Grave Concerns, Issues, and a Question for Other Bingham Customers
I wanted to share a recent experience with Bingham Jewelers that left me horribly uneasy and concerned. My father has a 50-year-old classic Rolex that needed service. He took it into Bingham Jewelers who initially indicated the repair would cost somewhere between $750-$950. The repair ended up costing $1,200 after nearly 10 weeks. One week after picking up the watch, my father noticed it was NOT keeping the correct time. Very frustrated and disappointed with the service, he took the watch back to Bingham to have them repair it again. While all this transpired, my Rolex was brought to Bingham to be serviced. Bingham indicated it would be approximately 8 weeks and $750-$950 to service my watch. After approximately 3-4 weeks, I received a call from Bingham indicating my watch was ready for pickup. I was surprised but when I inquired if the person was certain, they indicated they were. So I went to pick up my watch and to my surprise, when I arrived and gave my name, they presented me with my father's watch. I immediately indicated that there must be some mistake. The watch was not mine but my fathers. I asked why I was called and apparently my telephone number was on my father's customer record. Dumbfounded, they then began to research the status of my watch. Although they could not physically produce my watch, I was told my watch was only in its 4th week of service and it would be some time before it would be completed. The Bingham staff then asked me if I wanted to take my father's Rolex with me. They never asked for a single piece of identification, nor was I asked to sign for anything, nor was my father called and asked whether they had permission to release his watch. Since it was not my watch, obviously I had no ticket or receipt to evidence that I should take it. Standing there stunned with my father's watch in hand, knowing they had mishandled its service and called the incorrect number for its pickup, I demanded that they send my watch to Rolex directly (in New York or Houston) for service. There had been a horrific breach of trust while I stood at the counter and I was not going to allow them to continue with my watch. Bingham indicated they would honor my request although I could sense a displeasure and attitude coming from the Bingham personnel. They were not pleased. My watch was never shown to me while I was there. Weeks later, I receive a letter in the mail from Bingham, sent to them by Rolex, indicating that one of the links on my watch was not an original Rolex link, and that Rolex would not service it (as it is Rolex policy not to service any watch that is not 100% original parts). My watch has been serviced by Rolex before in NY prior to giving it to Bingham. I have never had a problem nor has Rolex ever indicated in the past that my watch was anything but 100% original. Handwritten on the letter was a note from Bingham that indicated they did not have my correct contact info and were unable to reach me, and that is why they were forwarding the letter by mail. I spent the better part of 15 minutes when I was in the store confirming my contact info as well as my fathers. How could this still be an ongoing issue?
I am gravely concerned that while in Bingham's care, one of the links on my watch may have been switched with a non-original link. I am writing this review to share my experiences and concerns and to see if anyone else has had similar experiences with Bingham.
1. Bingham called the wrong number to have someone pick up my father's classic 50-year-old Rolex.
2. Bingham gave away my father's Rolex without any identity check, signature or call to my father asking permission to release the watch. I had no receipt or ticket yet they let me take the watch.
3. Bingham had my Rolex for more than 4 weeks and yet they never identified the non-original link. Yet, once Bingham reassembled the watch, suddenly Rolex finds one and wants me to pay $510 to purchase a new link or they will not service the watch.
4. I did not learn any of this because Bingham called me, but rather through a letter sent by mail where Bingham indicated that they STILL did not have my correct contact info.
Again, I share this experience as I feel Bingham has failed on so many professional levels to safeguard my father's watch, my watch, our personal information, etc. They failed to properly service my father's watch requiring it be brought back a second time. And after I suggested that I had lost confidence in their abilities and wanted the watch sent to Rolex directly for service, suddenly my watch had an unoriginal link, something never identified in its more than 20 years of service and something not identified by Bingham after 4 weeks with the watch in their possession. Finally, after after correcting my personal info with them, they still were not able to reach me, but instead had to forward a letter via mail. read more
