Ricoh Pentax awful customer service
4,188 posts
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Posted 14/01/2016 - 18:51
Don't forget your contract is with SRS, not Ricoh. If SRS cannot get it sorted, take it to the small claims court and/or Trading Standards..
SRS have basically confirmed it is a faulty camera so it should be replaced. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies, goods need to be of satisfactory quality. Given the cost of the camera one would expect it to last several more years yet.
John K
SRS have basically confirmed it is a faulty camera so it should be replaced. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies, goods need to be of satisfactory quality. Given the cost of the camera one would expect it to last several more years yet.
John K
Last Edited by JAK on 14/01/2016 - 18:54
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Posted 14/01/2016 - 20:02
Pentax the company is essentially unreachable. It's almost as if they don't exist.
As above, slack support to the dealer from Ricoh is the dealers problem. The dealer should sort your issue, given that's where you paid your money. I don't know what the UK setup is, but here in NZ you are covered by a consumer guarantees act, which basically says goods should work for 'an acceptable' period of time. That's clearly ambiguous, but it usually falls in favour of the consumer.
I do think Pentax have a long way to go in terms of customer service (having been through a K-30 Aperture Motor failure), and post purchasing support (firmware updates with new features to keep your camera current where possible).
As above, slack support to the dealer from Ricoh is the dealers problem. The dealer should sort your issue, given that's where you paid your money. I don't know what the UK setup is, but here in NZ you are covered by a consumer guarantees act, which basically says goods should work for 'an acceptable' period of time. That's clearly ambiguous, but it usually falls in favour of the consumer.
I do think Pentax have a long way to go in terms of customer service (having been through a K-30 Aperture Motor failure), and post purchasing support (firmware updates with new features to keep your camera current where possible).
Link
Posted 14/01/2016 - 21:43
I agree with the general sentiment expressed above about Ricoh as a company...its a complete basket case.
For a global corporation with turnover of about $18 Billion (say £13 Billion) the way it treats its customers is an absolute disgrace. I've been waiting for the princely sum of £40 cashback dating back to receipt of my claim at their promotional HQ all the way back to 1st August last year. They should have paid out within 6 weeks at the latest) yet here I am 5.5 months later having to contact them via Tech Support in Holland because there's no other way from the UK to speak to anyone directly connected to sales/marketing/customer support. The money would be useful but its more the principle now...they just don't seem interested...even their tech support guys can't understand why they don't provide a customer contact address/email/tel no.
I've asked them to add another £5 onto my money to partly compensate me for my time and expense...after three phonecalls and 2 emails to Holland i'm getting a bit fed up now...turns out its HQ in France that is the problem. I'll give it another week then i'll be asking to speak direct with their European CEO...David Mills I think, unless he's gone
Ricoh Corporate tagline is "imagine.change" Hmmm....I can, if I were in charge there would be quite a few changes starting from very near the top.
For a global corporation with turnover of about $18 Billion (say £13 Billion) the way it treats its customers is an absolute disgrace. I've been waiting for the princely sum of £40 cashback dating back to receipt of my claim at their promotional HQ all the way back to 1st August last year. They should have paid out within 6 weeks at the latest) yet here I am 5.5 months later having to contact them via Tech Support in Holland because there's no other way from the UK to speak to anyone directly connected to sales/marketing/customer support. The money would be useful but its more the principle now...they just don't seem interested...even their tech support guys can't understand why they don't provide a customer contact address/email/tel no.
I've asked them to add another £5 onto my money to partly compensate me for my time and expense...after three phonecalls and 2 emails to Holland i'm getting a bit fed up now...turns out its HQ in France that is the problem. I'll give it another week then i'll be asking to speak direct with their European CEO...David Mills I think, unless he's gone
Ricoh Corporate tagline is "imagine.change" Hmmm....I can, if I were in charge there would be quite a few changes starting from very near the top.
