Cameras Underwater - Very little Impressed!!!!

[B]

As some of you may know I was in the unfortunate position of having to purchase a new camera system a month or two back... replacing my much loved Olympus 5060 was a hard one as it is discontinued...

Well what better than to rely on the "experts" and seek some advice. I called CUW numerous times and each time got different cameras recommended to me... all simply better than the next. In the end I settled for the Canon A570i as it is the one recommended by PADI it made sense to buy something for when I become a DUPi that students can relate to, it was also the one they kept pushing for again and again and again so I thought, well it is probably good... I purchase, strobe, Ikelite housing, ikelite tray, wa lens, cables, cards..the lot... not cheap as you can imagine.. this following 4 attempts to get a quote, because for some reason they just left things off all the time... first the camera was not included (forgot), then the sd cards (forgot), then the fibre optic cable (forgot) then the wa lens (forgot)... but we got there in the end, and I was willing to give the benefit of the doubt...

Items arrived drips and drops.. well one can live with it, the housing has to be ordered in so I can live with that too... camera arrives and I am very disappointed to say the least. Plasticky and looks cheap.. but giving it a chance I carry on practicing land based pics... then comes the housing, and whilst the camera fits it ok, the zoom arm does not and the camera can not be operated. I send email to CUW immediately... nothing... call them... nothing... email again... finally they call back, "oh well are you sure" I reply... "well yes, I am capable of inserting camera into housing" ... response is... send it back (at my cost)

I do (city express courier as well)... hear nothing for 5 days.. call them up - again.... long conversation ensues, have you got housing, yes, does it have a fault, yes appears to, and the million dollar question.... (like pulling teeth) what you gonna do about it?? Oh well, we will get some more in from Ikelite to check this is a one off...

Week passes.. .not a word.... emails sent again, then another... then they call... yes we have got the other housings in and they too have the fault.. it is a design fault.. Ok, this is not good I respond, what next??... well you can send the camera back too (also at my cost) and choose another... said in the way "oh well do what you like, we are not bothered"... so I ask, well what am I going to be compensated with, a better model for same money... they are like "no" - I respond, well I paid for the postage, twice and it is not cheap to send insured... they said "it is the customer who pays the carriage, we point that out as soon as you purchase" - I said, well you seem to have omimitted that fact when I purchased and secondly, why should I pay postage when it is your products that is at fault.. why was it not checked before shipping...???? (apparently they do not have quality assurance... they just send the things...)

Since then, lots of emails back and forth, we are getting nowhere, I have no housing but still have the camera, strobe and all the trimmings, students to teach and nothing to use... I am not impressed. The buying power of a club with lots of students wanting to be photographers is huge. I think the service - or lack of same - is poor to say the least. This is a reasonably nieche market and they sit there like lord and master... very very disappointed....

Watch this space...

B x

[ding]

Sorry to hear your experiance with CU I have had great service from them so far. But and here is the but Ikelite are not easy to deal with....I like their housings but some of the design is a wee bit dodgy.

[Daz217]

Good job you were not depending on it for an impending trip of a lifetime
I say get a refund send the lot back and buy from somewhere with better service.
FFS IMHO you pay a small fortune for underwater photography gear the service should match the prices they ask.
Just my 2p worth.

[Mal Bridgeman]

P.A.D.I. actually have a role of DUPi ? You can't make some stuff up !!

[Okeanos]

I've always had good service from CU, but then I've never experienced their after sales service.

If you are teaching students how to use a camera, get a basic unit without all the extras. Otherwise you will soon be needing to replace parts like strobes/lenses etc. They will take a hammering. A simple Sony/Fuji/Oly or whatever in a standard housing, that's what they will be buying first. Showing them the extras as part of a course is good, but they need to know how to use the camera first.

Find a cheap camera & housing deal for your students to use. I use the Fuji F10 or the F11 for teaching. Get to know your camera before you try teaching with it.

[Woz]

Send CU a recorded delivery letter stating your complaint, the fact that you have given them the opportunity to rectify the problem several times without satisfaction and you want a refund as the items sold were not "fit for purpose" and they have 14 days to comply or you'll forward the case to trading standards and the small claims court.

Make sure you keep a copy. After 7 days if you haven't heard anything send them a recorded delivery reminder letter.

When debt collecting from my customers we always play it straight down the line like this and it works a treat. If you are feeling really keen then go to Thomas Higgins (a solicitor we use) and they'll write a letter for a whopping £2.00 plus VAT.

Then go to digital depot and get the same thing 30% cheaper.

[Kirstie]

Originally Posted by Mal Bridgeman

P.A.D.I. actually have a role of DUPi ? You can't make some stuff up !!

Marvellous! Turbie will be delighted to find out that, not only is he an OWSI, TDI, Adv Nitrox & Deco Procedures Inst, Adv Gas Blending Inst - he's also a DSi, UNi, BDi, WDi, EANi, PPBi and DDi as well!

B - sorry for the ambush. Give them hell, girl. Nobody should have to put up with appalling service like you've received.

[Beeblebum]

My experience of CUW did not impress me either. I contacted them about UR Pro filters and received a lot of contradictory advice from that which is published on the UR Pro www site. I had it insist on what I needed which I thought was a little odd since I was spending about £300 on filters!!

Otherwise, Alan James gets all my business. He and Heather have always given 100% service.

[Richard Mason]

Originally Posted by Kirstie

Marvellous! Turbie will be delighted to find out that, not only is he an OWSI, TDI, Adv Nitrox & Deco Procedures Inst, Adv Gas Blending Inst - he's also a DSi, UNi, BDi, WDi, EANi, PPBi and DDi as well!

B - sorry for the ambush. Give them hell, girl. Nobody should have to put up with appalling service like you've received.

What does the little "i" stand for?

By the way B, you should drop in and copy and paste that complaint into Divernet Forum, as there's someone called Duxy from CUW who virtually runs the U/W photography forum. Might help keep them on their toes and you may get a result.

Divernet | Forums | Diver Forums

If you post it on Friday night, the mods don't check it out over the weekend, so it will get maximum exposure and it's not as if you are flaming them, you've got a fair gripe and you've tried to sort it out with their disinterested sales staff. This way, you might get a result off them.

[RonProwse]

B They have to compensate you under the sale of goods act 1979 :-

this is from the act

48B Repair or replacement of the goods

(1) If section 48A above applies, the buyer may require the seller—
(a) to repair the goods, or
(b) to replace the goods.

(2) If the buyer requires the seller to repair or replace the goods, the seller must—
(a) repair or, as the case may be, replace the goods within a reasonable time but without causing significant inconvenience to the buyer;
(b) bear any necessary costs incurred in doing so (including in particular the cost of any labour, materials or postage).


hope this helps.

R