Came across a situation today which really put into doubt the subject of honorable business practices.
I am having a warranty issue with a component of a item that cost nearly $7,500 in total. This component was around $500 of that cost. When it was purchased from the vendor, the entire item had a "Lifetime Guarantee". The item is fairly unique, so the vendor is in Florida.
The component in question was manufactured by a third party, and the third party also offers a "lifetime guarantee" of their own. So, the component is covered by two lifetime guarantees, one from the vendor (as printed on the invoice), and another from the manufacturer (as shown on their website).
I contacted the manufacturer first, and they respectfully told me that they preferred to handle warranty claims through the vendor that sold me the component. OK, fair enough. I can see why they'd want to do it that way.
I did some homework and found who I thought was the original vendor in Florida. The name of the business was mostly the same (with one word removed), they were still selling the same unique product, but were now located in the next town over.
I sent an email, describing the issue at hand, asking for assistance on the "lifetime guarantee", as was printed on the original invoice.
Today, I received a message today that it was the same vendor that I'd dealt with before, but it had been bought out since then, so I was dealing with a new owner.
Here's the kicker. The new owner of the company can't recall the previous company ever offering a lifetime warranty to any of its customers (I'm apparently a liar, who photoshopped a fake invoice). He went on to tell me that I will need pay him an hourly rate to process and handle the warranty claim, and for me to pay all of the "handling" and shipping charges. Who knows how much it would cost, after this guy gets done adding up his bill.
I contacted the manufacturer again, and detailed to them what I had been told by their vendor. The rep was shocked at the vendor's response, and graciously offered to find me a vendor who will handle my claim without hassle, and free of charge.
I hope they investigate the actions of my vendor. I am going to "accidentally" forward the vendor's email message on to the manufacturer's rep.
I suspect that the vendor is trying to "double bill" his warranty claims... once to the manufacturer, and then charging a separate second "processing/handling/shipping" fee to the customer. And then if the customer balks on paying the "processing/handling/shipping" fees, then the vendor doesn't have to deal with the warranty claim at all. Such a deal!
I just now got an email from the manufacturer, stating that she'd contacted a local distributor of their product, who has graciously offered to properly handle the warranty claim for me, at no charge... even though they never had anything to do with the original component.
Wow. The manufacturer came through... And there's a really sleezy company out there, just waiting for the next sucker to show up.
I am having a warranty issue with a component of a item that cost nearly $7,500 in total. This component was around $500 of that cost. When it was purchased from the vendor, the entire item had a "Lifetime Guarantee". The item is fairly unique, so the vendor is in Florida.
The component in question was manufactured by a third party, and the third party also offers a "lifetime guarantee" of their own. So, the component is covered by two lifetime guarantees, one from the vendor (as printed on the invoice), and another from the manufacturer (as shown on their website).
I contacted the manufacturer first, and they respectfully told me that they preferred to handle warranty claims through the vendor that sold me the component. OK, fair enough. I can see why they'd want to do it that way.
I did some homework and found who I thought was the original vendor in Florida. The name of the business was mostly the same (with one word removed), they were still selling the same unique product, but were now located in the next town over.
I sent an email, describing the issue at hand, asking for assistance on the "lifetime guarantee", as was printed on the original invoice.
Today, I received a message today that it was the same vendor that I'd dealt with before, but it had been bought out since then, so I was dealing with a new owner.
Here's the kicker. The new owner of the company can't recall the previous company ever offering a lifetime warranty to any of its customers (I'm apparently a liar, who photoshopped a fake invoice). He went on to tell me that I will need pay him an hourly rate to process and handle the warranty claim, and for me to pay all of the "handling" and shipping charges. Who knows how much it would cost, after this guy gets done adding up his bill.
I contacted the manufacturer again, and detailed to them what I had been told by their vendor. The rep was shocked at the vendor's response, and graciously offered to find me a vendor who will handle my claim without hassle, and free of charge.
I hope they investigate the actions of my vendor. I am going to "accidentally" forward the vendor's email message on to the manufacturer's rep.
I suspect that the vendor is trying to "double bill" his warranty claims... once to the manufacturer, and then charging a separate second "processing/handling/shipping" fee to the customer. And then if the customer balks on paying the "processing/handling/shipping" fees, then the vendor doesn't have to deal with the warranty claim at all. Such a deal!
I just now got an email from the manufacturer, stating that she'd contacted a local distributor of their product, who has graciously offered to properly handle the warranty claim for me, at no charge... even though they never had anything to do with the original component.
Wow. The manufacturer came through... And there's a really sleezy company out there, just waiting for the next sucker to show up.
