Help - bought the wrong camera (Pentax K30) - what are my rights

DuncanP

DuncanP

DuncanP

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30 Jul 2007
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I have spent weeks pondering over buying a DSLR and I eventually selected the Pentax K30. I tried it out with my old lenses and this was the decider. I looked at the spec and everything seemed ok but to my horror I have found that I am unable to take 3 bracketed shots unless I physically press the shutter. I take HDR shots on my Canon G9 with a tripod by selecteing AEB and setting the timer to prevent camera shake. It now appears, from reading Pentax forum posts that AEB and the timer (or remote) are mutually exclusive. Thus I cannot take the 3 raw pics for post processing.
I had originally looked at the Nikon D3200 but ruled it out because it would not do AEB and I am effectively in the same situation with the Pentax.
The camera is due to be delivered tomorrow (from UK Digital Cameras).

What do I do? I think that I have a couple of weeks when I could get a refund by law, but I do not know the details?

Should I refuse delivery, in which case the camera would be returned by the carrier, without me having to organise and pay for the return carriage?

Can I ask for a full refund or would I be fobbed off with a credit?

I have rescheduled the delivery until Monday, in order that I can talk to the company.
 
Is it an online purchase, brand new and a business seller?

If so, contact them asap and tell them you are returning it under the DSR. Refuse the delivery so it is returned to the seller.

You must receive a full refund if the above is the case. They cannot fob you off with 'restocking fees' 'credit card charges' or delivery. If they do, tell them it is returned under the DSR and as such it is illegal to charge anything at all. The only thing you would be liable for is return delivery, but you will receive the outgoing (to you) delivery costs returned.

If you pay £100 and £5 delivery (£105) you must receive £105 back from the seller.

I imagine it will all go smoothly, their site seems spot on, and the returns page is there for you to see. No need to demand your rights unless it is not right, then get shirty :).
 
What will happen to my credit card account? Will the refund immediately come of the original transaction or will I have to wait?
I am worried that if I subsequently buy another camera, possibly from another company that I may be charged for 2 cameras before the rebate is applied.
Thanks
 
As UK Digital Cameras when your refund will be processed. This isn't linked to any subsequent purchase you make, so if you buy another camera before being refunded for this one then yes, you will have been 'charged' for two cameras. Shopping online with a credit card is no different to shopping on the High Street. Just talk to them.
 
I contacted the company and they want to charge me for the delivery. I have arranged for the package to be returned to sender from the delivery depot.
They are saying that they can charge me delivery because the item was not faulty and I had merely changed my mind. I mentioned DSR and they said that I could take things up with trading standards. Things quietened down a bit after I said that I may buy from them again, later.
 
That's fair enough. You've changed your mind about the purchase and so, under the Distance Selling Regulations, they're legally obliged to refund the cost of purchase - which they must do within 30 days of you notifying them, irrespective of when they actually get the camera back.

Contrary to some of the comments here, you're only legally entitled to a refund of the RETURN delivery costs if the item was faulty or didn't match the description. However, you ARE entitled to a refund of the INITIAL delivery costs.

You should have received some form of written contract, either in an email or enclosed with the goods. This should tell you who is responsible for the cost of returning the item if you decide to change your mind. If it states that you're responsible, then I'm afraid you have to pay the postage. Alternatively, you can return them in person or ask the trader to collect them but you will probably be charged for this.

If it states that the trader is responsible, then they must make arrangements to get the goods back, either by collecting them, sending you a prepaid sticker or packaging, or agreeing to refund any postage costs you might incur.
 
Last edited:
D.P. said:
They can charge return delivery if the item being returned is not faulty.
Click to expand...

Yes, return. But if you refuse the delivery, it has not been delivered, and you are still not liable for those costs.

Plus, I never said RETURN delivery. I said delivery. Not return.
 
Hardly seems like the end of the world. Get a cable shuttle release, job done?
Click to expand...

I could not find if the cable release would be treated as "Remote" in the menu and whether it would work. I posterd a question on dpreview, pentax forums, etc and nobody suggested this so I assume that it would be treated the same as the IR remote. I saw that somebody had made a metal bracket which fitted onto the hot shoe and allowed a mechanical cable release. I would assume that he would not have gone to the bother if the electrical cable release worked.
 
Pentax have increased the price of their cameras amd my camera is now £50 more expensive, so if the supplier sells the unopened camera they will make an extra £50.
Given this I do not see how they can hassle me about the delivery.
 
You have 7 days to send the camera back, so why not give it a test run first? As far as I know, the K30 will bracket 3 frames and you should be able to use the IR remote to fire the shutter. It also has a built-in HDR mode although I think they are only in JPG format. And that HDR mode comes in four different flavours that you can pre-select, two of which are with a 2 second delay when you press the shutter, or the option of a 0 or 3 second delay with the IR remote.
 
I instructed the carrier to return to sender, unopened.
I did not like the built in HDR and I enjoy using Photomatic. It's almost like film photography, in that you don't knw what the pic will look like until it has been processsed.
The problem with the K30 is that one menu contains the following mutually exclusive options:-
Timer
Anti shake
Remote
Bracketing

As I can only select 1 item (bracketing) I have to press the shutter by hand, which could cause camera shake and ghosting on the HDR.
 
Update
The cable release idea works, so I took delivery of the camera and package. I had changed my mind after my initial order and bought the package which cost £100 and came with 5 yr guarantee, spare battery, 32gb card and a Crumpler Jimmy Bo 400 case.
The guarantee is with the company, the case is not really me and is a bit small, the battery did not arrive, so I discussed returning the package under DSR.
They said that they would change the case and that the battery is out of stock and would be sent when new stock arrives. When I suggested returning the package (minus camera), they are wanting to deduct £45 because I have opened the packaging for the card.
I am happy with the camera but not with the package. What can I do?
Thanks
PS Really impressed with the Pentax, I can take handheld night shots, without too much noise.
 
If there's nothing wrong with the card, and assuming you can live without the second battery for a while (if you can) then I suggest you swap the case for one you do like and be a little patient to receive the battery when it's back in stock - better than fighting with them possibly?
 
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