Procedure for managing the after-sales service (ASS) of your IKELITE branded equipment.
TEK PLONGÉE is the distributor for IKELITE USA products in France and can act as an intermediary between the manufacturer in the USA and the end user. The service offered facilitates communication with IKELITE USA and reduces round-trip transportation costs to the United States by consolidating multiple items for monthly shipments.
For handling warranty claims or equipment requiring service by IKELITE USA, the following services are available*:
1 - Sending your equipment directly to IKELITE in the USA:
In this case, you need to return the equipment along with a letter written in English, including your complete contact information (name, address, email, phone), as well as an explanation of the issue and necessary repairs to the following address:
IKELITE CUSTOMER SERVICE
50W 33rd Street
INDIANAPOLIS, IN46208
USA
Phone: (317) 923 4523
Please ensure that the shipping label indicates the country of origin as "USA" and that the equipment is being returned for repairs (REPAIR/RETURN).
Upon receiving your package, IKELITE will provide a repair quote via email within 2 to 4 weeks. Please note that this quote does not include VAT.
If you agree to the repair, you will need to directly pay the quoted amount to IKELITE USA via bank transfer (in US dollars). The VAT will then need to be paid directly to the carrier (DHL) upon receiving the repaired merchandise. From the time of sending your package to the USA, expect a total immobilization period of 4 to 8 weeks for your equipment. The outbound and return shipping costs are your responsibility. When sending the equipment directly to IKELITE USA, Tek Plongée bears no responsibility and will not be involved in negotiations between IKELITE USA and the customer.
2 - Sending your equipment to TEK PLONGÉE for shipping to the USA through our intermediary service:
In this case, you need to return the equipment to us along with a letter written in French, including your complete contact information (name, address, email, phone), a copy of the purchase invoice, and an explanation of the issue and necessary repairs to the following address:
TEK PLONGÉE
11 bis rue de l'Europe,
ZI de la Croix Rouge
44260 MALVILLE - France
Phone: 02.40.35.24.65 - Contact email
Upon receiving your package, we will consolidate your service request with those of other customers and send them to the USA within a period ranging from 2 days to 3-4 weeks. This timeframe depends on the date of our last consolidated shipment to the USA. The transportation time between TEK PLONGÉE and IKELITE USA is 3 days.
Once in the hands of IKELITE USA, if the equipment does not qualify for warranty coverage, we will receive a repair quote within an average of 2 to 3 weeks, which we will communicate to you. This quote is free and does not obligate the customer.
The quote provided by us includes the services billed by IKELITE USA, VAT, any customs duties, a shared contribution towards the outbound/return shipping costs to the USA, as well as the return shipping costs to dispatch the merchandise back to your address.
In the interest of transparency towards customers and as part of our commitment to customer satisfaction, this service is provided at cost price.
The repair quote provided by TEK PLONGÉE will be sent via email to the address provided in the accompanying letter with your merchandise. A written confirmation by email will be requested upon acceptance of the quote.
Once the quote is accepted, you can expect an average lead time of approximately 2 to 3 weeks to receive the revised merchandise from the USA. This timeframe may vary depending on the time of year.
Customer service cases in the USA are processed on a first-come, first-served basis worldwide. TEK PLONGÉE's role is solely to ship your merchandise and retrieve it once it has been repaired. Therefore, TEK PLONGÉE cannot be held responsible for any delays beyond the standard processing time by the manufacturer. Consequently, the average total turnaround time ranges from 1 to 3 months, depending on the time of year and the workload of IKELITE USA's customer service department.
Once the revised equipment has been returned from the USA, it will be shipped back to the customer via DHL after full payment has been received. Payment can be made by bank transfer or credit card over the phone. If paying by bank transfer, it is advisable to consider the banking processing times (which vary by institution) if there is an urgent need to retrieve the equipment before a diving trip, for example. No merchandise will be shipped back to the customer until full payment for the service has been received.
Furthermore, any defective equipment replaced by IKELITE USA will not be returned unless an express written request is made on the day of the order. As the manufacturer is located in the United States and does not operate within the Eurozone, no defective equipment can be claimed if such a request was not made in writing on the day of the order.
In the event of a refusal to repair, only a flat fee of €30 will be charged for the return shipping of the unrevised equipment.
When the equipment falls within the scope of the warranty coverage, no quote will be provided by IKELITE USA, and your equipment will be returned to us repaired free of charge along with our weekly shipments. Please note that once it arrives at IKELITE USA, the average processing time for warranty-related repairs is approximately 2 to 4 weeks.
IKELITE USA handles the after-sales service (S.A.V) of its products directly at the factory and specifies in its terms and conditions that any S.A.V processed outside of their repair facility, including those handled by distributors and resellers, automatically voids the warranty. (Refer to ikelite.com: Support IKELITE.)
These services are not provided by TEK PLONGÉE and are the sole responsibility of the manufacturer.
IKELITE WARRANTY
- All IKELITE USA equipment is warranted against manufacturing defects for a period of 1 year, except for underwater flashes, which have a 2-year warranty.
- Additionally, all housings produced since September 1, 2018, have a 2-year warranty as well.
- The IKELITE warranty does not cover user negligence (such as impacts, excessive depth usage, improper or insufficient maintenance, mishandling, etc.)