Sutori - Stories Tagged With 'warranty'

Canon and the E18 error

Thu, 05 Oct 2006 14:28:09 -0700

There aren't very many brands I really like, and Canon, until recently, was one of them.

We had a Canon digital camera for several years and loved it, took it everywhere and it has held up really well.

My in-laws got us a new model, the SD550 for our 10th anniversary and we were delighted. Better quality stills, much better movies, great great great. I often take little movies of my son, edit them together, put in a little music and please the whole family.

Well we had the camera for a couple of weeks when one day, while we were with our son on a miniature train, I pulled it out of my pocket and the lens was half out, stuck and the screen displayed E18. I couldn't get the camera to work.

I did some research on the issue, and it's evidently pretty well known. There's even a class action lawsuit, sites devoted to people who have suffered the indignity of an E18 error.

I'm counting on Canon to do right by me, but I have a sinking feeling that I'm on my own. The camera was a gift so I have no receipt. My in-laws may or may not still have the receipt. Without the receipt Canon won't honour the warranty. So I guess they don't stand by consumers who are given presents. I find this to be most puzzling.

I'm not paying anything for the repair of the camera, if I have to pay I'm switching brands forever.

Wow! IBM rocked my world.

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 17:53:14 -0800

I got my IBM Think Pad and I completely spazzed over the holiday season because it stopped working -- it said "Fan error". It's still under warranty, but I was dreading getting it fixed because years ago when I had had a problem with my IBM, I had to do this whole elaborate mailing of my laptop to get it fixed and this was also over the holidays! But I went to their website, and after spending WAY too long trying to figure out how to get to the appropriate place, I filled out the form and submitted it, frustrated after all the time I spent on the site, and with the lowest of expectations.

Well, the next business day morning, they called! And the same day SOMEONE DROVE TO MY HOUSE, installed the new part, and wow! my computer was fixed!!

I have been thinking about going Mac since I don't do much on my computer besides word-processing, but this was mighty impressive.

Beware of Balanced Spectrum Lights!

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:05:18 -0800

Yes, these lights are not only functional but some of the models are even stylish & good-looking. I suppose they do offer the "outdoor" light spectrum that they advertise but I never bothered to really investigate that.

What the buyer should be aware of is that these lights cannot be repaired. If you are lucky to have a light fail during its warranty period, the company most usually will replace it for free. After that, you can change the lightbulb but that is it. Should the ballast fail, you will be out of luck as I was. The company flatly refused to do anything where the light was just two years old. Now I have $130 lamp that is totally useless.

It is really too bad companies do not stand behind their products these days.