Last January, I bought a Panasonic Lumix camera when living in New Zealand.

I was wary of buying something expensive overseas, but was assured that it came with a 1-year "worldwide" warranty.

When the camera went dead in Thailand, I phoned the Panasonic support numbers in New Zealand and Canada (which of course both routed to India).

They asked where I lived, and told me I should deliver it to a Panasonic authorized repair center in Canada.

Very inconvenient, but I that's what I did once I returned.

However, after I sent it to the repair center, Panasonic decided they wouldn't pay for anything unless I could send them a copy of the warranty card that came in the box.

So now I have to pay for the repair estimate (they determined it was unrepairable) and shipping both ways.

I have the original receipt, the manual, and all accessories. The warranty is still valid through next month. Why should a photocopied piece of paper make any difference?

Oh right! So they have an excuse to weasel out, save a few bucks, and not honour the warranty on a product that has some serious design and quality problems.

Seems lots of others have had similar problems:
My advice to you would be to avoid buying a Panasonic product, unless you consider it disposable.

I certainly won't be purchasing from them again.

Congratulations Panasonic! You've earned a spot on my banned companies list.