Panasonic TXP50GT30 and the Blinking LED of death!

[MrW]

OK, so not mine, but a friends

TV is 20 months old, and as of yesterday it will not turn on, the standby LED blinks 7 times and goes off.

A quick google, and it's one of 2 boards that 'may' have gone wrong

I've suggested he 'tries' Panasonic (but many of us on here know that that will probably result in nothing) on the EU 2 year guarantee thing.

Otherwise, can anyone recommend a decent TV repair firm based in Essex?

He's had no other issues with it, and it would seem a shame to write it off after such a short period of time

 

[BenLaw]

I don't think even panasonic could suggest that an inability to be switched on was 'within spec'.

 

[davidvann]

hi mrw,a good repair company is called gwynne tv tel:0845 6340293 they are very good the put my pioneer straight very professional.they are based in braintree but cover all of essex i beleive.good luck david

 

[MrW]

I don't think even panasonic could suggest that an inability to be switched on was 'within spec'.

I'm prepared to take bets on this!!

 

[MrW]

hi mrw,a good repair company is called gwynne tv tel:0845 6340293 they are very good the put my pioneer straight very professional.they are based in braintree but cover all of essex i beleive.good luck david

Thanks David

Braintree is perfect!

 

[davidvann]

hi mrw ,let us know how you get on.david

 

[Oldboy]

That's up to Panasonic to fix and at just 20 months old I wouldn't be prepared to pay the repair bill, I know we have all gone through hell with them but this is an obvious fault that they should repair free of charge and that's the route I would choose before thinking about a repair company.

If you do go down that route I would send Panasonic the bill for repair though as there is no way on earth they can say this is within spec.

 

[MrW]

That's up to Panasonic to fix and at just 20 months old I wouldn't be prepared to pay the repair bill, I know we have all gone through hell with them but this is an obvious fault that they should repair free of charge and that's the route I would choose before thinking about a repair company.

If you do go down that route I would send Panasonic the bill for repair though as there is no way on earth they can say this is within spec.

Thats what I have told him Oldboy. How can Panasonic seriously expect a £1200 TV to last only 20 months. He's single, and only uses the TV in the evenings, so it probably hasn't even clocked up that many hours!

A PDP is 'expected' to last for 100,000 hours, and whilst this isn't guaranteed, you'd expect it to last longer than it has

As I said, I've armed him with the EU 2 year legislation to quote, and Panasonic's number to call

The TV was bought from Comet about 8 weeks before they went pop, so he can't go back to them

In my opinion, this is a no brainer for Panasonic UK, but I can't help thinking they won't see it the same way

 

[Oldboy]

In all honesty MrW I really can't see how Panasonic can get out of this one so it should be repaired by them at no cost to himself.

Having purchased the TV from a retailer that has now ceased trading it is their responsibility to repair the TV and under the EU legislation he should be covered, I agree that it's a no brainer and he should be fine.

Let us know how he gets on, fingers crossed it goes well.

 

[rocketrazor]

hi mrw,a good repair company is called gwynne tv tel:0845 6340293 they are very good the put my pioneer straight very professional.they are based in braintree but cover all of essex i beleive.good luck david

They did all my repair work on my Panasonic, even told me that they can see the seven vertical lines I didn't have before they replaced the panel and as Panasonic deem it within spec it's ok! Needless to say I certainly would not recommend Gwynne TV.

 

[davidvann]

hi did you have problem with the repair company i found them very good.pioneer said they best people to fix my tv ,i thought there service was very good.did you have problems with them?.i surpose everybody have and bad stories about repair companys. hi rocketrazor i had real problems with central one in wickford the tv had back about four times and was almost gone for 3 months in the end pioneer called out gwynee tv to sort out my problem,are you in essex.cheers david

 

[rocketrazor]

Hi Davidvann,

Yeah, I'm in essex. Gywnne had my first Panasonic (under warranty) for about a total of 2-3 months, and my second for 1-2 months for various faults. Throughout the whole process they never kept me update I was constantly chasing to find out what was happening, they damaged my first units stand in transit and after their 'testing' said all was ok. I asked the engineer about if they actually tested the units after they carried out a repair and I was advised yes, yet it came back much much worse than it left me which they were unable to comment on! On top of this they also tried to argue that as Panasonic deemed their much worse repair to be within specification then it was not a problem. I also asked them what they were sending Panasonic in terms of details of my fault and I was advised and I quote 'we do not have the necessary tools, facilities and picture content to replicate your problem in our test centre'. I was asking them to watch football in a dark room. All in all very poor company, with poor customer service. I certainly wouldn't pay them to carry out any repair on my TV.

