Bremont Customer Sevice - Result!

Hey folks

I’m after a little bit of guidance from the forum regarding an issue I’m having with Bremont UK at the moment.

On New Year’s Day I was wearing my four month-old Bremont Boeing 247 Chronograph when the strap separated from the watch. For those who may not be familiar with this watch, the strap is not secured by springbars but by hex screws either side of the strap. One of these screws (bottom lower left lug side) seems to have worked loose resulting in the strap not being secured. Unfortunately the watch slipped off my wrist and hit a tiled surface. Besides concern for damage to the movement, the watch also sustained some damage to the outer ring - see pics below. Pleasingly, the hardened case seems to have held up well and the bezel and rest of the case look unscathed. Up until this point the watch was truly in immaculate condition being worn sparingly and thus virtually brand new.

I can only assume the hex screws worked loose over time or were not sufficiently tightened on leaving Henley as I haven’t touched them and the spare strap that accompanied the watch is still in the pouch unworn. I’ve also owned the watch since new. I seem to recall reading on here some time back that these hex screws can be problematic but haven’t been able to locate the thread.

Regardless, the watch was shipped to the Melbourne service centre (I’m in Australia) and sent off to the UK. After some chasing up to see what the outcome of their assessment was, Bremont UK have advised the movement needs some repair and they will do this under warranty. They WILL NOT replace the outer ring as they view this as a “cosmetic” repair and “optional” outside of the terms of warranty.

Instead they have quoted me £200 for a new outer case.

I’m at a loss as to why they will acknowledge the movement needs repair under warranty but not the external damage since both were caused by the strap failure.

I’ve explained to them that a less than satisfactory outcome to this issue is likely to affect any further support of the brand from my side.

I’ve been liaising with Melbourne to resolve the issue and have now asked to speak with someone at Bremont UK directly and am waiting for a point of contact but I’m not optimistic.

So two things...
Does anybody have a contact in Bremont UK that I can escalate this issue to directly?
And secondly, am I being unreasonable in my expectation that Bremont needs to attend to both the movement and the external damage?

I must admit that I’m very surprised at their position having only heard good things about how attentive their customer service is in the majority of instances.

https://i.imgur.com/OczArvc.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/aFCGJgN.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/pvq4H2k.jpg

UPDATE: Pleasingly, Bremont UK have come back to say that they will perform the external repairs as part of the warranty and are going ahead with the work. It seems like they would have been prepared to do this from the get go. They were led to believe that the strap failed due to the tongue on the tang buckle being upside down
They had not been informed that the strap had separated at the lug due to the hex screw coming loose. Possibly a miscommunication between the local SC and HQ, despite me providing pictures and an account of what happened.

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Sorry to hear about your watch. I'm no fan of Bremont but I suspect that they are not alone in restricting warranty work when it comes to strap or bracelet failures, even if they made the design decision to use an unorthodox system such as hex bolts.

Given the age and likely cost of the watch, an appeal to their better nature may be your best hope. There are certainly members here with contacts in Bremont, who I hope can assist.

Best of luck.

Re: And secondly, am I being unreasonable in my expectation that Bremont needs to attend to both the movement and the external damage?

Yes

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Originally Posted by RAJEN

Re: And secondly, am I being unreasonable in my expectation that Bremont needs to attend to both the movement and the external damage?

Yes

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How so?


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No.
But when it’s a strap issue it’s always borderline.

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Originally Posted by Rob777

Hey folks

And secondly, am I being unreasonable in my expectation that Bremont needs to attend to both the movement and the external damage?




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No, certainly not.

If they accept the movement has been damaged by this failure they should do so with this particular damage....especially if it is only a £200 issue (if the customer was paying, how much does it really cost them?)

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Originally Posted by dkpw

Sorry to hear about your watch. I'm no fan of Bremont but I suspect that they are not alone in restricting warranty work when it comes to strap or bracelet failures, even if they made the design decision to use an unorthodox system such as hex bolts.

Given the age and likely cost of the watch, an appeal to their better nature may be your best hope. There are certainly members here with contacts in Bremont, who I hope can assist.

Best of luck.

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Thanks for the response. Perhaps I’ve missed it but I've gone through the warranty terms and nothing stated implies they will not repair watches due to strap failure. They seem to broadly state they will cover repairs due to manufacturing defects. Straps by themselves are not covered. Although a chap on the Bremont FB group had his replaced when his sailcloth strap started unstitching fairly soon after purchase. I think he was lucky however in that his watch didn’t separate from the strap.


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Originally Posted by Curtis

I've had the screws work loose on my Sub bracelet and I check them visually every day now. I reinserted the screws with a dab of loctite on the threads. Good luck with Bremont

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Yeah, I think some loctite on the threads might be in order before it’s returned and I’ll definitely be checking the screws for unthreading each time before wearing it.


