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Post by markdj on Apr 1, 2007 16:17:28 GMT
To be honest, in the terms and conditions of all manufacturer's warranty, it is standard that the warranty only applies to the country of origin which is why buying internationally can be a pain.
If you got the scope shipped from the USA then it's not surprising you will have to ship it back there to get it fixed and is not really a big issue since you have already used a shipping company from the states anyway. I can understand the logic that you should get it fixed here for free but if you look at it from the UK dealer's perspective, they did not get any percentage from you buying it from them so they are under no obligation to just swap the scope for a new one FOC.
I would talk to Andy McCrea of North Down Telescopes at the meeting tomorrow as he is a registered Meade dealer I think and may be able to help.
The only warranty that is worth anything is the on-site warranty where they pick up the item from your house and deliver a new one. LCD monitors, some printers and washing machines have this warranty but again, it only applies to using the item in the country of purchase.
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Post by mgbrowne on Apr 3, 2007 17:34:09 GMT
Mark, I do understand the T&C of any company, but I think it's very poor customer care in anybody’s book and would like to see Meade come good.
Do you have Andy McCrea's telephone number or contact details?
I have another option open to me in this situation. When you make a purchase using your credit card, you actually purchase the item from your credit card company. So I can get Mastercard to credit me back my money, however as a matter of principle I feel Meade should be doing something about this. And as from 6.30pm today I have heard nothing from Meade I will start leave the story of my poor experience with Meade on every Astronomical website in the UK and Ireland. Many thanks all.
Michael
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Post by markdj on Apr 5, 2007 22:50:32 GMT
Here's the website. www.northdowntelescopes.co.uk/Meade have offered to fix it free if you send it to them in the US so why not go down that route? You got the scope shipped here so fair's fair. Whatever you do, the scope will have to be packaged up and posted so there is no real difference between sending to England or US. The problem with pursueing any other avenue is that you agreed to the warranty by buying the scope from the US.
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Post by mgbrowne on Apr 17, 2007 16:45:00 GMT
The final conclusion to the Meade ETX90PE, hopefully. With the greatest of respect Mark I think Meade regardless of my location in the world should have sorted this out at no cost to me some time ago. When a world wide company such as Meade sell a product which doesn't require local modifications (ie Car), morally they can't hide behind regional warranties, and if you keep plugging away they will give in. And they have......... Meade in Germany is arranging to lift and replace the scope at no cost. The down side to this story is it took 4 weeks and a threat to achieve this. Would I buy another Meade? Plan B. I purchased this telescope with my Visa Card and any purchase made with a credit card is between you and the credit card company and not the shop or the website, so you can ask for a full refund from the credit card company if the item you purchase is not working or fit for purpose. Anyway thanks to everybody for the suggestions throughout this fiasco. Regards Michael Browne
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Post by nemesis on Apr 17, 2007 17:58:46 GMT
Well done, Michael, a result anyway...I 've used the credit card clause a couple of times myself!
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Post by markdj on Apr 18, 2007 9:37:57 GMT
That's great news Michael, sounds like common sense has prevailed.
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Post by mgbrowne on May 19, 2007 17:54:54 GMT
The return of the repaired Meade ETX90PE at no cost. God bless Meade Europe as for Meade USA they need to brush up on their customer service, rude, unhelpful and typical.
Thanks all.
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Post by NeilP on May 19, 2007 20:03:54 GMT
That is good news, congratulations. Hope the sky improves and you get plenty of oppurtunities to use it.
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Post by markdj on May 20, 2007 12:11:47 GMT
This is now a great time to be looking at sunspots and you have an excellent scope for it, but if you are unsure about observing the Sun safely, feel free to ask or have a read here... www.eaas.co.uk/news/solar_observing.html
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