MACK Camera Warranty - Why not to buy it
Nathan Beaman
Sat, Aug 16, 2008
I’ve posted this on DVXuser. I’m pissed so I reposted here.
I’ve owned several cameras now and have always purchased the overpriced camera warranties. I think that most people do. It’s piece of mind for a fee. I’ve never had to use it before which is almost better — till this year.
My HVX started to have focus issues towards the end of March and I knew I was shooting a feature in May so I immediately sent it in to Mack for repair. They could give me no estimated repair time or return. The camera came back finally in June - they didnt even fix it. No note, no comments, nothing - just a repair complete notification. I immediately contacted them and returned the camera once more. Now its nearing the close of August and they still have no estimate on the return or repair of the camera.
Thats six months that the camera has been out of commission with them now.
Im pretty fair so I was still giving them the benefit of the doubt - but a good friend of mine who lives nearby has been going through the same thing. Though they’ve only had his cam for 4 months.
These people are making Millions on warranties for cameras, consumer camcorders and still cameras. Think about how many DVX and HVX users there are and how many of us bought the stupid warranties.
If anyone has had a positive experience with them I’d love to hear it, but quite frankly i think they blow.
August 27th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
As stated on the original invoice which was mailed back with the camera we replaced connectors and did a computerized alignment of all moving parts. With the current repair which was already mailed back to you we Aligned the Auto Focus.
Scott at Mack Camera
800 252 6225 ext 137
or scott (at) mackcam.com
August 28th, 2008 at 3:06 am
This company lies. I sent my camera in with a detailed letter explaining the problems with my camera when I had to send it back again a 2nd time due to their incompetence. They sent the camera back and it still has problems. After sending an angry email demanding an explanation, I got this:
“The unit was mailed in without a problem stated. We ran diagnostics which came up with errors. We checked the inside and found bad contacts. After fixing the contacts we ran diagnostics again which came up clean. The unit was then checked out and ran perfectly for the technician and the quality control department. If the unit has another problem please let us know what it is and we will send you a call tag to get the unit back here.
Scott Kivowitz (ext. 137)”
Pretty basic letter that everyone obviously gets, love how they say my camera was mailed without a problem stated. Lots of people online have had this trouble, only getting the matter somewhat resolved through the BBB. I don’t have the time or the patience.
Fuck them, I’m selling my camera with the shit warranty, I’m through with them.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:46 am
First off, I’d like to thank you Scott for replying here. I have had no luck getting any sort of communication from Mack otherwise and it’s good to finally hear back from someone.
I received my camera back yesterday and it seems to be working much better, I’ll be fully testing it later today.
The sad part here is that my camera was with Mack for almost 6 months with no proper repair or reliable customer service. I could get no answer, but within a week of posting this subject here I get an answer and my camera back out of nowhere. You shouldn’t have to make threats or publicly bitch to get the service you paid for.
Sending the camera back unrepaired the first time was a major blow against Mack. Yeah, computer calibrated - whatever…. blah. If you simply turned the camera on and looked at the image you could clearly see it wasn’t fixed and in fact was way worse than it was originally.
Then after mailing the camera back in I was promised I wouldn’t have to wait and it would be repaired immediately.. lies. It took another month with no response, feedback and news of the problem.
I will never buy another Mack warranty again and instead will work with insurance and other forms of camera protection. In the end they are more cost effective and guarantee you better service as well as the choice of having your camera repaired elsewhere.
September 4th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
danworm74, Like all businesses we do have pre-typed replies, emails and such but that one in particular I personally typed to you. It was not a standard email. Also, we did not see a letter with the camera. Many times what happens is when the shipping department is processing the incoming equipment a letter could be at the bottom of the box. When disposing of the box, the letter may not be caught. This may or may not have happened with your equipment but there is no way to know. If you are still having a problem with your unit please give us a call and we will get you a call tag so you do not have to pay for return shipping. If it is working like it did when it was here then I am glad.
Nathan,
I apologize that no one ever contacted you. There is no excuse for it. There is also no excuse for equipment being with us for that long. Hope all is well with your equipment.
September 19th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I had a wonderful experience with Mack Camera warranty. I sent them my digital camera (Canon Powershot S2 IS) for repair because the lens didn`t come out. I was scared they wouldn`t fix it because there was some sand in the camera, and because the lens error was a common Canon error (E18) that even Canon does not fix under warranty.
But, they fixed it up just fine, and even put in a new viewfinder lens that had fallen out due to my own fault. It works perfectly fine now and I will continue to buy Mack Camera warranties because I was so pleased with the result. They`re also supposed to send you a new camera if they cannot fix your old one. It took about a month from when I sent it to when I got it back, which is quite reasonable since I live in Canada and it takes longer to ship stuff from or to here.
October 6th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I purchased their 3 year warranty with an HP B9180 printer in 2006. The printer quit working properly in July. Fist, Mack had me take it to an authorized local repair service. They stated they couldn’t repair it because the mail board could not be purchased from their repair parts division. Mack had me send it to them in NJ. After over a month, their service tech said he couldn’t repair it so they sent it to HP. HP says it’s not repairable. Now Mack has come back to me with an offer of $350 in compensation and they’ll keep the printer. A replacement form HP is $600 after the mail in rebates. I paid $680 new, not including the $60 warranty.
