Login to your account

Not a member? Join now

UK Home » London

• Clockwork Enterprises Ltd unprofessional & rude

  Do NOT use this shop for repairs unless you are willing to be parted from your watch for months & to have it returned to you broken! I left my watch in on the 1st of April because I foolishly managed to get steam in it! (I wore it in the pool at my gym because there were reports of lockers being broken into) Anyway, I really thought that I was being careful because I did the research & found this shop on the British Horological Institute website. The owner assured me that there would be no problems, he would take the watch to his workshop in Shropshire the following day, place it in a dehumidifier, open it up to ensure that there was no rust & probably replace the battery & reseal it. Sounds pretty good, I asked if it would be a problem to get a new seal? (I had spoken to a number of other repair shops that had mentioned the difficulty in getting Cartier seals). He informed that they probably already had the seal in their workshop but if they didn't there would no problem ordering the part directly from the US. We discussed the issue of steam in detail & he explained that the term waterproof, which is often used to describe watches, is in fact misleading because the term does not take into account the pressure of impact, which often damages the seal & allows water/steam to get into the case. We even talked about the shape of the watch, which unless you are an experienced repair shop can be difficult to reseal. In short, he came across, as being incredibly knowledgeable and I felt comfortable leaving my watch in his care. I was told that the repair would take 10 days; the watch would go to the workshop where it would be taken apart to asses the damage (if any) & I would be contacted with a cost estimate. I received the cost estimate after about 3 weeks (replacement of battery) & finally got the call to collect watch on 1st May. I went to pick it up on Saturday 3rd, I was so happy to get it back & to be honest; I didn’t inspect it properly although I do remember noticing that the date was incorrect but on the surface, it seemed fine. Besides, I was in a hurry (running late for a birthday party) & I really didn’t think anything of it! Later that day, I tried to adjust the date but the crown kept turning & it no longer clicked at the two positions. On Monday morning, I called the shop to inform them of the problem & returned the watch the following morning so that they could repair it. Again, I spoke with the owner who explained that the screw in the crown must have broken & that this is a common problem, which can easily occur when the watch is opened. He agreed to take it back into his care & to replace the screw at no extra cost. On 27th May I received a phone call from a lady who informed me that they could not replace the screw & that my watch is ready for collection! I am astounded & explained that I was not responsible for breaking the screw & therefore I was not happy to collect the watch unless it has been repaired. She then told me that they would return the watch to the workshop in Shropshire for further inspection & would return it the following Thursday with the weekly deliveries. This morning, Wednesday 4th June, as I was cycling to work, I noticed that the shop was open so I decided to pop in to find out on the progress. I started to explain the events as they had occurred, The owner told me that he didn’t know which watch I was referring to & asks for the invoice, which I produced. He then said, we can’t get the part from Cartier so we can’t fix it! I ask what am I suppose to do about that? He says that I have to take the watch to a registered Cartier dealer! I say but I didn’t break the part, shouldn’t his professional insurance cover take care of the matter? He says no & his assistant produces the watch from a cabinet, the matter is not his responsibility and I should take the watch back! I have to say that at this point I was starting to get upset but I tried to remain calm & continued to ask for an explanation because surely if a part is damaged when it is being repaired then it should be covered by the repairers insurance? At this point he started to shout at me & suggests that the part was broken in my care and that he was not responsible! He tells me that it is like dealing with a car, you fix one part & discover that there is something wrong elsewhere! (This is highly unlikely, the watch was fully serviced by a Cartier agent in December & as I stated earlier, there were no problems reported when the watch was left in & supposedly checked!) He went on to claim that up until now, he had tried to be helpful but that I was there to pick a fight! He barked that I could not prove that the watch had been damaged in his care; that I could complain all I want but that he would no longer engage in the conversation! With nothing left to do, I took my watch, thanked him for the bad service & left the shop! I have to say that I have never been treated so badly and I am shocked by the complete lack of professionalism. I have learned that you should never use a repair shop, regardless of the professional looking website & jargon that they tell you about their years of experience etc… Always, always go to a registered agent, I will never use Clockwork Enterprises Ltd / City Clocks again and I strongly recommend that you don’t either.

  10

  Christina T.
  Rating Review Date: 04/06/2008 Report review

Report Review

Your reason: This review is inaccurate This review is malicious This review is written by the business Other reason

Your email to be updated on the outcome of this enquiry

Your comment:

Please type the following in the box:

To help prevent spam, please type the text you see in the box above: