Cameras not sourced from the UK?

[Deleted User]

Hi,

I'm interested in buying a Panasonic Lumix Camera from a company I've found online - ukdigitalcameras.co.uk. They appear to have very high customer satisfaction rates in all the online ratings and testimonials I've found, and have also been praised by some MSE members in these forums.

The camera I want is around £20.00 cheaper at ukdigitalcameras.co.uk than if I bought direct from Amazon, and has an extra year's warranty.

I e-mailed them to ask them if their cameras were UK spec with a UK Panasonic warranty as I always thought non-UK spec was something to be avoided for after-sales reasons on repairs and/or warranty. They've replied to say their Panasonic cameras aren't sourced from Panasonic UK, but do come with English manuals, UK plugs and a 2 year UK warranty.

Should I stick with Amazon and pay the extra, or should I go with the cheaper ukdigitalcameras.co.uk offer with it's extra year's warranty?

Any advice would be gratefully received!

[Deleted User]

I think I may have answered my own question....

Have found another forum where someone has said that under UK consumer law it's always the supplier, not the manufacturer, who is responsible for handling the repair or replacement of faulty goods, yet ukdigitalcameras.co.uk tell you that if your camera develops a fault within the first year, you need to return it to the manufacturer as they cover the first year of the warranty...

Hmmnn...the Amazon deal is now looking more rosy...

rwcharles

Hi Jammy1 - I wanted to buy a Panasonic camera from uk digitalcameras so rang them to ask about the warranty. They said that if it goes faulty in the first year I can send it back to them for repair no problem - it's just that they have an authorised panasonic repair agent they recommend who will collect the camera from me in the event of a repair. This is much quicker than sending it back to uk digitalcameras who then forward it on to the agent who send it back to them who would then send it back to me.

I placed my order yesterday (for a Lumix TZ5 - the one advertised on TV) at 4pm through their website, had an email saying they'd dispatched it at 5:30pm and the postman has just delivered it! You can't get quicker than that!

[Deleted User]

Many thanks rwcharles, and great minds obviously think alike as it's the TZ5 I'm also going for! :beer:

I so very nearly joined you yesterday in purchasing from ukdigitalcameras.co.uk. Their transaction and delivery service is clearly excellent, and I found their website impressive. My understanding after speaking to Panasonic UK was the same as yours - Panasonic UK cover the first year's warranty on eligible Panasonic products, so there isn't a problem contacting them direct during the first year should a fault arise, for them to arrange a repair.

However......I further understood from Panasonic UK that not all their cameras are eligible for UK, European or Worldwide warranties. I gathered from them that if the letters after the model name were either 'E'or 'EB' that would mean they were sourced in Europe and their warranty would be valid in the UK.

I went back to ukdigitalcameras.co.uk to ask about the full model numbers of their current TZ5's, hoping for an 'E' or 'EB' and they said they come with a 'P'.

Went back to Panasonic UK who told me their cameras with a 'P' are from the USA and wouldn't be covered by their UK warranty!

E-mailed ukdigitalcameras.co.uk and asked how they could claim that if the camera develops a fault within the first year, you need to return it to the relevant manufacturer as it is they that cover the first year of the warranty???

Interestingly they replied to my previous e-mails under their target of within 2 working hours: Mon to Fri, 9:30am to 5:30pm. Nevertheless 6 of those working hours on today, they have yet to reply to this last query over their warranty wording...! :huh:

One would hope the new camera would be fault-free, but I personally don't want to take the risk of Panasonic UK refusing to cover it should a fault develop during the first year. Have therefore reluctantly played safe and paid the extra £20 to buy from Amazon.

I would strongly advise anyone to check the full model number of any online Panasonic camera purchase, to make sure it will be covered by Panasonic UK in the event of a fault developing during the first 12 months!

rwcharles

That's fair enough although to be honest I'm sure that if there were any issues ukdc would look after me having seen their feedback on quite a few sites (e.g. pricerunner and kelkoo) where they don't have a single negative comment. Also, it did come with UK plugs, english manual and details on their 2 year warranty.

It's a great camera - I'm really pleased with it. I had the Panasonic TZ3 (the previous model) but that came to an end after a fall from a table! It's pretty much the same spec with the wide angle and 10x zoom but it seems to have an updated and quicker on camera menu. I think the shutter lag has been improved so there's an even smaller delay when taking pictures. I can highly recommend it.

rwcharles

Jammy1 - let me know what you make of it when you get it...

[Deleted User]

rwcharles wrote: »

Jammy1 - let me know what you make of it when you get it...

Will do! I did a fair amount of research before deciding on the TZ5 and am so looking forward to using it! Good to hear you are happy with yours!!:j

Yes, I was really disappointed to feel unable to buy from ukdigitalcameras.co.uk in the end. I too found no negative feedback on them and their service appeared excellent. Nevertheless without this becoming too much of a saga I'd better update matters.

