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BUSHNELL WARRANTY ISSUES

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SKFOOTER View Drop Down
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    Posted: October/19/2010 at 22:10

How many of you have had a warranty claim honored or declined by Bushnell??  I currently have returned a pair of Bushnell Trophy 10X42 camo binoculars to them for warranty repair due to the inability to focus the right lens.   I spoke with them today and the technician has come to the conclusion that the defect is a result of impact damage and they will not honor the replacement warranty.  BALONEY!!!  I requested that I be allowed to speak to a supervisor.  They had one call me back and I explained to him that I have been a loyal Bushnell customer for over 25 years and that this was the first problem that I have ever had with a Bushnell product.   He had my binoculars in his hand and remarked about what great condition they were in to be almost 2 years old.   Then he proceeded to tell me how the prisms in the right barrel had become dislodged and that it would take a major impact to the binoculars to cause this.  I assured him that I take great care of my optics and that this pair of binoculars had never been dropped or received any type of physical trama.  He agreed to have another tech peel the rubber armour back from the barrel to check for any damage to the metal barrels and call me back tomorrow.  I am so put out with Bushnell's attempt to disallow my warranty claim and I will never purchase another Bushnell product if they fail to change their position on this matter.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2010 at 06:27
Guess they haven't come round yet.  Unfortunately this is a common story with blownell.  hOpe you get it fixed and resolved to your liking
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tpcollins Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2010 at 06:30
This summer I sent in a pair of Bushnell 7x26 Custom Compacts (that my brother gave me) becasue a prism had slipped. They repaired the 20+ year old binoculars perfectly under a "warranty repair". Not sure if it was because of the "National Audobon Series" insignia on the binocs or not but they're better now than when my brother bought them (they were always a strain to look thru). And there was an obvious ding on the bottom barrel from being dropped.

Edited by tpcollins - October/20/2010 at 06:31
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2010 at 07:05
 I think you handled it right, I believe as long you have a professional conversation with them they will handle you professionally.  Best of luck.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Klamath Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2010 at 10:07
I think Bushnell warranty and service is pretty poor.  Not only in their capabilities, but in their attitude as well.
 
My experience has some good points, but the overall experience started with a pair of the 7x36 Excursion EX.  I'll admit I bought them out of curiosity since I didn't need them.  What got me was their then advertised 488' fov.  That spec was advertised everywhere, including their website.  First thing I noticed was the binocular said 408', which turned out to be correct.
 
Well, the problem turned out to be the second thing I noticed which was the eye cups were obviously out of whack.  The eye relief specs said the binocular had 21 mm of ER.  This binocular had eye cups that would only twist out far enough to give about 15 mm of ER.  You also just about had to use a pipe wrench to move them.
 
So I sent them back.  I was sort of busy at work, and as I didn't need them, I really sort of forgot about them.  About four weeks later I got an e-mail that said they were received and in the Que and repair would take another 4-6 weeks.  After another four weeks I got the same e-mail again, "we have them and it will take 4-6 weeks".  Baloney says I and I get on the phone.  Well I had to do that several times as the first "customer service representative" I got said basically that that is just the way things got done.  She would not transfer me to anyone else so I called again, and again, and again.  Finally I was able to talk to a gal who seemed to have the makings of a customer service rep, she transferred me to the technician who was working on the binocular.  He proceeds to tell me there is nothing wrong with them and that they are within "tolerances".  He transfers me back to the helpful gal and she transferred me to somebody who identified himself as the optical service manager.  I explained the problem.  He was pretty decent, told me he'd personally look into it and call me back, which he did.  He said he'd talked to the tech, who told him there was nothing wrong with the binocular.  That was as far as the thing went.  I asked the service manager if he would please just do me a favor and go look at the binocular himself.  Sorry says he, don't have time.  He then wants to confirm my shipping address so they can return them.  No way says I, I don't want them and the price I paid I'll put into the lessons learned category and they could just keep them and sell them to some other chump.  The manager responds that they just don't do business that way and is my address correct?  Finally I was able to get him to ship me a Legend Ultra HD 15-36x50 mm spotter and I paid the difference. That is a mediocre optic at best.
 
Now I have a Bausch & Lomb 7x26 Compact that needs work on the diopter.  No way in hell will I send it to Bushnell.
 
I hope your situation works itself out.  I personally would not touch the low and mid price Bushnell stuff with the proverbial ten foot pole.


Edited by Klamath - October/20/2010 at 10:23
Steve
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Teddy Bear Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2010 at 12:07
Only experience I had with Bushnell cs is when I sent a trail cam back while still on warranty because the flash went.  You can track the repair progress online but since I sent it back in January they said this was their busiest time and not to expect that it gets looked at right away.  Couple of months pass and I go to check the progress and my repair order number doesn't work anymore.  Instead I am told issue has been resolved.  Couple days later got a brand new camera delivered to the door.  It was a higher end model with infrared flash as the original didn't have that.  So all in all a successful experience with bushnell customer service.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Bird Watcher Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2010 at 12:36
Originally posted by SKFOOTER SKFOOTER wrote:

He had my binoculars in his hand and remarked about what GREAT condition they were in to be almost 2 years old.
 
Then he proceeded to tell me how the prisms in the right barrel had become dislodged and that it would take a MAJOR IMPACT to the binoculars to cause this.
 
I assured him that I take great care of my optics and that this pair of binoculars had NEVER been dropped or received any type of physical trama. 
 
GREAT condition with NO evidence of abuse.
 
MAJOR IMPACT always leaves VISIBLE scars, or damage, on the outer surface of the binocular, to say the least.
 
NEVER been dropped was obvious by HIS statement of what GREAT condition it was in.
 
"Great condition" and "Major Impact" are 'contradictory' statements which cannot possibly describe the same binocular.
 
Sounds like this guy is either ignorant or dishonest, either way, it does not speak well of their Customer Service Dept. 

Thanks for the heads-up.
 
Stan
 
 


Edited by Bird Watcher - October/20/2010 at 14:11
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supertool73 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2010 at 13:16
Man, I have always tried to stick up for Bushnell because of my 2 good experiences with them.  But lately all I hear is bad.  I am done buying or recommending Bushnell as well.  Screw'em 
Lifetime warranty and excellent customer service don't mean a thing when your gun fails during a zombie attack.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tucson47 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2010 at 15:02

I sent one pair back a couple years ago and they corrected the problem.  I sent another pair back a couple months ago and they wanted me to pay.  I've been using Bushnell for almost 50 years with no problems until that last two pair.  It's not worth the trouble.  No mas!  There are plenty of other vendors to choose from.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote martin3175 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: October/20/2010 at 22:29
my experience was a year or so ago ..they replace a Trophy 3-9 scope that had taken a pretty good fall and I received a new one in about 6 weeks .. Just an email saying it was received and about a month later stating the issue had been resolved.. went pretty good for me
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jjrgr21 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/24/2014 at 22:38
i know this thread is old

man, i'm wanting to pull the trigger on an HDMR, but i just can't. what if i take a spill, and the scope gets a ding?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Cabela Birddog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: July/30/2021 at 18:09
When I heard that Bushnell had started doing warranty repairs for everything I decided to give it a try. My 8 year old binoculars had worked perfectly until a few weeks ago. Sent them in. Bushnell returned them with no action saying it would cost more to fix them than to buy a new set. I guess they don't have as good a warranty as they advertise. They don't have any sign of "impact damage". I think that is their catch-all category when they don't want to fix something.

Buy Bushnell for cheap, not for warranty. If you're paying for an expensive item, buy from a different brand.
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