Whoop! 18 month old Panasonic plasma dies on New Years Day

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Just my luck. This afternoon, precisely, on a dot, at 1500 hours my TH37PX70BA decided to initiate its built it "after warranty" self destruct procedure. First I lost control over volume, seconds later sound from HDMI ports disappeared and shortly after both analogue and freeview tuners returned with "no signal". Checked the cabling, nothing wrong, switched it off, switched it on - no change, reset to factory defaults - still no joy. Finally run self-diagnostics (hold volume down on front panel then press menu on remote) and it comes back with this:
panas.jpg


Looks like video switch, audio processor, audio switch, both tuners and cofdm demodulator are gone. Just what I need in new year...

It's just 6 months+ out of warranty, so it looks like I will have to pretty much take repairs "on the chin". Does any of you guys have any experience as to the cost of replacing board (or multiple boards) in plasma tvs? Or is it one of those cases where repair will cost more than finding new tv with 5 year warranty and never buying Panasonic again?
 
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I would be writing a stern letter to the supplier of the TV demanding a repair under the SOGA (Sales of Goods Act). It's no acceptable or reasonable for an expensive plasma TV to fail after 18 months :).

I've used the SOGA to have our TV repaired under SOGA as it was 8 months out of warranty. If you are persistant, you will ge results. They will try and fob you off constantly however don't give up. It's not a quick process but it could save you having to purchase a new telly.

I might still have the letter we sent off on our family desktop. Would you like me to upload it so you can use it as a template?
 
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v0n said:
Or is it one of those cases where repair will cost more than finding new tv with 5 year warranty and never buying Panasonic again?
Click to expand...

You'd have just as much chance of another manufacturers set breaking as Panasonic, it's not like Panasonic sets are more likely to break.
 
Meatball said:
I would be writing a stern letter to the supplier of the TV demanding a repair under the SOGA (Sales of Goods Act). It's no acceptable or reasonable for an expensive plasma TV to fail after 18 months :).

I've used the SOGA to have our TV repaired under SOGA as it was 8 months out of warranty. If you are persistant, you will ge results. They will try and fob you off constantly however don't give up. It's not a quick process but it could save you having to purchase a new telly.

I might still have the letter we sent off on our family desktop. Would you like me to upload it so you can use it as a template?
Click to expand...

Exactly, so many people don't know about the Sales of Goods Act and their rights. This is pretty much why John Lewis offer free 5 year warranties, they just take the hasstle out of it :)
 
have a look here

http://www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/consumers/fact-sheets/page38311.html

ive used the sales of goods act when i had a xbox problem ... this was before mircosoft admitted faults with 3 rings... to on a well known "gaming" company" . if you follow the rules he will fold like a pack of cards .. probably after the 3rd letter of complaint... which involves threats of legal action
 
Are you going to try and get a replacement under SOGA?

Here is the letter we sent to Comet about our TV. Obviously it will require adjusting to be relevant to you :).

After we sent the letter off and the TV was collected Comet refunded us the full cost of the TV (£2000) in the form of store credit. We used this to purchase a new Sony RP 55A2000 for £1300, leaving us £700 of Comet store credit :D.
 
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Panasonic are usually pretty good with stuff like this, I've seen them repair stuff for free way out of warranty. :)
 
Shame Von :(
SoGa approach I would think, a plasma should last longer than this even if its been left on 24/7 really.
When did you buy it? Just I know that 5 year warranties were offered by panny if bought thru selected retailers a few times. Also a couple of suppliers also offer 5 years warranty standard.
 
Sorry to hear that I would contact the supplier and if that is a waste I would get a quote from the supplies and local repair shops.

My unle had a similar issue and it was cheaper for him to buy a new one then to get it repaired.
 
Panasonic are pretty good, and its probably a dry joint or a minor board failed, should be repairable for a lot less than getting a new equivilent set. Try Panasonic direct first without any references to consumer protection laws, just a friendly hi any chance on getting it fixed, good will guesture etc....

If that doesnt work use the SOGA on the store where you bought it.

Should be able to get a quote from local repair shops, even some of the chain home electrical stores do repairs, I had the purple snakes bug on my TX42PX60 repaired, quite expensive but covered by extended warrenty... but if I had no warrenty it would still have been a lot cheaper than a new TV... so repair should be a viable option for you too.
 
On new years eve at 11.30pm my lens broke on my digital camera. 5 hours later i returned to my house where my speakers had been blown due to a houseparty and me stupidly wiring them up in the front room. It costs £70 to replace the sub and £60 to replace the mid range. (I paid £90 for the speakers)

A good start to NYE '10 for me then too! About your tv though, 18 months for an expensive tv is terrible. Complain
 
Thanks for all the help so far guys, sent the initial SoGA letter to the retailer, but so far the retaler (let's say with initials C&M from Sheffield) are trying to wash their hands off it, politely suggesting I call Panasonic to arrange repair. I was about to call Panasonic regardless to find out how much initial inspection and call out will cost, but having read links above - EU Directive (1999/44/EC) that states "a two-year guarantee applies for the sale of all consumer goods everywhere in the EU. In some countries, this may be more, and some manufacturers also choose to offer a longer warranty period" I think I've got something I can press retailer a bit harder with.
 
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