Panasonic DVD S35S - new DVD player in for repair for so long the warranty expired while in for repair - received bill for repair as a result - DVD player still not fixed

# 17 for August 24, 2003

Complaints.com received the following consumer message on August 23, 2003:

From:

RE: Panasonic DVD S35S - new DVD player in for repair for so long the warranty expired while in for repair - received bill for repair as a result - DVD player still not fixed On 4/11/2003 I bought a Panasonic DVD-S35S at a Circuit City in San Francisco. On 6/26/2003 the DVD player would not power up completely. I called the customer service number for Panasonic, and was instructed to take it to Art's TV Authorized Service Center in San Francisco for repairs, since the full warranty still applied. I dropped it off at Art's on 6/28/2003, and picked it up on 7/2/2003 after being told it had been repaired. It worked for 2 days, and then the same problem appeared on 7/4/2003. I took it back to Art's on 7/6/2003, and was called 7/8/2003 and told it was ready to be picked up. When I went back to Art's I was told there was nothing wrong with the machine. I insisted that they plug the player into a monitor while I was there, which they did, and of course the DVD player would not power up. On 7/9/2003 I was called by Art's and told the main board on the DVD was broken, and that Panasonic would not allow them to order the part. I was instructed to pick the DVD player up, call the customer service number for Panasonic, and that I would have to ship the unit to Panasonic for repairs. Art's TV Authorized Service Center is on the edge of San Francisco, and each trip to and from the shop took about 2 hours out of my day (I made a total

of 5 trips there). Meantime, the 90-day labor warranty expired while the

DVD player was in the repair shop. I called the Panasonic customer service on 7/12/2003 to find out why the unit had to be shipped back to Panasonic when there was a local shop that could make the repair. The representative had no answer. After insisting that I would not pay shipping costs I asked to speak with a supervisor. The representative then said he would send a UPS label to me, along with an accommodation letter to cover the labor, since the warranty expired while at a Panasonic authorized repair location. I received the accommodation letter, several days later, along with a letter saying I would be sent a UPS label, but did not receive the label. I waited several days, but no label arrived. I did not even know where to send the unit. I called Panasonic customer service again and asked the representative why I had not received the UPS label. He did not know, but said he would email the original agent to request it. The label arrived a few days later, and I shipped the DVD player to the Panasonic service center in Cyprus, CA on 8/4/2003. The player arrived at the Panasonic service center on 8/7/2003, according to the UPS tracking system. By August 16, 2003 I had not heard anything from Panasonic, so I called the customer service number again. The representative said I should have received a work order from the service center, but I had received nothing. He said that he would not be able to help me, and that I would have to call the service center myself, which is only open Monday through Friday.

He was able to tell me that the repair was awaiting parts, and there was the mention of a labor charge of $89.95. I made it very clear that I would not pay anything for the repair since the player was fully covered by the warranty when it was originally taken to the repair center, since the warranty expired while in the repair shop, and since I had enclosed the accommodation letter in with the DVD player when I shipped to the Panasonic service center. I received the DVD player today, along with a bill for $104.95 (the original price was $99), for labor and shipping charges. Furthermore, after connecting the player and testing it, I find that it has the same problem. It does not power up completely, and the problem appears to be more consistent than it was before I sent it to Panasonic for repair.