I know this will have to go back to BUK but I wondered if any other forum member had any similar experiences.
I noticed this week when setting the watch back to UK time thar the digital time display was incomplete. I assumed it was a battery issue but then quickly noticed that the top righthand corner of the lower display had turned white.
The analog is running fine and time keeping is spot on, so I have no idea as to what has happened? It's not been knocked about as far as I'm aware.
It is out of warranty now as it was purchased on 21-11-2015. It has been through a couple of forum hands.
Any ideas?
Whilst checking the warranty card for the date I've also noticed that the card disply has gone dodgy
The card display is a sort of e-paper, a quick slot into an ADs card reader will reset it. The screens are sensitive to any pressure and get smudged like that.
The watch display itself looks more troublesome, I would think that’ll require a replacement movement unfortunately.
If it’s been serviced as per schedule though, I’d push for a goodwill repair.
Back to Breitling for a new display module. Had the display go on the B50 but it was under warranty.
it is less than 3 years old so really shouldn’t be breaking like that. Phone BUK and s e what they say.
Samantha Towner
Customer Care Manager
Tel: + 44 (0) 1892 553 620
Fax: +44 (0) 1892 553 631
E-mail: samantha.towner@breitling-uk.com
Last edited by MartynJC (UK); 7th August 2018 at 16:19.
Thanks for the contact details, Martyn. I'll be giving Samantha a call in the morning.Originally Posted by MartynJC (UK)
Any idea of the cause or what the actual failure is? I fly longhaul a lot... but it's a Breitling so I'm discounting that
I don't think it has any service history? I think I'm the third forum owner, and I don't recall the previous sales posts mentioning any servicing. Not that they should have as it was still in warranty when I bought it.
Looking at the card - it was bought in November 2015 so unlikely to have needed or have had a service.
I think any devise can fail - they replaced the LCD display on mine (not the whole module was my understanding). Breitling should be able to sort it for you - hopefully under goodwill, but they aren’t obligated as it’s out of the 2 year warranty.
This is a standard problem on LCD displays in all devices, I have had it on a calculator display, but normally only on quite old equipment. My Aerospace is over 25 years old, not seen this.
One silver lining, at 3 years old the watch will need a new battery soon, you should be able to get that changed for free at the same time.
Looks like the LCD has delaminated. Maybe a failure of the bonding due to a manufacturing defect or exposure to excessive heat?
If it was originally purchased in the UK, then perhaps it would be covered under UK consumer law regardless of the warranty. At the price it would be very unreasonable of Breitling to not fix it as the failure is clearly much sooner than is reasonable.
Have not heard good things about the cost of Breitling service, so good luck.
It's now on it's way to BUK after they sent me the service pounch to ship it back. I also included an accompanying letter asking for a goodwill gesture.
Worth a shot.
They once fitted my Aerospace with a brand new titanium bracelet for £0 when the watch was around 8yrs old - “it must have been faulty, Sir”
They appear to have become more mercenary since then, but good luck with the repair.
G shocks are popular on here - I wonder if anyone has had a similar issue with a Casio? As others have said I’ve seen it on old calculators etc but can’t remember seeing anything like that kind of failure for years tbh
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No real surprise but I've just received an e-mail from BUK pretty much blaming me for the damage, stating that there is impact damage to the 1 o'clock 'horn' lolz. This (as I have explained to them) is not impact damage in the slightest, but just some strap changing marks. The watch (in my ownership) has never been bumped or dropped.
Dear Customer,After having attentively examined your watch and to insure the optimal condition of its functions, we are submitting an estimate of thenecessary work to be done :
Description and cost of necessary work : Your watch has suffered impact damage to the underside of the 1 o'clock horn which has caused the damage to the LCD. Your watch will require thefollowing to put it in order.
Complete service -
Includes repalcement LCDThis service includes: changing all seals, partial changing of hands andchecking of water resistance. Disassembly, cleaning and replacing ofstandard movement parts, assembly, lubrication, adjustment and setting ofmovement function parameters. Changing the battery for quartz models.
Shipping and handling 15.00
Subtotal 410.85
VAT 20.00% 82.17
Total (necessary work) 493.02
Total (necessary and optional work) GBP 493.02
They've received my response and it has now moved on to their Customer Care department.
We'll see how it goes...
And WTF is 'partial changing of hands? It only has two!!!
What was your response exactly?
Breitling apparently see fit to use a rather heavy handed machine to fit hands to the movement. This makes removal in an undamaged state a rather hit and miss affair (or one of luck) necessitating new hands.
Regards,
Si
That's All Folks
This was my first response -
"Your response to this issue is very disappointing. The watch has had no such impact damage whatsoever. The marks on the underside of the lug is caused by multiple strap changes.
The watch is barely out of warranty. I would expect this watch to be fit for purpose for many years, not two and a half years old. I am amazed you are asking nearly £500 and citing an assumed cause, therefore taking zero responsibility for a clear defect.
Please return the watch to me without performing any repairs. I will put the watch in a drawer and not bother with Breitling again.