Link
Posted 14/01/2016 - 23:51
Sorry to hear that Neil. Like me, many, many years of loyalty - but they don't make it easy. As others have said you must pursue this and get SRS to stump up and let them argue the toss with Pentax. Surely they have got the clout to tell them that if they keep pi**ing off their customers they'll stop being a Pentax pro supplier? As you know I've got a Nikon (to get the Sigma 150-600, which is in a different league to the 150-500) as well as a K3 now and I'm not disappointed although I have no intention of ditching the K3 which I love.
51 posts
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Posted 15/01/2016 - 09:35
I undestand your frustration but is coming on here with this sort of action the way to deal with it?????
SRS always offered me the VERY best service and I rarely buy anywhere else.
Also, if the official service centre beleive the fault is caused by an outside influence that the warranty does not cover, theretailer MUST be guided by that.
Also I'm not sure threats to a supplier, service centre etc are the way forward....in fact it will probably have a negative effect....
Bullyng is not the way to deal with this..
I have worked in this industry and of course every camera tha comes into a store for any issue has never ever been dropped, subject to liquid, been on a beach...........
My advice......deal with this in private.....NOT in public....You will get a better response from all parties...
SRS always offered me the VERY best service and I rarely buy anywhere else.
Also, if the official service centre beleive the fault is caused by an outside influence that the warranty does not cover, theretailer MUST be guided by that.
Also I'm not sure threats to a supplier, service centre etc are the way forward....in fact it will probably have a negative effect....
Bullyng is not the way to deal with this..
I have worked in this industry and of course every camera tha comes into a store for any issue has never ever been dropped, subject to liquid, been on a beach...........
My advice......deal with this in private.....NOT in public....You will get a better response from all parties...
NeilP wrote:
I have long been a big fan and defender at times of Pentax, having owned 6 Pentax/Ricoh Cameras and have probably got them a few sales over the years and I have even been a Pentax Ricoh ambassador.
But my experience with them and my K-3 has got me thinking I'll never touch them again.
At the start of 2015 my camera started developing a strange fault where the AF would play up and the shutter would make a funny noise eventually fire and give a black image. It got worse so I sent it back to SRS who sent it off and Pentax service changed the motherboard and was working better than before. But by October the same fault had started again and others like a malfunctioning LCD and it crashing started to happen, so by December it went off again to be looked at on the 1st of December. Doug at SRS (who I cant fault through this) asked the Pentax rep who was in a few days later if it could be replaced as the 1st repair hadn't worked which suggested it was faulty. He insisted it was sent of to Pentax Service again. So I waited for 2 weeks and emailed SRS but they had heard nothing.
Christmas came and went and nothing, SRS chased them but no reply and after over 6 weeks they finally had a long phone conversation with Doug from SRS and told him not only would they not replace the faulty camera I would have to pay £150 to get it repaired, even though it is still under warranty (despite their long delay!) They claim this is because the camera is in a 'poor condition' which is absolute nonsense. It has some wear, but any poor condition is due to the rubber grip glue failing (fault with manufacture) and probably their shoddy repair job first time round.
It begs the question why did it take them 6 weeks to notice this? Quite frankly it's just made me really hacked off, awful customer service. The purchase of the 150-450mm is definitely off the table. In fact there may be some nice gear on sale here soon, and a Nikon D500 is suddenly and option.
One incredibly disappointed now ex-loyal Pentaxian
I have long been a big fan and defender at times of Pentax, having owned 6 Pentax/Ricoh Cameras and have probably got them a few sales over the years and I have even been a Pentax Ricoh ambassador.
But my experience with them and my K-3 has got me thinking I'll never touch them again.
At the start of 2015 my camera started developing a strange fault where the AF would play up and the shutter would make a funny noise eventually fire and give a black image. It got worse so I sent it back to SRS who sent it off and Pentax service changed the motherboard and was working better than before. But by October the same fault had started again and others like a malfunctioning LCD and it crashing started to happen, so by December it went off again to be looked at on the 1st of December. Doug at SRS (who I cant fault through this) asked the Pentax rep who was in a few days later if it could be replaced as the 1st repair hadn't worked which suggested it was faulty. He insisted it was sent of to Pentax Service again. So I waited for 2 weeks and emailed SRS but they had heard nothing.
