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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think a £180 Canon camera should last more than 18 months

25 replies

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 12:19

I've been really disappointed with John Lewis' customer service this week. I bought a Canon £180 camera 18 months ago. I bought the camera from John Lewis as I thought that they would be helpful in the event of any problem. I've looked after my camera and kept it in a case even though no case was supplied with the camera. So after 18 months my camera has stopped working with a lens error. John lewis are offering to get repaired at a cost of £120. Anyone would expect a £180 camera to last more that 18 months. A digital camera is not a disposable item.
Very disappointed with with level of customer service and thinking of taking the matter to trading standards as the camera clearly was not of a good enough quality in the first place if its only durable enough to last 18 months

Am I being unreasonable

OP posts:

ashamedandconfused · 27/05/2011 12:21

been anywhere dusty /sandy?

sand in the lens is a very common problem and we have lost 2 cameras in 2 years this way - but we dont want to NOT take them on family days to the beach!

Original poster

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 12:23

Yes we have been to the beach, bit surely for a family camera this is a fairly normal activity. We always keep it in case when we are not using it and don't let the children use it at all.

OP posts:

ashamedandconfused · 27/05/2011 12:28

I knew it. so many of our friends have also had this and the response from repairers and manufacturers has always been "thats the problem with retractable lenses"

when the last one broke we tried to google "sand in lens" to see if we could repair it ourselves - there were 100s of people asking the same Q all over the net being told, no, its tough!

buy a cheaper one next time or without a moving lens.

its a bugger though and I am sympathetic!

Original poster

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 12:30

I'm so annoyed. I admit that with previous cameras we haven't looked after them, but because of that with this one we really have been careful with it. I don't thinly its good enough. Cameras should be able to withstand normal everyday use.

OP posts:

Pandemoniaa · 27/05/2011 12:38

At £180 you've still got a relatively cheap camera though and I've never found Canons to be very robust. I'm afraid that sand isn't usually classified as "normal everyday use" either. Not helpful I realise but next time you buy a camera, it's worth Googling up any potential problems before committing yourself. If there are issues with retractable lenses (and there often are) choose another model or consider buying a real cheapie to take to the beach.

I'm not unsympathetic either but do speak as someone who managed to wreck £250 worth of almost new Panasonic by aiming at a firework display and collecting the tiny debris as a result and I'm supposed to know what I'm doing with a camera.

Original poster

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 12:41

Yes but £180 IS a lot of money. A camera shouldn't be a disposable object.

OP posts:

BelovedCunt · 27/05/2011 12:49

you should have taken out extended warranty if you wanted this level of after care.

cuttingpicassostoenails · 27/05/2011 12:52

I was bought a Sony camera...£400 two years ago. The lens refused to pull in after 6 months. It had hardly been used and never anywhere near sand, grit etc. It was repaired under guarrantee but broke down again seven momths later.

Sony refused to do a free repair even though it was a repeat fault. The camera shop (our local branch of London Camera Exchange) paid for the repair.
Apparently this is a common fault and Sony have now changed the design.

The shop were excellent and the repair has a six month guarrantee on it. They say there should be no more problems but to get back to them if there are.

We are regular customers at LCE and have never had any complaints about their service.

WowOoo · 27/05/2011 12:54

If you've been to the beach, that's probably it.

Why not get in touch with Canon? They may fix it more cheaply.

The same thing happened with a Nikon of mine. I was annoyed but admitted that something must have got into lens on the beach. Mine was fixed free under warranty.

Decent cameras have better lenses that just won't work when there's dust or a grain of sand on them. I know it's a lot of money but it's not a fault with the camera IYSWIM. A cheaper one might not have stopped working but your pic quality qould have been much poorer.

Original poster

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 12:57

The office of fair trading says extended warranties are a con. Just spoke to consumer direct and they de to think its worth taking further.

OP posts:

WowOoo · 27/05/2011 13:00

I don't bother with extended either.
I stupidly wanted to take pics of these fantastic waves. Beach on windy day with new fancy camera?! I really have no brain.

