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Report: #868031

Complaint Review: Panasonic Corp. - Internet

  • Submitted:
  • Updated:
  • Reported By: nuiahi — LAFAYETTE Indiana United States of America
  • Author Confirmed What's this?
  • Why?
  • Panasonic Corp. Internet United States of America

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I purchased a Panasonic 50" plasma TV, model TH-50PZ850UA in early 2009.  We use the set about three hours each evening.  Recently the TV would not come on. 

After some checking on line I found that this very same condition was being widely reported.  It seems that the power board in this model was defective and subject to premature failure.

I contacted Panasonic customer service and they pointed me to an "authorized" Panasonic repair service provider.  This business is located about 70 miles from my home.

I contacted them and reported the problem.  They asked for some symptoms that the set was exhibiting, namely the count of "blinks" that an indicator light was displaying on the TV.  I told them the count was "2" and they responded that the problem most likely was the power board failed and that was a common problem with this model and age TV.

They further told me that the replacement part would cost $220 and that the labor to install would be $250 and the travel expense would be $148.

They reported that they had to furnish certain information to Panasonic and that I would hear from Panasonic customer service about getting the TV repaired.

Neither the repair service or AI heard anything from Panasonic for a week or 10 days.  I contacted Panasonic customer service and they told me that the case (for repair assistance) was under review and that I would hear from them in "due time".

About two weeks later neither the repair service or I had any communication from Panasonic, but the repair part was sent to the repair service.

They installed it promptly and the TV is now working properly.  However, I paid the repair service $398 out of pocket.

I sent a copy of the repair bill to Panasonic asking that they reimburse me for the labor and travel expense in that the cause of all of this was their selling equipment knowing that they had defective parts in the TV's.

They responded that they replaced the part and that was all that they were going to do.  I offered to "split" the $398 expense, but the Panasonic rep rejected that idea, saying that they had done all that they were going to do in this matter.

I think that 1.) taking three weeks to resolve the matter was out of order.  The customer service reps were less than helpful in keeping me abreast of the status of the claim and 2.) only replacing the defective part and stiffing me with the labor and travel expense is outrageous. 

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 04/13/2012 08:13 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/panasonic-corp/internet/panasonic-corp-defective-50-plasma-tv-internet-868031. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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#2 Consumer Comment

WRONG!

AUTHOR: Superspeed - ()

POSTED: Thursday, September 05, 2013

Although this tv is 3 1/2 years old, the larger point is that Panasonic knows about this premature failure and will not help consumers.

It is well documented that this power problem happens on brand new tv's, and set that are 2-weeks old.

Panasonic has a known issue that they are failing to address.

This issue is extremely well documented on electronic forums and even CNET's own David Kazmire has reported on this known issue.

How about making a product that works correctly out of the box and if a known failure happens, support the consumer?

I know too well about P&L working for a large company myself. However, if this were an automobile with a known defective safety device, would you tell your own family that, if (god forbid) they received bodily injury, "you didn't buy the extended warranty"?

It is time to hold companies & people accountable!

Respectfully,

 

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#1 Consumer Comment

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the set failed 3 years after purchase...

AUTHOR: Ken - (USA)

POSTED: Friday, April 13, 2012

and I would guess the warranty was for ONE year..right?

How long should a mfr extend a warranty to accomodate your problem?

Perhaps they should just provide a lifetime warranty for any and all happenings.

While your set should likely have lasted longer and Panasonic, after a failure history on the set COULD have offered to fix it free, they were under no obligation to do so.

If you didn't agree with the warranty terms when buying the set, you should have gotten a different brand, with a better warranty...if you could find one, or buy an extended service contract.

My Sharp Aquos LCD has been developing a jagged shadow in the picture since it was about 3-1/2 years old and it, too, had a one year warranty.  I'm living with it and not jumping up and down for Sharp to "make it right."

One plus, in your case, when you DO need to replace your set, prices have plummeted in the last 3 years.

Good luck to you with your repaired set.

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