Very disappointed in the accusation of cause and your response to a loyal customer"
They replied back saying sorry for my disappointment and would I like to be referred to their Customer Care department. I've agreed to this and will wait for further correspondance.
I'm sorry to hear about this. I think your response to Breitling's proposed solution is eminently reasonable, although I hope BUK customer services may come back with an alternative proposal. As much as I love my own Aerospace NM (and I really do!), there is the worry about what is likely to happen if the watch ever goes back to the BUK mother-ship. It isn't like there are independent alternatives :(
Hope it works out for you
Dave
Think the OPs comment was about the meaning of a 'partial' hand change. There are two hands so that would mean one hand is changed.
Ana-digi remains a gap in my diver orientated collection & breitling seems the natural brand to fill it, but things like this really put me off.
Hope they come good on resolving it, clearly an issue in manufacture?
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It's sad to see QC issues (it seems) getting into even their standard ani-digi - the aerospace has been around in various forms for more than 15yrs - I thought it was only affected the newer BXX ones:
They should have referred the case to Customer Care without asking, to my mind
Things will (sometimes) go wrong 'barely out of warranty' and there has to be a cut-off date.
Maybe the warranty isn't long enough.
I fully understand that there will always be QC issues with a certain % of SKU's in any mass produced product. But a product has to be fit for purpose. I would expect a 3-4 grand watch to last longer that 33 months.
Very disappointing response from Breitling. The Aerospace is an ideal watch for me in so many ways but the risk of this kind of failure and response is exactly what has put me off getting one. I am sticking with Grand Seiko quartz (less to go wrong) and G Shock (much cheaper and super reliable) to cover these bases in my collection. Will leave steep service bills for my mechanical!
Very disappointing but I’ve read so many similar threads in regard to Breitling Ana digi watches over the years that I’m not massively surprised. I can’t think of this ever happening to any of my cheap lcd watches over the years - very odd
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I'm in this camp. The service bill for my Aero was hard to swallow last time around, especially since it stopped dead a few weeks later and had to go back. BUK service seems to have fallen through the floor.
Breitling have certainly started to gain a reputation for not looking after their customers.
Does not bode well for the long term health of the brand. As their styling is so niche, it’s hard to imagine that they can afford to alienate customers.
Not a brand I have any interest in any more. Expensive, poor residuals, unreliable, disagreeable styling, greedy customer service with little or no goodwill towards customers, cliched aviation marketing with little substance/functionality to back it up. In their favour they have got nicely finished dials, cases, bracelets and one very classic and beautiful model line that has endured a few generations (Navitimer).
Absolutely spot on, and such a needless shame.
I totally forgot about this this. That may be due to the pedantic and condescending final response I received from Breitling UK.
They flatley refused to take any responsibility whatsoever. Instead putting all the blame on me for "heavy heavy knock or shock".
I told them to return it without touching it any further.
Breitling UK are an absolute disgrace, in my opinion.
If I didn't love it so much Tony, that's exactly what I would do! Now I'll just keep wearing it until the battery goes, and then send it in for the work to be done.
I really did miss it when it was away with them. It makes a lot of my other watches redundant.
When I bought this from SC it came on the black military canvas tang. I have subsequently bought a Pro 3 rubber for it and swapped out the silver stainless steel tang buckle for the (stupidly expensive) blackened steel tang buckle. I then finally managed to get my hands on the (again very stupidly expensive) mustard military with deployant at a fantastic price from SC.
My plan was to also buy the other Night Mission Evo as I liked it so much. That will now not happen.
Rather than put the watch in a drawer may I suggest a well worded letter quoting the Consumer Rights Act 2015. (Sale of goods Act before Sept 2015).
I have used this to great effect several times when companies initially claim that it is due to user issues and damage that the product is malfunctioning. If they still refuse to repair your watch then advise them you will start a Small Claims Court action, which is cheap and easy, to solve the issue. An independent watchmaker's report may be required to confirm the condition of the watch.
The Sale of Goods Act 1979 – now the Consumer Rights Act 2015 – provides that consumers are entitled to a repair or replacement or refund where goods are faulty. If the fault occurs after six months, the consumer has to prove that the problem was down to a fault or issue at the manufacturer, as opposed to wear and tear or misuse. In accordance with a law known as the Statutes of Limitations, consumers have this right for six years in England.
I recently had to use this to get BMW to replace my motorbike engine, outside of warranty, due to internal damage. It had a well known lean fuelling issue that initially BMW were putting down to misuse.
It is sad that well known brands do not back their products, but blame consumers first.
Good luck.
This is a real shame. I was just getting a little drawn towards the concept of a dual analogue/digi watch, specifically Breitling, and this has cut it dead.
Jon, did customer care get back to you after you (quite rightly), took exception to their initial response? If it was me I would be absolutely furious, and would escalate it within BUK, then to the Swiss mother ship. I think the consumer rights point is well made. I have found that when you are at an impasse, sometimes commenting on their Twitter feed, can move things forward.
