Unethical seller of Nikon, Prerna, Mumbai, Bombay, India

<p>Beware of buying anything from Prerna:<br>

Hi, my name is Madan Mohan Chakraborty, and I am a very serious amateur photographer. I am into this art for more than twenty years, and I have had my exhibition in various places of the world. As a profession, I work for a prestigious Tata Group organization as a senior executive. I am based of Calcutta.<br>

<a href="http://www.usefilm.com/photographer/109689.html">http://www.usefilm.com/photographer/109689.html</a><br>

<a href="http://jpgmag.com/people/mmchak">http://jpgmag.com/people/mmchak</a><br>

Though I am a Canon user, recently, I had to buy a Nikon 300/F4 lens. The lens was not available with my Calcutta vendor Tanvir, and I was in Bombay. I purchased this lens from Prerna, and same day I returned to Calcutta. Prerna’s Rajesh Bhatiya (9820152000), insisted that the available lens is without paper, and also I save VAT which is more than almost 8,000/-. However, as we are buying from grey for last 20 years, I didn’t think much.<br>

On my return, I found that the lens is not always focusing perfectly, and a strange ghrrrr sound is coming when the lens is hunting even in broad day light high contrast situation. I immediately called Prerna’s Rajesh Bhatiya, and told the problem, His reply was strange, as he said, “you have checked the lens while buying, now what can I do?” This is a very costly lens, and he was aware about the problem. This business runs on trust, and I was amazed to see his conduct, even with people like us.<br>

When I contacted Nikon, they said that Prerna is already Blacklisted, and no one should not buy anything from Prerna. Well, this is not an excuse to me, as Nikon has not done anything to inform people that Prerna is blacklisted.<br>

I request all photographers in and around Bombay to raise their voice against this, and also boycott Prerna. I also request Nikon to consider this case and replace asap. However, I want all my photographer friends to help me in this regard in any way possible.</p>

<p>If you paid by credit card, call the credit card company and tell them you want to file a dispute. They will give you instructions about how to do that. If you have notes you made during calls and who you talked to when you complained will help a lot. You will have to fax them the info and documents you have. The lens seller has 45 days to dispute you. If they do not respond to your dispute in 45 days, your credit card company should give you back the money you paid the company you bought the lens from. If they do respond you can still dispute what they say. If you win out, the credit card company should give you a refund on your statement and charge the seller to get the money back. It happened to me on a $2,400 purchase and I got it all back. "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." Don't give up!</p>

<p>In what way was Nikon supposed to contact you -- personally -- and warn you about an unauthorized reseller? How is Nikon responsible for your purchase of a graymarket item from an unauthorized reseller?<br>

I'm sorry you were taken, and I hope you used a credit card. Otherwise I doubt you have any recourse.</p>

<p>You wanted <strong>to save</strong> paying the VAT, right?</p>

<p>You knew the lens was a <strong>gray-market item</strong>, right?</p>

<p>So what is the problem? You did the two things (please see above) to save a few $$$s, and now you are learning that is not the very best way to go in a purchase to be used for business-related photography.</p>

<p><em>Life is a learning journey</em>....</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Not addressing the ethics of the seller or how to get satisfaction, but...</p>

<p>Is this a VR lens? I'm a Canon shooter and have little familiarity with Nikon, but there are frequent posts about weird noises from Canon IS lenses. These noises are from normal operation -- the faint whirring sounds of the gyros and noises from compensatory movement of the optics.</p>

<p>Focus errors are probably the second most common post. Often there's not enough light, but sometimes there are consistent focus errors with some combo of body and lens. It's a calibration issue. Fortunately our more modern camera bodies can be user-calibrated for any given lens.</p>

<p>Have I got this right? According to your post:</p>

<ol>

<li>You purchased the lens from an unknown out-of-town seller (who, as it turns out, is on Nikon's 'blacklist')</li>

<li>You did no vetting of the seller prior to an expensive purchase</li>

<li>Your purchase was primarily driven by price</li>

<li>You knowingly purchased the lens without any documentation ("without paper"), including any written warranty </li>

<li>You knowingly purchased 'gray market', which, as you know, voids the Nikon warranty, so your only warranty recourse would be a store warranty (which you didn't get from the unknown, blacklisted, out-of-town seller)</li>

<li>You checked out the lens in the store and it functioned as it should</li>

<li>You then <em>transported the lens 1987km/1,234 miles</em> the same day (Mumbai to Kolkata [Calcutta], presumably by air)</li>

<li>You did not enlighten us as to <em>exactly how</em> the lens was transported (IMO, an interesting omission)</li>

<li>The lens now has an issue</li>

<li>So, of course, you post here and blame the seller and Nikon</li>

</ol>

<p>Don't you think you bear at least some, if not all, of the responsibility for the result your decisions?</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I also request Nikon to consider this case and replace asap.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Nikon owes you nothing. You purchased a 'gray market' lens. There is no factory warranty with 'gray market' products, only the seller's warranty, but <em>you knew that </em>since you've been buying 'gray market' "for last 20 years".</p>

<p> caveat emptor</p>

<p>Then of course, consumer laws in India may be different from the US, or Europe.....<br>

So, while I concur with the conclusions others draw, I can not say a sensible thing about your rights, and what Nikon owes you or not, in your country. I think you're better off checking your legal position first, rather than posting here, really.</p>

<p>It would appear the OP is out of luck as far as Nikon is concerned. Nikon India Private Limited warranty terms can be found here: http://www.nikon.co.in/warranty.php#down3<br /> Please note item #2 and #5 in both initial warranties, and item #3 under both extended warranties. The possibility also exists that the lens may have been damaged (albeit unintentionally) in transit between Mumbai and Kalkota.</p>

<p>Additionally, the OP may have some legal recourse against the seller, but his pursuing that strikes me as unlikely because:</p>

<ul>

<li>He accepted the terms of sale, including the lack of documentation, so there's no evidence to support any claim (unless the seller admits he ought to honor a service warranty, which seems improbable).</li>

<li>He knowingly didn't pay the VAT due on an imported item; it's very possible admitting that fact (or having it discovered in due course in pursuing a formal complaint) might open the OP up to legal liability, including possible forfeiture of the lens, fines, and/or a jail sentence. </li>

<li>OTOH, if the seller didn't care about the VAT, that begs the question if the lens was originally obtained by the seller in a legal manner. If not, by pursuing a formal complaint, the lens could possibly end up being confiscated.</li>

<li>He checked out the lens in the shop before he bought it (according to the OP). It only malfunctioned after being transported a long distance while in his care. Damage could have inadvertently occurred during the trip.</li>

</ul>

<p>But he did save money (or did he?). IMO, the take-away learnings are the usual ones:</p>

<ol>

<li>If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.</li>

<li>Check out the seller before making any major purchase.</li>

<li>Do business only in an ethical manner.</li>

<li>Be accountable for the consequences your actions.</li>

</ol>

<p>Dear Mr Mohan,<br>

I feel you have been Penny wise pound foolish .The grey products which you are being buying for the past 20 years proves that you are found of buying goods at cheaper rates fully aware of no warranty support on such products .How can you blame dealer for some problem on the purchased product when you have checked the product before buying further the product has travelled to kolkatta and anything can happen in transit .Also we find if funny you contacting Nikon and blaming them for the same .The said product is always available with warranty and you are a fooloish person to buy grey products in order to save some money .As you are working with a corporate company like TATA you should not indulge in such purchases in future I feel you are being unfair by blaming the dealer for this as you may have caused the damage in transit also if you had read other peoples comment on this ,this may be a minor problem which can be serviced in Nikon service centre</p>

<p>KUMAR</p>