Two things wrong with fine print:
1) Most people don't read the fine print ( which of course is their own
fault). That's why it's printed very small, so that hopefully people don't
in fact read it.
2) I've found that reading the fine print ie, my PDS statements ( and I do
so, very carefully) raises more questions than it answers, and that these
allegedly explanatory documents can be quite contradictory from paragraph to
paragraph. Done, I suspect, to confuse even those who do try to read them.
The bookmaker analogy is a good one and of course they are only in the
business to make money, but at least with a bookmaker one knows the odds -
no chance with insurers though.
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Clifford
Sent: Monday, 7 March 2011 12:35 PM
To: Tony Russel
Cc: 'Jill Dening'; 'Birding-Aus'
Subject: Leica's warranty and customer service
Always read the fine print. Insurers are only bookies and they won't
give you anything but odds-on for something that is a sure thing.
Those people who thought they had flood cover, invariably had not read
their policies thoroughly. No insurer will give cover for floods if
you live on a flood plain. Insurers are companies whose business to
make money for their shareholders, not charities. I have just
travelled through a potential war zone and I would not have expected
my travel insurance provider to cover me if the brown stuff had really
hit the fan. It was my decision to travel there and I knew the risks
and so was prepared to wear the possible consequences.
Cheers,
Carl Clifford
On 07/03/2011, at 12:42 PM, Tony Russel wrote:
Yeah well, just slinging off. I did have a problem with a travel
insurer who
wouldn't cover lost/damaged baggage when I went to Norfolk Is , and with
another who wouldn't cover gear stolen from a car in Qld. - luckily
not my
optical gear which I carried with me.
When I got home I asked my insurer what did I have to do to cover
expensive
optical and electronic gear lost anywhere in Australia , at home, away
from
home, taken from cars, motels etc etc. No problem they told me,
just
specify the equipment, makes, models, serial numbers, replacement values
etc, and we'll charge you an extra $120 on your already exorbitant
premium
and you've got full cover. Fine, I took it up to be safe.
What annoys me though is that insurers carefully let you think you've
got
cover and you only find that you haven't once you try to make a claim,
just
like all the victims who thought they had flood cover recently.
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Jill
Dening
Sent: Monday, 7 March 2011 11:25 AM
To: Carl Clifford
Cc: 'Birding-Aus'
Subject: Leica's warranty and customer service
I agree with Carl here, and not with Tony (sorry Tony). I have always
had an all risks policy on our binos (2 prs Leicas) and scope, so that I
go into the field with a feeling of relaxation. I insure my house, my
health, my binos. On the very few occasions (twice?) I have had a
problem, my insurance has honoured its contract without discussion, and
Adeal has been very professional in its conduct, even lending me binos
twice in the past when mine had to go to hospital in Germany.
But I currently have a pair of Zeiss Conquests as my light, travelling
binos, and I am missing them. The eyecup and outer glass have come off
on one lens, and there appears to be no one left in Brisbane who can
repair such. Am I right? And if so, what is my next option? Do I really
have to send them to Adelaide?
Cheers,
Jill
Jill Dening
Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
26° 51' 41"S 152° 56' 00"E
On 7/03/2011 9:49 AM, Carl Clifford wrote:
> 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: [Birding-Aus] 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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