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 13:04:32 +1100
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

===============================

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 

http://birding-aus.org
===============================

===============================

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 

http://birding-aus.org
===============================

===============================

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 

http://birding-aus.org
===============================

===============================

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 

http://birding-aus.org
===============================



===============================

To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to: 

http://birding-aus.org
===============================

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU