No more Leica in my life

[vwillrocku]

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Hi all, my almost 2 years old M10 gets some problems. The biggest problem is: the Leica repairing service is worst.

First repair :Around March this year, the LiveView sometimes didn't work. What I got was a grey screen, seemed the shutter could not fully open. Leica replaced a flex board or something and the problem was solved.

Second repair: After repairing, new problems appeared. The camera sometimes shut down after taking a few photos. Half press the shutter it woke up again. But the shooting opportunity was gone as it took few seconds for it to wake up. Moreover, the LV button would stuck when the camera and the shooting environment was hot (over 30 degree celsius), while the MENU and PLAY button still able to work perfectly. Even in normal temperature, the touch feeling of the LV button was rough and not the same as the other two. So I sent the camera for repair again around Aug.

I received an email stating the repair was finished,  which stated the "button is adjusted" but cannot find the shut down problem. They advice me not take photos too rapid and need to wait the buffer to clean up. I was surprised by the advice as I never heard a camera would shut down because the buffer is full. So I send an email to them to make sure both problems were corrected. The customer officer confirmed they were fixed. 

Third repair (not yet): After I received the camera, both problems is not cured. The LV button jammed on the second day and the camera shut down even I take only 1 pic, not rapid shooting. And my almost new screen protector was scratched with long lines after the repair. I wrote email to complaint and what I got was "pls send the camera to check again". 

OK, this is my last Leica and I would advice all the people rethink before trying to buy any product from this brand. Don't get me wrong, I understand even a Rolls-Royce could fail, but every car manufacturer could replace the whole engine if they fail. I don't believe Leica could not even repair a single button, and they re-confirmed it was fixed before sending back to me. I have Nikon, Canon and Sony, they are not problem free but after repairing, they all work perfectly for long time. Now I need the third repair even though no one could ensure the technicians understand how to repair a camera or not.

Do you think there is Germany customer department to compliant or something I could do? Thanks for your advice and once again:  Leica repairing service is worst in my personal experience. No more Leica in my life.

 

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by vwillrocku

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[harryzet]

get rid of it and buy a fuji x-pro. you will never look back

[tom.w.bn]

vor 44 Minuten schrieb harryzet:

get rid of it and buy a fuji x-pro. you will never look back

How can you know that? Are you willing to give a finanical guarantee for that? There are many happy Fuji users that came from Leica and there are enough others who where not happy and discovered that's it's just not an equivalent replacement, it's a different type of camera.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, vwillrocku said:

Hi all, my almost 2 years old M10 gets some problems. The biggest problem is: the Leica repairing service is worst.

Do you think there is Germany customer department to compliant or something I could do? Thanks for your advice and once again:  Leica repairing service is worst in my personal experience. No more Leica in my life.

Where was the camera sent for repair?

If it was back to Wetzlar then I am very surprised that you've experienced all these problems, extremely frustrating and annoying because I've nothing but good things to say for my repair/service experiences with Wetzlar, even though yes I do tend to agree that perhaps that the digital Leica M's do need more service or repairing than other brands I've used for 4-5 decades which is a pity because there's nothing even close to my mind to an M as a photographic tool.

In your case I'd try a telephone call to Customer Service in Wetzlar, irrespective as to whether they did the repairs for you, ask for a manager and outline these troubles, following it up with a personal email to whoever you manage to talk to. It's sad, but it does appear that you are going to have to "rattle the cage" over this.

 

Good luck, but don't give up yet on the M!

[pedaes]

1 hour ago, vwillrocku said:

both problems is not cured.

I think you have a case to take it back to the shop and ask for a replacement, having given the manufacturer a good chance to repair faults.

[vwillrocku]

1 hour ago, petermullett said:

Where was the camera sent for repair?

If it was back to Wetzlar then I am very surprised that you've experienced all these problems, extremely frustrating and annoying because I've nothing but good things to say for my repair/service experiences with Wetzlar, even though yes I do tend to agree that perhaps that the digital Leica M's do need more service or repairing than other brands I've used for 4-5 decades which is a pity because there's nothing even close to my mind to an M as a photographic tool.

In your case I'd try a telephone call to Customer Service in Wetzlar, irrespective as to whether they did the repairs for you, ask for a manager and outline these troubles, following it up with a personal email to whoever you manage to talk to. It's sad, but it does appear that you are going to have to "rattle the cage" over this.

 

Good luck, but don't give up yet on the M!

Thanks for your kind reply. Yes, the camera was sent to Wetzlar and as you described, it is extremely frustrating and annoying as M10 is the most unstable digital camera I own. I owned my first DC since 1998 and even the cheapest one was much more stable than M10. I have a friend who own an M10 and he also have bad experience such as needed to remove battery to fix a freeze.

I have to say again I don't expect M10 is perfect, but I expect it can be repaired and I also expect the customer service can be better. I even asked them to bear the cost of shipping for this time but they refused. What makes me really upset is the screen protector was scratched after repairing. If I am the technician who made the scratch, I must replace for a new one for the customer rather than pretends nothing happened. This is the basic norm of a responsible after service department, right? But the Leica customer service didn't even reply "I am sorry that your protector is scratched because......" after I made the complaint. They perfer to remain silence. If the Leica service could not even do right in such minor aspect, how can I trust the whole repairing service and customer department?

I have already send quite a lot of long emails to reflect the problems but what I can get is "resend the camera for inspection". They don't promise anything or try to do something. It is a good advice to find a manager, do anyone here have a email contact? I am not living in Germany, Europe or US, so direct calling may be not possible.
 

Edited October 2, 2020 by vwillrocku

[vwillrocku]

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 you are going to have to "rattle the cage" over this>>>>>>Yes, I agree. This is one of the reason I write this post here. And I would try to post it in different camera forums too. 

