The first port of call if your optical instrument requires service or repair should be with the dealer who supplied you with the product. We at Optical Hardware do not supply directly to consumers, we ask you to work through our dealers wherever possible. If your instrument has developed a fault which is covered under guarantee then you should always contact the dealer who supplied the product. As well as your statutory rights as a consumer, all good sellers will work hard to ensure that your problem is resolved quickly and efficiently. If the product can be repaired quickly then your dealer should be able complete this. If a quick repair is not possible they will usually be able to exchange the product for the same or an equivalent model.

If your instrument is outside the guarantee period, or has a fault which isn’t covered under guarantee or maybe you bought second-hand without guarantee, or just requires a service or a clean, then your dealer should still be able to help. If possible you should contact the dealer who originally supplied the product. Your dealer may accept chargeable service and repair work for our instruments or will be able to ship them to our workshop where necessary.
If you cannot contact the original dealer or you don’t know who this was, you could contact any other stockist of our product. Most will be happy to accept chargeable service and repair work and have a system in place to refer products to our workshop or an independent repairer where necessary. If you cannot find a Stockist to help, please give us a call and we can suggest a suitable repairer, or arrange for the work to be completed in our workshop.

We provide an excellent back-up service for our dealer network so you can rest assured that any issues will be resolved quickly.

If the instrument is covered under an extended period guarantee which offers a number of years cover of parts and labour and a further period of parts only, then any chargeable work would be reduced in cost to reflect the chargeable part only.

You should always present all the original documentation including receipts and copies of the guarantee
when you present an instrument for service or repair with the product.

What is and what is not usually covered under guarantee

As a consumer you have certain statutory rights and neither we or any of our dealers would wish to restrict these rights. You should expect that any brand new product is, fit for the purpose for which it was sold, fault free and should remain that way for a reasonable period of time. Your guarantee is with the dealer who supplied you with the product and this is offered in addition to any statutory rights.

With any discussion about guarantees there are always disputable areas about what should be covered under guarantee and what shouldn’t be. At Optical Hardware, we, and the vast majority of our dealers, are very consumer friendly and tend to accept debatable matters as under guarantee and offer service with a smile. You should always refer to the dealer who sold you the product, we provide an excellent back-up service for our dealer network so you can be assured that any problems will be resolved quickly.

We don’t encounter many problems with our products but if you have just purchased a new optical instrument and it appears not be functioning or has any defective parts, please contact your dealer immediately.

If you have used the instrument for a period of time and a fault has developed which was not present when the instrument was new then here is a guide to what may or may not be covered under guarantee –

Faults caused by misuse or damage will not be covered under guarantee. If you drop or knock an optical instrument you should expect the optical components inside to become misaligned to some extent and this may affect performance. Unless the damage is extensive such faults can usually be corrected quickly and at modest cost. More expensive products designed for heavy duty use will withstand greater impact without showing noticeable deterioration but nothing is indestructible.

Double images in a binocular are usually because they have dropped out of “collomation” that is the two sides are not correctly aligned. If the binocular is like this when you buy it or very quickly shows this without being misused then it probably wasn’t set up correctly. It is usually a quick job to reset collomation and you should return the binocular to your dealer. Collomation problems occurring after a period of time would normally be considered fair wear and tear and there may be a small charge by your dealer for doing this. If it happens as a result of a drop or knock then you should expect it to be a chargeable repair.

Cleaning of any kind is not normally covered under guarantee.

Eyecups and other rubber type coverings are, like tyres on your car, expected to wear and replacement will not be covered under guarantee. Your dealer will be able to supply replacement parts at modest cost.

Fogging can sometimes occur inside of the instrument in cold or damp conditions. This is not usually harmful in the long term but can prevent immediate viewing, you have to wait for the temperature to equalise and the fogging will clear. Some waterproof models are filled and sealed with a dry gas which reduces fogging but over a period of time this, even with the most expensive of instruments, will gradually leak out and fogging will occur. You can have the instrument “recharged” but there will be charge for this.

If liquids are spilled on to your instrument, or it is immersed in a liquid then it will nearly always cause serious damage which can be quite costly to repair. If the instrument is defined as showerproof then it should be able to withstand a spray of water on the body without long term damage but you would usually need to dry it before it can be used. If the instrument is described as waterproof then it should be able to withstand very limited submergence in water without serious damage. How long and how deep it can be submerged will depend on the individual model, most waterproof models are designed to be be immersed in a few cm depth of water for 10 to 15 seconds, ie enough time to retrieve it if accidentally dropped in a shallow stream, or held just under the surface of water by a floatation strap. Models designed for military type use may be able to withstand longer periods or deeper depths underwater. You would normally have to dry the instrument before it can be used. No matter how waterproof your instrument is, left underwater long enough, or deep enough for the pressure to force the water inside there will be damage and this will not be covered under guarantee. Liquids other than water are likely to cause damage even if the model is waterproof and damage caused in this way will not be covered under guarantee.

Please check the documentation supplied with your product for the length of the guarantee.  Your dealer may have modified the standard guarantee length by offering an additional period, or restricted the time if the binocular is used, or been used as a demonstrator or being sold with a minor fault.

If the instrument is covered under an extended period guarantee which offers a number of years cover of parts and labour and a further period of parts only, then any chargeable work would be reduced in cost to reflect the chargeable part only.
You should always present the purchase documentation with the product.