No light at the end of the tunner : Panasonic Z1 woes :-(

[StanleyAV]

Just an update on this one folks. After complaining go their European CEO Laurent Abadie,
I have been directed to one Derek Blake of Legal and Int'l Affairs. Doesn't exactly sound like
a customer service guy does it? :roll:

At first he was directing me to a local service centre, as if somehow this is 'business as usual'
- beggars belief this! I made it clear all along that this was a fault that couldn't be repaired.

I did as he requested and my local service centre (who is the main one in the south) said I
should go for a refund off my dealer as I would not be happy with a repair. Hmmmm

I reiterated to Mr Blake how their technical team know all about this issue : it has already
been investigated (for Mr King who posted on an earlier thread of mine on WHF forum).
He has scheduled a meeting with them last week and that is the last I have heard from him.

The main reason I am persuing Panasonic directly, is that I am seeking an exchange
of goods : this would minimise the inconvenience to me, if a local dealer swapped my
inherently defective TV out for a new one.

There is actually more work involved returning Z1 to my original dealer (in Slough) because
I don't have all the shipping material after 11 months of problematic ownership. I have
approached my dealer, he is unwilling to do an exchange of TV, even with a differential cost applied
for another model. He has offered a refund, although returning the goods isn't straightforward!!

I feel very much stuck between a rock and a hard place here. I will very upset if all Panasonic
offers me is a refund, this doesn't compensate me for all the aggravation I have had over the
last year, and it is not a simple matter to return goods to the dealer of origin!!

I hope that Clare is still talking to me?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Yes I am! Glad you've officially been offered a refund; as I have said many times before, I would take it and reconsider all your options.

 

[bigboss]

What shipping material have you misplaced?

You can simply buy a box & pack your TV in it. You don't necessarily have to return the original box the TV came in.

Check this: http://www.packing-boxes.com/. There are some TV boxes if you scroll down.

I would just take a refund & look elsewhere. Obviously the dealer doesn't want to sell any other TV to you. Buy your next TV from John Lewis or Richer Sounds.

 

[laserman16]

I would just take a refund & look elsewhere. Obviously the dealer doesn't want to sell any other TV to you. Buy your next TV from John Lewis or Richer Sounds.

Yes, time to cut and run I would think.

 

[micks_address]

think you are doing well to get a full refund.. chances are you paid more for the z1 than a new vt30 will set you back.. and they are out a while now, so i imagine will only be reducing in price.. might be hard to 'stomach' another panasonic but might be hard to find an alternative you are happy with..

 

[Oldboy]

StanleyAV,

I have to agree with everyone else here that it's time to cut your losses and take the refund that has been offered despite the difficulties in returning the tv to your dealer. I know it's not ideal or indeed what you wanted but to have got this far and not take the full refund would be a mistake imo, you can at least start again and get another tv from a better retailer (i can fully recommend Richer Sounds, simply outstanding customer service) in the safe knowledge that any further issues will be handled far better than this one.

I think for the sake of the issues in returning the tv it will be be the best outcome you will get as your contact with Panasonic has shown that they are unlikely to offer you the resolution you would like. If it was me all i can say is that i would return the tv and get the refund no matter what the problems with returning it may be, they are all problems you can overcome and i doubt the packaging would be a huge issue if you told the retailer the problem with the box/shipping materials.

Regards,

Oldboy.

 

[StanleyAV]

A final update on this saga. At the end of March 2012 I was told by Panasonic UK, an
alternative TV set could not be sourced, and a time limited refund was on offer.
I duly replied arguing for an exchange before resorting to the refund offer.

I was expecting a response. For over a month and half, no replies or calls from Panasonic
despite many emails, and formal letters. Nobody was talking/responding with me, why??

I received a curt response on 4th May, stating the offer was withdrawn because
there was no acceptance within their deadline.

Nobody from Panasonic replied to me within the deadline to conclude this matter, by default
they have removed their offer - rather than speak with me. :silenced:

I know one other What Hifi reader, Mr King, achieved a refund from Panasonic UK : but not without
a huge battle with Keith Evans MD. I have been told that senior management does not wish
to give me a refund.

As a last resort, I approached my dealer - who had originally offered a refund - he felt he could
no longer honour this because of the time elapsed since the refund was offered : over 8 months
wasted at Panasonic waiting for a warranty resolution; not all of this down to me either!

He even said that because of the elapsed time, I would not even recover the full cost, if I took
this matter to court. He was at a loss because he could not fully help me, after all this time.

I am left with a partially functioning TV, that will at its whim, sometimes replay movies/dramas
correctly, and more often than not, go into flashing fits because of bad software and bad
design (tuner box).

This is a PANASONIC TV, a 'broken' PANASONIC TV.

 

[Oldboy]

A sad end to the saga then....you must be kicking yourself that you never took the refund that was offered by your retailer. I still can't understand why you insisted on an exchange when a full refund was offered to you 8-10 months ago, if that was me i would have taken the refund and bought another tv rather than persue Panasonic for an exchange that you never got in the end either.

For Panasonic to offer a refund and then not give it to you must give you grounds for legal action, provided you have that offer in writing and have kept all copies of correspondence to them about accepting the offer i would file a claim in the small claims court as that would seem your only option now. For the sake of £50 i would do it as i can't see any other way of you getting a resolution now i'm afraid and let's face it, it's not as if you could sell the tv for a loss and get something else.

It's not an ideal solution i know but it's either that or just swallow the loss and buy a new tv and start again.