UK Hasselblad Supplier gone in to liquidation - Lost my deposit & order

[iainPS]

I am in the very depressing position of having ordered an X2d + 38v and 90v lenses from an established UK supplier that has now gone into liquidation. 

I originally placed my order on the 7th September 2022, i.e. on the release date and have been waiting ever since.  I have chased the supplier and Hasselblad UK over the last seven months trying to get a delivery date, expected date, schedule or any information about supply issues etc.  They are basically un-responsive and seemingly don't care about their customers. I just don't get it.

Thankfully, my X2D arrived in November 2022, the 90v I understand is still in the pipeline ... but the 38v is well and truly out but I'm still on a back order list.

The really depressing thing for me is that my chosen supplier, Dale Photographic Ltd. in the UK, went in to administration last week.  Hence, I have lost my significant cash deposits on those lenses.  It's very unlikely I will get that money back.  Dale were a long established Photo equipment supplier and I had no reason to suspect they were in trouble.   Money aside, I am even more annoyed that I have also now effectively lost my place in the queue for the lenses!!! 

I have contacted Hasselbald UK to see if they could at least still honour my 'place in the queue' ... but they just don't respond.  Most likely they also have 'my' deposit, as the supplier would have needed to put something down to secure the slot.  Given the glacial rate at which they seem to work, I feel Hasselblad themselves are partly to blame. I paid the cash upfront in good faith, I didn't know Hasselblad would be so utterly slow to deliver the goods that in the meantime their supplier networks would start to go bust!

I'm new to the Hasselbald system, having moved over from Leica.  So far, I'm really not at all impressed with Hasselblad and/or their UK customer service centre.  The whole experience is making me re-think my choice of system going forward, with such unresponsive support how workable is this system going to be in the long run?  Leica don't have the best reputation for customer support (though I think it has improved in recent years), but in my experience its way better than this. 

Does anyone have any similar experiences?  how did you resolve them? have you got any useful suggestions about getting support from Hasselblad directly?

[brian]

I am very sorry to hear about your woes, and getting stuck in an administration issue.

Hasselblad are normally very good so I don't know why you are not getting the support you need under these circumstances..

Perhaps you are not going high enough in Hasselblad? This really should not be happening and stories like this are very likely to impact on future Hasselblad sales.

Press on and demand nothing less than the very best service

regards

Brian

[ashdown]

That's sad to hear Dale have gone into administration. I bought my first Hasselblad from them over a decade ago and remember thinking their shop was very quiet.

People have bad experience with every company but I'm thankful to say this is the minority with Hasselblad. I have only had very positive experiences myself. You could try getting in contact with Mark Witney as he is in charge of Photographer Relations for the UK.

[iainPS]

Many thanks Brian and ashdown ... it is really sad to see Dale Photo go under.  They have been long established and my experiences with them in the past have been great.  Difficult times though and I guess they are not going to be the first or the last to go at the moment.

I really appreciate your words of support.  Good to hear that you are positive about your experiences with Hasselblad.

I actually received a call this morning from Hasselblad UK and they were sorry to hear the news and open to the idea of helping to resolve the issue ... at least as far as helping me to retain my place in the 'queue' is concerned.  That's really encouraging, I let you know how I get on. fingers crossed I can get things worked out.

[MSuser]

I have contacted Hasselbald UK to see if they could at least still honour my 'place in the queue' ... but they just don't respond. 

If you contacted them by email, it's very possible they have responded; but had their reply end up in your junk mail. It might be worth looking. I've all too often had email sent or received which ended up being filtered as junk mail on one end or the other. You can also call them...

https://www.hasselblad.com/about/contact/

HASSELBLAD (UK) LTD

R3 Rapide Studios
De Havilland Court
Penn Street
Amersham, Bucks
HP7 0PX
England

PHONE

+44 20 8731 3250

info@hasselblad.co.uk

[MSuser]

Most likely they also have 'my' deposit, as the supplier would have needed to put something down to secure the slot.

Why would you assume "the supplier would have needed to put something down"? Dealers normally work with an established line of credit from manufacturers and suppliers and are invoiced only when items are actually shipped, usually with some sort of small prompt payment discount or NET 30 terms after delivery. Your dealer received the deposit you paid, not Hasselblad.

Given the glacial rate at which they seem to work, I feel Hasselblad themselves are partly to blame.

