Bad luck with Ventura repair

[your_man_in_Hamburg]

Hi all,

I seem to have come across the wrong person at (what is left of) Ventura. My V-tec alpha has broken down twice. The first repair was painless (although expensive) and reasonably quick. This time, however, they don't seem to care at all.
I handed in my watch for this repair half a year ago. Quite soon, I heard that they decided to swap the entire movement for a new one. Then nothing happened, so I contacted them via my watch shop. To cut a long story short, this is what's been cookin' the last six months:
My watch is stolen. Ventura waits for insurance money instead of sending me a replacement.
Then Ventura waits for the investigation about the theft (instead of sending me a replacement), since, as they put it, the old watch might show up. They are not interested in ending up with an extra v-tec alpha on their hands. (...I mean wrists, of course.)
I have no idea of how long they plan to keep me waiting, but at one point or another, I might feel like it's worth contacting some EU consumers' rights organisation.

[your_man_in_Hamburg]

I am back to give you the latest new.

My watch stolen on its way back to Hamburg. It was packaged by Ventura, the shipping (including insurance) was ordered by them, but since my watch retailer pays for the shipping, they must pick up the mess that Ventura has caused. It took Ventura about two months after the theft to come up with this.

On top of that, Ventura failed to insure the shipping sufficiently. Still, I, or the retailer must foot the bill.

Ventura has now shipped a replacement to the retailer. I have seen it, and could pick it up. There is a catch, though. The insurance case is not closed, and the investigation over the theft is open too. According to Ventura, this means that I may pick up the replacement, pay for the repair, but if Ventura does not get as much back from the insurance as they want, they'll come and ask me for the difference.

They seem to be thinking that I am willing to pay twice for a watch, a watch that is capable of breaking down spontaneously two times in less than four years. Well, I'm not. I'd rather pick up the repayment from the insurance, and buy me, say, a Junghans Mega 1000 for it.

Cheers from Hamburg

[rewolf]

That doesn't sound good. Neither the quality of the v-tec alpha, nor the behaviour of the Ventura - but the latter is no surprise as they closed down a year ago. One could even consider it rather positive that there is any reaction at all
I hope my d-sparc will never need a service...

[rewolf]

To add to the misery:
I just came to know that Hannes Wettstein, designer of the v-tec and d_sparc (and many other beautiful things), has died on the 5th of Juli in Zürich, at the age of 50. Cancer.


http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannes_Wettstein

[your_man_in_Hamburg]

Well, guess what, nothing new on this horizon. Amazing, isn't it?

[rewolf]

Do you mean that your theft/insurance case is still not closed?

[ronaldheld]

Mine had to go back a few times for scroll problems. I do not wear it much anymore.

[rewolf]

Luckily I hardly ever need the scroll wheel, so I hope it won't break.
That system has never worked really well, not years ago when I first tried a v-tec Alpha, nor with the last model, the Kappa. It's a shame the never got that fixed.

[jonny_afghan]

I'm not sure how consumer law works where you are, but i would expect it likely that the retailer should put you in the position you were in prior to the dealing with them. If they have lost your fixed watch then tough on them. They owe you a fixed watch of equivalent condition and specification.

I see no reason why you should have to pay anything above the cost of the repair.
jon.

[your_man_in_Hamburg]

:?: Do you mean that your theft/insurance case is still not closed?

Exactly, and Ventura - what's left of it - still hope for the old one to re-appear.

[your_man_in_Hamburg]

The retailer called me today and said I could pick up the replacement watch. Whatever was left of Ventura after the bankruptcy -- i.e. the people that wanted me to pay for the replacement watch -- has also gone bust.

Another customer, in a similar snag as I, haunted them with laywers. As I understand it, his success was paramount for the release of my (replacement) watch.

So, now I have one of the very last v-tec alphas on my arm, in near mint condition to boot. I admit that for a few fractions of a second there, shortly before I closed the length adjustment lock of the wristband, I thought about the value of this piece. But no, I decided I wanted to wear this watch opposed to seeing it as a collector's item or investment.

Greetings from Hamburg

[fronzelneekburm]

GLad to hear you got your ventura back. 2 defects in 4 years is indeed a bit too much. Still somehoe sad to hear about the fall of Ventura as imho these are real underdogs. I regard the venturas as one of the very few technical advancements in digital watch history.

I think they are real underdogs, as they usually go for far too low on ebay. The technological aspect seems to be nearly ignored, but if a german car producer's brand name comes into play this always seems to rise both - interest and value. I blame the masses

[ronaldheld]

It Is good that you got your watch returned. I do not wear mine much, due to concerned about it being repaired.

[rewolf]

...Whatever was left of Ventura after the bankruptcy -- i.e. the people that wanted me to pay for the replacement watch -- has also gone bust....

Do you mean the "Ventura Europa Sales GmbH" in Würzburg? That would mean there is no repair center any more....

[fronzelneekburm]

Yeah, looks like there is no more chance of a ventura repair any more... *sigh* The fall of one of the very very few innovative digital watchmakers...

Gentlemen, start stockpiling working Venturas: [NOW]

[rewolf]

....Gentlemen, start stockpiling working Venturas: [NOW]

According to their homepage, a few are still left:
http://ventura-watches.com/2008/04/28/your-last-chance-to-order-an-original-ventura-timepiece.aspx
Anyway, I won't stop wearing my vtec Kappa until it breaks. And then I can still sell it as "don't know if it works because I don't have the correct battery..."

[LEDluvr]

And then I can still sell it as "don't know if it works because I don't have the correct battery..."

And don't forget the classic:
"Untested- My jeweler doesn't have the tool necessary to take off the watch back" I actually had someone tell me that regarding a Hughes module watch - the case had the traditional two battery hatches on the back.
Ridicuiouls!

[richard_uk]

What faults did you have on your Alpha? I've been wearing mine daily for about the last 4 years or more with no problems, it has just developed a fault :( the first digit on the bottom row is sometimes not 100% there, at the moment in date mode the first digit, the no 1, is kinda faded on the bottom half.

[richard_uk]

Anyone else heard of a similar fault? Whats the chances of me finding a replacement module?

[rewolf]

Looks like a contact problem.
I don't know what type of contacts they use (zebra?) - I didn't succeed in even removing the module from the case yet...

Did you try Ventura Service (now Preciluxe) yet?
http://www.preciluxe.com/en/Service/Ventura-Service

[your_man_in_Hamburg]

What faults did you have on your Alpha?

Let's see. The first time, it was the white little "loudspeaker" wafer that had scattered. From one day to the next, it was mute.
The second breakdown was due to the switch that you actuate by pushing the scroll wheel. The design of that switch did not impress me very much. Part of it is a short piece of metal that is bent to touch another piece of metal in order to close a circuit. The piece that must bend is rather short, forcing it to strain considerably each time you push the wheel. With some microscopic crack to start with, and enough actuations, you end up with a fatique crack. That's at least what I think.

That's all history now. My current v-tech Alpha is still 1A OK.

[richard_uk]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Rewolf: I hadn't thought about a contact problem, I was assuming it was probably some kind of display failure/liquid crystal leakage, looks like getting the tools out and checking that strip for dust etc.

I hadn't really considered sending the watch to a service centre, too many horror stories around regarding missing/damaged watches, or loooooong delays, plus I can do most of the basic servicing myself, if the display had gone I would assume they would just replace the whole module, again which I could do myself.. if I could find one that is.