Poor Leica Repair Service USA (1 Viewer)

[ceasar]

First of all, let me state that I am an admirer of Leica bins. I have a pair of UVHD+ and love 'em. I have also owned trinovids and other UVs at various times in the past. I really like the Leica view. I have also owned various Swaros and one of the attractive features about those was the US repair service.

Wish I could say the same about Leica! We (my wife Suzanne and I) recently decided that we were going to send Leica a pair of 25-yr old Trinnies that needed repairs. That was two months ago. The only time since then that they have communicated with us is to confirm that the bins were still under warranty. Good news - yes. However, getting any response or information out of Leica about the progress of repairs, a timeline, or even what they intend doing has been impossible. We have sent several emails and made several calls, and are being stonewalled completely. They NEVER answer emails or calls. This, in my experience is a sad comparison with Swaro.

Leica announced the Leica Trinovid BN series at Photokina in the year 2000. They replaced the Leica Trinovid BA series which came out several years before that. Are yours Leica Trinovid BA series?

http://www.company7.com/leica/news.html#1September2000

You mention above that yours are 25 years old which would mean they were made about 1990-1991.

Could it be a Leitz Trinovid binocular that you sent back to Leica for work? The ones that had Uppendahl prisms?

I have a Leitz 7x42 Trinovid BA Armored and a few years ago I inquired about getting some cleaning and work done on it and Leica told me that many parts for it were no longer available.

Bob

 

[Hermann]

25 years old? Try sending you Iphone to Apple in 25 years time and see how they'll react.

Hermann

 

[hgalbraith]

warranty

Herman, the point is that when these bins were bought they were covered by a lifetime warranty for normal wear and tear. Leica is now trying to back out of their solemn promise.

 

[ceasar]

The rubber screw on eye cups on my 1982 Leitz 7x42 Trinovid BA Armored (I bought it new around 1992) wore out from use after about 8 years. I still had to pay $50.00 for the new ones. I was lucky to get them because the binocular had been discontinued about the same time I purchased it at a close out price. I registered the binocular with Leica when I bought it and they had a record of it when I called about the new eye cups.

Bob

 

[pwjp2011]

I agree totally that they should communicate better, its so easy to just send email and give status. I have seen this before with other products. They arent the only ones by any means. As for Apple - good freaking luck getting anything out of them once the product becomes unsupported.

I almost bought an older pair of Leicas. Always wanted a Leica but I am glad I didnt after reading this. I would definitely buy a new Leica but an older one, no way.What stopped me was the $$$ - they are always expensive. Frankly you are better off buying new with a warranty for what they cost. That is unless you are a collector I am not sure its worth it.

Very few companies have parts available for 25 year old anything. I have seen this on vintage cars too - the only place to get parts is the second hand market.

 

[ceasar]

The warranty is part of the cost of the binocular.

I purchased a Demo 8x42 Ultravid Blackline binocular from Camera Land. It was part of a batch of binoculars they had taken to an Optics show. The ones they returned with had to be designated as Demos and "CERTIFIED PRE-OWNED" and given a "LIMITED WARRANTY" even though their boxes had not been opened.

"The warranty period here under, is valid for 10 years from the date the product is registered with Leica Camera, Inc., or 18 months from the date of service as stated on this card."

There are more details in the warranty card but essentially it is a warranty for 10 years on a certified pre-owned binocular.

I got these binoculars in February of 2014 and based on today's prices at Camera Land, I saved $550.00 on my totally unused "Demo-Certified Pre-owned" Leica 8x42 Ultravid BL against what I would have had to pay for a new one. Current prices are $1249.99 for the Demos and $1799.00 for them new.

Bob

 

[Barrie Armitt]

Sad and exasperating story about poor Leica service. They produce such excellent bins ( had 2 pairs through 1980s and early '90s ( still got the 8x32BNs)...love/ed them. Read recently it costs 5-7x more to gain a new customer than keep an existing customer happy, loyal to the brand and an advocate of their products. Crazily short-sighted not to give customer service a high priority. Currently in state of incredulity about poor Zeiss customer service. I think Chill6x6 gets it spot on that communication is key; a great deal of customer angst would be avoided if they were given a time for repair and return.

Barrie

 

[Theo98]

Crazily short-sighted not to give customer service a high priority. Currently in state of incredulity about poor Zeiss customer service. I think Chill6x6 gets it spot on that communication is key; a great deal of customer angst would be avoided if they were given a time for repair and return.

Barrie

Agreed Barrie,

Just sent Swaro my 1991 Habicht 6x30M porros for eye cup sleeve repairs and possible glass coating updates. Day after they received them, got an e-mail from SONA detailing their repair\refirb plans...4-6 weeks in-house at RI or 6-8 weeks if serviced in Austria. Great customer communication on this task certainly relieves any waiting anxiety...too bad Most consumer CS actions aren't as forthright!

Ted

 

[Omid]

The latest update on this long-running travesty is that Leica Repairs in the US have basically said that we are on your own unless we pony up $1,000 to cover cleaning, parts, etc. We have refused this kind offer and there has been complete silence from Leica over the past month. I suspect that they are just sitting tight and wishing that we would go away. They still have the bins.

I hope that you can resolve the issue with Leica USA service department via patience and communication.