Christmas came and went and nothing, SRS chased them but no reply and after over 6 weeks they finally had a long phone conversation with Doug from SRS and told him not only would they not replace the faulty camera I would have to pay £150 to get it repaired, even though it is still under warranty (despite their long delay!) They claim this is because the camera is in a 'poor condition' which is absolute nonsense. It has some wear, but any poor condition is due to the rubber grip glue failing (fault with manufacture) and probably their shoddy repair job first time round.
It begs the question why did it take them 6 weeks to notice this? Quite frankly it's just made me really hacked off, awful customer service. The purchase of the 150-450mm is definitely off the table. In fact there may be some nice gear on sale here soon, and a Nikon D500 is suddenly and option.
One incredibly disappointed now ex-loyal Pentaxian
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Posted 15/01/2016 - 10:06
northernmonkey wrote:
I undestand your frustration but is coming on here with this sort of action the way to deal with it?????
SRS always offered me the VERY best service and I rarely buy anywhere else.
Also, if the official service centre beleive the fault is caused by an outside influence that the warranty does not cover, theretailer MUST be guided by that.
Also I'm not sure threats to a supplier, service centre etc are the way forward....in fact it will probably have a negative effect....
Bullyng is not the way to deal with this..
I have worked in this industry and of course every camera tha comes into a store for any issue has never ever been dropped, subject to liquid, been on a beach...........
I undestand your frustration but is coming on here with this sort of action the way to deal with it?????
SRS always offered me the VERY best service and I rarely buy anywhere else.
Also, if the official service centre beleive the fault is caused by an outside influence that the warranty does not cover, theretailer MUST be guided by that.
Also I'm not sure threats to a supplier, service centre etc are the way forward....in fact it will probably have a negative effect....
Bullyng is not the way to deal with this..
I have worked in this industry and of course every camera tha comes into a store for any issue has never ever been dropped, subject to liquid, been on a beach...........
We must be reading different posts. I don't see any threats or bullying by NeilP. I see a very disgruntled Pentax user sharing his frustration and experiences with others.
It is up to Ricoh & SRS between them to offer an explanation of "poor condition", after all this is meant to be a durable, outdoor camera.
I have experienced customers who have "tried it on" with cameras that have water and sand damage, these are usually relatively easy to spot. If a camera is in "poor condition" when being sent to a supplier then this should be noted by the retailer in writing and a copy given to the customer. NeilP is indicating some minor issues around the grip - but if these are not indicative of abuse/damage then he is entitled to an explanation.
I too have had excellent service (on every occasion) from SRS, there are also companies that I wouldn't deal with again - and I feel I can put this information in a post if I wish. I believe you have done this yourself with another London based retailer - it is only fair!
LennyBloke
Link
Posted 15/01/2016 - 10:26
Point taken.
Maybe my choice of words was not the best.
However, I do feel posting on any social media when an issue is ongoing is not really fair.
In my experience, most peoples reason for such posts is ONLY to influence the outcome of the situation.
Why else would you do it.
It also then get other people talking about it when all the facts are not known and in most cases these people side with the complaint....giving a very unbalanced view of the whole situation.
This has also been posted on a more public social media site as well.
And yes, I have made comments about a London based dealer....a dealer that I had terrible service. a dealer that is NOT recognised by Ricoh Imaging UK or Ricoh Imaging Europe as being a dealer....There is no relationshit at all with Ricoh....so actually I feel I am right to bring this to peoples attention.
SRS are a top dealer...I would not be going public with any issues I might have.
Maybe my choice of words was not the best.
However, I do feel posting on any social media when an issue is ongoing is not really fair.
In my experience, most peoples reason for such posts is ONLY to influence the outcome of the situation.
Why else would you do it.
It also then get other people talking about it when all the facts are not known and in most cases these people side with the complaint....giving a very unbalanced view of the whole situation.
This has also been posted on a more public social media site as well.
And yes, I have made comments about a London based dealer....a dealer that I had terrible service. a dealer that is NOT recognised by Ricoh Imaging UK or Ricoh Imaging Europe as being a dealer....There is no relationshit at all with Ricoh....so actually I feel I am right to bring this to peoples attention.
