I had two pieces of kit long left waiting for repair in a cupboard:
- the Fuji X 23/1.4 with a defective AF motor
- the Nikon 1 AW1, with a defective screen and the kit 11-17 AW lens, which had sprung a small leak and has some sand in the zoom mechanism
I sent them for repair on April, 11th.
Fuji had requested me to pay in advance and sent me packaging to ship to them.
Nikon asked me to ship in the original box, with a pre-paid stamp they provided, and no pre-payment required (just a maximum £ value above which they would ask me to authorize before starting the repair).
After two days (April 13th) I got acknowledgement of receipt from Fuji. Also another message saying that with the kit I had registered with them, I qualify for FPS treatment, which includes a 15% discount on repairs, so they would give me back 15% of what I paid.
On the 16th they emailed again saying that it was done and that they had sent my lens back. On the same day Nikon acknowledged receiving the AW1, pending inspection.
The Fuji lens arrived the day after, on April 17th. Cost of the repair (after discount) £110. They changed the motor.
In the following days, no news from Nikon. From what I could see my kit was still waiting to be inspected.
Then suddenly on the 26th April they emailed me that it had been repaired, and the invoice was £200 (for camera and lens) - please pay soon to release the camera.
So I did, and it was delivered to my door the next day, Friday 27th.
Two quite different experiences, overall both positive (very positive, in the case of Fuji - I really liked the quality of service and that they picked up that I qualified for improved service - I thought I didn't so I had not asked for it).
Nikon was a bit slow and communication while waiting not as proactive, but the price for the repair also very reasonable and returning the camera was very quick.
It took me ages to resolve myself to do these repairs, I was dreading troubles of all kinds, long waits and high costs, but I should have not worried; everything turned out all right.
