Stick a bleeding fork in me.... I'm done!

Its been one of those days today where nothing seems to have been going right.

I got to thinking about how when I sometimes take a picture using the GX10 DSLR of a straight edge (window for example) the image I see on the preview screen is wonky. The straight edge actually tilts clockwise slightly. In most situations I dont notice but when there's an obvious staight edge its very noticable. I always thought it was me being a bit wonky! The image always looked perfectly straight in the viewfinder though so I could never quite fathom it.

Tonight though randomly I googled the problem and found some others with the same issue. It seems that the camera (although no one could decide on exactly which bit) has a problem.

I contacted Samsung straight away but as its out of warranty (March '09) they dont want to know. I explained that its always done it (tilted) since new but I have only recently found out its the camera with the problem and not me. The girl on the phone said she cant do anything about it as I didnt contact them when it was still under warranty. Well why would I unless I thought the camera was broken? Duh.

So now I have the option of continuing to straighten pics on the PC or letting the service centre have a look (for god knows how much money). I might try a strongly worded letter to the customer services department but I doubt I'll get anywhere.

Not happy though. I dont spend £600+ and expect a wonky bit of kit.

After calming down after a frustrating day i've decided to see if Samsung have a generous nature. I've drafted a very nicely worded letter highlighting some of the points above (only just out of warranty, didnt realise the camera had a fault, others have same issue, etc). You never know they might do me a favour. I have a friend who had a problem with an out of warranty product and Consumer Direct did a good job helping him out (due to the circumstances in that case). Maybe if I cant tug on Samsungs heart-strings I'll try that route!

Moral of the story - should have bought a Canon/Nikon

Oh, Mark will have a field day with that blatant fence-sitting!

I'm hearing good things about Olympus' latest things, and some poor feedback on some of Canon's lenses, so you pays your money and takes your choice.
No doubt Nikon have a few bugs as well. Of course, the only sensible solution is to buy all of them!

Booooo! Fence-sitting! Boooooo!

So I had a phone call today from Samsung. In a nushell the response was "f**k off, its out of warranty."

Fair enough I suppose but I'm still a little annoyed that something that costs so much is faulty after two years (well, it was actually faulty from new I just didnt realise).

I gave Consumer Direct a call and they gave me some excellent advice. Apparently as I bought the camera from Argos (dont laugh, it was the cheapest place to get it at the time) it is up to them to repair or replace the camera under the Sale of Goods Act. This is completely seperate from the Samsung warranty period and they even went as far to say I'm probably better off that Samsung didnt agree to repair it.

They said the Act covers you for upto 6 years depending on the product and what would be a realistic amount of time for it to work, or should that be not break.

So now its into the shop with receipt in hand (my god Ive got no idea where the receipt is!!!) for a chat. Failing that its a letter. Failing that Consumer Direct to lend me a big fat hand with local Trading Standards.

I've always heard of the Sale of Goods Act but never understood what it was. I'm now glad I understand it a bit more.

I am amazed at what just happened.

I went to Argos with the knowledge provided to me by Comsumer Direct. Argos agreed to refund minus a 10% fee for each year I used the camera for 'usage'. If they still sold the GX10 I could have had a like for like swap but they only sell the GX20 now.

With that in mind I agreed to the refund. The camera cost 599.99 back then (although I also got £100 cash back off Samsung) but when he rung the refund through the till the 10% somehow only amounted to £46.something. That meant I got about £553 back.

I used this to purchase there and then the newer GX20 for £597, making up the difference myself. To be honest I thought this was a steal. A brand new (and better) camera almost two years later for only 46!

The thing is though when it went through the till the assitant told me theres a cash back offer until 31st July. I figured that would pay the difference I had to pay.

I was wrong.

Cash back is £100.

I cant believe it! Not only have I somehow managed to swap my 2 year old faulty camera for a newer one I'm also £50 better off!! The only downside is the GX10 came with 2 lenses and the GX20 only 1. But the one I'm missing out on in the 50-200mm and I've already got a 70-300mm so it doesnt really matter.

GX10>10.2mp>CCD
GX20>14.6mp>CMOS>Live View

lol
lol
lol

Edit - found out cash back is actually £50 not £100.

Still though......

Not a bad result all told. Good on you for sticking to your guns about it.

Now, let's see some fabulous images from this new camera of yours.