Well, the most important thing is that you are good to go. That would totally blow if you went on a trip with no camera....youchhhh. I have worked with Ikelite for sometime now and there has never been a time where I was unhappy. Also, when I call them to arrange some service, if their repair department is swamped, they always tell me.....it's going to take three weeks, two weeks, a month, etc, so at that point I can make a decision as to alternatives to any upcoming trips. I think you next Ikelite service experience will be vastly different from that which you already had and you will really feel the passion they have for getting U/W photographers back into the water with their toys B)
Have a great trip and be sure to post when you return.
Hi Joe,
Well, I think for my area (Great Lakes, Ontario) I am now limited on my photo opportunities (Wide Angle Shipwrecks) and the algae has already started to bloom and I will have to do closer shots. I was just trying to get away form taking close diver shots, as I was with the shop I used to work for. Now I will have to wait for late season or longer exposures and hope I get other colours than just shades of green (I could always convert them to B&W).
I really hate to air dirty laundry the way I did but with the problems it seemed the fastest way to resolve the issue's or at least open some eyes to the problems that seemed to be getting ignored.
Again to Ikelite I am sorry this had to happen and I hope we can move forward in a positive light and we both learn form all of this.
Thank you ALL,
Ken
Hello All,
Well.... I got everything Ikelite said they would send and even Canadian Divers finally sent me my repaired items +1 Ai Strobe that does not belong to me... I will be sending it to the correct customer.
I would especially like to thank Bob Stubbs at Ikelite Repair. He has been great during this problem even when I had lost my patients and we found a few times that e-mail reliability was not up to par.
Next time, deal directly with Ikelite and forget the obviously incompetent middle-man/sales rep!!
I've had several dealings with them in the past for warranty issues and never run into the awful trouble you did. They have always been very professional and quick to fix any problems I had.
My only beef is the dimwitted Canada Customs folks who insist on charging a) tax B) duty and c) a $5 service fee for each parcel even though it clearly states REPAIRED ITEM - WARRANTY SERVICE. It cost me $54 to get back my DS-125 battery and it took the border weasles 6 weeks to refund it to me when I pointed out their error!!!
Kim
Hey, Kim,
I hate to break the news, but the $5 fee for customs brokerage is now $8. That's Canada Post charging though, not Customs. (I figure it's for storage )However, that's still $30 less than the men in the brown outfits charge, regardless of the item's value or that it's your own property.
Cheers,
Marli
Damn Canadians...personally i blame them....
Hey All,
Ikelite is now using DHL and with the paperwork they sent I did not get hit with GST or brokerage fees like with Canada Post or what Brown does. Looks like some one at DHL actually knows the duty tariff regulations. Warr. replacement and service that can not be preformed in Canada are N/C, but you do need to pay for repair parts that you get charged for.
Again I am glad Ikelite was able to finally resolve the issue. I am happy with the result, just not their Canadian National Sales Rep. Canadian Divers.
Again Thanks to Bob Stubbs & The Ikelite Repair Team for resolving this as soon as they got back from the trade show.
And thanks to all for understanding this OLD Mans Grippes
B) 
