Its such bad luck, I am gutted to be honest. The lens was looked at by a mate who is a cameraman, and he has clarified that it is a small chip in the glass. They have fixed the lens hood but in the process damaged my lens, devalued it, and affected the optical quallity. This is not what I expected from Canon and I only hope that the matter can be resolved asap. I will push for a new replacement.....
I am sure most Canon repairs run smooth. However I had already spoken to canon and expressed my concerns as to how the lens hood would be taken of given its stuck fast nature. And I suppose judging by the marks left from the repair they had some issues. However I am amazed it came back like it did. I feel very let down by the service center. I love my canon set up and just want to be back taking pics.
I guess its bad luck as Im not due any bad karma
Ian