Why Panasonic sucks
I told the wastes-of-oxygen at their Texas customer service facility I'd tell everyone I could not to give them any money ever, so of course I can't forget my lj friends.
The short version is, Panasonic dented my camera while it was in for warranty repair and wants me to pay for their damage.
The long version. I got this camera last year for Christmas. I was very happy with how such nice optics fit in such a small package. A few weeks ago, I noticed that the flash wasn't working and the mode indicator dial wouldn't always register the correct position. Since the camera was still under warranty, I sent it in for repairs.
I got a call from Panasonic a week later telling me that the warranty was void because of a small dent on the camera's mode indicator dial, and since the dent was in one of my problem areas, they claimed the warranty was void. There was no dent when I sent the camera in for repairs.
Panasonic said that it is their policy to keep the packaging of any package which looks like it was damaged in shipping. They did not keep the packaging for my camera, since it had shown no signs of damage. I talked to a number of people at the post office, and they also had no record of damage. The only logical conclusion left was that the camera was damaged at Panasonic's repair facility.
Panasonic, of course, insists they do not damage cameras, and that it is not possible for a camera to be even accidentally damaged at their facility. They told me several times they would have a manager call me back to speak to me about the situation. No one ever did. Every time I called again, I was told the manager was unavailable. I got no help from anyone at their support center. I only got brushed off.
My camera had no dent when I sent it in. It was sitting untouched on a table between the last time I used it and the time I noticed it was malfunctioning. Panasonic treated my camera negligently at their facility. Now they want to charge me more than the cost of the camera to have it repaired, when it should still be under warranty.
Panasonic sold me an unreliable product, damaged it further instead of repairing it, and gave me terrible customer service. I will never buy any product or service from them again, and I encourage you to avoid them as well.
The short version is, Panasonic dented my camera while it was in for warranty repair and wants me to pay for their damage.
The long version. I got this camera last year for Christmas. I was very happy with how such nice optics fit in such a small package. A few weeks ago, I noticed that the flash wasn't working and the mode indicator dial wouldn't always register the correct position. Since the camera was still under warranty, I sent it in for repairs.
I got a call from Panasonic a week later telling me that the warranty was void because of a small dent on the camera's mode indicator dial, and since the dent was in one of my problem areas, they claimed the warranty was void. There was no dent when I sent the camera in for repairs.
Panasonic said that it is their policy to keep the packaging of any package which looks like it was damaged in shipping. They did not keep the packaging for my camera, since it had shown no signs of damage. I talked to a number of people at the post office, and they also had no record of damage. The only logical conclusion left was that the camera was damaged at Panasonic's repair facility.
Panasonic, of course, insists they do not damage cameras, and that it is not possible for a camera to be even accidentally damaged at their facility. They told me several times they would have a manager call me back to speak to me about the situation. No one ever did. Every time I called again, I was told the manager was unavailable. I got no help from anyone at their support center. I only got brushed off.
My camera had no dent when I sent it in. It was sitting untouched on a table between the last time I used it and the time I noticed it was malfunctioning. Panasonic treated my camera negligently at their facility. Now they want to charge me more than the cost of the camera to have it repaired, when it should still be under warranty.
Panasonic sold me an unreliable product, damaged it further instead of repairing it, and gave me terrible customer service. I will never buy any product or service from them again, and I encourage you to avoid them as well.