The Chronicles of an Extended Warranty Plan

05/21/2006 05:24:46 PM · #1

Recently(after the lens challenge), my Nikon5700's sensor has gone to crap. It is putting horizontal bands across my photos.

When I purchased my camera roughly, two years ago, from butterfly photo I also purchased the extended warranty plan through RepairTech. The plan should cover me from all defects for at least another year.

Tomorrow I'll begin the process of talking to RepairTech and getting the ball rolling on this repair. I'll be posting my updates here.

Hopefully I wont have much to write but I figured I may as well start the post now, in case anyone has previous experience with RepairTech.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

05/23/2006 07:38:19 PM · #2

Alright, made my first attempt on the 22nd to claim my warranty.
I called them up and they said, "we dont seem to have your warranty in our system. Did you register on line?" which I replied, "No, I sent the paper that was attached to the warranty membership card about two years ago." "Oohhh.., we've changed our system since then so you will need to re-register your warranty with us online."

and the story continues.....

frisca

Nikon D70

05/23/2006 07:40:51 PM · #3

interesting...and what do they recommend you do to prove your time of purchase? I smell trouble ahead!

blemt

Nikon D70

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Nikon

05/24/2006 09:13:02 AM · #4

This is actually a pretty common problem. Over time software systems shift. This is why it's critically important to ALWAYS keep a hard copy of any kind of extended service plan. :)

eschelar

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

05/24/2006 09:20:31 AM · #5

I wonder if that means that you now have the right to claim an extended warranty from the time of second registration seeing as they lost your first bona fide application...

It's their responsibility to keep their own records. If they change their filing system, that is not your problem. Most documents and records are good for 7 years or something aren't they? They had better have kept their tax records... I don't know why they would assume that their responsibility to their customers is any different than that...

One is accountability to the government, the other is accountability to the people who pay their bills.

cpurser

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/24/2006 11:00:35 AM · #6

Could this be related to all those bad Sony CCDs? If so, it may be covered under that recall anyway. Just a thought.

-Chad

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

05/25/2006 08:32:23 AM · #7

eschelar, I never thought of that.. maybe I do have another 3 years. But I believe I had to register the date I purchased the camera and I think these warranties are only valid if you buy them 30 days from the purchase of the camera. But who knows.....

cpurser, I'm not sure..? Does the Coolpix Series use the Sony CCD? It would be nice to know if I need a backup plan to this warranty.

I'll be making my phone call today to see how things go.

Makka

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

05/25/2006 08:39:16 AM · #8

When I've bought my cameras and paid the extra for extended warranty it has always been listed on the receipt as an additional item!

cpurser

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/25/2006 02:15:19 PM · #9

Nikon has a service advisory on the 5700.

//www.nikonusa.com/email_images/nikonusa/service_advisory/coolpix.html

Good Luck.

-Chad

bledford

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

05/25/2006 02:29:11 PM · #10

Originally posted by blemt:

This is actually a pretty common problem. Over time software systems shift.

As a software developer, I can confidently say that this is not a valid excuse for losing his records. One of the first requirements of any software upgrade is that it does not break backward compatibility and, when needed, migrates data to any new format as needed.

That comment about re-registering was likely the Customer Service rep's effort to make the customer do the work that he (or the software) should have already done.

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

05/25/2006 05:39:03 PM · #11

Originally posted by cpurser:

Nikon has a service advisory on the 5700.

//www.nikonusa.com/email_images/nikonusa/service_advisory/coolpix.html

Good Luck.

-Chad

Thanks Chad,

Nothing wrong w/ having a couple backup plans. You figure being part of Nikon's Newsletter and registering my 5700 with them, they would have emailed me about this service advisory.... ohwell

Message edited by author 2006-05-25 17:39:54.

eschelar

Canon EOS-7D

05/26/2006 12:12:07 PM · #12

ROFL. Never underestimate the power or extent of laziness in any company...

If they can find a way to get away with doing nothing to help you, most companies will.

As a business person, I hated this policy and made a practice of following up on extremely difficult requests, even if a year or more had passed by.

Sadly, the Golden Rule doesn't always work out in business...

