You enjoy the gear. We deal with the warranty.
Every piece of equipment we sell comes with a manufacturer's warranty. Actually using that warranty is another matter. A claim usually means overseas support tickets, emails answered a week later from another time zone, requests for logs and videos, and then the hard part: packing and shipping a heavy, delicate instrument to a service centre that may be across the border or on the other side of the world.
With Warranty Handling Service, you make one call or send one email to us, and we manage the claim from start to finish.
Why shipping is the hidden cost of a warranty claim
A manufacturer's warranty covers the repair. It almost never covers getting the item to the service centre and back, and that is where owners get caught out. Typical round-trip costs from Ontario, insured for full value and packed properly:
- Harmonic mount to an overseas service centre: roughly $250 to $400 once you add courier both ways, full-value insurance and brokerage when it comes back into Canada.
- German equatorial mount head (EQ6-R class, about 25 kg boxed) to a North American service centre: often $200 to $450, and more if the original foam is gone and it has to be custom-crated or sent by freight.
- Refractor or SCT tube: commonly $150 to $350 round trip. Long tubes and large SCTs are charged on dimensional weight, so the box size costs more than the weight.
- Astronomy camera to an overseas service centre: commonly $80 to $150 with insurance and tracking.
Customs paperwork and brokerage can add fees and delays even on a warranty return, and a poorly packed box can be refused by the manufacturer or damaged in transit. A single claim on a mount or telescope can easily cost more in shipping than this service does.
What we handle for you
- Opening and managing the claim. We file the ticket with the manufacturer, supply the order records and follow up until it is resolved.
- All communication with the manufacturer. No chasing overseas support or waiting on replies across time zones.
- Shipping both ways. We arrange and pay for the shipping to the manufacturer or its service centre and back to you, including insurance, customs and brokerage paperwork.
- Status updates at every step, so you always know where your claim stands.
Troubleshooting comes first
Before a manufacturer will issue an RMA (return merchandise authorization), it requires the owner to complete its troubleshooting steps. This is the manufacturer's requirement, not ours, and no claim can move forward until it is done. Typical steps include:
- updating firmware and drivers to the current version
- testing with a known-good power supply and cables
- resetting to factory settings
- capturing logs, error messages, photos or a short video of the fault
We send you exactly what the manufacturer asks for and help you work through it. Many problems turn out to be settings, firmware or power and are solved right there, with nothing shipped at all. If the fault is real, a complete troubleshooting record is what gets the RMA approved quickly.
Keep the original packaging
Please keep the original box and foam for the length of the manufacturer's warranty, especially for telescopes and mounts. Manufacturers expect returns in suitable packaging, and the original packaging is the safest and most affordable way to ship an optical tube or mount. Without it, an item may need custom packing or crating before it can be sent.
How it works
- Something isn't right? Contact us with your order number and a short description of the problem.
- We send you the manufacturer's troubleshooting steps and help you through them.
- If an RMA is issued, we open it, arrange the shipping and manage the claim until your repaired or replacement unit is back with you.
Service terms
- A service, not insurance or an extended warranty. This is a claim-handling service. It does not extend or add to the manufacturer's warranty under any circumstances. The repair or replacement itself is provided by the manufacturer under its warranty and its terms.
- The manufacturer decides. Whether a fault qualifies for warranty repair is decided by the manufacturer, and the manufacturer's decision is final.
- Length of service. The service covers claims made while the manufacturer's original warranty is in force, on the item it was purchased with, and ends when that warranty ends.
- One unit, tracked by serial number. Each service covers one unit of the item it was purchased with, identified by its serial number. A replacement unit issued by the manufacturer under warranty stays covered for the rest of the original warranty; please send us its new serial number. Claims for any other item are not covered.
- What counts as a claim. A claim is a repair approved by the manufacturer that requires the item to be sent back for service. Troubleshooting and support that don't require the item to go back are part of the service and don't count as a claim. We keep a record of each approved repair against the item's serial number.
- One repair claim. The service covers one repair claim: one approved repair, including the shipment to the manufacturer or its service centre and the shipment back to you. Once that claim is complete, the service has been used. For any later repair we'll still help, with a quotation and access to our discounted shipping rates.
- Original owner only. The service must be purchased with the item, is non-transferable, and applies only to the original purchaser. It ends early if the item is returned for a refund, traded in or sold.
- Canada only. The service is available only on orders shipped to addresses in Canada. If it is purchased on an order shipping anywhere else, we will remove it from the order and refund it.
- Troubleshooting first. Before a manufacturer will issue an RMA, the owner must complete the troubleshooting steps it requires. No claim can move forward until this is done.
- Faulty on arrival. An item that is faulty on arrival will be handled under our regular return policy.
- Claims open at the end of the warranty. A claim opened while the manufacturer's warranty is in force will be handled through to completion, even if it finishes after the warranty ends.
- Shipping. We choose the carrier and service level. Repaired or replacement items are returned to the original shipping address in Canada. Repair times are set by the manufacturer, and we can't guarantee how long a repair will take.
- Loss or damage in transit. Shipments we arrange are insured. If a shipment is lost or damaged, it is settled through the carrier's insurance claim, up to the insured value.
- Packaging. Please keep the original box and foam for the length of the manufacturer's warranty. If an item has to be custom packed or crated because the original packaging is missing, that cost is not covered.
- Out-of-warranty work. Faults the manufacturer won't cover, such as drops, misuse, modifications or wear, and any repair after the warranty has ended, fall outside this service. We will still help: we'll arrange the repair, provide a quotation based on the manufacturer's repair quotation, and give you access to our discounted shipping rates.
- Non-refundable. Apart from the case in term 8, the service is non-refundable once purchased, except where required by law.
- Chargebacks. A chargeback or payment dispute on the service ends it.
- Misuse. We may refuse service or end it without refund in cases of abuse or fraud, such as deliberate damage or false claims.
- Liability. Ontario Telescope's total liability under the service is limited to the price paid for it.
- Questions and governing law. If you ever have a concern about the service, please contact us first and we'll do our best to make it right. These terms are governed by the laws of Ontario.
Handled by the team at Ontario Telescope and Accessories, at our shop in Bolton, Ontario.