[vwillrocku]

43 minutes ago, pedaes said:

I think you have a case to take it back to the shop and ask for a replacement, having given the manufacturer a good chance to repair faults.

Thanks for your suggestion. I must do that if I can but unfortunately it was bought in Europe and I am now in Asia. 

Edited October 2, 2020 by vwillrocku

[tom.w.bn]

vor 7 Minuten schrieb vwillrocku:

 And I would try to post it in different camera forums too. 

Then you should probably work on your story. When you write that you are finished with a product, you are finished and it's just bad style to rant in the forum about it. If you really want help, then you should write it differently.

[vwillrocku]

1 minute ago, tom.w.bn said:

Then you should probably work on your story. When you write that you are finished with a product, you are finished and it's just bad style to rant in the forum about it. If you really want help, then you should write it differently.

Thanks for your advice. I wrote so many emails to Wetzlar and the problem is not fixed and they are not helpful, how would you deal with it if you were me? My preference is to let the public knows. But of course I would try to be polite.

[pedaes]

14 minutes ago, vwillrocku said:

t was bought in Europe and I am now in Asia.

Always pays to buy locally. Your best bet is send it to Wetzlar with a polite and factual account of what has happened . If it was bought from a legitimate source it will have a two year Warranty from that date, and you obviously reported the fault initially within the time framr anyway. 

[pedaes]

3 minutes ago, vwillrocku said:

let the public knows

Do you think 'the public' are interested? I have a M10 and have had zero problems, and that is the case with the vast majority of cameras. No one is not going to buy a M10 based on your experience, and frankly we know nothing of how the camera has been treated or abused. Not suggesting it has, just saying we do not know.

You are best putting your energies into building a possitive relationship with Customer Care in Wetzlar.

[vwillrocku]

2 minutes ago, pedaes said:

Always pays to buy locally. Your best bet is send it to Wetzlar with a polite and factual account of what has happened . If it was bought from a legitimate source it will have a two year Warranty from that date, and you obviously reported the fault initially within the time framr anyway. 

Yes, the camera is within warranty. But I am afraid there is not much difference even they provide 5 years of warranty, as the returned product is not fixed. 

[harryzet]

vor 1 Stunde schrieb tom.w.bn:

How can you know that? Are you willing to give a finanical guarantee for that? There are many happy Fuji users that came from Leica and there are enough others who where not happy and discovered that's it's just not an equivalent replacement, it's a different type of camera.

yes. one that works. at a fraction of the cost

[vwillrocku]

29 minutes ago, pedaes said:

Do you think 'the public' are interested? I have a M10 and have had zero problems, and that is the case with the vast majority of cameras. No one is not going to buy a M10 based on your experience, and frankly we know nothing of how the camera has been treated or abused. Not suggesting it has, just saying we do not know.

You are best putting your energies into building a possitive relationship with Customer Care in Wetzlar.

I have to say again, I never expect it to be problem free. I also think many M10 have zero problem like yours. What I want to point out is the low level of customer service. 

Do you think 'the public' are interested?>>>>>>>I believe the reputation of a brand is built by customers.

No one is not going to buy a M10 based on your experience>>>>>>I am not so sure. I am working in a magazine and quite a lot of readers ask for suggestions. People always seek for different options. At least if one of my friend wanna buy a Leica, I would try to tell them my story. Futhermore, if the customer service is poor to me, then they may also poor to someone. I suggest people with bad experience point out their problems. If no one point out their problems, then many users would suffer. 

Not suggesting it has, just saying we do not know>>>Don't worry, I know you are telling the fact.

 

Edited October 2, 2020 by vwillrocku

[pedaes]

7 minutes ago, vwillrocku said:

customer service

Sorry, this is my last post in this thread. In your experience, and again we do not know how they were approached or how you described the problem. It is also fact that I and others have had excellent service from Customer Care, but it is also fact that few of us who have post about that good experience. 

Good luck with getting your camera fixed.

Edited October 2, 2020 by pedaes

[Gobert]

I want more Leica’s in my life.

However, my wife has amended our marriage contract. I have to love her in stead of my Leica’s.

Now, I’m working at it.

[pedaes]

4 minutes ago, Gobert said:

I want more Leica’s in my life.

+1

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[vwillrocku]

10 minutes ago, pedaes said:

Sorry, this is my last post in this thread. In your experience, and again we do not know how they were approached or how you described the problem. It is also fact that I and others have had excellent service from Customer Care, but it is also fact that few of us who have post about that good experience. 

Good luck with getting your camera fixed.

Thanks for your concern anyway.

If others really want to know how I describe the problem, here is what I fill in the repairing form:

1)LV button gets stuck in warm weather (over 30 degree). The button is unable to be pressed down or rebound back. 
2)When doing rapid shooting and taking several photos (in single frame shooting mode with image review ON), sometimes the camera would immediately shut down. It wakes up again when half press the shutter.

Good to here you have good experience from Customer Care, sadly it is not valid to me. Maybe different technicians have different skills, the one who in charge of my repairing is not the best one. Humans do have errors, who knows?

[hillavoider]

i had a similar experience with the SL, it totally failed and the sensor went to white noise. it went back to germany and over 3 MONTHS later it came back and within 3 days the sensor went back to white noise. they had DONE NOTHING to the camera NOTHING. Luckily in Australia when this happens you can claim it as a lemon and get a replacement which i did legally and Leica eventually  and not easily gave in and replaced the 8000 DOLLAR LEMON FFS. i love leica but their attitude is really pathetic 

 

kick up as big a stink as you can and get a new camera GET A NEW CAMERA

Edited October 2, 2020 by hillavoider