A warning about Optcorp

[RobH]

A few weeks back I bought an Astrotech 65mm Quadruplet from Optcorp in the US.

It turned out, on testing, to be suffering from astigmatism.

Ian King also has the same scope, and had to send his back to TS in Germany with the same problem.

I contacted Optcorp about this, and they asked me to send the scope back to them for replacement, which I did at my expense (£70).

Yeterday I got an email saying that they couldn't find any astigmatism, but it did have coma.

The blurb from AT says it's a flat field astrograph, so it shouldn't have coma, except maybe at the very edge of the FOV, but not on an 8300 sized chip.

Today, they say that there's nothing wrong with it at all, and so they can send it back to me, at my expense, or keep it, and give me a partial refund.

I won't go into the details of testing....they are here....

http://stargazerslounge.com/equipment-discussion/130460-quadruplet-optics-should-they-show-astigmatism.html

Needless to say, I'm bloomin' furious, but there's nothing I can do.

They haven't furnished any details of how they tested it, although I asked, so I guess I'm going to have to put it down to experience.

So....beware of Optcorp, and also be aware that there are some dodgy TS/AT 65mm quadruplets out there.

I'm sticking rigidly to Ian King and FLO from now on....yes, you may pay a bit more over here, but at least you get to deal with honest people who won't treat you like muck and will give first class after sales service.

Cheers

Rob

[jam1e1]

Sorry to hear that, tried email to their CEO? Else I'm sure an email about negative publicity to them may produce a better outcome?

[JamesM]

Sorry to hear about the poor customer service you have received Rob - in this day and age poor service is simply is not good enough. There is always a chance that an imperfect product can get through and the mark of any retailer is how they recognise this situation when it comes to light and what they do to address the situation. Clearly the customer is not always right but it is reasonable to expect that when the retailer asserts their judgement on the matter, they should disclose exactly how they have arrived at their decision - this is also forms part of customer service.

I know you will put this down to experience but its a shame that you've had to pay so much for the privilege. Again thank for the warning.

James

[RobH]

An update.

I've been in touch with Astrotech directly, and forwarded their email to optcorp. AT have said that there have been a few cases where the rear filed flattening lens has been too tight, and in cold weather, this can pinch the lens.

Opt have admitted to only testing it in warm californian temperatures, even though I warned them that this may be the issue, and are now offering a refund. I have yet to see if this will be a full refund.

I've been in touch with Ian King about his 65mm quad from Teleskop Service.

He says that of the batch of 4 that he had, only his own had this problem, and TS have been great about it, and are testing every scope before shipping them.

I was very impressed by the build quality of this scope, and the focuser is utterly solid, even with all my gear hanging from it, so I'll be oredering one from Ian as soon as I get the refund.

Cheers

Rob

[Steep]

Some things that you should do and may help.

Contact them again and insist they explain exactly how they tested the item and found no fault when you obviously did.

Contact your CC company and tell them your problem assuming you paid either by credit card or debit card.

Check out sites like ripoffreport.com if you get nowhere with the supplier and you're sure they are chancers then let others know.

Don't just accept that you have lost out, a bit of pressure in the right place, even letting them know that you are not going to let it go can make all the difference.

/edit, you posted before me but some of the above still applies if you don't get a full refund.

[SlipperySquid]

Blummin ek mate, if you never had bad luck you'd have no luck

Hope you get it resolved Rob...If not we can have a cry together at SGL6!

Matt.

[steppenwolf]

Hi Rob,

I am delighted to hear your latest post in this thread s it all sounds so much more positive. Fingers crossed for a full refund!

[riklaunim]

Buggy refractors can be sent to opticians that have the equipement and knowledge to test and fix them. There are two "popular" opticians in Germany:

- News - optische Qualitätsprüfung - Wolfgang Rohr

- Die Teleskop Spezialisten - ED-Apochromaten, Refraktor, Maksutov-Cassegrain, Dobson, GoTo-Montierung und Zubehör für die Astronomie

[sixela]

I've done business with OPT often and they've always bent over backwards to accommodate me, but I confess that a refractor is something I'd order from someone a lot closer to home myself...

[beamish]

the point is Rik, this is new and shouldn't be there at all. It does sound far more +ve Rob here's hoping you get the full whack and push for a refund on shipping too !!