Laserworld Review
I know, the titles a bit strong, but read on and tell me that it isn't that way
The saga starts with these initial posts on this forum, upon the arrival of the laser.
http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...?t=4140&page=3
After the keyswitch failed there was no doubt that the laser had to go back to Germany for repair, however given the turn that our email correspondence had taken, I was now looking to simply return it for a refund as I'm entitled to as it was not functioning as it should have been.
Whilst agreeeing to take the item back for testing and repair, Martin did point out that if it was found to not be faulty I would be liable for any return postage back to me. Alarm bells rang at this point, so I shot a small video of the problem with the keyswitch as 'insurance'. (attached)
Lo and behold, a few days later I received an email to say that the laser had been received, with everything working fine and the scanners perfectly tuned and over 300mW output.
At this point I simply responded to say that I just wanted a refund as I was sick of the whole process and just wanted to be done with ever dealing with the company again.
The reply I got now said that unfortunately the laser had damage to the glass at the front and to the fan at the back and that it would be chargeable! To say I was gobsmacked at the audacity is an understatement!
I responded, explaining that if the damage did indeed exist then the DHL slip would be marked as such (obviously) and why didn't he explain the damage in his email previously that had said they'd received the laser and it was all working fine?
The next day I received a refund, minus 10% charge as the laser was used?! I appreciate there is a restocking charge if you simply decide you don't want the item and its used, but in this case it was not working correctly and had been offered a refund if it was found to be not working.
For the sake of the £30 its really not worth pursuing further, as it had already taken up too much of my time and energy, however if I can raise other peoples awareness to the what i consider 'dodgy' methods that this company/man will stoop to, and indirectly hurt his pocket, then it is worth the money lost.
A quote from buffo in the other thread I think sums it all up...
I think a nose was put out of joint early on in this process, and unfortunately he had resolved to screw me for what he could. Not good business sense given the all pervading nature of the internet these days. I'm tempted to post the URL of this post in the negative ebay feedback and see if anything more comes of it.Perhaps they're not used to selling their less-expensive projectors to informed hobbyists like yourself and they were just backpedaling like crazy when you pointed out their mistakes. But they need to fix it. Just because it's not their most expensive projector doesn't mean it's OK to have a broken keyswitch, or to send it out with lousy tuning. Don't let them off the hook!