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For the sake of £200 they could do themselves a favour and deal with it for you but;

You say you have never touched the bolts, from their perspective though you could have been swapping out straps every few weeks and failed to tighten a bolt sufficiently. That part is just your word against theirs and I can see why they might see it as a bit of a minefield.

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Originally Posted by petay993

For the sake of £200 they could do themselves a favour and deal with it for you but;

You say you have never touched the bolts, from their perspective though you could have been swapping out straps every few weeks and failed to tighten a bolt sufficiently. That part is just your word against theirs and I can see why they might see it as a bit of a minefield.

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That did cross my mind too. I have taken some pics of the other strap to send them as it’s crease-free. I haven’t even entertained changing the strap as i think it would need another strap which would be compatible with the hex bolts. But I do see your point and I hope the fact that they can see the condition of the other strap might suffice.


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If you can’t find an email I recommend tweeting Nick or Giles English.

I would take it on the chin and pay.Bremont only have your word as to what happened.Whilst I believe you please understand that some people are not as trustworthy.The watch could have been dropped through carelessness, knocked against a door etc...Bremont and every manufacturer must protect themselves.

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Originally Posted by petay993

For the sake of £200 they could do themselves a favour and deal with it for you but;

You say you have never touched the bolts, from their perspective though you could have been swapping out straps every few weeks and failed to tighten a bolt sufficiently. That part is just your word against theirs and I can see why they might see it as a bit of a minefield.

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They’re repairing the movement under warranty. There’s no minefield on this occasion.

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Originally Posted by dougair

If you can’t find an email I recommend tweeting Nick or Giles English.

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Thanks. Good plan as a last resort!


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I think you will find that most companies do not consider dropping the watch a warranty issue. At all, regardless of cause.
They have only your version of events to believe that the strap came loose at the hex and caused the drop, rather than it being undone after the drop to try and get a warranty repair.
Please note I am making no allegation here at all, but you do have to see it from their point of view as well as them seeing it from yours.

And despite damage arising from a drop, rather than a problem with the manufacture of the watch, they have offered to sort the movement out, making it functionally, if not aesthetically perfect.
I personally think that is reasonable, and I am not sure I think that because they have offered to do one thing (the movement), they must automatically be coerced into doing the other (the case).

I think the current solution is fair, in other words.

The problem from their point of view is that the unscrewing of a loose hex could have been you or it could have been the AD, neither of which are their fault.
They know that their QC is likely to have ensured it was tightened at Bremont HQ, or that it was Loctite fastened before sending (I have to admit I have no idea whether they do this or not).

I wish you luck in the resolution.

D

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Originally Posted by amcneill

I would take it on the chin and pay.Bremont only have your word as to what happened.Whilst I believe you please understand that some people are not as trustworthy.The watch could have been dropped through carelessness, knocked against a door etc...Bremont and every manufacturer must protect themselves.

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Fair point and it did cross my mind that perhaps I’m being picky. I suppose it’s more the principle than anything else and that’s why I’m opposed to the £200. They seem to have accepted my account and are prepared to repair the movement but if they are owning up to that, surely they should extend their obligation to the external damage.


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Good Job the don't make 'Hammocks'

they can replace damaged bits as : 'gesture of goodwill' ....without admitting any liability.

which would be far better for them than getting a bad rep on errr ....watch forums and social media.

I think you'll be lucky if they agree to repair the case. What if it was a standard springbar that failed? Could Bremont be blamed for that? It's a tricky one, although it's a stupid system IMO and always prone to loosening with wrist movement and putting it on and off.

If it was my company I think I'd do the decent thing and repair, then advise you to add a dab of loctite to the hex bolts. It might be a PITA to undo them later though. At least with a glued bracelet screw you can remove the bracelet and dunk it in hot water to soften the glue. Not sure how you'd do it with the watch and strap attached?

Good luck.

To be honest, I have never really had a great experience with Bremont Customer service and so my comments come from a that position.

Whilst it feels disappointing that a screw working loose and causing your watch to drop is not really a classic warranty issue. I think them accepting to repair the movement is a good outcome and mostly likely based on good will. Therefore, I can see why they are asking for some payment for the case which in the scheme of things is relatively low. Personally my opinion is you have three options:

1) Push for a full repair via all channels
2) Try a negotiate a lower payment contribution
3) Pay and accept how that alters your view of the company.

I ended up selling my Bremont’s because of their poor service and the bad taste it left in my mouth. It took about 5 years before I included one back into my collection!

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Originally Posted by Rob777

That did cross my mind too. I have taken some pics of the other strap to send them as it’s crease-free. I haven’t even entertained changing the strap as i think it would need another strap which would be compatible with the hex bolts. But I do see your point and I hope the fact that they can see the condition of the other strap might suffice.


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You can put any strap in that watch I just got some spare bars from bremont so I did not have to swap them from strap to strap.

Luckily never had any issues with the hex bolts - tbh i liked the solution as it stopped me scratching the underside with the springbars/tools.

