You bought it used and it was tampered with. The seller was dishonest with you, if the seller did not tell you he screwed with it then what did you expect?
You are the first person I have heard have any issue with their customer service. I have never had to send one of their products to them.
Hold on now, Zeiss said it was tampered with, but gave no further info on that, which is a bit suspect to me.
Who would tamper with a spotting scope, and why, in a way that could harm the focus mechanism? What could possibly be gained by "tampering"?
Zeiss may be correct here, but they may not be. On what insufficient facts we have here, I am disinclined to believe Zeiss. If the "tampering" was true, I would have expected more information.
I have been on both sides of the warranty issue, and in denying a warranty request, I would always explain the facts to the customer. I expect the same of others, and I think that comports with most people's business expectations.
