excellent customer care from Typhoon..... not

2121 Views 36 Replies 19 Participants Last post by PeeBee, May 13, 2010

russthedude

Discussion Starter · May 4, 2010

contrary to general advice offered, i ordered a typhoon drysuit for a mate. wetsuit outlet had an ex-demo seamaster in his size for £275 with full warranty. what could go wrong?

the neck seal/hole isn't on the top of the suit, its in the front and would fit smoeone who had a neck at a right angle. the entry zip is thin and flimsy which just shows the quality of the suit i suppose. the width of the enrty zip is way too small for an XL suit, do they only have noe size zip in the factory?

finally gets into the suit and then notices the inflator isn't on the chest, its on the stomach. any lower down and each squirt of air would be a free job.

the first two or three dives weren't dry, he came out with a soaking wet right arm. no obvious leaks, no tears, wrist seal is a good fit, no sleeve caught in it. out for a dive friday morning and again he got a wet right arm. but this was before he'd even got in the water, just the spray coming over the side of the rib was enough to get through the suit. do they make them out of mesh or what?

i thought i'd call typhoon first rather than where it came from, cut out the middle man. conversation went something like this to the repairs dept.

me: hello, i bought a suit and there are a few problems with it. its an ex demo bought from wetsuitoutlet and they said it came with the full warranty. the arm leaks before you even get IN the water, the neck seal is on the front of the suit not the top...

typhoo: well you shouldn't have bought it.

me: thanks, thats helpful.

typhoo: i mean you shouldn't have bought an ex-demo suit.

me: well I did.

typhoo: send it to us with a letter, receipt and phone number we'll see what we can do. "click".

what would you do next?

1 - 20 of 37 Posts

gpj

· #2 · May 4, 2010

russthedude said:
send it to us with a letter, receipt and phone number we'll see what we can do.

what would you do next?

As above and pray?
Hope you get it sorted.
Graham.

19696

· #3 · May 4, 2010

well, it isn't as if you were tricked into buying the suit. You had a look at it, presumeably, your mate tried it on before he bought it, so the issues over where the neck seal and inflator were should have been spotted then.

So, IMV, whilst his manner might not have been helpful, what response were you looking for?

If it were me - first, I'd be kicking myself for being such a numpty and buying a suit that has sflaws I should have spotted when i tried it on and then I'd be sending it to Typhoon with a letter explaining the issues, and asking what it would cost to put the faults right, and asking them to repair the leaks under the warrenty.

Rockhopper

· #4 · May 4, 2010

Mate of mine bought one of their offerings at LIDS, he tried it on but needed about three inches taking out of the legs. They said they would take it away and sort it out and send it to his home in about seven days. Two weeks later it turns up, not at his house but at our local shop. Now the cuffs are way too loose, turns out its not the same suit he tried on at the show, its not even the same model! So its gone back for a second time to be sorted. As far as i know he still hasn't got it back.

Re your problem with Typhoon, legally speaking your warranty is with the shop you bought the suit from, not from Typhoon so you really need to speak to them first.

russthedude

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 4, 2010 (Edited)

Morag said:
well, it isn't as if you were tricked into buying the suit. You had a look at it, presumeably, your mate tried it on before he bought it, so the issues over where the neck seal and inflator were should have been spotted then.

So, IMV, whilst his manner might not have been helpful, what response were you looking for?

If it were me - first, I'd be kicking myself for being such a numpty and buying a suit that has sflaws I should have spotted when i tried it on and then I'd be sending it to Typhoon with a letter explaining the issues, and asking what it would cost to put the faults right, and asking them to repair the leaks under the warrenty.

it was bought online, no trying it on, so no need to kick oneself for being a numpty. the neck seal is definately not in the right place for a human being, maybe the front of the suit is shorter than the back, who knows. we had a look at someone elses the weekend at divefest, and this suit is nowhere near the same.

i reckon its a factory reject which was put aside for demo only and not actual use but wetsuit outlet have ended up flogging off. its got "SAMPLE" stamped inside, which i cant see why they'd do that if it was good to use.

spoke to wetsuit outlet who told me to send it back for them for inspection and then "we'll take it from there". looks like he's going to have to go party on the pebbles in a semi, gutted

other than the neck seal designed for a panto horse and small access hole, its a good fit.

Reactions: 1

Big Kahuna

· #6 · May 4, 2010 (Edited)

sale of goods act. this is clearly not "fit for purpose" Russ. If it leaks like a siv at the surface and it is a diving grade dry suit it is clearly not doing the job it was intended to do and therefore not fit for purpose.

Wave this around a bit and see what happens. Next step trading standards.

You could also possibly argue that with the inflater on the stomach and the neck seak at an angle this is also not fit for purpose - but as you bought it like this knowing these of these items you might have a hard job.

hope you get it sorted.

russthedude

Discussion Starter · #7 · May 4, 2010

Big Kahuna said:
as you bought it like this knowing these of these items you might have a hard job.

aaaaargh not another one, see above. why does everyone fink i'm a numpty who'd look at something, see it was crap and buy it anyway? have i really met that many people around here?

