Camera kit was missing lens in box

ACodingFettish · 5th May 2012, 10:31 PM

Hi all, I've not ventured into this section of the forum before so sorry if this is not the place for this.

Back in Feb I bought this camera:
http://www.harveynorman.com.au/homep...s-18-55mm.html

because it was on sale at HN (for $386) and my girlfriend had been wanting to get a basic SLR for a while (didn't want to go all out for her first one, would rather that she use it for a while and upgrade if she enjoyed the hobby). I figured that I'd get the present sorted out early for our 5 year anniversary (which was on the 3rd May). So as soon as I bought it, I wrapped it up so she couldn't tell what it was, and put it in the cupboard. Didn't open it or touch it until the day of our anniversary a few months later. Took it out of the cupboard and gave it to her. She excitedly unwrapped it and opened the box to find that the camera and everything was there, except for the lens...

I explained to her that I'm not a cheapskate buying some dodgey second hand thing, or floor stock, and looked up the deal on ozbargain to make sure that yes, it did include the lens.

So I went down to harvey norman in brisbane city and explained my situation, of course the guy didn't believe me. He went out back for a bit and then came and told me he needed to send it to Canon as it's not their problem, it wasn't floor stock so they never opened it and Canon would need to check their shipping records and run tests on the camera to prove that I hadn't used a lens on it before. So now I have to wait a couple of weeks or more until Canon get back to harvey norman.

Has anyone heard of cameras being sent out with a lens missing? Is it likely that Canon will admit to it (or was HN just trying to call my supposed bluff)? If they don't, what should my next course of action be? Will losing my shit at the guy at HN help? or should I just go to some sort of consumer affairs people? I don't much care about the cost of a lens, it's just the principal of the matter.

SuiCid3 · 5th May 2012, 10:54 PM

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/default.html

They will be able to help you out.
Harvey Norman will most likely do what they can to not have anything to do with this.

babymilo · 5th May 2012, 11:45 PM

Especially in the grey market space, you'd get a camera body in a kit lens box because they've split the body and lens and sold them separately. Less likely to happen in a brick and mortar store because they'd have to deal with all the hassle of making sure they track each item and for warranty purposes etc.

Then again it's Harvey Norman..

ElBeasto · 6th May 2012, 10:20 AM

I wouldn't have let HN pass the buck so easily, did you kick up a bit of a stink there?
Sometimes they cave and replace your widget.

Otherwise you may have to go through the tedious process of going through Canon.

ACodingFettish · 6th May 2012, 10:48 AM

thanks for the advice all, I did kick up bit of a stink but he insisted that he couldn't do anything about it. I'm not very good at going off at salespeople so probably could have gotten angrier, but there's no way I'm letting them get away with it if Canon doesn't sort it out. After all, they sold it to me I shouldn't have to care about their supply chain.

Creekin · 6th May 2012, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACodingFettish

Will losing my shit at the guy at HN help?

might make u feel better but generally doesnt "help"
if u went off at the store proprietor u might get somewhere

have you returned it to HN and they will send it off to cannon?
i understand them saying they need to send it away..
but a good prop would swap it on the spot.

dont bother calling fair trading..waste of time..but mentioning them isnt

def check their website though to know your rights

CapnBloodbeard · 6th May 2012, 4:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ACodingFettish

thanks for the advice all, I did kick up bit of a stink but he insisted that he couldn't do anything about it. I'm not very good at going off at salespeople so probably could have gotten angrier, but there's no way I'm letting them get away with it if Canon doesn't sort it out. After all, they sold it to me I shouldn't have to care about their supply chain.

The salesperson is having you on. He really doesn't have a leg to stand on here. Go back in, speak to somebody else - and if it fails, demand to speak to a manager.

HN have zero right to pass you off to Canon - your contract of sale is with HN, not Canon.

As for doing tests - to prove what? So what if you did put a lens on the camera? You could've borrowed one, it doesn't prove anything.

Basically, the salesperson is feeding you a pack of lies. Go back in, talk to somebody else, escalate it to a manager and failing that, the franchisee. You don't need to get angry, but be assertive. A few weeks? Buggar that, don't let them screw you around like that.

Odds are, a salesperson took it out of the box to do...any number of things with it, and didn't note it down. Was the box sealed in any way?

ElBeasto · 6th May 2012, 9:16 PM

I agree with Bloodbeard, I can't see how they can sell something & then say oh but we didn't make it so it's not our fault.

I took back something to HN worth a lot more and they tried to do the same thing but I kept insisting that they were shirking their responsibility and that they should replace it or refund my money.
After talking with 2 or three people, half an hour later I was assured a shiny new widget.

