birding-aus

Leica's warranty and customer service

To: "Tony Russel" <>
Subject: Leica's warranty and customer service
From: Carl Clifford <>
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2011 12:10:29 +1100
Tony,

Never had a problem. Several years ago, I had a scope detach itself from a tripod and hit the bitumen from approx. 2m. It was not a pretty sight as it was suddenly converted from a mon-ocular to a bin-ocular. The only problem I had with the insurer, was convincing them to take up the local agent for the brands' offer to replace it at wholesale price. The insurers wanted to go through a retailer and pay some 80% more to replace it.
Cheers,

Carl Clifford


On 07/03/2011, at 11:29 AM, Tony Russel wrote:

Insurers ? You have to be kidding . They're as bad as the service agents for
wriggling out of paying up.

Tony

-----Original Message-----
From: 
On Behalf Of Carl Clifford
Sent: Monday, 7 March 2011 10:20 AM
To: Greg Little
Cc: 'Birding-Aus'
Subject: Leica's warranty and customer service

I have been following this thread, which seems to re-appear every year
or so, with interest. The majority of the complaints about Leica seem
to be the result of lack of care or maintenance by the owners, or
physical impact. The equipment in question in all cases are consumer
level products and it is quite unrealistic to expect them to withstand
any abuse thrown at them. If you want bins that will withstand abuse,
you need to go to military spec gear, such as the Steiner Military R
range, which you can literally run over them with a truck and they
will still be in collimation, as a video on Steiner's web site shows.

I am not a Leica user & never will be, as I think they are over-rated
and over priced. I just think it is not fair to bag a brand when the
problem is with the owners. As for making a warranty claim for damage
from physical impact, well isn't that what insurance for?

Cheers,

Carl Clifford


On 07/03/2011, at 9:31 AM, Greg Little wrote:

Jonny

I too am a happy Leica owner, with no complaints. Have had my Leica BN
10x32
binoculars for 9 years and use them every week for work and play.
While they
are well made and robust I look after them and can only imagine that
eyepieces popping off and screws rusting are from mishandling,
accident or
abuse.

Greg Little

-----Original Message-----
From: 
 On Behalf Of Jonny
Schoenjahn
Sent: Monday, 7 March 2011 1:53 AM
To: Birding-Aus
Subject: Leica's warranty and customer service

Hi all

I seem to be one of very few, if not the only one, who is entire
satisfied
with Leica.

Since 1997 I own a Leica spotting scope. Two or three years ago, on a
windy
day, the thing fell over when the car-door slammed and hit the tripod.
The
scope survived the 2m fall into rocks completely unharmed, only the
eye-piece received 2 major scratches on the ocular. Certainly not a
warranty
issue.I sent the eye-piece to Leica Germany asking for a quote to
replace
the ocular, saying that it was my own fault. Not 3 weeks later and no
questions asked, I received to my greatest excitement a brand-new eye-
piece
at no cost. My only expense was the postage from Perth to Leica.

Last year, my 10-year old Leica bins had a problem with the focus
spindle,
the first and only problem I ever had with any Leica equipment. I sent
the
bins to Leica Germany, mentioning that the minor scratches on the
oculars
were old and could be left like that (Zeiss once had charged my a
fortune to
replace those oculars). Before long I receive my bins completely over-
hauled
including new rubber armour and, most of all, two new oculars. Again,
all I
paid was the postage from me to them. As before, I wrote them a letter
thanking them for their outstanding service.

It was easy and straight forward to send the Leica equipment to Leica
Germany, it wouldn't occur to me to send it anywhere else. Both the
scope
and the bins I had bought in Australia, but no-one wanted to see a
receipt
or asked where or when I had purchased the units.

Suffice it to say that, from my own experience, I'm happy to recommend
Leica
not only but also for their generous and prompt service.

Cheers, and happy birding

Jonny

Jonny Schoenjahn
Perth WA

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