Eastman Kodak provoked customer ire on Aug 22 after it failed to appear at a public hearing organized by China Consumers' Association (CCA).The US imaging giant questioned the status of the hearing, but said it was looking to solve the dispute over camera quality and replacement in a 'fair and active' manner.

"Kodak was informed of the hearing by CCA last Friday," said Tian Geng, spokesman for Kodak in Beijing. "We did not have enough time to prepare related and necessary papers. And Kodak does not think that CCA, as a non- governmental organization, has the right to ask Kodak to 'respond to charges' as CCA said in the letter."

The hearing, the first of its kind held by CCA, followed complaints by a group of 343 Chinese consumers who said that their cameras had developed problems such as blank screens, overexposure and mal-functioning lenses within a year of purchase.

Bai Hua, representative of the consumers, demanded Kodak provide a free upgrade of the model, the same as Kodak provided in Taiwan Province. Bai said that on the Chinese mainland Kodak's services stations had charged at least 1,500 yuan (US$180) for an upgraded lens."What hurt the consumers is not the deficient products, but Kodak's attitude," Bai said.

"The statement of free-upgrading in Taiwan was totally false," Tian said. "Kodak believes that on this point both consumers and CCA have some misunderstanding." "Kodak will take a co-operative, fair and active attitude to settle the disputes," Tian said. "But first of all, the misunderstandings need to be clarified."

In response to an investigation letter from CCA on July 14, Kodak said that Model LS 443 had passed Chinese quality inspection before it was put onto the market in November 2002. In response, the association sent five of the cameras to a camera quality inspection centre in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The results showed that all of the cameras had problems caused by poor design.

During the hearing, director Pi Jianlong of Beijing Jintai Law Firm accused Kodak of a lack of sincerity. "It is illogical to say all of their products are good quality just because sample products passed quality inspection," he said.

Kodak, maker of the world's first digital camera in 1976, launched a massive transition to digital business in 2002. It beat all other brands to become the top digital camera seller in the United States in 2004. More than 96 per cent of their traditional cameras and all of their digital cameras are made in China.

Source:佚名