You selected the dealer. You gave the dealer the deposit. Hasselblad did not make your dealer go out of business. I don't see any blame on Hasselblad's part, though the temptation to shift blame in their direction is understandable given your unfortunate circumstances.

I paid the cash upfront in good faith, I didn't know Hasselblad would be so utterly slow to deliver the goods that in the meantime their supplier networks would start to go bust!

Your specific dealer went bust, not "[Hasselblad's] supplier networks". Your dealer presumably took deposits from customers for products from a variety of different manufacturers, none of those suppliers are responsible for your dealer's current and unfortunate financial situation. They didn't cause your dealer's financial collapse and neither did you — your dealer is responsible for the current situation.

If you're looking to assign blame for your loss — https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/DALE PHOTOGRAPHIC LIMITED/persons-with-significant-control — their financial problems have likely been building up for quite some time before their failure. They had detailed knowledge of their own finances and that collapse and closure was imminent, but that information was not disclosed by them to you or anyone else. They decided to keep your deposit rather than return it to you before they were forced to close, no one else.

Any of us would be upset if we were in your situation. It is your dealer who took your money and you are now one of the creditors to whom they owe a debt. Given the sudden closing, it's reasonably likely your dealer also owes money for products accepted and received on credit from several manufacturers, including Hasselblad, for which they have not paid. Like you, several manufacturers are presumably creditors in this situation; and like you, they did not cause your dealer to fail. They operated on long-standing trust and good faith — just as you did. Both your dealer's customers and their suppliers are the victims in this situation and not the villains.

[MSuser]

I'm new to the Hasselbald system, having moved over from Leica.  So far, I'm really not at all impressed with Hasselblad and/or their UK customer service centre.  The whole experience is making me re-think my choice of system going forward, with such unresponsive support how workable is this system going to be in the long run?  Leica don't have the best reputation for customer support (though I think it has improved in recent years), but in my experience its way better than this. 

If you're unsure and have doubts, perhaps you would be happier with another system.

Does anyone have any similar experiences?  how did you resolve them?

Given how many local dealers have disappeared in recent years, I suspect there are many who have had a similar experience. I know photographers had similar experiences when Calumet suddenly closed their entire U.S. chain of stores and web business. Fortunately, I rarely did business with them and was unaffected.

I'm aware of dealers, like yours or Calumet in the U.S., which have kept their operations going until it was no longer sustainable and then suddenly crashed leaving a financial mess. I have also observed other dealers who decided to wind down their business and close in an orderly manner, long before a financial crisis forced a sudden closure. The latter type of dealer left customers and suppliers sorry to see them close, with no one being caused financial harm or disruption. The former type of dealer is unfortunately where you ordered product with a deposit and which is now the cause of sudden problems for you and undoubtedly many others.

have you got any useful suggestions about getting support from Hasselblad directly?

Yes. Don't disparage their reputation online and attempt to shift blame to them for a problem caused by your dealer. They're likely just as unhappy with the situation as you are and in the same boat of financial loss thru having misplaced trust and faith in your dealer, like you and others. You're likely to find the support you need is better and more willingly offered, from any company or individual, if you avoid assertions and accusations and approach them in a friendly manner.

Ask for whatever assistance they can provide thru the contact information listed above.

[iainPS]

Fair comment, it's not Hasselblad themselves at fault. The dealer went bust. I chose the dealer and I lost out. It's a rubbish situation. Clearly I'm upset about that. Hasselblad no doubt lost out to some extent too as you say.

To be clear though, before placing my orders with Dale last September, I spoke directly with hasselblad in the U.K. about likely availability and was told that 'lens availability would not be an issue' ... clearly though, it was and still is an issue. Sadly, the delivery schedule has been so slow, that in the intervening period, my dealer went bust. That's not Hasselblads fault. It is a fact however that if the information I had had at the time of placing my order was true, then delivery would have happened months before the dealer went bust. So it's understandable that I might have a somewhat negative feeling towards hasselblad themselves. But again, that is merely a feeling based on my experience so far and nothing to do with the absolute legality of the situation. Dealer at fault, end of story.

That said, I have been in touch with Hasselblad in the U.K., and discussed the situation with them. We talked about them helping to keep my name in the queue for new lenses. Hasselblad initially sounded very supportive but since then they just don't respond at all ... just complete silence. I find that very frustrating, As a customer spending 30-40k on a system, surely I deserve at least a response? Even if it's to say 'no we can't or won't help' ... but just silence is plain rude.  So, yes, at the moment I do have my doubts about investing further in this company.