SRS are a top dealer...I would not be going public with any issues I might have.
LennyBloke wrote:
We must be reading different posts. I don't see any threats or bullying by NeilP. I see a very disgruntled Pentax user sharing his frustration and experiences with others.
It is up to Ricoh & SRS between them to offer an explanation of "poor condition", after all this is meant to be a durable, outdoor camera.
I have experienced customers who have "tried it on" with cameras that have water and sand damage, these are usually relatively easy to spot. If a camera is in "poor condition" when being sent to a supplier then this should be noted by the retailer in writing and a copy given to the customer. NeilP is indicating some minor issues around the grip - but if these are not indicative of abuse/damage then he is entitled to an explanation.
I too have had excellent service (on every occasion) from SRS, there are also companies that I wouldn't deal with again - and I feel I can put this information in a post if I wish. I believe you have done this yourself with another London based retailer - it is only fair!
northernmonkey wrote:
I undestand your frustration but is coming on here with this sort of action the way to deal with it?????
SRS always offered me the VERY best service and I rarely buy anywhere else.
Also, if the official service centre beleive the fault is caused by an outside influence that the warranty does not cover, theretailer MUST be guided by that.
Also I'm not sure threats to a supplier, service centre etc are the way forward....in fact it will probably have a negative effect....
Bullyng is not the way to deal with this..
I have worked in this industry and of course every camera tha comes into a store for any issue has never ever been dropped, subject to liquid, been on a beach...........
I undestand your frustration but is coming on here with this sort of action the way to deal with it?????
SRS always offered me the VERY best service and I rarely buy anywhere else.
Also, if the official service centre beleive the fault is caused by an outside influence that the warranty does not cover, theretailer MUST be guided by that.
Also I'm not sure threats to a supplier, service centre etc are the way forward....in fact it will probably have a negative effect....
Bullyng is not the way to deal with this..
I have worked in this industry and of course every camera tha comes into a store for any issue has never ever been dropped, subject to liquid, been on a beach...........
We must be reading different posts. I don't see any threats or bullying by NeilP. I see a very disgruntled Pentax user sharing his frustration and experiences with others.
It is up to Ricoh & SRS between them to offer an explanation of "poor condition", after all this is meant to be a durable, outdoor camera.
I have experienced customers who have "tried it on" with cameras that have water and sand damage, these are usually relatively easy to spot. If a camera is in "poor condition" when being sent to a supplier then this should be noted by the retailer in writing and a copy given to the customer. NeilP is indicating some minor issues around the grip - but if these are not indicative of abuse/damage then he is entitled to an explanation.
I too have had excellent service (on every occasion) from SRS, there are also companies that I wouldn't deal with again - and I feel I can put this information in a post if I wish. I believe you have done this yourself with another London based retailer - it is only fair!
Link
Posted 15/01/2016 - 11:13
Sometimes 'going public' is the only way to put some traction behind a complaint. But I'm inclined to agree with the comment above that the best recourse now is to pursue the issue with SRS. It is not then a warranty issue but subject to consumer legislation. Timing is important since after 6 months the onus is on the purchaser to prove that the fault was inherent. Not that you'd want to get all legalistic, but it's as well to have these matters in mind when pursuing a discussion. At least your conversation will be with a retailer that evidently has some concern for its reputation. Not all do.
I hope it's a happy outcome for you.
Regards, Christopher
ChristopherWheelerPhotography
I hope it's a happy outcome for you.
Regards, Christopher
ChristopherWheelerPhotography
Link
Posted 15/01/2016 - 16:52
I believe SRS are fantastic and Neil says as much so that point about the retailer is invalid other than it is not in their interest to be trying to sell cameras from a manufacturer that is itself giving a bad service. I have also seen Neil's K3 and know how he looks after it so there is no way it has been mis-treated. It is him, not the camera that has had the raw deal!
Link
Posted 15/01/2016 - 16:56
I have always had a good service with SRS but it looks like they are trying to offset their responsibility on this one and I am a great believer in letting other potential customers know of any failings in a suppliers shortcomings and would personally think twice in future if I was going to purchase anything from SRS, there are plenty of suppliers out there so why take a chance on a suspect one with your hard earned money?
