Panasonic 50x20d - Cheated with a used piece?

smkbn

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Dec 26, 2010
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Hi Friends,
I bought Panasonic 50x20D on Saturday. At the time of purchase i told the sales executive that i need to see the piece before dispatch. He brought the box and the seal was broken at one end on the top. When i asked the reason he told this could have happened during the handling process. Also i dont think the box was sealed at the bottom because when i asked them to open they just pulled the carton up without breaking the seal.
The TV was covered in a polythene cover and the manual was also sealed and stuck with the box. The TV also looked fairly new without any signs of abuse. However the remote was not sealed and when i asked why he told that it is normal. When i asked if it was possible to connect the tv and check hours of usage he told it would be difficult and assured it was a new piece. Believing their words i paid the amount and left the show room. The tv was delivered on Saturday night as promised.
Panasonic service guys came and completed the installation on Sunday afternoon. As i had shifted to a new house 2 weeks back and didnt have any cable or dth connection, the demo was done using my dvd player. The Panasonic service guy told me that warranty card is not available in the box and so i called up the dealer and informed about the missing warranty card. They told not to worry and asked me to provide the TV serial number to get new war. card from Panasonic.
Late in the evening on Sunday out of curiosity i wanted to check the plasma usage hours and when i checked it showed around 134 hours and the count was 36. I was shocked and wanted to check if there was any image burn in. I switched off all lights and switched on the plasma without providing any input signal to see the black screen. I could see burn in image of some tv logo (channel name not clear but could see the word live clearly below) on the top right and the envelope symbol (that you see whenever you get message from dth providers) in the top middle. As i dont have any cable/dth connection there is no way this could have happened at my home. As it was around 9:00 pm i could not call the dealer. After all promises and guarantee they have knowingly/unknowingly delivered a display piece and i feel cheated.
I am planning to call the dealer tomorrow to get an explanation. Please let me know how to proceed on this. :sad:
 
please provide the name of the shop so that we can stay wary of it and also advice our friends and relatives to stay clear of that cheat's shop.The only advice that i can provide you now is that 130 hours is not a big deal if whitewashing the image does not remove the burn in then ask for a replacement if not explain that they have betrayed your trust by selling a used piece and ask a good discount also ask for free gifts such as a bluray player,hifi system etc please again give us the name of that damn shop that we may stay away from it.
 
It is really disappointing to see how unreliable these dealers are. I respectfully disagree with jerry53 on the point of 130 hours not being a big deal. On an LCD TV that might be the case but in case of plasma, the gases fire at their maximum intensity during the first few 100 hours. Therefore care needs to be taken during the first 100-200 hrs, and from all appearances your TV was playing images in Dynamic mode during these first crucial 100 hours. So insist on a replacement, but at this stage you will have to do some serious threatening to get your point across because we all know what happens in India after money changes hands.

Having said all this, the G13 panel used in X20D is highly burn-in resistant. What you are seeing is probably just temporary image retention. Temporary image retention is common, (might I even say natural) and I can see it on my X20 even after a 200 hour break-in process, if a static image, especially white, is left on the screen for a brief interval. There is no whitewash function in the TV as far as I know, so get an SD card and download break-in images from (google this) webpalooza site. Run these break-in slides for an hour and then examine the "burnt-in" images and see if they have faded/gone away. Let us know how it pans out.
 
buddy call that dealer.. f*** his happiness...

tell him u got the bill and in 72hrs there is no way it can be used 132 hours and its a used peice

tell him to change him..

if not just spend 200 bucks.. send a notice.. let him cry then.


also send email copies to panasonic india.. they will cancell the billing of that showroom for atleast 6 months..

send them with read receipts..

keep the copies and you bill and also take pictures of usage hours.. and set the camera that the date can be shown in the picture and then talk to that as****


feel like smacking these guys right in their face...
 
Thanks jerry, shredder, theironhorse.
@Shredder - I dont think it is a temporary image retention. It is etched permanently.

