Henry's extended warranty, can I get a refund if camera dies before first year ?

NuggyBuggy wrote: ↑About 6 months ago I bought a Fuji camera from Henry's. I bought the extended service plan/warranty. A few weeks ago it stopped working. I took it back to Henry's and the lady examining it noted what looks like a dent on casing of the camera. I have no idea where it came from. Anyways, she sent it in, and today I was told it would not be covered under warranty (they claim "impact damage", though I have no idea how they could know that) and that it would cost $300 to have it repaired.

Since the camera sells new for little more than that, obviously I am not going to repair it. I understand that the extended service plan basically is a warranty which takes effect only after the initial manufacturer's warranty runs out. So my question is, should I be able to cancel the extended service plan and ask for a refund, given that I have not yet entered the period covered by this plan ?

I would ask at Henry's but I knew there is a good chance I would a blow a gasket in the store or on the phone, and thought I would educate myself a little about my options before going into battle.

Thanks for any advice in advance.

As a rule no you will not get your money back.Now it depends what is wrong with the camera.If it is a dent like the lady says then no warrentys do not cover that.It all depends how good a cutomer you are they may give you a in store credit to use to get a new camera.It would not be a full credit but 50% of what you paid.Or they may just replace the camera.There is very little chance they will give you your cash back.

hightechfan wrote: ↑As a rule no you will not get your money back.Now it depends what is wrong with the camera.If it is a dent like the lady says then no warrentys do not cover that.It all depends how good a cutomer you are they may give you a in store credit to use to get a new camera.It would not be a full credit but 50% of what you paid.Or they may just replace the camera.There is very little chance they will give you your cash back.

Sorry if my original post was unclear or if I misunderstood your post. I'm really just wondering whether I am entitled to a refund on the extended warranty (not the camera itself), since I never even got into the time period covered by it. Thanks.

OK, so a few weeks ago when I went in to ask for a refund of the money I paid for the extended warranty. I argued that I should get my money back since I had not ever been covered by the warranty, as it only provides coverage when the manufacturer's warranty expires, which had not yet happened.

The woman I spoke to said Henry's policy is to NEVER refund extended warranties. I got angry very quickly, and she supposedly went to talk to her manager "Beth", who I never saw. "Beth" supposedly offered to give me a credit to be used towards another extended warranty, IF I BOUGHT ANOTHER CAMERA FROM THEM WITHIN ONE WEEK. This was not acceptable to me because I had no intention of buying another camera at the time. They would not offer me a store credit. I got even angrier and stormed out of the store.

Then I decided to see what other camera dealers would do in the situation. I went to Vistek. I got into a conversation with two sales reps and told them the story.

One of them was positive the warranty company would not refund me my money. But the second was not so sure and offered to call the company in front of me. He was told that up until the day before the extended warranty coverage period takes effect, the warranty company would offer me a full refund on the extended warranty.

This is exactly how things should be. If you were never covered by an insurance policy, you should be able to get your money back if you can no longer use that coverage.

I walked away from Vistek, feeling vindicated and determined that I would thereafter spend my money at stores like Vistek that treat their customers decently. I also vowed to never, ever spend a dime at Henry's.

Funnily enough, two or three weeks later I became interested - totally out of the blue - in getting a DSLR, which I had never even considered before. Where previously I had been a loyal Henry's customer, having bought Minoxes and Rolleis from the back in the 1980s, I now ended up spending about $2K - at Vistek.

In summary: Henry's sucks.

Nobody refunds an extended warranty 6 mos after purchase of product. Not saying this is fair, it is just how it is.

People have bought extended warranties on their cars, often paying a few thousand for the warranty. Then the car gets stolen. You win some, you lose some.

dlander wrote: ↑Nobody refunds an extended warranty 6 mos after purchase of product. Not saying this is fair, it is just how it is.

People have bought extended warranties on their cars, often paying a few thousand for the warranty. Then the car gets stolen. You win some, you lose some.

Staples does.

dlander wrote: ↑Nobody refunds an extended warranty 6 mos after purchase of product.

You're wrong: Vistek does. I also believe FutureShop does, but I could be wrong about that.

NuggyBuggy wrote: ↑You're wrong: Vistek does. I also believe FutureShop does, but I could be wrong about that.

FS and BB treat the extended warranties as accessory sales. So this means the customer has up to 30 days from day of purchase of the warranty (or even 60 days of purchase of the item, 30 day + 30 day) to refund the warranty.

I think Fuji does that a lot... had the pop up flash stop working on two Fuji cameras a few years ago (same model, but two different cameras), and both times the factory claimed impact damage, and charged $3-400 to fix it. I don't recall either camera being dropped! If it had been dropped, I'm sure the lens would have been damaged (its a super zoom).

Unfortunately, we paid, because this was a $700 camera and wasn't available in the market anymore.

At least both cameras still work great today

ootb98 wrote: ↑I think Fuji does that a lot... had the pop up flash stop working on two Fuji cameras a few years ago (same model, but two different cameras), and both times the factory claimed impact damage, and charged $3-400 to fix it. I don't recall either camera being dropped! If it had been dropped, I'm sure the lens would have been damaged (its a super zoom).

When they told me it was impact damage, all I could think of was that I was sort of stuck in having to take their word for it. A $300 camera might not be worth paying for an estimate at an unbiased shop, so I am unlikely to get a second opinion, and an unscrupulous place might take advantage of that.

Hmmm i do get away with this at other stores not sure how henry's works.... Buy another camera exactly same as you currently have wait a few days to a week... return it as not satisfied with... who know might work... check out return policy

another thing if another store carries the same camera model and is easier to reuturn to.. buy camera there and wait a few days and return there... Another tip is pay with cash and give a false name and addy if needed when refunding

Usually the serial number is recorded on the receipt when a camera is sold. It needs to be if the receipt is going to be useful for warranty purposes. Although in this case I did not check specifically, I would be this would be the case here.

