"Really pleased"

Found 1st Aid on the web after my Panasonic Lumix jammed with sand in the zoom mechanism. Delighted by the ease of dealing with 1st Aid, their rapid repair and speedy return to me. Expensive - but I get the feeling you are paying for a quality job. Really pleased with how my problem was fixed.

"What they say is what they deliver!"

What they say is what they do and deliver! After a phone call where I outlined the problem to a chap who got to grips straight away with what the job required and the cost likely to be, I went out to FAR at Tonbridge and spoke to their very helpful receptionist who took charge of my camera. Ir was really no time at all before it was delivered back by courier beautifully packaged and repaired and at the price quoted. A great service and well worth getting the train out from London for that kind of experience. Many thanks.

"Avoid"

Firstly, do not trust this company’s reviews as I left a review on their Google page and they reported it and it was removed. And I’ve seen plenty of 1 star review disappear as well.

This company is in serious need of first aid training. Absolutely shocking ‘repair’ to what was a beautiful lens and film back to a Hasselblad 500c camera that needed TLC. I used them on a recommendation from users to get my lens fixed due to a shutter issue and the film back would jam when advancing the film (did not have this issue with other film backs on same camera body).

I sent the accessories over to them and after a month of waiting, I was in horror to see what they had done. The screw cap for the lens which keeps everything together was not screwed on properly, leaving it filmsy and not able to put on the camera hood on correctly. I had to correct this myself so it didn’t fall apart.

But what I found later on while using the camera is the lens would suddenly trigger itself, which was a problem that I did not have beforehand. Because of this, when trying to detach the lens from the body, it triggered itself, resulting in a jam. After being able to take the lens off, this had caused damage to what was a perfectly functioning camera body.

After writing to them, they’d initially insisted only discussing this over the phone and refused to say anything else, however, stated they’d only service the items they ‘repaired’ and not the body of the camera their ‘repair’ has damaged. All whilst telling me that they couldn’t guarantee they’d honour the warranty that came with their shoddy service as this could’ve been my fault. Then they had the nerve to tell me they wouldn’t reimburse me for sending it back to them and I’d have to pay postage once they rectified the issue to the tune of £15! They then became unsurprisingly patronising and played victim after voicing my dissatisfaction at their response. And they had the balls to say that they have experience with Hasselblad cameras. I highly doubt that from what I was delivered back.

I’ll be taking this camera to be repaired elsewhere by someone who has more experience and expertise. Avoid this company.

"Jason - sigma 50-500"

Rang First Aid Repairs after they came recommended to me by the manufacturer. Very proffessional service, very knowledgeable engineers and all staff were very polite. Lens posted back via DPD and i was kept updated on every step it took on its way back. I would 10/10 use First Aid Repairs again and would recommend to anyone in need of repairs.

"unprofessional amateur"

Unfortunately in my experience they are unprofessional amateur.

My bridge camera has a shutter unresponsive problem. I sent them for repair. They efficiently repaired it in 2 weeks and the price is fair. I had my camera back only to realize that, though the shutter worked again but the aperture didn’t response and only shot in wide open despite of setting. This can be easily observed when you realize all photos have the same shutter speed and same depth of field despite of aperture values. With after repair warranty I sent the camera back and upload sample photos to show them.

More than 1 month later, without any follow up, I inquired about the update, they replied that their 3 engineers cannot see the what’s problem. In this case, I wonder why they didn’t contact me on the finding. Ok, I tell the contact person on the problem again, and he replied he acknowledged the issue and will investigate.

More than 1 month later, without any follow up, I contacted them again. They replied that there is no problem on the shutter unit they replaced but it is the problem of the lenses unit problem and ask for a 4 fold price of original repair. That I think they are more trustworthy and they sent the camera back with the original defaulted shutter unit and giving me partial refund to waived me the service fee but nominally made me pay for the shutter unit I didn’t have.

All those experiences lead me to believe the “engineer” was quick to replace the unit but did no serious testing before sending back. and then those “3 engineers” failed to observe the problem like they don’t know how to read EXIF data. And the shop failed follow up after re-repair is not quite professional service-wise.

I tends to believe that maybe they are good mechanically and good at simple fixing but they are not really professional.

"Not at all recommended!"

I sent in a Canon 50mm macro lens in for repair as it had been dropped and the auto focus and manual focus mechanism was no longer working.
I was forced to wait for a lengthy period and was forced to contact the company enquiring what was the state of the repair.
I was informed that I would be contacted in a few days regarding the lens.
A few days later I was told by a surly gentleman on the telephone that the lens repair had been completed but that the lens would not auto focus within two feet, however auto focus worked beyond this range.
This was not the case when I received the lens as auto focus doesn't work to achieve focus at any distance. The manual focus works as stated but the general impression that was left, was of a sub standard service that valued monetary gain over and above honesty.
If you can, do avoid this enterprise.

"Professional company, would recommend wholeheartedly"

The first company I tried said they wouldn’t be able to assist me but they recommended 1st Aid Repairs to me.

I had a baby monitor that needed fixing and it would involve some motherboard soldering. I wasn’t adept at this sort of thing so contacted 1st Aid Repairs. I dropped off the item to their offices in Kingstanding Way, Tunbridge Wells. They were professional and had the work finished within the day. I had taken the item to pieces but Rhys kindly put it all back together for me and the item is working as good as new.

I would 100% recommend this company for fixing electrical issues with devices. I am not a bot or know the people in the company. I just wanted to let people know they are a professional company, I have just moved to TW so hadn’t heard of them prior.

"Overall very happy :)"

I dropped my camera on the floor and damaged the lense, which I was pretty upset about as I use it for my business. Had to wait over a month to get my camera back but they had to wait for parts to arrive and I know what a nightmare that can all be.
Got a call to say my camera was all done so after I paid they posted straight away and it was with me the very next day. Working perfectly :)

"What a fantastic company"

What a fantastic company. I have used 1st aid twice now and they are so good. Dont waste your time getting quotes from other companies, these guys are the best. Top quality workmanship, very fast quotation, very easy delivery options and they keep you informed every step of the way. Their customer care is brilliant too. They really care about your equipment and do a great job. Thank you so much.

"Flashgun jammed on camera.…"

I contacted 1stAid repairs because my flashgun was stuck on my F5 after a very helpful conversation I arranged to take the camera to them and wait while they would look at the problem. had lunch they contacted all done. Adrian had fixed this problem with no fuss. First class experience throughout, friendly, helpful and very professional and cost was most reasonable. Will not hesitate to use this company again.