Canon Elph 260LT / Defective lens/ AWFUL customer service

I bought an Elph LT 260- one of the best consumer quality film cameras I've used. After 3 years of faithful service it died a peaceful death. Because it was one of the best, I promptly bought a new Elph- same model. But this one was the evil twin. The picture quality was absolutley awful- grainy, dull. I thought it was me so I tried new film, different brands of film, different processing, different scenes, modes, lighting, etc... same awful picture quality.

So I sent the two month old camera (under one year Canon warranty) to their NJ service center with details of the problem and various sample photos clearly illustrating the problem. They sent the camera back to me saying they tested it and it works fine. When I tested it, same awful picture quality. So I sent it back to them with more photos showing the ELPH picture quality and another camera's picture quality of the same subject with all other variables constant. Canon sent me back the camera saying they repaired the lens. I tested again- same awful quality. So I wrote to Canon explaining that I wanted my money back or my camera replaced since after two service attempts it was not satisfactory. Canon's response? NO.

I'll never buy a Canon product again and I reccommend no one else does either.