The warranty states “The equipment will be restored to proper operating condition at no charge to you”. If they can’t restore it to proper operating condition, shouldn’t they replace it? The warranty doesn’t mention anything about replacement. It also doesn’t mention they’ll make you a cheep offer if they can’t repair it, either.
I’m not very happy with Mack Camera right now. I probably won’t ever purchase another Mack Camera warranty.
What would you recommend?
October 8th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
waterdroplet Says:
September 19th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
I had a wonderful experience with Mack Camera warranty. I sent them my digital camera (Canon Powershot S2 IS) for repair because the lens didn`t come out. I was scared they wouldn`t fix it because there was some sand in the camera, and because the lens error was a common Canon error (E18) that even Canon does not fix under warranty.
But, they fixed it up just fine, and even put in a new viewfinder lens that had fallen out due to my own fault. It works perfectly fine now and I will continue to buy Mack Camera warranties because I was so pleased with the result. They`re also supposed to send you a new camera if they cannot fix your old one. It took about a month from when I sent it to when I got it back, which is quite reasonable since I live in Canada and it takes longer to ship stuff from or to here.
On behalf of Mack Camera & Video Service Inc., I would like to thank for taking the time to write about your positive experience. We at Mack Camera work hard to deliver quality service to our customers. Thank you for choosing Mack Camera as your extended warranty provider.
Desiree
Customer Relations Supervisor
Mack Camera and Video Service Inc.
October 9th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
horqua Says:
October 6th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
I purchased their 3 year warranty with an HP B9180 printer in 2006. The printer quit working properly in July. Fist, Mack had me take it to an authorized local repair service. They stated they couldn’t repair it because the mail board could not be purchased from their repair parts division. Mack had me send it to them in NJ. After over a month, their service tech said he couldn’t repair it so they sent it to HP. HP says it’s not repairable. Now Mack has come back to me with an offer of $350 in compensation and they’ll keep the printer. A replacement form HP is $600 after the mail in rebates. I paid $680 new, not including the $60 warranty.
The warranty states “The equipment will be restored to proper operating condition at no charge to you”. If they can’t restore it to proper operating condition, shouldn’t they replace it? The warranty doesn’t mention anything about replacement. It also doesn’t mention they’ll make you a cheep offer if they can’t repair it, either.
I’m not very happy with Mack Camera right now. I probably won’t ever purchase another Mack Camera warranty.
As Mack Camera’s Customer Relations Supervisor, I want to apologize for any inconvenience that we may have caused thus far. When your unit arrived at our facility, it was evaluated by one of our technicians. In order to proceed with the repair of your unit, we had to send your unit to the manufacturer for repair. Unfortunately, parts are no longer available for your unit. It was my understanding that you were offered a settlement. I am in agreement that the settlement offer is rather low and I will be speaking with the supervisor of that department to rectify this matter. I appreciate your patience during this process and someone will be contacting you shortly with your new settlement. If you should require additional information, you can contact me via email at helpdesk@mackcam.com.
Desiree
Customer Relations Supervisor
Mack Camera and Video Service Inc.
January 26th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
I have had two experiences with Mack Camera warranties. I have an Olympus C5060 camera that was purchased with the 5yr warranty. It had an electronics failure in fall 2007 and was sent for repair. When returned it still seemed to have problems with the USB interface and I sent it back. It was checked out and returned and has been working since. The process took about 6 weeks if I recall.
I have just returned it again with a malfunctioning power-on switch. Hoping for a similar successful resolution. Service seems slower than before.
I also have an Epson 4990 photo scanner that failed - scanning mechanism wouldn’t travel. It was returned and repaired without incident and is functioning well a year later after some heavy use.
I must conclude in my case that the warranty purchase was a valuable investment.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Dear CB,
My name is Desiree and I’m the Customer Relations Supervisor for Mack Camera. I would like to thank you for writing about your positive experience with Mack Camera. I would also like to assist you with the repair of your unit. Please email your RA number to helpdesk@mackcam.com so I can look into the status of your repair.
Thank you again,
Desiree
Customer Relations Supervisor
Mack Camera and Video
March 27th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
I recently sent my Ptax K10 to Mack Camera for warranty work. It did take a bit long to get my camera back (5 weeks), but the camera now works great.
Each time I called Mack Camera, the rep was polite and eager to help. I called 3-4 times and each time documented the rep’s name, date and time of call. I politely let the rep know I was documenting that information. I belive that if the rep knows you are being systematic and documenting, he/she has a heightened sense of accountability.
All-in-all, I was pleased with Mack Camera. Hopefully I won’t have cause to use the warranty again, but if I do, I won’t be hesitant to box and mail to Mack.
April 12th, 2009 at 9:31 am
i’ve always thought about purchasing a mack warranty, but never really had an oppertunity, nor did i really need it cause my dad sells insurance and he got me a pretty sweet deal with a lot of savings and benefits.