Shoddy Service - Expensive watch potentially ruined - Where do I stand?

King Eric

I have an expensive sports training watch (approx €200).

The battery in it died and I brought it to a shop in town to get a new battery fitted.

I asked the guy was it sealed again and waterproof and he assured me it was. I was offered a 6 month warranty or a 5 year warranty and chose the 6 month warranty.

After a swim in the sea it leaked and water could be seen as condensation on the inside of the front screen. The buttons shorted and the watch kept beeping as if they had been pressed. It was like that for a few days and then died completely for 2/3 days.

I then spotted that 1 of the four screws on the back wasnt screwed down properly, with a 2mm gap between the bottom of the screw and the plate it should be tight against.

On returning to the shop with the watch I was told that I would have been told at the time that the watch would not be guaranteed to be waterproof, the particular seal on the watch being a problem.

It was suggested by he guy that perhaps, the guy I had originally dealt, with had forgotten to tell me or I hadn't been listening. Clearly this isn't the case as I made a point of checking with the guy if the seals were waterproof again and he assured me that they were.

The watch has since dried out and started working, I'm just worried about the effects of corrosion inside the watch that might kill it in 6 months/ a years time. The guy in the shop says there is no corrosion at the moment and that it should not be a problem. I've asked the guy in the shop to give me a written guarantee for 6 months/ a year to state that they'll cover it until then against it dying completely.

The guy in the shop has said that he cant do this but will give me a personal guarantee that it will be okay. TBH this means nothing, there's no comeback, nothing written down.

Any advice on my rights or what I should do will be greatly appreciated. I brought this expensive piece of equipment to an expert to get service and it turns out I'd have done a better job myself. Whatever possibility of water resistance was gone when they failed to close all the screws on the back of the watch.

If I had known the watch wasn't gonna be waterproof I wouldn't have gone swimming.

I see it that the service they provided was not up to standard (screw wasn't tightened properly) I was assured something they couldn't guarantee, as a result my watch has been potentially damaged irrepairably.

The watch communicates with sensors for speed and cadence on the bike as well as to a heart rate monitor. There's a lot of technology inside it. All it takes is for one contact or chip to corrode and fail.

jor el

It's almost impossible to prove anything, or get any resolution, without having everything in writing. As such, you've practically no hope of getting them to guarantee or stand over anything that was said. Unfortunate, but that's how it goes.

Since it's working right now (just not waterproof) there's not a lot else you could expect anyway.

As an aside; as far as I know, a watch can only be re-sealed by the manufacturer. Even authorised agents can't re-seal them and make them waterproof when changing a battery.

Head The Wall

Depends on the watch, for diving at deep depths some watches need to be pressure sealed. I have a citizen 200m which has to be done by citizen but with the likes of a casio 50m there usually isn't a mention about getting it pressure sealed when getting a battery changed.

At least there used not be when I had one.

Fey!

Not all battery shops or jewellers can reseal watches. It is a specialist job, with specialist equipment.

A watch screw is barely 2mm long; to have that much sticking out should have been obvious to the shop. It should also have been cutting the skin on your arm if it was out that far!

Proving that you were told that it was going to be waterproof will be difficult. If you got a 6 month gaurantee, surely you got it in writing, outlining what was covered by the gaurantee.

jor el wrote: »

As an aside; as far as I know, a watch can only be re-sealed by the manufacturer. Even authorised agents can't re-seal them and make them waterproof when changing a battery.

There are a few people around who can reseal watches.

Jev/N

Just remember even with some of these watches, priced at that range, I've seen the manual that says "Suitable for light splashing and showering" when it says on the face of the watch "100m pressure".

Oryx

From my days in jewellery and watches, we did not recommend 50m watches for swimming, ever. It had to be at least 100m. If your watch is going to be used regularly for swimming, and is expensive, youd need 200m. When it comes back for a new battery, unless it has been professionally pressure sealed, it no longer has 200m water resistance. An ordinary check and regrease or replacement of the gasket was usually fine, but couldnt be guaranteed without a pressure test. Some jewellers do have the equipment to do that test, btw.