Let me share my experience with Leica USA repair service: I have a pair of Leica 8-12X42 Duovid. I sent them in for general service and fixing an issue with the zoom knob about a year ago. It took a while (two or three months maybe, I am not sure). Leica USA fixed the issue and cleaned the binoculars to the point that it looked exactly like new when they returned them back. This was done free of charge so I am very pleased with them.

 

[hgalbraith]

Poor Leica repair service

Hi Omid and thanks for the comment. The current state of this saga is that Leica just does not communicate with us anymore. They still have the binoculars but are not telling us what (if anything) is to happen to them. Effectively, we are in the dark. It is now several months since we sent them the bins and I have just about given up any hope that this issue will be satisfactorily resolved.

I have been a professional ornithologist for most of my 45 year career, owning and using on a daily basis many alpha bins (including Leica, Swaro, Zeiss). Based on my experiences with Leica, would i recommend the brand to others? Certainly not!. One of the reasons that one pays so much for alpha bins is the after-sales service. From my viewpoint that seems to seriously lacking in Leica.

 

[A2GG]

This is really frustrating to hear and it's downright unacceptable.
I live in NJ and if this happened to me I would knock on their door
and demand an update. I think they are pretty far from me north though.

I called their service center twice to ask questions and I was able to get past
the receptionist and talk to a human and I wasn't on hold for long , so I had
success here, but my questions were simple. I guess they don't have an answer for
you. Maybe they don't have the parts or who knows what, but not communicating
is the worst customer service and it's a good way to lose long standing customers.

 

[A2GG]

Did you try the customer service manager ? (see post #4).
You need to try and move this up the chain.

 

[Pileatus]

Herman, the point is that when these bins were bought they were covered by a lifetime warranty for normal wear and tear. Leica is now trying to back out of their solemn promise.

I suggest you post pics of the warranty you have for this particular model. Warranties change and my guess is yours is limited, as most are, by the formal language. Lifetime does not mean what many thinks it means and there is no concensus in the law when it comes to lifetime warranties. The devil is in the warranty language and the day-to-day policies of the manufacturer. Some companies generously interpret warranties, others do not.

In spite of any and all warranty interpretations I'm once again amused by corporate behavior.

 

[Binastro]

Someone bought a Leica M8 new, for £4,000 plus.

Two years later it was not repairable because of lack of parts.
Basically, a write off.

A friend's godson lost a top Leica binocular in a lake on a south American nature trip a few years ago.
A new one one was shipped express air freight.
The cost. Nothing, free.

I have had flawless service from U.K. Leica, but years ago.

 

[Omid]

Hi hgalbraith,

I too suggest that you read the warranty papers - if you still have them- again. I don't think anybody would warranty a product for a lifetime for "wear and tear" as you had stated:

they were covered by a lifetime warranty for normal wear and tear. Leica is now trying to back out of their solemn promise.

The warranty is usually for "defects in manufacturing or workmanship". If the repair that your binoculars need is not due to a fault in manufacturing, then it is not covered by warranty.

By the way, you said that you used these bins for 25 years. This actually indicates excellent manufacturing.

 

[ceasar]

First of all, let me state that I am an admirer of Leica bins. I have a pair of UVHD+ and love 'em. I have also owned trinovids and other UVs at various times in the past. I really like the Leica view. I have also owned various Swaros and one of the attractive features about those was the US repair service.

Wish I could say the same about Leica! We (my wife Suzanne and I) recently decided that we were going to send Leica a pair of 25-yr old Trinnies that needed repairs. That was two months ago. The only time since then that they have communicated with us is to confirm that the bins were still under warranty. Good news - yes. However, getting any response or information out of Leica about the progress of repairs, a timeline, or even what they intend doing has been impossible. We have sent several emails and made several calls, and are being stonewalled completely. They NEVER answer emails or calls. This, in my experience is a sad comparison with Swaro.

What exactly are the repairs that Leica is supposed to do on the binocular?

Bob

 

[hgalbraith]

repairs by leica

clean the lenses and prisms. Tighten up the central bridge. Replace the eyecups.

 

[Pileatus]

clean the lenses and prisms. Tighten up the central bridge. Replace the eyecups.

What does your warranty say?

 

[ceasar]

clean the lenses and prisms. Tighten up the central bridge. Replace the eyecups.

Sounds like a couple of hours work, max. If they still have eyecups for it.

The eye cups on my Ultravid are removable and should be readily available.

I don't believe they are removable on the earlier Trinovid BN and BA versions although I think that the eyecups are the same for both the BN and BA. They would have to be changed by Leica.

The Trinovid BNs were introduced in 2000 replacing the Trinovid BAs. The Trinovid BNs had closer focusing ability otherwise they were the same.

The Ultravids were introduced in 2003. See history here from Company 7: Scroll down.

http://www.company7.com/leica/binoculars.html#Overview

Bob

 

[jring]

Hi,

the behaviour of Leica service in the o.p. case is just as unbelievable as the two stories from binastro.

Regarding the question if the work and/or parts is covered by warranty, it really depends on the terms. Life, no fault warranties seem to have been offered and honored in the US - not so in europe where this would probably be forbidden by court order as improper business conduct.

But regardless of the warranty question Leica is still withholding the o.p. property from him since a few months. How to make them return it is probably a question for the lawyers, but a polite letter demanding the return within a reasonable time frame like two or three weeks sent with a witness and via signed for mail to the address of Leicas US daughter probably won't hurt.

Joachim