Silvia Bluejay Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Damn, you're right, hadn't noticed that.I'll email them straight away! On a more serious note, I got this email a few minutes ago: --- hi there, Thank you for the email and the photos. Please return the faulty unit back to us for replacement. Please send the unit in its original condition with all the accessories in the original box with the labels which you will receive within few hours in a separate e-mail. You can print the label, stick it firmly on the parcel and take the parcel to nearest post office to be sent. Pack the unit as good as possible so that the possibility of a further transport damage would be at its minimum and in case of one, we could get the courier responsible for it. Please include a message with your contact details, reason for return (written fault description) and your wishes for the procedures made with this specific return. Within 30 days from purchase, we can exchange the item under the following conditions: -The unit needs to be in mint condition. -No dog ears on manuals. -Original packaging and accessories needs to be returned as well. If these terms are not met or the 30 days is clearly over, we will instead repair the unit for you. Please observe! Normal repair time is 3-4 weeks from the time we receive the returned item until we can send it back to you. Unfortunately we cannot lend you a product during this time. Repair info only: In case where the technician states that the fault was accidentaly caused by you, we can not cover any of the shipping costs nor repair the unit under warranty. I don't think that is the case but I am obliged to let you know this before hand. --- My reply: Thank you, but surely this is no way to make amends - four weeks!! I do not accept your offer of a replacement as stated. If you send a new, good bass in the next couple of days, AND NO LATER, and collect the other one at the same time as you deliver it to me, I can accept that. That would be the ONLY way I could accept an exchange. Asking me to wait longer is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE under any point of view. As a less preferable alternative, I request from you a partial refund on the price of the bass, so that I can pay a luthier to repair the bass here in London. Please reply without delay. Best regards, Silvia ------------- I think their suggestion is an insult, TBH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftyhook Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 [quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1326722594' post='1500963'] Damn, you're right, hadn't noticed that.I'll email them straight away! On a more serious note, I got this email a few minutes ago: --- hi there, Thank you for the email and the photos. Please return the faulty unit back to us for replacement. Please send the unit in its original condition with all the accessories in the original box with the labels which you will receive within few hours in a separate e-mail. You can print the label, stick it firmly on the parcel and take the parcel to nearest post office to be sent. Pack the unit as good as possible so that the possibility of a further transport damage would be at its minimum and in case of one, we could get the courier responsible for it. Please include a message with your contact details, reason for return (written fault description) and your wishes for the procedures made with this specific return. Within 30 days from purchase, we can exchange the item under the following conditions: -The unit needs to be in mint condition. -No dog ears on manuals. -Original packaging and accessories needs to be returned as well. If these terms are not met or the 30 days is clearly over, we will instead repair the unit for you. Please observe! Normal repair time is 3-4 weeks from the time we receive the returned item until we can send it back to you. Unfortunately we cannot lend you a product during this time. Repair info only: In case where the technician states that the fault was accidentaly caused by you, we can not cover any of the shipping costs nor repair the unit under warranty. I don't think that is the case but I am obliged to let you know this before hand. --- My reply: Thank you, but surely this is no way to make amends - four weeks!! I do not accept your offer of a replacement as stated. If you send a new, good bass in the next couple of days, AND NO LATER, and collect the other one at the same time as you deliver it to me, I can accept that. That would be the ONLY way I could accept an exchange. Asking me to wait longer is TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE under any point of view. As a less preferable alternative, I request from you a partial refund on the price of the bass, so that I can pay a luthier to repair the bass here in London. Please reply without delay. Best regards, Silvia ------------- I think their suggestion is an insult, TBH. [/quote]Way to go! You pay without delay, in full. They should respect that and treat you with respect. But this type of processing (ugh, horrible word but that is how it feels) goes for a lot of companies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 I sent them a further note telling them that I have no own transport and cannot take the big box with the bass to the post office. I'm going to be tough on this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Good for you. Also, they won't expect a Southpaw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) Good luck with this, but you may have agreed to their T&Cs when you made the purchase... hope I'm wrong! Edited January 16, 2012 by discreet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 I don't remember having had to click on their T&C when I purchased. Anyway, I hope they'll be reasonable and avoid a huge storm of bad publicity... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Quite often you are deemed to have read, understood and accepted T&C's when you press the 'order' button... don't know for sure about Thomann though, might be worth having a close read of their T&Cs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markstuk Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 (edited) When I had an issue with a damaged active speaker cab from Thomann, they tried the standard guff on me as well.. I then mentioned distance selling regulations the superceded any terms and conditions they might want to imply I accepted and then everything went smoothly in terms of a replacement...They also tried to argue that I should chase the post office up for compensation until I pointed out that the courier was their agent not mine... As a consumer you can't sign (or tick away) your rights - and things are very much biased in your favour in terms of buying new kit mail order via the distance selling regulations... Of course the supplier would like you to have a good experience, but it's also expensive to replace things long distance... And in any company there are people who want to sell things and other people who want to save money... Edited January 16, 2012 by markstuk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Ah... then there's hope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Thank you Mark and discreet. No reply yet. I did offer them the option to part reimburse me though, which is by far the cheapest thing they could do without getting into any trouble whatsoever. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Another round of emails, and we're stuck at the same point as before. From Thomann: Hi there, Thank you for the email. You can return the guitar for a refund or for a replacement. We need to send the bass back to the manufacturer and claim the damage with them. We can't send you a new bass before you return the faulty one. We can arrange for somebody to collect it , if you can't bring it to the post office. Please let us know what you decide. We are sorry for the inconvenience. --- My reply: If I allow you to collect the bass, how long before you send a new one back to me? Please note that, if you insist on "four weeks", you will be falling foul of European legislation on distance selling. The law requires exchange or refund within a reasonable time, in the case of the manufacturer's fault, so that the customer, who is not at fault at all, is not unduly inconvenienced. Since I need the bass for practising - that's the reason why I bought it in the first place - I CANNOT legally be required to wait more than the two or three days that it took to reach me whan I bought it in the first place. So you either replace it immediately, as I mentioned before, or refund me part of its price and I'll accept to keep the bass as it is, or face a massive legal complaint from me. Please reply promptly. Thank you, Silvia ---------------- I may have been bluffing a bit in my reply, but they're asking for it. Not sure whether to laugh or cry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB2000 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I think Thomman are being perfectly reasonable. They're offering to send a replacement as soon as the original bass is returned to them (having been picked up from you at their expense). From experience they normally send out the replacement the day the faulty item is received. It's pretty unlikely that they will refund you a percentage of the purchase cost instead of replacing the bass, as their internal procedures probably don't have that as an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) I made a point of asking them first thing in my email above, as they mentioned at least four weeks' wait in their previous messages - that is, they collect the bass from me, they send it back to Warwick, they wrangle a bit about getting a refund themselves etc. and THEN and only then do they send me a new one. That wouldn't be good enough. I hope they'll clarify. Edited January 17, 2012 by bluejay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB2000 Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 [quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1326823294' post='1502462'] I made a point of asking them first thing in my email above, as they mentioned at least four weeks' wait in their previous messages - that is, they collect the bass from me, they send it back to Warwick, they wrangle a bit about getting a refund themselves etc. and THEN and only then do they send me a new one. That wouldn't be good enough. I hope they'll clarify. [/quote] Yes, they're not very clear - but I think the 30 day requirement is only if a repair is required. Anytime they've collected damaged kit from me the replacement has been sent out immediately. They're probably one of the best online places re. customer service. I had three Promethean combo's from them in a row, and sent each one back becaulse I wasn't happy with the noise level - and they were quite happy to send a replacement each time, no questions asked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 I'm hoping that's what they will tell me in their answer! They seem to operate a one-email-a-day-per-client policy so conversations are almost unbearably slow, at least for a Londoner used to dealing with scores of emails a day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 New twist to this seemingly endless saga - I've had a lightbulb moment and emailed Thomann's Customer Service declaring that I want a full refund. Then I logged on to My Thomann and bought the same bass all over again. In theory, that should ensure a 'replacement' - a new one - arrives more or less at the same time I dispatch the old one back to Thomann. Hopefully. (It even cost me a few pounds less than last time, as the euro appears to have gone down a little against Sterling.) If something goes wrong, I'll find myself with two identical basses... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftyhook Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 ooh crafty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 A bit risky too. Fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftyhook Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 hmm...wonder if they catch on and contact you..... it is a cunning plan though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 18, 2012 Author Share Posted January 18, 2012 I was actually planning to tell them! I'm not doing anything wrong or dishonest, just making sure I don't depend on their silly schedules for replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassHertz Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Be careful sending stuff back to thomann. I had a similar issue with a Rockbass Fortress - badd frets high action. big gap either side of the neck pocket....the list goes on. To cut a long story short they charged 30 euros to collect it (even though it only cost 10 euros for them to send it?) and then there was a £16 diference in what I paid and the amount they refunded me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 I have received the label for sending the bass back to them via UPS for free. Plus i've got all the emails we've exchanged. I don't think they could decide that it was my fault, really, but if they do, the CEO will get a massive complaint. I have found Thomann's customer service to be dreadfully slow and inefficient and plan to let the CEO know when the saga is over. I have asked for a full refund in all the documents I'm enclosing. I guess there might be differences between what I paid originally and what I will get back due to the exchange rate with the euro, as they'll refund euros not Sterling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Update for those who are curious to know how it ended. The second bass I ordered arrived in perfect condition, was immediately re-strung with flatwound Daddario Chromes and is now a cherished part of my bass family Thomann have confirmed receipt of the scratched bass and issue of a full refund. Despite the hassle, I love my new baby to bits! Thank you all for following this saga, and giving me your opinions and advice and support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftyhook Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Great! and a great choice of flats. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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