I don't if you could say that I lost my shit but I was very assertive and just kept saying 'replace or refund' at what ever they said to try and make me go away.

abadonn · 6th May 2012, 10:05 PM

And they would have a reasonable reason, given the months that have passed, to say they are doubtful of your position and would like to verify with canon themselves. I know people are gonna accuse HN of being pricks but ffs its 3 months and I'd be a bit suss myself if I was in the store. If people didnt try and scam stores all the time, and they do, maybe you'd have more reason to complain. But its certainly a strange one.

SuiCid3 · 6th May 2012, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abadonn

And they would have a reasonable reason, given the months that have passed, to say they are doubtful of your position and would like to verify with canon themselves. I know people are gonna accuse HN of being pricks but ffs its 3 months and I'd be a bit suss myself if I was in the store. If people didnt try and scam stores all the time, and they do, maybe you'd have more reason to complain. But its certainly a strange one.

This.

Blame HN all you want in this case but it has been a pretty long time for a claim like this to come back. The onus is pretty much on you OP. If what you're saying is truth, you need to get pretty assertive here.

Statitica · 6th May 2012, 10:48 PM

Considering the D80 I got from them came without a charger (replaced that night) and with some free photos of the inside of the store on an SD card they left in the camera, I'd say they tried to palm off their demo as new, and forgot to check the contents before making a sale.

Good luck with getting this sorted.

EDIT: as the last two posters have said - given the time between purchase and complaint, I would be pretty cynical as a sales rep...

CapnBloodbeard · 7th May 2012, 7:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abadonn

And they would have a reasonable reason, given the months that have passed, to say they are doubtful of your position and would like to verify with canon themselves. I know people are gonna accuse HN of being pricks but ffs its 3 months and I'd be a bit suss myself if I was in the store. If people didnt try and scam stores all the time, and they do, maybe you'd have more reason to complain. But its certainly a strange one.

What exactly do they have to verify though? What can Canon actually do there?

And the months passing is irrelevant - people buy it for a gift.

garetz · 7th May 2012, 7:54 AM

I think you aren't really taking it seriously enough, if a rep from a retailer told me it was the manufacturers responsibility that something in the box was not in the box, i would have asked to speak to a manager straight away.

s/he is obviously clueless and either is unwilling to help you or unable mentally to grasp basic logic. You bought it from that retailer, whatever the problem is that is between the retailer and their supplier/manufacturer and has got nothing to do with you.

I would of insisted on a brand new swap then and there or a full refund. However if you take it further its basically a he said she said situation, and you really should check your stuff before you leave the store. Though most people dont.

Pixley · 7th May 2012, 8:10 AM

Nah - go back in - ask to speak to the manager and explain the situation again and be very assertive - not aggressive. How can they confirm that it was not floor stock or that a sales person didn't swap something out of the box and forget to put something back. I would not buy the sending it back to Canon for a minute. Unless they are going to open every box in front of the customer and veryify the goods then they will have to take you a little more seriously.

azzachaz · 7th May 2012, 8:24 AM

Not wanting to derail thread but I couldn't help but notice the irony that HN (Gerry) complain that people are buying online and then they treat customers inthe way the OP has been treated.

Where is the 'Customer Service' that is supposed to be an advantage of buying from a real store.

5th May 2012, 10:31 PM	#1
ACodingFettish Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brisbane Posts: 6,656	Camera kit was missing lens in box Hi all, I've not ventured into this section of the forum before so sorry if this is not the place for this. Back in Feb I bought this camera: http://www.harveynorman.com.au/homep...s-18-55mm.html because it was on sale at HN (for $386) and my girlfriend had been wanting to get a basic SLR for a while (didn't want to go all out for her first one, would rather that she use it for a while and upgrade if she enjoyed the hobby). I figured that I'd get the present sorted out early for our 5 year anniversary (which was on the 3rd May). So as soon as I bought it, I wrapped it up so she couldn't tell what it was, and put it in the cupboard. Didn't open it or touch it until the day of our anniversary a few months later. Took it out of the cupboard and gave it to her. She excitedly unwrapped it and opened the box to find that the camera and everything was there, except for the lens... I explained to her that I'm not a cheapskate buying some dodgey second hand thing, or floor stock, and looked up the deal on ozbargain to make sure that yes, it did include the lens. So I went down to harvey norman in brisbane city and explained my situation, of course the guy didn't believe me. He went out back for a bit and then came and told me he needed to send it to Canon as it's not their problem, it wasn't floor stock so they never opened it and Canon would need to check their shipping records and run tests on the camera to prove that I hadn't used a lens on it before. So now I have to wait a couple of weeks or more until Canon get back to harvey norman. Has anyone heard of cameras being sent out with a lens missing? Is it likely that Canon will admit to it (or was HN just trying to call my supposed bluff)? If they don't, what should my next course of action be? Will losing my shit at the guy at HN help? or should I just go to some sort of consumer affairs people? I don't much care about the cost of a lens, it's just the principal of the matter. __________________ My Blog