I called the dealer and asked for an explanation. Surprisingly he still sticks and swears by his story that it is not a used piece. Does this mean that Panasonic dispatched a used piece. There is no convincing explanation for 134 odd hours of usage. He also told that he would speak to Panasonic service executive to check the piece and decide the next course of action.

I got a call from Panasonic service executive at 3:00 pm today saying they were at my place for checking the issue in my plasma. I was in office and told them that burn in will only be visible late in the evening and asked them to come after 6:00 pm. But they had some other appointment and promised to come tomorrow or day after.

I am planning to visit the dealership tomorrow and demand an explanation and do some hard talking. Advice from experts is much appreciated.
 
By the way i have taken a video of the usage hours along with TV serial code for just in case. By the way can somebody share Panasonic customer care e-mail id.
 
As the ironhorse stated, time to take this into a different gear.

Write emails to dealer+customer care, Then write a formal registered letter, mark a copy both to the dealer and the consumer division of panasonic in your region.

State the sequence of events and all necessary details as you have done in the initial post.

Tell them you request a specific course of action in writing as to how this issue will be resolved.

Politely tell them that if there is no positive response your next course of action would be to contact a consumer court.

Remember in a negotiation a hard talking wont get you anywhere, just ensure you stick to the facts and try to close a situation with the least force.
 
dont just ask them..these people are perfectionist in acting and lyeing..


just blow of ur anger on them.. and tell them that you are complaining in consumer forum and consumer court.. for the same the next working day and that you will not call them again and u have all the names of the agents there..


dont sit quiet..let them understand that we people are not fools..
 
simply ask him to refund the money, if they don't replace and give you a brand new set.
 
Thanks jerry, shredder, theironhorse.
@Shredder - I dont think it is a temporary image retention. It is etched permanently.

I called the dealer and asked for an explanation. Surprisingly he still sticks and swears by his story that it is not a used piece. Does this mean that Panasonic dispatched a used piece. There is no convincing explanation for 134 odd hours of usage. He also told that he would speak to Panasonic service executive to check the piece and decide the next course of action.

I got a call from Panasonic service executive at 3:00 pm today saying they were at my place for checking the issue in my plasma. I was in office and told them that burn in will only be visible late in the evening and asked them to come after 6:00 pm. But they had some other appointment and promised to come tomorrow or day after.

I am planning to visit the dealership tomorrow and demand an explanation and do some hard talking. Advice from experts is much appreciated.

The dealer can swear by all that is earthly but the fact is that it IS a used piece. I highly doubt that Panasonic dispatched a used piece. They are a reputed company after all, and however inept in other areas, they also have a QCC to ensure all this does not happen. And about the dealer saying he will check with service executive and their uncles and grandfathers, this is just a delaying tactic. He will try to delay as long as possible and after passage of suitable amount of time he will say that you have kept the TV for so long you must have used those hours yourself. GO to the shop and demand replacement/refund.

About the Panasonic service executive, don't try to show them the burn-in. These people are experts in bamboozling people. They will tell you it is natural, every other set experiences it, etc. Instead, you should take the stance that you received a used piece with 135 hours on it. As far as making the dealer sweat is concerned, Aman will be better able to help you with that.
 
I highly doubt that Panasonic dispatched a used piece. They are a reputed company after all

Well Shredder i have to so this...im going to take this with a huge load of salt

There could be twists to this tale i guess.

Updates:
I went to the dealership today narrated the issue to the Supervisor, i believe. I just told him the facts of the case and did not want pick up a fight instantly. He was all ears and no cross questions asked or denial. He said he will ask Panasonic service folks to do the inspection and provide a report. He said he can replace the piece if needed after considering the report.
This raises an interesting question. Would the dealership be so open and so willing to let Panasonic do the inspection and provide a report if it was used by them for 134 odd hours? Or Is the dealer discounting the usage hours and just focusing on the burn in problem that i reported. I leave it to experts for inferences.
The Panasonic service executive came for the inspection. I showed him the usage hours and also the burn in image. He called his supervisor and had some discussion and handed over the phone to me. The supervisor gave a story which i think can seriously compete for the most imaginative and innovative story of the year. He told me that all Panasonic pieces are subject to some choking test for long hours and that is normal. I told him sir you can do all choking and cooking test but anything more than an hour is just not acceptable. Not a word from the supervisor after that. But who was he trying to defend? certainly not the dealer.

