In November of 2008, I purchased a Christmas gift for myself, a much-wanted green Fuji FinePix Z20 camera. I thought it was the most adorable digital camera ever, and felt fully confident buying a Fuji brand product, knowing your company to be so reputable.
Flash forward five months, when the screen on my cute little FinePix didn’t light up when I took a picture, nor could I get any pictures transferred from the camera into my computer. I had no problem sending my camera to your Edison, New Jersey service center, because I knew I was well within the one year warrantee period, and since this was some sort of manufacturer’s defect, the problem would be taken care of promptly.
Imagine my surprise when a couple weeks later I got an estimate from the repair center, saying the USB port was damaged, and it was going to cost me almost $84 to get this defect fixed.
Repair Reference Number: xxxxxxx
Serial Number: xxxxxxx
Certainly there was some sort of mistake! I enclosed with the returned camera the requested proof of purchase and warrantee card.
I called the repair center and was told that since the USB port in the camera was damaged, “pushed in” she said, that it was my own fault, and not the responsibility of Fuji to fix under warrantee.
I explained that the camera was never abused, simply used in the manner of which it was supposed to be used. The USB cord was plugged into the camera, and into the computer, to get the pictures transferred, per the direction booklet. If the USB port was “pushed in” as your representative claimed, certainly it was a defect in the making of the camera, why else wouldn’t it stay seated how it was supposed to, being used in the correct manner, after only five months of light use?
When she still refused to fix my camera under warrantee, I asked to have my camera sent back to me, unrepaired, and now it sits broken on my desk.
I always held Fuji products in the same high regard I held other companies, such as Kodak and Nikon, but does this situation warrant the changing of my mind? Does Fuji, in fact, not stand behind their products? Does Fuji not care about having a good reputation for service?
I guess my big question is, should I throw my FinePix camera into the trash and just buy another brand from now on?
A prompt response would be appreciated.
ETA: Further down in the comments, I copy and pasted my reworded letter.