Hope you get it sorted.
Dave
Well an update to this saga is that I bit the bullet and sent it off to BUK for a module replacement. Six weeks later and the watch has been returned with two bloody 'great' scratches on the 1 o'clock lug FFS!!!
I've emailed BUK (Samantha) and will wait on a response, but if anyone wants a freshly serviced EVO LE (with fresh scars) let me know. I'm done with the brand!
How on earth do you manage to even do that! One piece of tape would have protected the lug.... Something that many of us rank amateurs do at home!
Terrible.
I wear an aerospace most days and it's probably my favourite watch of all over this past decade of flipping watches... But I have seen lots of them on ebay with receipts for silly service prices.
I got mine too off SC. It had a service sticker in the box so I emailed BUK to ask could they check the serial number and let me know if its been back to them before. Nothing... Not one reply back.
Not great service at all.
This is ridiculous. They should now redo the whole thing as FOC - im assuming the before photos are showing good condition (without going back through the thread? )
I had a B-1 pretty much rebuilt by Breitling via my insurance - I think their service is poor though overall.
Get onto their FB page - send them a message via social media etc.
What a shame - I love their Ana-dig watches (I have 3) no probs with any other than the B! that I let water into.... doh.
As an independent watch repairer this is frustrating. I repair many ana/digi breitlings and i can't directly get a set of seals out of them. They say that they restrict access to spare parts to discourage independent repair. This is to ensure repairs are carried out to the highest standards and so protect the brands image. In my experience, LCD damage like this can be found on beaters, and this watch looks far from being one.
What do posts like this do for Breitling's image?
Craig
p.s. do you have a pic of the marks underneath the 1 o'clock lug?
No visible scratches on the upper case pre service.
These are obviously not just surface scratches either.
This photo is the last time I touched the watch before sending it away. Excuse the fluff.
They took super hi res macros of it which made it look as though it had been three off a cliff. I was horrified when I saw them and was adamant they weren’t there when I sent it off. On its return, I had to look twice before I saw it as it only shows in a certain light/angle, but is obviously there and could have been there prior to me sending.
The latter on the topside of the lug was most definitely not there.
(Yes, I know I'm replying to an old message but it hasn't been addressed)
Doesn't the Consumer Right Acts apply only to the vendor of the watch, not the manufacturer?
Another thing that is puzzling me whilst I wait for a response; do Breitling no warranty the service they have carried out? On the invoice where warranty is stated is blank and the e-card has not been updated.
Last time I had work done by Breitling (never again), it was hand written on the receipt from the handling AD. All I got from Breitling was a small pressure test bit of paper.
That might be because it went to a Breitling authorised repairer rather than back to the mothership
Breitling used to be one of the best regarded servicing watch brands. Doesn't seem the case anymore! I guess moving out of private hands and pissing off customers in lieu of some good will is the current trend for some brands. Having a few Breitling watches I guess I'll just have to hold my breath and cross my fingers! Especially with the AeroSpace it seems.
I would make it clear to their customer relations manager that their lack of care is being plastered all over various media, and if they actually care about the damage they are doing to their public image then they should consider some better good will than they have shown. Also they seem to be totally responsibly for damaging your property whilst it was in their possession!
Last edited by Omegamanic; 5th September 2019 at 18:09.
It's just a matter of time...
I really doubt they'd care. My impression is that the value of public condemnation/outrage has been devalued over time as it has become more common, as the Internet has allowed people to communicate their anger more and more easily to a wider and wider audience.
It's paradoxical but it seems to me that the more we have seen of it, the less effective at altering buying behaviour it has become (not just in the field of watches).
In brief, no one (or not enough people) seem to care any more and businesses care less and less about places like this. Twitter (and to a lesser extent Facebook) still matter a bit but even outrage on these can increasingly, it seems to me, be bluffed out: Ignore it and it really will go away because persistent complainers can be blocked as spammers, etc.
Perhaps, but I’ve had big companies, and watch/jewellery brands back down once I’ve explained I’m quite prepared to go public on a very wide scale using every form of on-line media easily available to me to show how they’ve treated a particular situation. So sometimes it still works, and it helps that I felt that I was completely in the right in each occasion.
It's just a matter of time...
How can they 'redo' it? Can't see that a scratch in black titanium can be brushed out.
Yup, I certainly don't deny that it can still work (and work well).
I nonetheless feel that the impact of such things is becoming less and less over time, due to constant over-exposure. Outrage-fatigue, of a sort.
They specifically said they cannot, but as a goodwill gesture they have offered to fit a new case labour free. Very nice of them. Just £745 for the case!
Hi...depends on how old your Aerospace is. The early models, with the same size lower display as the upper display, are easy to fix because you can still purchase a new movement for less than $200. The later models, with the larger lower display, require a trip to Breitling for an upgrade superquartz movement. The last time I tried this option BUSA wanted $1100. I bought other Aerospace.
us pcb assembly
Last edited by VerlaHiltz; 8th April 2020 at 21:42.
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