Consumer guarantees act for a camera (Sony RX100)

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daveprice

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#240589 15-Sep-2018 13:49

I'm trying to find any information on "reasonable time" of coverage under the consumer guarantees act, and if anyone has had any dealings on this topic for a point and shoot camera? My father bought a Sony RX100 and returned it with a long list of problems just under three years after purchasing it. They said they could repair it, but it was not covered, and said they would charge full cost to fix. The camera already had been repaired under warranty (which took 2 months). They have offered him 25% of a new camera, but considering Sony's full RRP$ this would be the same as buying on sale (his version is now quite reasonable). I know portable items like this wouldn't be expected to have a huge life coverage, but less than three years doesn't seem fair for an item that costs this much. The ombudsman does not usually publish outcomes in rulings, but if anyone has been through this it would help, even if it's not what we want to hear!

Thanks in advance

andrewNZ

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#2091088 15-Sep-2018 14:11

I think that to some extent, it might depend on what the issues are.

3 years isn't great, but it depends on how it's been used and treated.
Little cameras typically get a pretty rough time.

daveprice

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#2091090 15-Sep-2018 14:23

Mostly electrical/connection issues. Turns off in use, won't turn on, screen flickers or doesn't come on. The flash has completely stopped working about two months before the latest issues. Camera has been used a bit, with reasonable care taken and case used.

Lias

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#2091139 15-Sep-2018 16:28

Consumer says

Cameras
Economic life: 3-7 years (compact and CSC) 3-10 years (DSLR)
Life expectancy: 5-10 years

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timmmay

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#2091166 15-Sep-2018 17:38

Three years is pushing it IMHO, though it depends on the problem. What exactly is wrong with it?

fishb8

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#2091205 15-Sep-2018 18:57

Bought Sept 2115.

At 13 months, camera camera just stopped - wouldn't start.

Sony accepted it as a warranty and had a MCB replacement.

This year, flash went pop and stopped working.

Display started flicking to upside down, then back again - a real pita

Started playing up on start-up - sometimes took 30 minutes to get going - would sometimes start by itself.

The pop-up viewer (while viewing screen flickering) doesn't work all the time. Never normally use it but while viewfinder is playing silly buggers it could be useful.

Great camera but way too unreliable - it's not a cheap camera so expect better than it's performed.

fishb8

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#2091206 15-Sep-2018 18:57

Bought Sept 2115.

At 13 months, camera camera just stopped - wouldn't start.

Sony accepted it as a warranty and had a MCB replacement.

This year, flash went pop and stopped working.

Display started flicking to upside down, then back again - a real pita

Started playing up on start-up - sometimes took 30 minutes to get going - would sometimes start by itself.

The pop-up viewer (while viewing screen flickering) doesn't work all the time. Never normally use it but while viewfinder is playing silly buggers it could be useful.

Great camera but way too unreliable - it's not a cheap camera so expect better than it's performed.

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#2091208 15-Sep-2018 19:05

Time traveling Camera 2115

John

timmmay

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#2091249 15-Sep-2018 20:15

In this case I would expect it to be at least inspected under warranty. I have an RX100 v1, probably 5 years old, it's been flawless.

andrewNZ

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#2091268 15-Sep-2018 22:26

What's Sony like to deal with directly in NZ?
Are they likely to be sympathetic?

surfisup1000

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#2091276 15-Sep-2018 22:58

This is a premium camera with a high end price.

Assuming you'd cared for it, I'm almost sure you'll be covered under the CGA. Unless there is some mechanical or sand/dust damage.

daveprice

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#2091395 16-Sep-2018 11:47

So Sony NZ have come back with an offer for "labour only" repair. Dad will wait for an estimate before making up his mind. Do you think this is good customer service, or a slight acknowledgement that they wouldn't win if taken further? Thanks for all your opinions so far.

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Jogre

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#2094358 21-Sep-2018 09:57

I had a massive battle with LG over a TV and ended up doing a fair amount of CGA research and one of the key tests for CGA is whether you would have purchased an expensive item knowing it was going to fail in an unreasonable time frame. If CGA says between 3-7 years is a reasonable life-time, just refer Sony to that and state that you wouldn't have purchased the camera if you'd known it was going to have such issues.

LG came through and ended up telling the repair vendor to replace picture unit (primary fault was with the backlight but the backlight and picture panel was a single unit that costs more to replace than the entire TV) which was fantastic, although repair vendor was a mite petty and left big handprints between the picture panel and the screen.

As an aside, I was really interested in getting an A7R2 as Canon 6D2 was taking so long to get announced/released but I had an Xperia Z1 and found that the hardware was great, but support from Sony was well below par.

Jono Green

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sxz

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#2094374 21-Sep-2018 10:38

Assuming its not caused by your damage, then yes, I think it should be repaired.

Two key points that came through from a recent CGA disputes tribunal hearing I went through:

1. Mobile devices are designed to be mobile, and so need to be sufficiently durable. Clearly this applies to cameras, which are obviously intended to be used out and about and carried around.

2. A key part of the CGA warranties is having regard to price. The more you pay, the better (and longer) it should perform.

As an aside, I have a nearly 10 year old Cannon 500d DSLR that's been around the world with me and not treated particularly well. It's been flawless. I would expect your camera to be flawless after 3 years (unless you drop it, put it in water, etc.)