 

[davidvann]

hi rocketrazor I'm sorry you had a real rough time with your tv,I have read a lot of your post regarding your tv ,I did not know that it was gwynee tv that was doing your repair work,I had a huge problem with central one in wickford ,at first my pioneer was displaying a pink glow over the screen when no input was selected and when playing films you could see it on the dark passages on films ,so they took it away and after much debate,four weeks later they ordered a new panel.3 weeks after that when I got the tv back it was filthy, with what looked like breackfast and all sorts on it,but was just pleased to get it back ,so after cleaning it up it seemed ok. But with prolonged watching I noticed it was firing pixels all over the place and when on a blank screen instead of being black it was grey so called them back and told them it wasn't right ,so they took it away again and tested it and after 3 weeks I called them because I had'nt heard anything they told me the tv was within spec ,so they brought back my tv again filthy ,but after a while it was doing as it was before so I called them again it went away again for about 4 weeks and brought back saying there was no problems with the tv again even more dirty,so I called gwynee tv out and paid for it myself, they looked at the tv and it looked within spec. I asked for them to check for the hours used on the tv and they came back with 7000 hrs used , which suggested to me they had not put in a new panel,so I got pioneer involved ,they informed me that central one was not authrised to repair pioneer tvs in the end gwynee tv sent there top engineer round and sorted out the mistakes that central one had made.I ended up with a scratched screen and outer panel thanks to central one .david

 

[MrW]

Thanks guys

Interesting to see that where 1 praises, the other has had nothing but problems...

My friend has contacted Panasonic UK, put his case to them and is awaiting a response

 

[MrW]

Update: (very very interesting)

Regarding the warranty period, please note that the EU Directive does not apply in the UK. In this situation, Panasonic is offering its clients, as stated in my previous e-mail, the Cost Assistance procedure.

Previous email:

Please note that the standard warranty for audio video products in the UK is 12 months, as you can check on our website:

> http://www.panasonic.com/uk/support/warranty-information.html>

> If the engineers determine this as being a manufacturing fault, I am pleased to inform you that Panasonic adopts a very flexible approach to the terms of the guarantee. We have a procedure called Cost Assistance and in order to apply for it, I would ask that you firstly contact your local authorised service agent to arrange an inspection of the unit. You will need to provide a copy of your purchase receipt, and specify that Panasonic may provide assistance dependent on the outcome of the inspection. Authorised service agents in your local area can be found by selecting the UK or Ireland service centre locator option following the link:http://www.panasonic.com/uk/support.html

>

> Once inspected the service centre will send us a detailed repair estimate and the date of purchase, prior to the work being undertaken, for consideration. This is not only due to the fact that, through this, a greater level of assistance can usually be provided, but also since it provides us with an opportunity to liaise with the service agent and ensure that they are able to completely remedy the fault.

TV is therefore going in for inspection.....

 

[Oldboy]

Very interesting!

I was sure the EU regulation applied in the UK though...?

Keep us posted with how it goes.

 

[bigboss]

Total non sense. EU law is applicable in the UK as well:

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/may/23/tesco-consumer-guarantee

 

[Oldboy]

That's the article I remember reading. So why does Panasonic seem to think that EU law doesn't apply here in the UK?

 

[bigboss]

That's the article I remember reading. So why does Panasonic seem to think that EU law doesn't apply here in the UK?

That's the usual excuse retailers and manufacturers give, to fob customers off.

 

[Oldboy]

That's the article I remember reading. So why does Panasonic seem to think that EU law doesn't apply here in the UK?

That's the usual excuse retailers and manufacturers give, to fob customers off.

So as a consumer in the UK what can you do if the retailer or manufacturer refuses to recognise the EU regulation then?? Is there some sort of process in place or is it a case of legal action being needed?

 

[BenLaw]

Total non sense. EU law is applicable in the UK as well:

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/may/23/tesco-consumer-guarantee

I believe it's a directive and therefore does not have direct applicability in any member state. It is for a member state to enact legislation which gives it effect, recognising a margin of appreciation for each member state. A news article where a shop did not take a case to court is not a precedent.

 

[BenLaw]

That's the article I remember reading. So why does Panasonic seem to think that EU law doesn't apply here in the UK?

That's the usual excuse retailers and manufacturers give, to fob customers off.

So as a consumer in the UK what can you do if the retailer or manufacturer refuses to recognise the EU regulation then?? Is there some sort of process in place or is it a case of legal action being needed?

Given it is the UK's failure to enact law in accordance with the directive, your resolution would be an action against the state. Fun.

 

[bigboss]

You make an interesting comment about EU directive Ben. What about SOGA then? Will that not apply here?

 

[BenLaw]

You make an interesting comment about EU directive Ben. What about SOGA then? Will that not apply here?

SOGA applies but against Comet not panasonic, so no good.

 

[cabman]

The effect of the Directive is to ensure that all member states have in place consumer protection that allows consumers to seek redress for faulty goods for at least two years. Consumer law still varies accords all member states. The uk has the Sale and Supply of Goids act with various amendments as well as the Consu,er Regs, these exceed the basic requirements of the directive. In the Uk we can seek redress for breach of contract. For up to six years.

i would certainly be a bit miffed to be told by a trader that they would do nothing about my £2000 TV that had an inherent fault that became apparent after two years, because the EU says that it is only covered for two years.

i would not be surprised if some traders don't start stating this.

a Guarantee is normally offered by the manufacturer it is in addition to your statutory rights, they are not compelled to provide one.

something to remember is that if you have bought your goods using linked credit, under the consumer credit act the credit provider has equal liability, so buy your expensive goods with a credit card.