One of the issues I have experienced in dealing with hasselblad in the U.K. over the last 7 months is that they just don't seem to care. That is my impression based on my experience.

[iainPS]

... and why on earth is Dale still listed as an approved dealer on the Hasselblad web site? Really taking that seriously then 

[MSuser]

Fair comment, it's not Hasselblad themselves at fault. The dealer went bust. I chose the dealer and I lost out. It's a rubbish situation. Clearly I'm upset about that. Hasselblad no doubt lost out to some extent too as you say.

I'll simply repeat exactly what I already said earlier: "Any of us would be upset if we were in your situation".

To be clear though, before placing my orders with Dale last September, I spoke directly with hasselblad in the U.K. about likely availability and was told that 'lens availability would not be an issue' ... clearly though, it was and still is an issue. Sadly, the delivery schedule has been so slow, that in the intervening period, my dealer went bust. That's not Hasselblads fault. It is a fact however that if the information I had had at the time of placing my order was true, then delivery would have happened months before the dealer went bust. So it's understandable that I might have a somewhat negative feeling towards hasselblad themselves. But again, that is merely a feeling based on my experience so far and nothing to do with the absolute legality of the situation. Dealer at fault, end of story.

It appears, from reports online, that many customers received lenses in much less than 6 months — a lot less. There are any number of possibilities as to why you did not which could be attributable to your dealer's actions or inactions. As is common with brand new products, the number of orders placed immediately after their announcement exceeded supply creating numerous backorders. As new product is manufactured, manufacturers typically fill backorders based on an allocation system which distributes product to dealers based on one or more factors such as how many each dealer currently has on order; along with other factors which might be considered.

One possibility is that allocation to your dealer was low because they ordered fewer lenses than other dealers due to their financial condition and failed to order additional lenses, as stock for their own inventory, beyond those for which customers had placed deposits. It's also quite possible that allocation was constrained to your dealer due to their credit status with Hasselblad for some months prior to their financial debacle. It's possible both were factors which delayed deliveries to your dealer. I've emphasized these as possible factors because what caused your particular dealer much longer delays in delivery of lenses, or their inability to deliver lenses to their customers, is known only to Dale and Hasselblad.

It seems clear that individuals, who placed their orders with other dealers, received lenses which you never received from your dealer and in substantially less time than your undelivered order.

[MSuser]

... and why on earth is Dale still listed as an approved dealer on the Hasselblad web site? Really taking that seriously then 

Hasselblad's accounts receivable department doesn't control updates made to their website would be my best guess.

[MSuser]

That said, I have been in touch with Hasselblad in the U.K., and discussed the situation with them. We talked about them helping to keep my name in the queue for new lenses. Hasselblad initially sounded very supportive but since then they just don't respond at all ... just complete silence. I find that very frustrating, As a customer spending 30-40k on a system, surely I deserve at least a response? Even if it's to say 'no we can't or won't help' ... but just silence is plain rude.

I don't know what methods you've tried to communicate with Hasselblad. As I noted earlier, email has not been particularly reliable for me as all too often an email gets filtered out at one end or the other and never seen. I provided their number in the U.K. and suggested calling. I'd be surprised if you only got silence during a phone conversation.

So, yes, at the moment I do have my doubts about investing further in this company.

One of the issues I have experienced in dealing with hasselblad in the U.K. over the last 7 months is that they just don't seem to care. That is my impression based on my experience.

I hate to keep referring back to past suggestions, but given your feelings — "If you're unsure and have doubts, perhaps you would be happier with another system." Who wants to be reminded of resentments and doubts instead of happiness and confidence when you pick up your camera? I know that I don't want that feeling nor would I wish it for anyone else.

Whatever you choose to shoot with, I wish you enjoyment and great images.

[Andy Miller Photo UK]

I got mine 38/55 and X2D from Burgess Hill. They seem to have some access to stock. I cancelled my order for the 2.5/90 it seems to be in rolling delay.

[disposable@tx.rr.com]

and open to the idea of helping to resolve the issue ...

As long as it doesn't cost them anything or involve some actual work 

It might be interesting if you could get back to us with what they actually offer in the way of help.