By the way, last time I had to deal with a product recall, I also was not informed, but Nike jacked me around big time because I purchased a pair of shoes on the second day that they were available in Canada, but it was a year after they discontinued and RECALLED them in America.

No treats for me!

I currently no longer own any Nike Products, nor will I ever, although I'm the kind of guy who is not afraid to buy a 200 dollar pair of shoes and actually owns probably 3 times more than the average guy... (currently sitting at around 12 pairs)

Hopefully Nikon treats ya better than Nike...

Strikeslip

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

05/26/2006 12:23:31 PM · #13

Poor customer service (Nike), REALLY BURNS ME UP!!!

I shell out $150 per month to Cogeco Cable for my Internet, Phone, and TV. They have been having technical dificulty in my neighborhood and I phoned tech support just to be a good guy & let them know. I figured they might want to fix it.

The tech made some errors, so, being a nice guy I corrected her. I'm all about education. She hung up on me!!!

Now I'm signed up with Bell for Internet, Phone, and Satellite TV, due to arrive June 5th. It will cost more, but no employee of mine will hang up on me.

OK, I feel better now.

Good luck on your warranty!

eschelar

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM

05/26/2006 12:44:43 PM · #14

Not to threadjack, but hey Strike, did you talk to her manager before you switched? Sounds like the only thing that happened in that exchange is that you talked yourself out of however much more money you will be spending on Bell...

I do this sometimes myself... and kick myself later...

Like you said, promote education right? If Management doesn't know that they are losing customers because of poor tech support and poor attitudes, they can't make it better can they?

Man, I surprised myself at how positive that sounds towards management! :) Going to have to go read a bunch of Dilbert cartoons now to correct the imbalance.

ragamuffingirl

Sony Alpha NEX-5N

Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

05/26/2006 01:13:09 PM · #15

I got burned really bad by Sony with one of their laptops. I'll never buy a Sony anything every again. Our local Circuit City actively tries to steer people away from Sony because of what happened to me.

As for extended warranties, I always buy my cameras from Glenn's, which doesn't offer them. But, all my other electronic gadetry I get from Circuit City which has always been good as gold to me.

Strikeslip

Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS

05/26/2006 02:27:37 PM · #16

Originally posted by eschelar:

Yep, I spoke to management a few times, different people too. The "I don't give a shit" attitude seems ubiquitous throughout the organization.

blemt

Nikon D70

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Nikon

05/26/2006 04:00:25 PM · #17

Originally posted by bledford:

Originally posted by blemt:
This is actually a pretty common problem. Over time software systems shift.

As a software developer, I can confidently say that this is not a valid excuse for losing his records. One of the first requirements of any software upgrade is that it does not break backward compatibility and, when needed, migrates data to any new format as needed.

That comment about re-registering was likely the Customer Service rep's effort to make the customer do the work that he (or the software) should have already done.

As a user of evil company software- for big, evil clunky corporate systems it's a perfect answer. You've obviously never called up your company and said can you give me User X's info only to be told- not there, lost in a dataport. :)

They joys of poorly done DB migrations...:)

06/11/2006 03:56:48 PM · #18

I re-registered my warranty through the website and contacted RepairTech about the camera. I talked to a nice woman named Geil. She asked what was wrong with the camera and if I had dropped it or got it wet.(if you screwed it up we wont fix it)

I assured her I treat my camera like a first born child. She then had me fax my warranty card (RepairTech sends you a creditcard sized warranty card with your warranty number on it) and my receipt of purchase. She gave me the address of the closest Authorized repair shop and told me to include a copy of the warranty card, purchase receipt, and a brief description of what was wrong.

Sent my camera out yesterday through UPS. Cost about 19$ to ship it from Palm Beach to Miami. The UPS girl said it will arrive on tuesday.

Geil told me it would be roughly two weeks after they receive it that I will get it back. So I am expecting (based on what Geil told me) the camera to arrive around the end of the month.

and the beat goes on.....

Canon PowerShot Pro 90 IS

06/17/2006 08:29:57 PM · #19

Camera arrived on tuesday as promised. Now the two week wait.

coolhar

06/17/2006 09:38:03 PM · #20

I'm hoping to hear a happy ending to this saga. Please keep us informed.