EPSON Stylus Colour 980 - UK -Crazy Repair Fee!!!!

Hi,

didn't post here for ages.

Just had a bad experience. . .after three years of great use my faithful
printer started giving me problems. It would no longer produce high quality
prints without an awful streaking/banding running through the prints, see
below link for example,

http://tinyurl.com/3bupj

I did try nearly 10 head cleans (Used half a new ink cartridge) and even
though the test print/nozzle check was fine, any prints I did had this
horrible lines running though them. I did try different paper and different
driver settings, but no joy.

Anyway I called up Epson UK and explained to them the issue I was having,
and after going through all the options the Epson support technician
recommended an *Out-Of-Warranty* 3rd party company to have my Machine
*serviced*, they are called EQUINOX.

I phoned them and explained the situation, the lazy on the phone informed me
that I would need to pay £47.00 to have my printer sent to them by courier
so that there engineers could have a look. I asked her how much the service
could cost, but she said that it wasn't possible to give any prices until
they could have a look at the printer. Fair enough I thought, EPSON
referred me to this company, lets go for it, so I paid £47.00 by credit card
and the printer was dully collected.

4 days later I get an email from EQUINOX saying to repair my Stylus-Colour
980 it would cost £263.38 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Labour 29.79
Printhead 136.99
Black Ink 18.11
Colour Ink 19.26
Delivery & Collection 20.00

VAT 39.23

TOTAL £263.38
Deposit Paid £47.00

Balance to Pay £216.38


WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how can this be?

I have been speaking to EPSON support/Customer Services about this whole
matter, something stinks!. Even the guy at EPSON was amazed at the repair
estimate.

This printer was bought brand new (3 years ago) and have been looked after
really well (dust cover etc). I paid about £215.00 for it.

This is my first EPSON product and I am surprised that it is *Broken* after
3 years of light use, and that it cannot be serviced. At the price this
company is asking, my printer is written off! and I could buy a brand new
one.

Worst off all I have been charged £47.00 for the pleasure of being told my
printer is *written-off*. So I am now without an expensive printer and I am
£47.00 less towards a new printer

The matter lays with EPSON customer services now, lets see what the outcome
is.

Will I ever use any Epson printer again? Time will tell
--
Wayne ][