This also takes the discussion to the next point. I understand the Panel is made in Japan and the assembly is done at Thailand before shipping it to India. I am sure Panasonic India team must be doing some kind of QC inspection periodically. They could possibly choose pieces randomly and do all cooking and frying tests for hours together (my assumption). So what happens to those pieces? Are they again dispatched to dealership for sales to customers?

I am not sure if Panasonic guys are keeping a tab on this forum. They better do if they care a thing or two about their brand.

As suggested by esteemed members i am sending an email to Panasonic customer care. My fight just got bigger i guess.
 
I told him sir you can do all choking and cooking test but anything more than an hour is just not acceptable.

Hi Smkbn,

I think this is a little unrealistic, as normally 100 hours is acceptable for testing and QC purposes.

Nowdays, even a car ticks 60+ before you get it delivered, 15 km PDI by manufacturer, 15 km PDI by dealer, dealer to RTO, RTO to dealer and so on.

Cheers!
 
Smkbn, QC testing would happen for couple of hours and not 100 hours. I think its time you start calling the panasonic helpline and escalate to higher ups directly and start making noise. Leaving it on the dealer to complain, i would not put my money on it. Ask him to replace the test and let him do the testing he wants.

Time is the key factor here, if you lose more days, they may come back stating you have already used the set that is why it is showing 100+ hours of usage.So be very careful on the same and get a complaint no or escalation no from Panasonic.
 
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He told me that all Panasonic pieces are subject to some choking test for long hours and that is normal. I told him sir you can do all choking and cooking test but anything more than an hour is just not acceptable.

Panasonic India certainly has given u a very imaginative story.
 
i really dont think those guys were also from panasonic.. buddy just call the dealer now and tell him that you are filing a legal note against him for forgery .. and selling a used peice without information to the cust..

also tell him you are going to newspaper with the pictures and the bill for the same TV..

se his response.. what the hell will panasonic guy will do when the dealer used the TV..

he might have paid that tech 1000 bucks to build up a great story.
 
man why are you withholding the name of the store from us tell us that dirty shops's name so that i can blacklist it for any purchases for me ,my friends or my family.And guys i think we should start a thread of blacklists and whitelists to separate the good from the rotten so that people can make informed decisions and so that these greedy shops can take less money home and they must must classified into cities,regions etc what do you say guys? someone must start it if it does not infringe on any rules in the forum.
 
if the answers wat they have given is not satisfactory u can go to consumer court,y to get disappointed after spending that much big money,let them suffer , give a good lesson to them so that they wont repeat to other customers........
 
@smbkn

Long story short, take the unit to the dealers place make a ruckus while other customers are there, no matter how much of QC Panasonic does it will not ship out a unit with 100 plus hours in its clock, the so called Panasonic guys who came to your house are just passing the buck are u sure they are from Panasonic?

This is foul play form the dealer 100% guaranteed, take the unit to the dealer and demand a replacement, a boxed seal pack will be clean with no scratches\dust at the connectors etc. Its utter bullcrap if the dealer says he or panasonic tested it out for you before it was opened, remember Panasonic India does not reopen the package once it lands in India just for QC, they just cant afford to spend that much time with TV for gods sake !!!...

Another primary observation to be made during unpacking, the card board should be clean if not demand a totally new box with out waiting for it to be unpacked and shown,also if the thermocol is damaged it most likely was unpacked and then repacked.

And most importantly you have still not given us the name of the Dealer...
 
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Don't put up with these kind of attitude from dealer...:mad::mad::mad:..you dont have to..
tell him in no uncertain terms that you want the tv to be replaced..no more argument abt burn-in or any technicalities..
this 99% is handiwork of the dealer..
speak to the anybody who matters at showroom..tell him you will drag him to court.
and you can't waste any time...
 
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