Fujifilm service US exchanged my lens for an older refurb in poor condition

[mcsquaredjr]

Hello all,

just wanted to share my not so great experience (I'm trying to be nice) with the Fujifilm customer service in the US.

While traveling abroad I had a little accident after which my beloved XF 16-55mm zoom got a loose mount. I sent the lens to Edison, NJ for repair. After several phone calls and a few weeks of waiting I finally got the lens back. The repair was not cheap -- $190 plus shipment, but I was happy that, at least, I did not have to buy a new lens. I've heard that despite the  service is slow (I can confirm: it is), the results were usually great. People were happy. 

Before sending and item for repair you have to fill a special repair form. In the form there is an option to exchange an item for a refurb in the same condition as the original item. Which is made to expedite the process. At first, I was somewhat reluctant to check the box, but after some research, decided to take a risk. Boy was I wrong!

So I received a refurb. Based on the serial number, my original lens was made in the last quarter of 2017, the lens I received is at least a year and a half older. Well, ok... Aside from the loose mount, my lens looked and felt like new, no scratches. The paint is off in several places on the replacement lens. No big deal, but it does not match the condition of my lens!. I put the lens on my XT-3, mount it on tripod and take a few test shots. The lens feels different, it feels old and heavily-used. You know, I had a lot of lenses, and I can tell the difference between a heavily-used lens and lightly-used one. Aperture ring is somewhat loose and clicks differently. I take a few shots and I feel that the rubber ring on the lens is loose, it's so loose that I have to squeeze it tight to be able to zoom in and out. And while the test shots were okay -- the lens was sharp, I'm very disappointed and going to return the lens tomorrow, and file a claim.

You can see images attached to the post to see it for yourself. The lens is certainly not in the condition matching the lens I sent Looking at the screw heads it seems the screws were screwed and unscrewed dozens of times or the person who did it was drunk!

The lesson -- don't check the exchange box. I will post an update after I talk to the service, I hope, at least, I could get my original lens back. I'm sharing this experience in hope that it will be useful for someone. Do you have experience filing claims to FujiFilm service? If so, please let me know.

Thanks!

-Serge

 

 

 

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