5th May 2012, 10:54 PM	#2
SuiCid3 Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 2007 Posts: 2,801	http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/default.html They will be able to help you out. Harvey Norman will most likely do what they can to not have anything to do with this. __________________ 'To be pleased with one's limits is a wretched state' - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

6th May 2012, 10:48 AM	#5
ACodingFettish Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brisbane Posts: 6,656	thanks for the advice all, I did kick up bit of a stink but he insisted that he couldn't do anything about it. I'm not very good at going off at salespeople so probably could have gotten angrier, but there's no way I'm letting them get away with it if Canon doesn't sort it out. After all, they sold it to me I shouldn't have to care about their supply chain. __________________ My Blog

6th May 2012, 9:16 PM	#8
ElBeasto Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Sydney Posts: 2,909	I agree with Bloodbeard, I can't see how they can sell something & then say oh but we didn't make it so it's not our fault. I took back something to HN worth a lot more and they tried to do the same thing but I kept insisting that they were shirking their responsibility and that they should replace it or refund my money. After talking with 2 or three people, half an hour later I was assured a shiny new widget. I don't if you could say that I lost my shit but I was very assertive and just kept saying 'replace or refund' at what ever they said to try and make me go away. Last edited by ElBeasto; 6th May 2012 at 9:19 PM.

6th May 2012, 10:48 PM	#11
Statitica Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Armadale, WA Posts: 2,121	Considering the D80 I got from them came without a charger (replaced that night) and with some free photos of the inside of the store on an SD card they left in the camera, I'd say they tried to palm off their demo as new, and forgot to check the contents before making a sale. Good luck with getting this sorted. EDIT: as the last two posters have said - given the time between purchase and complaint, I would be pretty cynical as a sales rep... __________________ One of the sad signs of our times is that we have demonized those who produce, subsidized those who refuse to produce, and canonized those who complain. - Dr. Thomas Sowell

5th May 2012, 11:45 PM	#3
babymilo Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Melbourne Posts: 112	Especially in the grey market space, you'd get a camera body in a kit lens box because they've split the body and lens and sold them separately. Less likely to happen in a brick and mortar store because they'd have to deal with all the hassle of making sure they track each item and for warranty purposes etc. Then again it's Harvey Norman..

6th May 2012, 10:20 AM	#4
ElBeasto Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Sydney Posts: 2,909	I wouldn't have let HN pass the buck so easily, did you kick up a bit of a stink there? Sometimes they cave and replace your widget. Otherwise you may have to go through the tedious process of going through Canon.

6th May 2012, 10:05 PM	#9
abadonn (Taking a Break) Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: melb Posts: 2,365	And they would have a reasonable reason, given the months that have passed, to say they are doubtful of your position and would like to verify with canon themselves. I know people are gonna accuse HN of being pricks but ffs its 3 months and I'd be a bit suss myself if I was in the store. If people didnt try and scam stores all the time, and they do, maybe you'd have more reason to complain. But its certainly a strange one.

7th May 2012, 7:54 AM	#13
garetz Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: 2217 Posts: 533	I think you aren't really taking it seriously enough, if a rep from a retailer told me it was the manufacturers responsibility that something in the box was not in the box, i would have asked to speak to a manager straight away. s/he is obviously clueless and either is unwilling to help you or unable mentally to grasp basic logic. You bought it from that retailer, whatever the problem is that is between the retailer and their supplier/manufacturer and has got nothing to do with you. I would of insisted on a brand new swap then and there or a full refund. However if you take it further its basically a he said she said situation, and you really should check your stuff before you leave the store. Though most people dont. __________________ $6925 in trades done

7th May 2012, 8:10 AM	#14
Pixley Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 40	Nah - go back in - ask to speak to the manager and explain the situation again and be very assertive - not aggressive. How can they confirm that it was not floor stock or that a sales person didn't swap something out of the box and forget to put something back. I would not buy the sending it back to Canon for a minute. Unless they are going to open every box in front of the customer and veryify the goods then they will have to take you a little more seriously.