From the story above, I wonder if the screw was left a little loose and worked its way undone, causing the leak. We used always nutlock screws like that.

King Eric

thanks for all the advice guys,

The watch is really meant for triathaletes and very much designed to be used in water. Has seen a lot more water previously than a quick dip in the sea.

The watch leaked 2 weeks after getting the battery fitted. Most of that was spent sitting on my desk, I cant imagine this use caused the screw to vibrate loose. The metal back of the watch sits out a good 3mm, beyond the head of the screw. I tend to wear watches quite loose so would never have felt it.

still not quite sure where I stand, but I figure life's too short and you just gotta let somethings go.

D20903

From your description it sounds like the watch is a Polar.

If it is , it is explicit in all documentation for the watch that it needs to be returned to the UK to have batteries changed - this is so the watch can be re-sealed.

TBH you have nowhere to go with this against the shop that changed the battery. Contact Polar in the UK & they might offer you a refurbished watch at a discounted price.

ingen

King Eric wrote: »

I have an expensive sports training watch (approx €200).

The battery in it died and I brought it to a shop in town to get a new battery fitted.

I asked the guy was it sealed again and waterproof and he assured me it was. I was offered a 6 month warranty or a 5 year warranty and chose the 6 month warranty.

After a swim in the sea it leaked and water could be seen as condensation on the inside of the front screen. The buttons shorted and the watch kept beeping as if they had been pressed. It was like that for a few days and then died completely for 2/3 days.

I then spotted that 1 of the four screws on the back wasnt screwed down properly, with a 2mm gap between the bottom of the screw and the plate it should be tight against.

On returning to the shop with the watch I was told that I would have been told at the time that the watch would not be guaranteed to be waterproof, the particular seal on the watch being a problem.

It was suggested by he guy that perhaps, the guy I had originally dealt, with had forgotten to tell me or I hadn't been listening. Clearly this isn't the case as I made a point of checking with the guy if the seals were waterproof again and he assured me that they were.

The watch has since dried out and started working, I'm just worried about the effects of corrosion inside the watch that might kill it in 6 months/ a years time. The guy in the shop says there is no corrosion at the moment and that it should not be a problem. I've asked the guy in the shop to give me a written guarantee for 6 months/ a year to state that they'll cover it until then against it dying completely.

The guy in the shop has said that he cant do this but will give me a personal guarantee that it will be okay. TBH this means nothing, there's no comeback, nothing written down.

Any advice on my rights or what I should do will be greatly appreciated. I brought this expensive piece of equipment to an expert to get service and it turns out I'd have done a better job myself. Whatever possibility of water resistance was gone when they failed to close all the screws on the back of the watch.

If I had known the watch wasn't gonna be waterproof I wouldn't have gone swimming.

I see it that the service they provided was not up to standard (screw wasn't tightened properly) I was assured something they couldn't guarantee, as a result my watch has been potentially damaged irrepairably.

The watch communicates with sensors for speed and cadence on the bike as well as to a heart rate monitor. There's a lot of technology inside it. All it takes is for one contact or chip to corrode and fail.

from what you say it appears that the battery in your watch was not replaced correctly, and case not sealed properly.

its always best for an expensive watch to be serviced or have battery replaced, (especially if water proof) by manufacturer or authorised service centre.

i once left one of my nice watches in to the main agent in Ireland for a service, ( automatic watch), just as i was handing over the watch to the assistant, i asked did they service them onsite, she said no a place down the road does, so i decided not to go ahead, and contacted the manufacturer instead...

there is no service centre for rolex or omega in Ireland, has to go to the uk , same with all other manufacturers which is a pain, but when you get the watch back it has been looked at professionaly and serviced.

also its much better when purchasing a waterproof watch to over spec it,