A consumer identified only as A spent 2.65 million won ($1,740) in July 2024 to have a Findrive dashcam system installed at a service center in Dunchon-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, with the package including an auxiliary battery and other accessories.
A had originally planned to buy a standard dashcam in the 300,000-to-400,000-won range, but chose the premium model after the shop told him it could capture bidirectional impact and collision footage.
In late May, however, A's vehicle was badly scratched while parked in a below-ground parking lot at a Seoul district office. The vehicle responsible left the scene without taking any action.
To find out what happened, A visited the service center on June 1 and handed over the dashcam's memory card. Nearly two weeks passed with no word from the shop.
When A returned to the center, a staff member said the employee in charge did not know where the memory card had been placed. The shop then provided a replacement card and said it would keep looking.
The original card was never found. A visited the center again and said he was told only that the shop had been unable to locate it.
A ultimately went to the general affairs division of the district office to ask how to access parking lot CCTV footage from the time of the incident. Officials told him he would need to file a police report and then view the integrated control center footage with an officer present.
"The whole reason I bought an expensive dashcam was to get a clear record if something happened," A said. "What disappointed me more than the accident itself was the service center's careless handling — they couldn't even manage a memory card properly when it actually mattered."
A added that the episode had driven home how important after-sales service is once an accident occurs, not just product performance. He called on manufacturers to improve service training so other customers do not face the same experience.
The case highlights that as competition in the premium dashcam market intensifies, after-sales care and customer service standards are just as critical to consumer trust as the products themselves.
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
