HELP! camera repair in LONDON?

[orchisarts]

im new to london and need help finding an amazing, reputable camera repair in london. need to have my polaroid 180 & 195's shutter speeds tested/ recalibrated. many thanks for any referrals.

martin

[Barry Wilkinson]

Hello martin,

I have not used them myself but Teamwork advertise repairs They have been around a long time and can be found here...

http://www.teamworkphoto.co.uk/content.html

Barry

[Stan. L-B]

I have used 'Teamwork' over the years for repair or service of my Sinars, I have no hesitation whatsoever to recommend them.

[orchisarts]

many thanks for your reply. i will definately check them out. cheers!

[Pete Watkins]

Just one thing, Teamwork are shut on Saturdays.
Pete

[Bobf]

I have seen these people (http://www.sendeancameras.co.uk/) recommended elsewhere but I have not used them myself and do not know if they do exactly what you want, but one more to consider...

Cheers, Bob.

[orchisarts]

It pains me greatly to report back to this forum that i did NOT have a great experience with TEAMWORK. As a matter of fact, i had a horrible experience. i sent them 2 Polaroid cameras (180 & 195) to check their shutter speeds and to have the camera's shutters re-calibrated, if needed. Just to let everyone know, they do not do the repairs themselves.

They quoted 1 weeek to give a quote (estimate) for the repair on the 2 camera before i authorize any repairs. After 2 weeks of not hearing from them, i just asked that they return the cameras to me. TEAMWORK could not track down the repairman to get the cameras back. This went on for another week to 10 days of my studio calling everyday to get the cameras returned. When TEAMWORK finally got back to us, they informed my studio that the repairs had already been done, and the amount was approx 160 pounds sterling! I asked why i hadn't been notified to authorize the repairs before the work was done. We ALL know that the customer MUST authorize any payment prior to any work being done on a camera. It's the cardinal rule, no? Gareth from TEAMWORK said that obviously they made a mistake, but the bill would still be 160 pounds.

I called TEAMWORK personally to tell Gareth that i was extremely disapointed because if i had known that the repairs would total 160 pounds that i would never have authorized the rapairs. I was angered that i wasnt given the choice to pass. I couldnt get the cameras back for over 3 weeks, then i get a bill for 160 pounds. Gareth said that the camera's were in the hands of a superb technician and they did an amazing job.

Gareth insisted that i just didnt want to pay for the repairs and that i was simply trying to get something for nothing. Of course, that wasn't the case. True, I was upset that i wasn't given the right to say dont make the repairs. But i seek nothing for free. i just wanted to pay something FAIR for their actions. I did not think it was fair, nor good business for them to expect me to pay the full amount. After a lengthy conversation, i asked that TEAMWORK pay the VAT and that was that. Gareth agreed.

My studio picked up the cameras and upon my inspection, the front rims on both lenses have severe scrapes, in addition to the Polaroid 180 having a thick black goo (glue?) that is on the front rim of the lens, and the goo has dribbled actually on the lens itself and also down the lens behind the glass! The workmanship was SO SLOPPY! AMATEURISH! You cant make up these things. ALSO, on the 180, the film is now off register to the live image area. I now have a 0.4mm black band that runs down the side of the image that was not there before.

I will go to TEAMWORK this week to show Gareth the damages that his repairman has done to the cameras. i expect nothing and i certainly don't want them to further touch my cameras. I am only writing this here because the forum highly recommend them. Perhaps i just had a bad experience with TEAMWORK, but i would NEVER in a million years recommend or give any further repair work to them at all.:mad:

(I will take images for anyone to see and post them here with a link in a separate message.)

[Barry Wilkinson]

I am truly sorry that you had such an experience with Teamwork. If I had heard of any issues with their workmanship I certainly would not have mentioned their name. I am amazed that they went ahead and did the work without referring back to you for acceptance of the quote. I'm sure this is not acceptable trading practice. Maybe someone else here can advise on whether Trading Standards should be contacted in this case?

Barry

[Bobf]

Outch! Sorry to hear that.

See if you can find out who the repair person/company was so we can avoid them too...

Good luck, Bob.

[Ash]

get in contact with your local CAB office (consumer advice bureau) they will be able to sort out the correct course of action for compensation.

[orchisarts]

many thanks for everyone's concerns and advice. im more concerned that they dont get the opportunity to destroy any more cameras. what a crime!

please see pics of the damages done to my Polaroid 180:

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t291/orchisarts/scratch.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t291/orchisarts/goop-2.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t291/orchisarts/goop-1.jpg

[Pete Davis]

I have just joined this forum so have no idea how long the 'Teamwork' repair debate has been going on but I also have horror stories about them going back years. They seem to survive though.

[Ash]

Pete, you can see the date of each post in this thread on the top right, above the poster's name. That will give you an idea of the timespan involved.

[GPS]

15 years ago I went to Teamwork in London to buy a camera (or so I thought). I left the place just after having look at their "quarters". A bunch of amateurs trying to act as profs - that was my impression. Was I mistaken? Who knows.

[Pete Watkins]

I know that it's an old thread but phone your local Trading Standards, they are a department in your local council. If they advise using The Small Claims Court go for it. The sheer threat of court action often gets a result.
Best wishes,
Pete.