I recently purchased a canon G9 camera from Inter discount , (6wks) the camera lens locked itself during use , and will not now retract. I took the camera back to interdiscount , where i was told they will not guarantee the camera. The only thing they are prepared to do is , to return the camera to the manufacturer. If the manufacturer decides in its infinite wisdom that the camera was damaged due to my own faut, Inter discount will charge me 80chf for the priviledge of returning the camera.!! NO offer of repair, nor replacement in anyway shape or form. I was alos informed that its a comon fault with cameras with a pop out lens and that in 90% of cases the camera is returned stating that it is down to consumer misuse. I refused to sign the disclaimer at Inter Discount , and they have now refused to return the camera unless i sign the disclaimer.
So as always BUYER BEWARE you as a consumer seem to have no rights whatsoever when purchasing electrical products from the chain.
Strange. I know a guy who claims almost everything he's bought off them has come with a guarantee, and he has in fact, returned some of these things and has got either his money back or replacements.
I'll tell you whether or not that guy is me, and some details when you've cooled down a bit.
I have a full guarantee and i even purchased the extra 5 year guarantee.. with the camera... inter discoutn will not do anything with the camera unless i fisrt sign a disclaimer ...
Are you sure or is that just a *clever* salesman who does not want to handle the paperwork... any written confirmation of guarantee on your sales receipt (Hope you did keep it)?
I remember one or two posts in the past few months were people had to insist heavily and had to talk to the store manager or similar to get results... will try to see if I can find it... But do not just give up!
Keeping the product in question as a ransom until you agree to some silly text that would probably override entitlement to service under the guarantee doesn't sound too good..
MediaMarkt also does a similar thing.... So does the Apple retailers.... It seems to be the norm in this part of the world. I am not as unfortunate with my electronics as other users of this forum, but I have my fair deal of suffering with electronics. I still haven't found the perfect shop for getting my gadgets....
The catch is that the manufacturer issues the warranty, not the shop. The manufacturer will repare, replace or whatever it finds suitable. The shop is only selling, and will deflect the fault to the manufacturer .
It happens in the UK too, shops tend to send them back to the manufacturer but to be made to pay them the delivery charge to send it back if they decide it's the users fault is terrible, maybe contact Cannon direct and complain
Apologies for being off topic, I think Digitec in this respect has fulfilled all the obligations pretty well for my gadget hungry stay of 4 years in Switzerland.
OP: I definitely feel for you. Please keep us posted.
I even remember a German friend of mine complaining of a similar thing happening with him with a LCD TV, he really had to fight over the phone and then visit the shop thrice, talk to the shop manager and then the zonal manager to get it sorted, but he DID get it replaced at the end. Hoping for such a result at the end for you.
Isn't there something like a consumer court or something in Switzerland? Where disgruntled consumers might complain, and proceedings are free of charge?
I’ve been dealing with Interdiscount for 20 years and it’s normal that they give a guarantee, certainly on things like cameras. I just brought a CHF 20 memory stick and got a guarantee with it. On a couple of occasions I have had to return goods and they have repaired them promptly and without any problems.
They normally print a guarantee ticket along with the till receipt but, if you didn’t get one, I wonder why ? Was it, perhaps, a special cheap offer ?
It has been a long time but I think Canon charges a fee for looking at defective objectives and making an offer. I think it was 70.- Fr. back then. Maybe Canon has a an unreasonable warranty policy and Interdiscount is in the know or even got burnt in the past?
Could it be that what Interdiscount mean is that they do not guarantee the camera themselves but, the manufacturer does ?
Some manufacturers do make a charge for looking for the cause of the fault but you only pay this if they do not accept that the claim is due to themselves.
In the UK the Sales of Good acts makes the merchant responsible. I've no idea whether such a law exists in Switzerland. However, I understand that under British law, the retailer is responsible, as a matter of principle, to ensure that what he sells is of merchantable quality. Guarantees regardless. In Swiss law, in common with most of Europe where law is based on the Napoleonic code, it is the purchasers responsibility to ensure that what he's been sold is good.
Basel Mediamarkt I've taken loads of stuff back and never had trouble. I took at 40CHF motherboard back to steg and they insisted I sign a disclaimer. I got very stroppy (having previously spent thousands there), they backed down. The fact of the matter is, that if the manufacturer get stuff back, they just chuck it on the recyling heap. It isn't worth their while contesting.
In Switzerland buyer and seller can agree to whichever warranty they like. Therefor it's essential to know a shop's warranty but also return policy.
Reputable shops offer different warranties, too. When Digitec sold the first grey import iPhones, they gave 1-2 weeks warranty. For non-exotic goods like objectives, the warranty should be better, though.
Canon has an excellent reputation. My inlaws had a 2 year old camera that stopped focusing correctly. They called Canon and sent it in, they were given a brand new camera (new model)
You are in luck if it is a common problem. Do a search for the problem on the internet. If it is in fact is a defect, Canon is excellent at working with you for a solution (fix or replace)
I have handled warranties for Wireless + Router manufacturer in the past. You would call me, and we would deal with the problem directly, and you would have a modem replaced faster than if you returned it to the shop, and they sent it in on your behalf.
Sometimes we had a setting a customer could change to get it fixed, where he thought it was faulty, and who knows ? maybe Canon has a tip or firmware update for you as well ?
Try and call them as sugested above.
After having worked at a tech support hotline, i realized how many people should not be allowed to walk free. It is totally fair that not everybody is skilled with a computer, but when you use one, you should know, when to use left and right mouse buttoin, and not learn it when your router is "faulty". a simple instruction like "click start, then run, type CMD, and press enter" could take several minutes. and when we then asked for an "ipconfig /all" we could spend a few more minutes by explaining what a slash is. When these people fail in setting up a wireless Network, they immediately deem the equipment faulty. So I do understand, why the manufacturers insist that proper troublsehooting is done, and charge, when spending time, looking at a good unit.
Happened to me when I returned a faulty lens. I signed the disclaimer and a week and a half later I had a replacement. No cost involved.
I get the feeling that this disclamer business is normal here, and is simply to cover the shop in the event that the manufacturer determines the problem to be down to customer abuse.
You could go directly to Canon, but if they decide it's damaged you'll get a bill from them.
I'd just sign the disclamer, I doubt that it's been damaged, and you'll get a warranty repair/replacement wiithout any problem.
I wouldn't buy expensive electronic equipment at Interdiscount. I know people who have witnessed similar things. They are just salesmen, don't care too much about after-sales service. Go to shops like digitec.ch or similar for cheaper cameras and better service. Avoid Media Markt too, Saturn is supposed to be better but can't confirm from personal experience.