MirkoBoeddecker
Hello everyone,
As we have unfortunately seen a significant rise recently in so-called "problematic complaints that raise serious doubts", and as we wish to continue handling complaints quickly and flexibly, we have decided to amend our Terms and Conditions so that submitting a complaint no longer entitles the complainant to any compensation (financial benefit).
In future, where justified, we will quickly and promptly replace the quantity of unexposed material and samples sent in with the same quantity of unexposed material of the same type.
In other words: all unexposed material sent in, and any faulty prints included with it, will be replaced with new material.
This means the following scenarios are no longer possible:
1) After using 998 sheets of photographic paper, you send in one sheet that allegedly had a crease, along with the last unexposed sheet, and demand 1,000 sheets of new paper because allegedly everything was faulty, but you unfortunately only noticed this after weeks and 998 sheets, upon seeing the last sheet......
2) If you don’t like the paper’s tonal range after all, you send it back claiming it has a fault and demand a DIFFERENT type of paper as a replacement.
Sorry, but this has simply happened too often recently.
With this new policy, we hope to take the wind out of the sails of the ‘complaint knights’, in the interests of all honest customers and in the interests of a moderate pricing policy in the long term.
In the case of obvious/known defects or in ‘tragic’ individual cases, we will of course continue to be exceptionally accommodating, just as we have been up to now.
The revised version of the Terms and Conditions reads:
(...) To process complaints regarding photographic paper and film, we require a sample of the defect as well as the remaining, defective, unexposed material in its original packaging. Where a claim is justified, we will replace the quantity of unexposed material sent in and the quantity of defective sample material sent in. Therefore, if you send in only 2 sheets/rolls of film, you will only receive 2 sheets/rolls back.
Mirko
MKL
Hello Mirko,
In my opinion, these restrictions were already covered in the old terms and conditions, which stated:
§7 Notification of defects.
The recipient must inspect our goods immediately upon receipt.
Obvious defects must be reported to us within 8 days
of receipt of the consignment.
Other defects must be reported immediately upon discovery.
The statutory provisions regarding the limitation period remain
unaffected. Where justified, we shall provide compensation by means of a replacement delivery
of goods of the same quantity and type. If the replacement delivery
fails, the customer is entitled to rescission or a reduction in price.
Further claims are excluded.
Only the cost of the materials will be refunded. Consequential damages
cannot be reimbursed.
In the event of faulty laboratory work, the processed material
will be replaced with equivalent unexposed material. Further
claims are excluded. Except in cases of wilful misconduct or
gross negligence. In order to process complaints regarding photographic paper and film
, we require a sample of the defect as well as the
remaining, defective, unexposed material.
A change such as the one you have made is not necessary at all – simply announcing that your goodwill policy would no longer apply would have sufficed.
Regarding the second point, ‘I don’t like the tone of the paper’, in the case of unopened packs during the withdrawal period, you will have no option but to take the packs back. That was also the rule before. In the event of a complaint, it was also your goodwill gesture to offer a different type as a replacement.
Tip:
Simply announcing the change to the Terms and Conditions on the forum isn’t enough anyway. The catalogue still contains the old version, and there’s no link to the Terms and Conditions on your website (at least I can’t find one).
Best regards,
Michael
MirkoBoeddecker
Hi Michael,
Strictly speaking, of course, we could have ‘enforced’ this rule from the start.
But we never did, until the volume kept growing.
My point is that we need to communicate this in advance so that we don’t end up hearing afterwards: ‘Why am I only getting two sheets back? Last time you sent me 500 sheets, so I thought I’d do the same again…’ ;-).
Photographic paper is a perishable product and is therefore excluded from the right of withdrawal, as it would be impossible to carry out a non-destructive inspection of the goods to check whether they have been stored incorrectly.
If photographic paper is stored in direct sunlight or next to certain chemicals for even a few hours, this can lead to problems or variations in image reproduction compared to another pack from the same batch. For this reason, we do not accept returns of paper or film under any circumstances – otherwise we could not guarantee that you would receive flawless goods.
The amended Terms and Conditions will go live in the catalogue this afternoon.
Best regards,
Mirko
