I had a very frustrating day yesterday.
My DVD recorder went on the fritz 2 days out of its 12 month guarantee period (according to my supplier).
The audio sounded like a rather loud vacuum cleaner when trying to record etc.
Consequently a great deal of time was spent on the phone (mostly listening to extremely annoying music).
Let me explain (and I will get to the point ... honest).
A little over a year ago I purchased a JVC DRMV1 comined DVD recorder and VCR, got all excited but was extremely frustrated when it arrive all shiny and new and didn't work. After a long argument with the shop who siad I had to pay for it to be returned and then wait up to 2 weeks while they tested it I rejected the item, called my credit card compnay and got a full refund.
However, I like the machine and ordered another from a different supplier (that I had used before). You can imagine my frustration when that arrived with a different fault - but true to their word the machine was collected and replaced quickly.
You can imagine after 3 machines I was not a happy bunny yesterday. Ironically I have not had this machine 12 months (because the original was delivered faulty and replaced) but my
trusted supplier said they apply the guarantee period from the date the order was placed, and anyway the guarrantee was with the manufacturer. Their policy is to refuse to help from 7 days after purchase. All further support is from JVC. Great - 30 minutes of listening to pure muzak on JVCs switchboard I was told that I had been misled (in fact the company were acting illegally according to UK law) and that ALL guarantee work is undertaken via their dealer network.
Having gone round and round in circles I got absolutely no where (including not getting promised call backs from my supplier).
So why am I wittering on about this here:
BEWARE buying expensive consumer electronics online!
There are a lot of box shifters out there offering a great deal on expensive gear, but when things go wrong you cannot win an argument over the phone ....
Don't get me wrong I did my homework - I used a site that had rave reviews from satisfied customers (I was one of them from my first purchase).
The question is: Is it worth saving a few dollars/pounds but have no support, and have to use the courts to enforce guarantees!
Discuss ....
PS: Two further outcomes worth thinking about (esp. in Europe) ...
1) Lots of these internet box shifter offer a unique service - region free DVD players/recorders. You can't buy them in the shops because the manufacturers don't supply them. This means the supplier is modifying them before they left their premises. JVC pointed out to me that once this is done the warranty moves in its entirity to the supplier ... ie. the supplier has invalidated the manufacturers warranty !!!
2) I have discovered the problem with my machine. I took it apart myself and was astonished to find the DVD drive was a standard IDE/ATAPI DVD-RW drive! Having built computers I realised that a DVD that is too hot to touch is not happy. A clean of the extractor fan, and a little more ventilation (a few holes in the case) means the drive now runs cold and the machine is much happier. Some money saved - thank God from brushes and drills ...
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but the new one is already falling to bits after a few weeks (the little bits of 'trim' seem to be glued on with flour and water).