19696

· #8 · May 4, 2010

russthedude said:
it was bought online, no trying it on, so no need to kick oneself for being a numpty. the neck seal is definately not in the right place for a human being, maybe the front of the suit is shorter than the back, who knows. we had a look at someone elses the weekend at divefest, and this suit is nowhere near the same.

i reckon its a factory reject which was put aside for demo only and not actual use but wetsuit outlet have ended up flogging off. its got "SAMPLE" stamped inside, which i cant see why they'd do that if it was good to use.

Ah - ok - that makes a difference.

Personally, I'd have rejected it under the Distance Selling Regulations when the neck seal and inflator were not satisfactory and obtained a refund from the retailer.

Your contract is with the retailer, who should be in a position to refund under the Sale of Goods Act - it seems they are not of 'satisfactory quality'.

witchieblackcat

· #9 · May 4, 2010

I bought a Typhoon a while back.
Still, like me, you'll not make the same mistake again

5487

· #10 · May 4, 2010

russthedude,

If it's stamped 'Sample' will Typhoon really want to know?

I would have thought a Sample suit was to try on in a shop to get rough sizing correct, not to actually enter the water in.

The most obvious option would be to take it back to wetsuit outlet and ask for a refund as it's not fit for purpose... then use the money to put towards a Seaskin

NotDeadYet

· #11 · May 4, 2010

I had a load of hassle with Typhoon years ago, good to see their customer service is just as good now.

Sonicthediver

· #12 · May 4, 2010

russthedude said:
aaaaargh not another one, see above. why does everyone fink i'm a numpty who'd look at something, see it was crap and buy it anyway? have i really met that many people around here?

Perhaps mentioning that you brought it online in the OP would have saved some people from thinking that you where that "numpty"

Hope you get it sorted

Reactions: 1

EllieCee

· #13 · May 4, 2010

As Big Kahuna has already said, the Sale Of Goods Act is your friend and this item is 'not fit for purpose' as it leaks. Send it back and get a refund. Assuming you didn't buy it months ago?

Ellie

russthedude

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 4, 2010

it was bought 3 weeks ago so shouldn't be any problems getting a refund hopefully. i mentioned the seaskin jobs to him when ordering this, but budgets and time were short. hindsight would show that you're better off waiting an extra couple of months for a decent suit that will give years of pleasure than next day delivery of a pile of crap.

pieater

· #15 · May 4, 2010

Morag said:
I'd have rejected it under the Distance Selling Regulations when the neck seal and inflator were not satisfactory and obtained a refund from the retailer.

Your contract is with the retailer, who should be in a position to refund under the Sale of Goods Act - it seems they are not of 'satisfactory quality'.

Sound advice, except I'd be rejecting it now under the SGA and the Distance Selling regs. I don't think the time limit has run out under either legislation. The letter of return should make this clear.

Lou

· #16 · May 4, 2010

Perhaps you would like to suggest to them that drysuits are made to dive in, an activity that involves risk, and selling on a suit marked "sample", and clearly made as such and not as a functioning suit could be considered to be negligent, if anything were to happen to the purchaser whilst using it for diving.

russthedude

Discussion Starter · #17 · May 4, 2010

Lou said:
Perhaps you would like to suggest to them that drysuits are made to dive in, an activity that involves risk, and selling on a suit marked "sample", and clearly made as such and not as a functioning suit could be considered to be negligent, if anything were to happen to the purchaser whilst using it for diving.

true. the suit was sold as an ex demo, but not a sample. in my weird little mind these two are different. a demo should be a fully functioning product, to demonstrate its capabilities. a sample is usually a "this is what it looks like".

Lou

· #18 · May 4, 2010

russthedude said:
true. the suit was sold as an ex demo, but not a sample. in my weird little mind these two are different. a demo should be a fully functioning product, to demonstrate its capabilities. a sample is usually a "this is what it looks like".

I agree completely. A sample is usually understood to be not suitable for sale.

russthedude

Discussion Starter · #19 · May 4, 2010

Lou said:
I agree completely. A sample is usually understood to be not suitable for sale.

I think it should actually read "stool sample"

McBad

· #20 · May 4, 2010

Lou said:
I agree completely. A sample is usually understood to be not suitable for sale.

Is this correct? IMHO a 'sample' should be perfectly representative of the stock from which you are buying*. My (normally faulty) memory says that one of the reasons you can reject ordered goods is because they 'do not match sample'. Therefore a 'sample' drysuit should be just as good as any other drysuit from that 'population'. In my line of work if I get a sample of something I certainly expect the bulk that I order of that thing in the future to be of the same quality and standard, etc.

M.

(*Perhaps this sample is representative in Typhoons case though.)

1 - 20 of 37 Posts

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