Panasonic & John Lewis receipt farce

wealdroam

OP, if you want the thing repaired under the manufacturer's warranty, then you need to conform to their terms... i.e. provide the receipt.

However, a manufacturer's warranty is in addition to your statutory rights.

Under Sale of Goods Act, your contract is with the retailer.
If a fault has appeared, perhaps you should go back to JL and ask them to fix it.
After six months it is for you to prove that the fault is/was inherent... i.e. the fault existed at the time of sale.... but that may not be necessary.

Once that is agreed, JL have to offer a remedy, which can be either refund, repair or replacement. A refund could be a partial refund, taking account of the use you have had of the thing.

I would forget about the manufacturer's warranty if you cannot find the receipt.

Horseunderwater

Last time I had a problem with JL group, they used to say they gave a no quibble guarantee for 2 years from purchase date, so all that is needed, is something showing that you bought it from them on that date. Mine was a food processor, which blew up after 4 weeks using it. The 2nd time it was a new PC system that failed to power up and it was only when we looked inside the packaging that we discovered it had already been returned to base for same problem. Goods were rejected and we got a full refund. And companies have to keep sales records for at least 6 years, so this can be traced by them, it is nonsense to say it cannot. Poor staff training. I have heard many excuses over the years, but I know my rights and go armed, just in case. Hope that you can get it sorted.

Horseunderwater

Oh and I should add that it too was the Cambridge store, so it seems they are still at it.

wealdroam

Horseunderwater wrote: »

And companies have to keep sales records for at least 6 years...

Do they?

I didn't know that. Thanks.

Can you please provide a link supporting that?

visidigi

wealdroam wrote:

Do they?

I didn't know that. Thanks.

Can you please provide a link supporting that?

Its a VAT requirement which replies on a stupid amount of varibles which means its not a reliable condition. For example, if there are storage issues in keeping records HMRC may allow you to store less...which makes a mockery of trying to say its a set in stone requirement.

More information available here...

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/managing/returns-accounts/accounts.htm

vyle

lunavega wrote: »

On December 20th 2010 my wife bought a Panasonic digital camera from John Lewis, Cambridge as a Christmas present for me. She paid for it on her bank debit card and got a till receipt but no guarantee reference documentation even though it cost over £280, so therefore it was not registered on the John Lewis customer database system (as I believe it should have been).
The camera has now developed an intermittent fault which doesn`t stop it working but causes the lens cover to stick half open allowing photos to be taken but only through a narrow slit.
The camera is still within the Panasonic 1 year warranty period but, unfortunately, we cannot find the sales receipt.

From buying stuff in the past, they don't register (or require items to be registered) into a database. You keep the receipt, and if you lose it, tough. Only products that are collected are registered (like a big tv or a computer).

Your problem is that you're trying to claim UNDER WARRANTY, so if the warranty requires the receipt and YOU lost it, then you can't claim under warranty. That is your fault.

A shop isn't obliged to clean up after your carelessness.

However, if you wish to pursue the SOGA, then all you need is some form of proof of purchase. However, you also need to get an engineer's report to prove that the camera is faulty/that it isn't wear and tear etc.

In fact, looking in my receipts file, there doesn't seem to be any evidence of a JL warranty database, only a delivery/collection reference for my TV, PC and laptops. My cameras were all standard "take to the till" jobbies and weren't registered anywhere.

I'm presuming the data protection thing is that stores won't locally hold transaction details in a way that is accessible to bog standard staff for longer than 6 months. I know that where I work, I certainly can't magically pull up somebody's personal sales history.

You really need to make up your mind, though, if you are going to try and claim under warranty, or under the SOGA, because their requirements aren't interchangeable, and as cross as you may be, remember:

YOU lost the receipt. Not panasonic, or John Lewis... hell, not even Currys is to blame, this time, which makes a nice change.

CoolHotCold

vyle wrote: »

From buying stuff in the past, they don't register (or require items to be registered) into a database. You keep the receipt, and if you lose it, tough. Only products that are collected are registered (like a big tv or a computer).

The company will have a copy of the receipt the staff either can't be bothered or lack understanding on how to retrieve the receipt details.

Secondly, the shop isn't legally required to provide a receipt.

Third, you only require proof of purchase when claiming against the retailer under the SoGA.

vyle

CoolHotCold wrote: »

The company will have a copy of the receipt the staff either can't be bothered or lack understanding on how to retrieve the receipt details.

Or normal staff don't have access? Or they're sent off to wherever their finance office is? A few years ago, I decided to be nice and see if I could find receipt details for a "customer" (inverted commas because they had no proof of purchase) for similar reasons. They had a rough date of when they would have purchased it, and a card number. So off I trotted to find details.

What people don't understand is there are so many transactions that it can take 5 minutes to find the details if you know the exact date, time, and have a card number, and that's in a small-ish shop, and after I'd begged security to do a search.

This person had a wide date range, so 20 minutes later, I emerged to find the customer complaining to my manager, demanding compensation because I was supposedly cloning her card.

Dumb !!!!! lost her receipt, then when I agreed to search for it on the system she complained... and she'd given the wrong dates anyway. So I can completely understand if shops have a policy not to do so, because it's time consuming, thankless, and is only required when the claimant has been careless, if they did, indeed, buy it in the first place.

The warranty is in addition to their rights, so if they lose the receipt, that's their own fault. Much like if I bought a train ticket, then lost it half way through my journey, I couldn't go "well I did buy it, but I lost it. let me ride anyway."

CoolHotCold wrote: »

Third, you only require proof of purchase when claiming against the retailer under the SoGA.

That's what I said:

Your problem is that you're trying to claim UNDER WARRANTY, so if the warranty requires the receipt and YOU lost it, then you can't claim under warranty.

[...]

However, if you wish to pursue the SOGA, then all you need is some form of proof of purchase. However, you also need to get an engineer's report to prove that the camera is faulty/that it isn't wear and tear etc.

agrinnall

I had a similar problem with my Panasonic camera (out of warranty), I found a camera repairer online (Newark Video Services) and they fixed it for £58, so if you hit a brick wall with JL and Panasonic there is at least a way of getting your camera working again. You could also consider using someone like that if you want to get a report in order to make a SOGA claim.

visidigi

yes, but just because its under warranty does not mean the OP cannot claim under the SoGA - the OP wants a camera that works, either SoGA or Warranty repair will do - if they dont have the receipt then they can use proof of purchase with JL to have JL resolve the issue - be that a repair, replacement or refund - the OP has a right to claim under SoGA as the camera is no longer fit for purpose.