Looking at the pics the bolts are way out - they should be tight within the case. The bar itself locks into the end of the bolt to be secure. You can however remove the strap if only one hex bolt is unscrewed as there is enough room to drop out the strap from tbe other bolt.

Cheers

matt

I can't help directly with your issue, but these sort of threads are the ones that come up in future search functions so I just wanted to add for balance that I've had a few interactions with Bremont service and they have been very good with me. Expedited a follow up procedure when I wasn't content with the first outcome etc. The other brand I've dealt with most in terms of warranty and support is Omega via Bond Street and I would say Bremont met or exceeded that service on all occasions.

Good luck resolving your issue.

I don't know what the legalities around this issue are, and frankly don't think it comes into it. For the sake of a £200 outer ring (which of course won't cost them as much) they should replace free of charge.

You've just spent a not insignificant amount on a new watch of theirs. Building brand loyalty is invaluable and also prevents instances of disgruntled customers putting unwelcome feedback into the marketplace like, well..this thread!

Thanks to everyone who provided their input and helped me calibrate my expectations. It was interesting to see that perhaps the issue was not as cut and dried as it perhaps was in my mind.
I do see how Bremont would have been in their rights to refuse additional work that might be considered outside of warranty and as it was pointed out, it's my word against theirs.
My argument was more that if they acknowledged that the strap didn't hold up as it should and would attend to the movement under warranty, that obligation should extend to all of the damage.

Pleasingly, Bremont UK have come back to say that they will perform the external repairs as part of the warranty and are going ahead with the work. It seems like they would have been prepared to do this from the get go. They were led to believe that the strap failed due to the tongue on the tang buckle being upside down :confused-new:
They had not been informed that the strap had separated at the lug due to the hex screw coming loose. Possibly a miscommunication between the local SC and HQ, despite me providing pictures and an account of what happened.

This result is more in line with what I'd have expected based on some of the outcomes others have experienced from Bremont. It's just a pity that we all weren't on the same page from the get go.

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Originally Posted by MattH

You can put any strap in that watch I just got some spare bars from bremont so I did not have to swap them from strap to strap.

Luckily never had any issues with the hex bolts - tbh i liked the solution as it stopped me scratching the underside with the springbars/tools.

Looking at the pics the bolts are way out - they should be tight within the case. The bar itself locks into the end of the bolt to be secure. You can however remove the strap if only one hex bolt is unscrewed as there is enough room to drop out the strap from tbe other bolt.

Cheers

matt

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Thanks Matt. I wasn't aware of that.
Not that I'll be changing straps anytime soon but good to know there are options.

Great result and glad to see Bremont come through.

Congrats on the outcome.Its always best to deal direct or the message becomes muddled. Big shout out to Bremont on their customer service.

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Great result,it’s nice to hear when customer services work out in the customers favour.

"I seem to recall reading on here some time back that these hex screws can be problematic but haven't been able to locate the thread."

I see what you did there [emoji38][emoji38]

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Yay. Excellent news.

And now they can create a new limited edition featuring a bit of the old outer ring.....the Bremont Decent Customer Service Miracle Chronograph

good to hear they did the right thing

Good to hear. I've dealt with their customer services a few times, and have nothing but high praise for them.

Well done Bremont, it would be interesting to see which other big brands would have agreed to the repairs. Not so many I'd have thought judging by some customer service threads I've read!

Good result, and good service from Bremont :eagerness:

Bremont customer services are a real credit to them and the industry as a whole. When I compare my experiences with them to say Doxa or Eterna and on one occasion Rolex, I have no complaints. Had a feeling this would get resolved positively.

Well done to the OP and Bremont service department.

Glad to hear it’s been sorted satisfactorily - always nice to see brands doing the right thing.

I wonder if they read this thread....

A good friend of mine dropped his MBII in a moment of carelessness and Bremont carried out a similar "cosmetic" repair entirely free of charge, which was certainly beyond the call of duty on that occasion. It doesn't surprise me that they obliged again here so I'm pleased you've had a good outcome. Another thumbs up from me for their customer service

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Originally Posted by IVK

I don't know what the legalities around this issue are, and frankly don't think it comes into it. For the sake of a £200 outer ring (which of course won't cost them as much) they should replace free of charge.

You've just spent a not insignificant amount on a new watch of theirs. Building brand loyalty is invaluable and also prevents instances of disgruntled customers putting unwelcome feedback into the marketplace like, well..this thread!

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I can't quite fathom comments like this. Are you saying that every time someone damages a watch that the manufacturer should replace the damaged piece free of charge in order to build brand loyalty? Whatever happened to personal responsibility and for that matter, when you say 'for the sake of', if in your opinion, it's not a significant sum, why should the owner not pay for their own damage?

Bremont customer service has a reputation for being outstanding and it seems to be backed up in this case. The initial reservations that were mentioned I completely understand. From the owners point of view, it was a badly installed strap that caused the issue but from Bremonts point of view it could just as easily have been user error, there's no way to distinguish between the two.