Fender consumer claim

[pfretrock]

Anyone even heard of this or registered?

 

https://pogustgoodhead.com/fender-consumer-claim/

[Grimalkin]

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jan/22/guitar-maker-fender-fined-45m-for-price-fixing-in-uk

 

The primary function of corporate business is to maximise profits and market share, in any unscrupulous way you can...

[Ralf1e]

Not seen it before

[kodiakblair]

I knew there was a class action coming.

 

Think FMIC are stuffed, lassie bringing the action has pretty decent credentials. Just hope it doesn't drag on for years.

[gjones]

Hmmm....... I bought a Fender Elite Precision on 14/4/18. Everywhere I looked it was exactly the same price. I thought to myself 'That's a bit suspicious'.

 

I'm in.

[kodiakblair]

31 minutes ago, gjones said:

I'm in.

Fingers crossed you get a speedy resolution 👍

[T-Bay]

They certainly haven’t dropped in price since then, so how has anything changed for the better?

[gjones]

32 minutes ago, kodiakblair said:

Fingers crossed you get a speedy resolution 👍

 

I've signed up but they don't expect any cash from Fender anytime soon. 

 

The website says these type of things can drag through the courts for years.

[asingardenof]

Interesting. I bought a Squier Jazz direct from Fender in 2019 so tempted to register for this, even if I did get a discount through having a Fender Play subscription at the time.

 

Never mind, just seen this is only for 2013 to 2018.

 

Oh, but I did buy a Fender acoustic guitar in 2018. Game on!

Edited December 16, 2022 by asingardenof

[NikNik]

PGMBM? Any relation to PCsGC?

[neepheid]

Eh, I can't remember when I bought the Fender Cabronita P, where I bought it (might have been Kenny's in Glasgow), how much I paid or even how long I had it.  Same for the Starcaster bass (I have an inkling it was in a now defunct Aberdeen music shop, iiMusic).  I think both products were released within the timeframe though.  Presumably I'd need to know those details in much more clarity than this, have receipts etc?

[pfretrock]

3 hours ago, gjones said:

Hmmm....... I bought a Fender Elite Precision on 14/4/18. Everywhere I looked it was exactly the same price. I thought to myself 'That's a bit suspicious'.

 

I'm in.

Last buy was a Jazz,  same price everywhere and all dealers now selling the 2022 model (MIM) for £100 more - I guess Fender put their prices up, in the last 12 months I believe, but no surprise considering the economy.

A good scheme for lawyers to make a good return on their effort also. The VW Diesel scheme would have been huge - and yes I was in! (but did not blow it on GAS)

[Ralf1e]

2 hours ago, asingardenof said:

Interesting. I bought a Squier Jazz direct from Fender in 2019 so tempted to register for this, even if I did get a discount through having a Fender Play subscription at the time.

 

Never mind, just seen this is only for 2013 to 2018.

 

Oh, but I did buy a Fender acoustic guitar in 2018. Game on!

I bought Fender leads exclusively around that time. Do they count.

Switched to Roland black leads since then. Much better and the last he he

[asingardenof]

Just now, Ralf1e said:

I bought Fender leads exclusively around that time. Do they count.

Switched to Roland black leads since then. Much better and the last he he

That site suggests that it includes accessories as well as instruments, so you should be OK. My gripe is I can't get the chat bot to work 😢

[Ralf1e]

3 minutes ago, asingardenof said:

That site suggests that it includes accessories as well as instruments, so you should be OK. My gripe is I can't get the chat bot to work 😢

I'll have to go receipt digging for that period . Moved home since then so it might not be worth it.

Then again I have bought two fender Mustang amps that I gave away to young relatives as part of my encourage them campaign.

[Nicko]

I've always found it a bit strange that Fender have managed to maintain the policy of standardised advertised prices throughout their dealer network when it is clearly anticompetitive.     

 

I'm equally baffled as to why the CMA fines the manufacturer but fails to pass on the fine to the affected consumers.  

 

I bought 3 Fenders in that period but suspect, as with all these class actions, that unless the instruments were extremely high end the solicitor will take so much of the compensation that it's not worth signing up. 

[BigRedX]

4 minutes ago, Nicko said:

I bought 3 Fenders in that period but suspect, as with all these class actions, that unless the instruments were extremely high end the solicitor will take so much of the compensation that it's not worth signing up. 

 

If you don't sign up it will be more money for those that do.

[FDC484950]

On 16/12/2022 at 11:13, T-Bay said:

They certainly haven’t dropped in price since then, so how has anything changed for the better?

I had a look at the Fender site just today and an American Pro II P bass 5 is £1819 - not long ago it was £1999. Could be improving exchange rates I suppose? Given few US Fenders are making it to these shores at the moment, it’s odd it went down instead of up (and 3 of 4 colours are in stock apparently). 

[T-Bay]

4 minutes ago, FDC484950 said:

I had a look at the Fender site just today and an American Pro II P bass 5 is £1819 - not long ago it was £1999. Could be improving exchange rates I suppose? Given few US Fenders are making it to these shores at the moment, it’s odd it went down instead of up (and 3 of 4 colours are in stock apparently). 

I never saw those that high but I don’t tend to look at 5s so it wouldn’t surprise me. The Ultra like mine was £1999 until recently but is now over £2100, compared to a few years ago they are all up as far as I can tell. I paid under £1700 on my ultra less than 18 months ago.

[Nicko]

On 17/12/2022 at 18:44, FDC484950 said:

I had a look at the Fender site just today and an American Pro II P bass 5 is £1819 - not long ago it was £1999. Could be improving exchange rates I suppose? Given few US Fenders are making it to these shores at the moment, it’s odd it went down instead of up (and 3 of 4 colours are in stock apparently). 

Does the site change with the $ to £ exchange rate?  The pound has recovered since Trussanomics was cancelled and rose more than 10% against the dollar since then. 

[gjones]

On 17/12/2022 at 18:52, T-Bay said:

I never saw those that high but I don’t tend to look at 5s so it wouldn’t surprise me. The Ultra like mine was £1999 until recently but is now over £2100, compared to a few years ago they are all up as far as I can tell. I paid under £1700 on my ultra less than 18 months ago.

Hmmm....my Elite 4 string Precision cost over £1900 in 2018.

[jonno1981]

I’m a bit torn over this as a former guitar store manager. Before they did this, there were retailers who priced everything up to be £25-50 a box profit. That’s all the way to US models. e.g customer pays £1050, store makes £25. They’d rather sell you any other brand to try and make the rent and pay their staff a wage.  
Basically they were destroying any realistic margin for any retailer for the brand, which isn’t sustainable. Dealers were going under, were dropping the brand etc as there was literally no point in selling Fender guitars. I honestly prefer keeping pricing level, meaning people shop for the best service and experience and not just on price.