All the best
Brian
And come him slow or come him fast it is but death who comes at last.
All the best
Brian
And come him slow or come him fast it is but death who comes at last.
Link
Posted 15/01/2016 - 17:32
Well, it wouldn't influence my buying decisions, which are based on my own experiences. In any event, whatever this grumble may be, it doesn't seem to have fully played out yet, nor do we have the response to it from the the other parties involved. So how can we judge?
Best regards, John
Best regards, John
Link
Posted 15/01/2016 - 17:37
When you commit to a DSLR system you want to know that 1/ the company will be around in the foreseeable future and continue to develop the range, and 2/ provide good support. It's a two-way relationship. I just googled DSLR customer satisfaction and came up with a survey http://www.digitalcameraworld.com/2012/07/04/pentax-dslrs-top-global-consumer-sa... which rated manufacturers out of a possible score of 1000 thus: Pentax 899; Nikon 891; Canon 888. Compare this with a 2007 survey by the same analysts: Nikon D series 820; Sony Alpha 793; Canon EOS 788; Pentax K 787; Olympus 783.
It is interesting that the three companies have all improved their ratings but Pentax has surged from 4th place to 1st by some margin, the main factors reported being: durability and reliability; variety of features; ease of operation; and shutter speed/lag time, according to those who responded to the survey, while Canon performed best in the picture quality factor. This is a great endorsement of the work that Ricoh have put into the brand and whilst the other brands have great promotion and the temptation is that the grass is greener elsewhere, I would always research thoroughly before switching brands.
It is interesting that the three companies have all improved their ratings but Pentax has surged from 4th place to 1st by some margin, the main factors reported being: durability and reliability; variety of features; ease of operation; and shutter speed/lag time, according to those who responded to the survey, while Canon performed best in the picture quality factor. This is a great endorsement of the work that Ricoh have put into the brand and whilst the other brands have great promotion and the temptation is that the grass is greener elsewhere, I would always research thoroughly before switching brands.
Link
Posted 15/01/2016 - 18:10
Further to my post above, the survey measures satisfaction with the products but I don't think it represents customer support, but the main point still applies.
Link
Posted 15/01/2016 - 18:38
stigg wrote:
I have always had a good service with SRS but it looks like they are trying to offset their responsibility on this one ?
I have always had a good service with SRS but it looks like they are trying to offset their responsibility on this one ?
How do you know this?
Are you aware of the whole situation?
For all things Pentax please visit www.srsmicrosystems.co.uk - anything not listed please email or call!
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NeilP
Member
But my experience with them and my K-3 has got me thinking I'll never touch them again.
At the start of 2015 my camera started developing a strange fault where the AF would play up and the shutter would make a funny noise eventually fire and give a black image. It got worse so I sent it back to SRS who sent it off and Pentax service changed the motherboard and was working better than before. But by October the same fault had started again and others like a malfunctioning LCD and it crashing started to happen, so by December it went off again to be looked at on the 1st of December. Doug at SRS (who I cant fault through this) asked the Pentax rep who was in a few days later if it could be replaced as the 1st repair hadn't worked which suggested it was faulty. He insisted it was sent of to Pentax Service again. So I waited for 2 weeks and emailed SRS but they had heard nothing.
Christmas came and went and nothing, SRS chased them but no reply and after over 6 weeks they finally had a long phone conversation with Doug from SRS and told him not only would they not replace the faulty camera I would have to pay £150 to get it repaired, even though it is still under warranty (despite their long delay!) They claim this is because the camera is in a 'poor condition' which is absolute nonsense. It has some wear, but any poor condition is due to the rubber grip glue failing (fault with manufacture) and probably their shoddy repair job first time round.
It begs the question why did it take them 6 weeks to notice this? Quite frankly it's just made me really hacked off, awful customer service. The purchase of the 150-450mm is definitely off the table. In fact there may be some nice gear on sale here soon, and a Nikon D500 is suddenly and option.
One incredibly disappointed now ex-loyal Pentaxian
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