I had an e-mail from them late this afternoon where they said that with a copy of my original invoice Panasonic UK would accept the first year of the warranty. I contacted Panasonic UK once more hoping to report back here that the matter was solved, but Panasonic UK appeared to dispute ukdigitalcameras.co.uk's statement entirely!

In case this helps others ask the right questions when buying goods under similar circumstances, this is my understanding of what Panasonic UK told me this afternoon:

1. If ukdigitalcameras.co.uk sell a customer a Panasonic model with the letter 'P' sourced in the USA, it will have no UK warranty, it will have a USA warranty. Panasonic UK do not cover the repair of goods covered under a Panasonic USA warranty. Apparently the original UK invoice wouldn't make a difference as the customer's rights would be no different to going over to the States on holiday, buying a camera there and bringing it back to the UK.

2. If the 'P' model did go wrong, depending on the fault, it may be possible for it to repaired in the UK. However there would be a remote possibility, if an American component was at fault - should there be any USA specific software say, that wasn't available here/couldn't be replaced with a similar UK/European part - it might need to be sourced from the USA.. This could possibly result in the customer being without the camera for a lot longer than normal while parts were sourced from the USA before the repair could be completed here. Even so, if the 'P' model was being repaired in the UK, the repair would apparently have to be paid for by the customer as Panasonic UK do not cover the repair of goods covered under a Panasonic USA warranty. .

3. The customer could send the 'P' model to the USA to be fixed under its Panasonic USA warranty by an authorised Panasonic USA repairer, but the customer would apparently have to pay for all the postage costs.

4. The following was mentioned in passing about some USA goods - that to play back visuals from some American equipment you need a NTSC compatible TV and most UK TVs use PAL. I don't know if that is relevant to the TZ5 when playing back the HD video through a TV?

Sadly only something in writing from Panasonic UK verifying they would cover the first 12 month's warranty on a 'P' model would make me consider buying one from ukdigitalcameras.co.uk another time.

I genuinely hope they resolve this somehow for the sake of any customers unfortunate enough to need a repair under warranty.

:cool: rwcharles - will let you know how I fare with the TZ5 anon!

samams

Hi jammy1 - just thought I'd chip in by saying that I had a Panasonic TZ3 bought from camera box around a year ago. It was also not sourced from the UK but did come with english manuals, uk plugs etc. After 6 months the lens no longer came out so I contacted them to find out how to get a repair. I rang the repair agent they recommended (they were an authorised Panasonic repair agent) who collected it the next day, and returned it to me fixed 10 days later. I've not had a problem with it since. :beer:

I'm jealous you've got the new version the TZ5, although I've been very pleased with my TZ3. :rolleyes:

[Deleted User]

Hi samams! Great to hear you've been pleased with your Panasonic TZ3 along with rwcharles ! I'm ashamed to say I've been using a very basic 1.3 megapixels digital camera which is several years old and simply eats batteries, so I'm sure looking forward to the TZ5! I'm looking forward to the results with the 9.1 megapixels and dying to use the 10x zoom! :j

Sorry to hear you had problems 6 months in, but really glad you had a pain-free camera repair experience, that was covered under warranty!

It's good that ukdigitalcameras.co.uk have come back to me this morning apologising for the delay in getting back to me yesterday due to a couple of staff being off sick which I totally understand. These things happen. They also confirmed that the cameras offer both PAL and NTSC so that's excellent.

I'm also pleased to report they say they will be speaking to Panasonic UK about what they advise on the warranty issue and again I genuinely hope that the matter can be resolved, as on all other fronts their customers including rwcharles appear extremely happy with the service they provide and of course their competitive prices.

[Deleted User]

FYI
ukdigitalcameras.co.uk have just come back again to say they know there is no issue with the warranty as their customers have had Panasonic items repaired without issue. They also said in the unlikely event there was an issue they would cover the cost of a repair, although they've never had to do this. They will still speak to Panasonic to try and resolve this.

[Deleted User]

Just a say to samams and rwcharles how much I love my new TZ5!!!! :T
I unpacked it on Fri eve when I got home and was using it the next morning up in London using the iA mode, as I hadn’t had time to read up on the rest. It was easy to use, the pictures were brilliant in both clarity and colour, the zoom was excellent and the transfer to my PC was totally straightforward! Even though there are thinner cameras on the market it’s still small enough for me. I just need to get used to not having a viewfinder, as I didn’t quite get the hang of it in time to catch the Red Devils and other planes flying over us on their way to the Trooping the Colour ceremony, but I’m sure that will come pretty quickly. I’d highly recommend it to others and can’t wait to play more with it anon!! :j