Is this good business?

[aychamo]

Hey guys;

I have a question on whether or not this is good business. I am leaving out names as I don't want to say anything one way or the other, I just want to make sure that what is happening is ok.

I ordered a JBJ Formosa DX lighting unit. It is 4x65w. It's very bright, but when I unpacked the lighting fixture, the plastic housing that covers the fans was very cracked. This crack in the housing makes the housing rub on one of the fans, which makes the fan *incredibly* loud when it is on.

Basically, this light fixture is unusable. I contacted the company that I ordered from immediatly -- within 20 minutes of receiving the package. I took a picture of the crack and sent it to them.

They told me initially that they would send me out a new housing and send me a label to send the old one back. That was fine, because that would have been immediate and not cost me anything.

Now, however, they say that they are going to have the shipping company send an inspector over (within 4 days) to look at the box to make sure there is no damage on the box (there is *zero* damage to the box the item was shipped in). Then they said if the inspector tells them it wasn't the shippers fault, then they will see *if* JBJ will send a new housing unit.

This is starting to take a lot of time. I spent over $200 on the light fixture, and it arrived broken and unusable (due to the extreme noise).

To me, I would expect the company to get me a proper fixture as soon as possible, but now it seems like they don't want to get their hands dirty. One thing that is very positive though is that they keep in good touch with me, they are quick to answer my e-mails. I'm just curious if they are handling this problem correctly.

What do you think? What action should I take?

[FiberCon]

I had something similar happen with an Eheim filter (2028) I purchased from my LFS. Basically no one wanted to cover the shipping charges to get me a replacement filter within a short amount of time. The LFS wouldn't cover it (granted, I got the filter for around %40 percent off), Eheim wouldn't cover the shipping charges, and the LFS's vendor wouldn't cover it. In the end, it took almost 2 weeks for a replacement filter to come in via my LFS's normal shipments.

What you are dealing with is what I would consider normal customer service these days. It's not GOOD customer service though.

[Momotaro]

While this is an interesting topic, it is not a review. I am moving the topic to the Lounge section of the board.

Mike

[Robert H]

I do not know who you are dealing with, but it is normal practice when a product is damaged in shipping, that a claim must be filed with the carrier: UPS, FedX, whoever. The CARRIER comes to inspect the box and the damage before they will pay the claim. Believe it or not, there are fradulent claims out there, and I don't blame UPS for wanting to see the damage before they pay for the cost of new product or repair.

The person you bought it from has little to say about it. It is the rules and proceedures of the shipping carrier that he needs to follow. He wants to be paid by the shipping carrier for the damages.

[aychamo]

Originally Posted by Robert H

I do not know who you are dealing with, but it is normal practice when a product is damaged in shipping, that a claim must be filed with the carrier: UPS, FedX, whoever. The CARRIER comes to inspect the box and the damage before they will pay the claim. Believe it or not, there are fradulent claims out there, and I don't blame UPS for wanting to see the damage before they pay for the cost of new product or repair.

The person you bought it from has little to say about it. It is the rules and proceedures of the shipping carrier that he needs to follow. He wants to be paid by the shipping carrier for the damages.

I see what you are saying. The thing is, the product was not damaged during shipping. I did not notice any damage at all on any of the boxes when I received the item, and I still have the boxes and still see no damage.

To me, it seems like the product was shipped broken, or it left the factory broken (perhaps they tightened the fan housing too tightly.)

I'm curious though, because DHL will come out and look at the package, supposidly on Monday. They will say no damage, and then what will happen? The people I talked to at the company I bought the lights from said that they would try to get JBJ to send a new housing, what if JBJ says no?

I've been told that I can file a complaint with PayPal, since that is how I paid for the item. I will defeinitly do that if needs be and get my money back. I'm not dumping over $200 into a broken, unusable light fixture.

[oldfarmhouse]

If you told them the box was not damaged and they are still trying to pin it on the shipping company then 1. They do not beleive you and I would immediatly loose thier trust. 2.The problem had to be in their backroom or the lighting co. backroom, either way it is not your fault nor the shipping co. fault. The store would most certainly have a return policy with the vendor and should at all cost take care of its customers first.

[Momotaro]

This is one of those things that is going to take a little time. As Robert said, there is a procedure that needs to take place, and that is going to take some time.

Mike

[Robert H]

I see what you are saying. The thing is, the product was not damaged during shipping. I did not notice any damage at all on any of the boxes when I received the item, and I still have the boxes and still see no damage.

To me, it seems like the product was shipped broken, or it left the factory broken (perhaps they tightened the fan housing too tightly.)

Well that is possible, but really irrelevant. UPS only wants to inspect the packaging to see if whoever you bought it from packaged it well enough to prevent damage. If they failed to package it properly, UPS will say it was the shippers fault, if it was packaged reasonably well, UPS will OK the claim. You do not have to prove it was damaged during shipping, it is presumed it was damaged during shipping if it was adequately packaged.

For example, I have sold somewhere around 150 of the JBJ nano cube aquariums. I have had two that arrived to my customers damaged. Personaly, I suspect at least one was damaged by the trucker when it was delivered to ME, not when I had it sent by UPS, but I have no way of knowing for sure. UPS inspected the box, determined I packed it correctly, and paid me the claim. They very rarely reject a claim.

The post office is a different story. They seem to rarely PAY claims. Another reason why I do not like to use them.

Whoever you are dealing with probably has not had this happen very often and is unsure of the proceedures, I know I was the first time it happened to me. It is a huge pain for me, for the customer, and everyone involved. Thank God it doesn't happen very often. I have no experience with DHL at all, and have no idea how they handle things, but just save all the packaging, let them see it, and show or explain the damage if they ask. Most likely there will not be any problem. You can always call JBJ yourself and see what they will do.

[Georgiadawgger]

My 2 cents:

I ordered an XP3 a few months ago and after 1 week it started leaking after a "practice" cleaning. The leak was coming out of the powercord hole at the top of the unit. So I called the company I ordered it from and they said to call Rena. Rena told me that I would have to ship it to them so they could take a look at it and then send me a new one...which would take at least 2 weeks. So I called back the online company and they said for me to send it to them (the online company) and purchase a new one--free shipping. They sent me a return label and after looking it over refunded me the price of the new filter. Basically the ordeal took 2 weeks, but it was worth the trouble. I feel your pain about broken stuff. I guess it's a risk we all have to take buying online. From what others have said this must happen about 5% of the time with electrical equipment. It will work out.

[bigpow]

Sorry to hear your misfortune.
I hate it when my order got screwed up (I'm with you, if I already spend a lot of money - I don't care whose fault it is as long as it's not mine)

I would say tell them to refund your money (faster this way) and buy something else or from a different store.

It may have been just one incident/accident, but again, if everybody kept quiet about certain A-Hole stores, then who would know??

Just my 0.02

PS: This is exactly why I'm into DIY stuff .... oh, and also because I've got no spare cash