This is why you buy the warranty FROM THE MANUFACTURER, which lets you buy the warranty anytime during the 1 year warranty with them, which means you could buy the extended warranty from the manufacturer on the 364th day. Not sure about cameras, but from my research on TVs, almost all companies allow you to do this, and the price is not much different than, say if you buy it from Futureshop, however, you get the benefit of dealing with the manufacturer and not with the lowest bidding insurance company that Futureshop hires, who sends the broken units into the manufacturer anyways.

Jon Lai wrote: ↑This is why you buy the warranty FROM THE MANUFACTURER, which lets you buy the warranty anytime during the 1 year warranty with them, which means you could buy the extended warranty from the manufacturer on the 364th day. Not sure about cameras, but from my research on TVs, almost all companies allow you to do this, and the price is not much different than, say if you buy it from Futureshop, however, you get the benefit of dealing with the manufacturer and not with the lowest bidding insurance company that Futureshop hires, who sends the broken units into the manufacturer anyways.

Good to know. Thanks
I never buy extended warranties. I know it is a bit of a gamble. But I never find it worth while. It seems to be a money maker for them and a PITA for us.
I do however use my CC to provide addition extended warranty. As well, I try to keep good care of my electronics, but even the best prudence doesn't ALWAYS work. Digital Camera are very sensitive equipment, plus there is always the chance to get them bumped, dropped, contaminated by dust, sand, water, etc... Unfortunately, when you buy a camera, you are also buying that risk.

However, in the OP's case. Man, what a bunch of bad luck. Sad story to hear

Did you read the terms and conditions of the warranty agreement with respect to refunds? I ask because the terms and stipulations for all extended warranties are listed and you are obligated to the terms of the contract. If issues like return policies and exceptions are listed and you don't like it, you are under no obligation to opt for the extended warranty.

Even with you experience with Vistek, I would get the warranty information and read the terms and conditions. I never just go by what a salesguy says as their job is to get you to spend $$ and make commission. The fact that they may misrepresent stuff may be a topic of another discussion or legal action. Bottom line: Read the terms of conditions and if something is not listed, ask and get it in writing (i.e. time/date/who signed it, etc.).

Another suggestion is to use a credit card with extended warranty options so it costs nothing but may not cover the same things.

The real lesson is don't buy an extended warranty.

hightech wrote: ↑Did you read the terms and conditions of the warranty agreement with respect to refunds? I ask because the terms and stipulations for all extended warranties are listed and you are obligated to the terms of the contract. If issues like return policies and exceptions are listed and you don't like it, you are under no obligation to opt for the extended warranty.

This was a long time ago. I don't remember the specifics but I am quite positive that I would not have gotten so angry if the warranty policy specifically stipulated "no returns". I would have gone over the insurance jacket carefully before going into the store.

Frankly I find it unconscionable that any product or service which has not been delivered in any part should not be returnable. In my case, the extended warranty kicks in only after one year, the camera broke before that year, so Henry's should have given me my money back, at least in the form of a store credit.

To that point, my family had bought many cameras from them over the last few decades , and since then I have bought much more gear (another F30, a D80, D300, D700, G9, LX3, W300, plus pro lenses like the 17-55, 28-70, 80-200, 85/1.4, and too many other lenses and pieces of gear to list) and guess what: not a single one of them has been purchased at Henry's. I've bought my stuff at places like Black's, Vistek, Downtown Camera, and online, but will not bother to so much as even compare prices at Henry's. I'd pay more to avoid shopping there.

Even with you experience with Vistek, I would get the warranty information and read the terms and conditions. I never just go by what a salesguy says as their job is to get you to spend $$ and make commission.The fact that they may misrepresent stuff may be a topic of another discussion or legal action.

Your point is well taken. However, the sales person that I spoke with at Vistek was not in the position to make a sale - I made it clear I was not going to be buying a camera - and he did call the insurance company. The attitude I got at Henry's was unbelievable - the woman told me something like "I don't know what the other stores do, but we're the biggest place in town, end of story". I regret to this day not having written the management a letter as I am sure that would have gotten me some relief, but I just determined that I would never shop there again.

Another suggestion is to use a credit card with extended warranty options so it costs nothing but may not cover the same things.

Yeah, I did buy the camera on my credit card, and it did have extended warranty protection, so I am not really sure why I didn't pursue this avenue. I think at the time I was so angry I didn't want to deal with it, and didn't feel like chasing down multiple estimates at however many repair shops needed to satisfy the insurance company, with my newborn baby in tow.

Truth is, when Henry's wrote off the repair as "physical damage", I was skeptical that it was actually examined. The estimate did not describe any work to be done, nor what - if anything - was wrong with the camera. I think they just made up a number big enough to practically ensure that I would buy another camera.

F them. They've lost my business forever.

hagbard wrote: ↑The real lesson is don't buy an extended warranty.

I tell myself that every time I buy something, and usually end up buying it anyways.

back in the day I bought a Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 for $2500 with extended warranty and the camera started to malfunction and restart whenever it wanted to, I got it replaced and then in half a year same thing happened to the other one and it got replaced in-store again.

I was prety happy with the service.

Thought Henry's does take a little more than other stores, I bought my new Canon 7D in future shop this time for $3200, where same deal in henry's with same number of extra items would of cost me around $3400-3500.
it's a matter of preferance thought, henry's is a profesional photo store, if I had the extra $300 to spend I'd get it there...