Furthermore, forcing third parties to order an entire tape cage at £300 rather than just the part at fault, is divisive.

I'm pleased to read that you have confidence in Sony products and services. Unfortunately the experience of my extended family has been different. It's a competitive marketplace and no doubt difficult for any manufacturer to distinguish themselves in terms of product quality or aftersales support.

This old post was a rant, so its purpose was to let of steam. Disclosure: we since bought another Sony camcorder—a sign perhaps that I have "mov[ed] in tho the real world" as you put it. We bought a discontinued low-end model that we can toss when it stops working, knowing Sony's diagnostic fee equates to replacement cost.

To me, this seems absolutely reasonable. Check out repair fees for other manufacturers. You'll see that Sony are one of the cheapest.

We all know that with a highly complex machine like a camcorder, any repair is extremely skilled and labour intensive and hence has a cost that has to reflect the work required.

I managed to drop my Sony DCRTRV30 camcorder. It was clearly badly damaged. I sent it off to Sony Central Service and thought that I could sent the estimate to my insurance company. They managed to do the repair for the fixed cost, so I was over the moon.

I really think you need to move in to the real world and accept that the price of camcorders has become so cheap, but labour costs are high. That's just the way it is I'm afraid. I for one am sticking with Sony. They have the best customer service of any manufacturer that I've experienced.