. Initially the staff at Premier offered me the option of returning either the head and/or the combined product. The legs were generally fine but of course the issue may lie with the platform of the central column. Since I was offered a replacement head, I took up Premier's offer having spoken to no less than three of their staff about it and advised to send it in. Then following a lengthy conversation with their manager I was advised that there was nothing wrong with the head ( remember that they had admitted this ) despite there being holes and scratches to the base. His reply to that was that if you keep the head on the tripod, there would be no problem..... Probably, but if you have to remove the head for transit purposes, you will soon be boring holes all over the base of the head, destroying it in the process. This was acknowledged by a member of staff I spoke with but the manager seems to take a different view. They returned the head to me but refused to refund me the cost of shipping the head back to them despite having been invited and advised to send it in by their staff.
At this juncture I also discovered that because of the location of the locking lever of the QR plate, one could not mount a camera with a grip ( please refer to my review ). So much for a professional tripod..... This too was reported to Premier and Vanguard so that at least, they would be aware of the issue.
To cut a long story short, Premier have said they would take back the head and issue a full refund of it but if I wanted to return the legs as well, they would not cover the cost of sending in the legs. Their reasoning for this given to me by that store manager was because it had cost them to ship the head out to me ( remember that they had given me the option of returning it in the first place ) and that in his opinion, I didn't know what I wanted!!! All I really want was a fair deal and to be treated decently which isn't too much to ask I believe, especially as I had approached them cordially.
To me this seems a poor show considering the fault was not mine and I had taken every step to ensure that affable communications with them took place. It was only when they started messing me around on the shipping which according to their own terms of business, would be covered by them on faulty items that I began to view them differently. I have sent back the head and expect a full refund for the item. As for shipping, well it was only a paltry £4 but in terms of principle, I think they have demonstrated to me that in this instance anyway, they have none. The issue may lie with this particular manager of course but I will now only buy from a really decent supplier like Morris Photo.
Sorry about the rant but thanks for listening
Keep enjoying pals
H
