Nikon COOLPIX L12 Digital Camera

My stepdad bought my mother this camera for Christmas. She's very familiar with digital cameras and, indeed, had two at the time. One is a big 8-or-so megapixel professional digital that she rarely uses, and the other is a small point-and-shoot that is only about 6 mp.
Anyway, he bought the camera because it was over 7 mp and it was cheap--approximately $170. Other reasons included its high-sensitivity mode, which automatically selects the correct light setting, and its anti-shake mode. In addition, the icons on the camera make it relatively easy to understand which button does what, so she'd be able to take decent pix almost immediately.
She had the camera for less than a week when the screen started showing only black-and-white vertical lines. Hoping that it was only the screen, she attempted to continue taking pictures, guessing at where the subject was because this camera has no viewfinder other than the 2.5" digital screen. None of the pictures came out.
She contacted the company that sold it and returned it. One of the reasons for the return was the lack of viewfinder, to which she, as a longtime event photographer, had become accustomed.