It's got to be worth a try. As far as I know both Canon and Nikon have good customer relations and might want to fix it free to keep your loyalty.
I still think they make the best cameras. Hope you get it sorted soon.

Original poster

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 13:13

Jl have given me a loan camera. Bet they'd soon be in contact if I didn't take that back.
I think a camera should be able to withstand a trip to the beach, if it was looked after, which it was.

OP posts:

Bucharest · 27/05/2011 13:18

It's not JL fault though is it?

Canon are shite.

JL (where I buy everything, told me that that only Olympus are worth paying anything below £500 for...ie if you're on a budget but want something decent.) Dd has a Canon, but only because she's 7 and it'sher first real camera and cost me £40 from Argos

I had a Canon printer that never worked after the first time I changed the cartridge. (swear by Epson now)

Original poster

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 13:32

Yes but my contract of sale is with Jl as they are retailer. It is their fault if they sell me something faulty, that's how the law sees it.

OP posts:

ccpccp · 27/05/2011 13:54

12 months warranty is more than enough on a 180 quid camera.

You should have bought the 3 year warranty from John Lewis and it would have been replaced. John Lewis warranty is one of the best out there.

You didnt because you gambled that the camera would continue to work well past 12 months. Unfortunately it didnt because you buried it in the sand.

If they fix it, its because you are throwing your toys out of the pram and not because you have been conned in some way.

Original poster

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 14:21

I didnt bury it in the sand. I took it to the beach where it was either in my hand or in its case. The extended warranty is the kind of scam I'd expect from argos, not jl. If I'd wanted shitty customer service I'd have bought it 50 quid cheaper from some shop that wouldn't still be there on the internet.

OP posts:

squeakytoy · 27/05/2011 15:07

Canon cameras are most certainly not shite!

ccpccp · 27/05/2011 15:14

Extended warranty is a scam right up to the point you need to claim on it. Which you do.

I think you are being a bit unfair on JL. They have the best customer service and genuinely do want people to be happy, but paying for the cost of a repair when the camera is out of warranty (i.e. is no longer insured for repairs/replacement) is asking them to pay the repair on your behalf. Theres customer service and theres being taken for suckers.

Sell it on ebay with 'spares or repair - lense is jammed but probably easy to fix'. It'll go for 100 quid or so if you still have the instructions etc, as some people fix these things at home. Then use the money to buy a disposable plastic camera with a 5 year warranty.

BelovedCunt · 27/05/2011 15:49

i have had our canon camera at the beach millions of times and no harm has come to it.

Original poster

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 16:57

Thank you, beloved cunt, for making my point. My camera IS faulty as a non faulty camera wouldn't fail after a trip to the beach.

OP posts:

Andrewofgg · 27/05/2011 17:02

If you are getting error E18 google Canon E18 - there are class actions being brought in the USA and you may be able to get in on the act.

Original poster

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 17:30

Sadly just said lens error, but good to know its a common Canon problem.

OP posts:

Hulababy · 27/05/2011 17:42

Canon cameras are normally very good but the digital compacts do sometimes have a lens issue if not cared for fully. Had it happen to me bug after 2+ years. I simply replaced mine.

Contact canon direct and see what they say. But a free replacement is unlikely after 18m.

Have always had canon and really rate them for cameras. Currently have 2 - an ixus and an SLR, plus dd has a now 5yo canon power shot. All fab.

Original poster

CliffTumble · 27/05/2011 19:21

The photo quality is excellent, that's one of the reasons I'm so disappointed! I'd like to reiterate that I did look after this camera properly. It's a bit difficult to take photos however if the camera is still in its case.

OP posts:

Original poster

CliffTumble · 12/06/2011 19:12

Canon have admitted its a manufacturing fault and repaired free of charge. I posted on john Lewis' Facebook wall and emailed the chief executive to get things moving. Really pleased.

OP posts:

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