Nikon service and "Impact Damage"

Nikon is notorious for voiding warranty on their products claiming "impact damage."

Quick google search alone (LINK) is enough to prove that I am not alone.

They have 1.2 stars in consumer affairs

F rating in Better Business Bureau. Nikon NY  / Nikon CA

Here are quick run down of my experience

Dec. 3rd

Dropped off my D700 and 24-70 in Melville NY. Note, I live in NYC and I drove there.

D700 in for rear rubber grip replacement annual clean and check

24-70 for zoom ring rubber replacement and a focus problem where it would miss focus

Dec. 10th

Received service order #. I checked the status online. D700 was quoted for $250 because I have a small dent on the bottom of my camera. Impact Damage is what the status said. I called 1800# They said partial repairs aren't an option. I spoke to supervisor and they were firm on that no partial repair policy. Fine. Bought the part from ebay and will do it myself. Also note that they quoted me shipping when my paper work clearly states that the order is "PICK UP" order. Unless they are charging $15 to move my camera within their office, this shows how organized their whole system is.

24-70 was under warranty.

Dec 11th.

Checked the status of my 24-70. It was re-estimated and was quoted $691 for "impact damage"

Immediately called 1800 number. Big surprise, their 1800 staff has no absolutely no information and was completely useless to me. I had the matter escalated and what I got was 20% discount that was "on the table." I refused and was promised a called back which never came. Out of lack of contact option, I was frustrated. Went to Nikon website and submitted a complaint and requested contact from supervisor/manager on their "ask a question" section. No reply and my ticket magically disappeared from their system.

I started extensive research at this point. Found numerous posts who shared similar concern as I did. I came across David Dentry's contact. Hes a senior general manager of customer experience at Nikon. Sent him an email. Reply never came.

Dec 12th.

I had no choice but to drive to Melville. As I had no way of actually talking to anyone important at Nikon. I spoke to the person at the window. Then the supervisor. All she said was she "understands" but can't help me. Gave me a number for Regional Service manager who wasn't available at the time. She said he'll definitely be back on Monday  I have been trying to reach him but apparently, hes a hard man to reach. I've given up dealing with Nikon at this point. And will take this matter to small claims court.

So why am I posting yet another NIKON SERVICE SUCKS post?

Simply to send a message out there. I know I am not alone, and any working professional photographers knows that we can't be away with our gear for too long. So we end up giving in and authorize the repairs. DON'T. Have the matter escalated. DO NOT CALL 1800 support number. They are the most useless customer service I have ever experienced. They have absolutely no information what so ever. For east coast folks, call their corporate office at 631-547-4200.

If enough people do this, maybe Nikon will think twice before slapping on IMPACT DAMAGE on costly warranty repairs. Michael Anskat is east coast regional service manager. PM me for his direct number. Obviously, I'm not going to back down and will take this to a small claims court in Suffolk county. I am also going to post this on any community forums I can find. And if enough people take an action, Nikon will end up losing more money in long run than the amount of money they are trying to make on repairs.

Here are some of links I found on Nikon's impact damage claims.

Thom Hogan  has a lot of posts regarding recent Nikon services. Another link

Lens Rental basically saying Nikon service suck

Link

Link2

Link3

Also obviously if you search dpreview for "impact damage" on any Nikon forum, you are bound to get hundreds of posts regarding it.

I know Canon has people reading forums for customer feedbacks. Because I knew a guy who used to work as one. I'm not sure if Nikon has the same, although I wouldn't be surprised if they don't. But if anyone at Nikon is reading this. I have all documented information, incident #. Name of people I spoke to that I can provide.

Thanks for reading.