Pissed again

How is it that so many companies make and sell products that are defective. Once the consumer purchases the product and finds it to be defective the company wants the consumer to pay to send the product back to the company BEFORE they will replace the item??????? I have no problem returning the item, my beef is having to pay for another defective product then on top of that pay to return the defective product.

I just replaced the bolts on my crossbow so that I could use the lighted nocks. I purchased six lighted nocks from NOCTURNAL, two nocks per pack and believe me they were not cheap. I inserted the first nock into the bolt and placed the practice "Rage" broadhead on the bolt. Fired the POS and the nock did not light up at all. I fired the bolt numerous times and it never did light up. Out of the six nocks, three of them failed to light up.

I contacted the sports store where I purchased the nocks, broadheads and bolts and they said I would have to contact NOCTURNAL for replacement. I contacted NOCTURNAL and they advised at first that they no longer make that brand of lighted nocks. They asked me to provide the information on the bolts so they could locate a suitable replacement nock. I provided that information. In a later e mail Ashley told me that she had located some of the same nocks that I had purchased. Then came the "great customer service". You must ship the defective nocks back to our company before we can send the new nocks. What kind of BS is this?

I e mailed her that I have no problem with sending the defective nocks back but I do have heartburn about having to pay for a product that was defective to start with. I told her to send me a prepaid mailing label and I would be glad to return the nocks. Her response is that this was not their company policy. I told her exactly what I thought of her company's policy. I also told her that I would make sure I post their customer service policy on every hunting and fishing forum I visit as well as letting all my friends know of their defective products and ludicrous policies.

This isn't the first nor the second time I have run into this kind of customer service policy. It happened several times with the Covert game cameras until the point where I refused to purchase another COVERT game camera.

What we ALL need to do is make sure ALL of our friends know of these despicable policies. Make sure we post these "policies" on every hunting and fishing forum we visit. Most of all we need to discourage EVERYONE from purchasing products from such companies. If their quality control is so bad then we should take every action possible to run them out of their deceptive practices.

COVERT and NOCTURNAL both have these return policies even though the products are defective when they leave the factory.

I've done my part, now its up to many others to help make these policies go away.

There are some crappy companies and some great companies. I will be sure not to use NOCTURNALS in the future....

^^^^^^^^^^^^^ this !!! But I have had the same problem buying appliances at big box stores. Once you buy it, they don't want to warranty it , I have to call the manufacturer for warranty. So now I always ask "if it breaks I can bring it back to point of sale for replacement" before I buy it .

^^^^^^^^^ Great suggestion. However I think I'll go one step further, get it in writing.

I couldn't tell if you were upset with why they wouldn't send you the replacements without/before sending the defective ones in or if you were upset you had to cover the shipping to them? The latter I'd be a little peeved that I had to do, the former doesn't make any sense from a business stand point to do (send replacements without defective in hand). You can thank deceptive people for that.

Yeah LarryR,

Imagine them IF they just replaced everyone's "failed" equipment on spur of notice. They'd fail to turn a dollar. They have to have "parameters" before accepting or replacing equipment.

Now, given what you've went through, I'm surprised by now there hasn't been a "hey, hold on, they made good" post.

But part of me understands that your anger, and your post on every hunting forum you visit about them, won't equal what they will rake in by the untold #'s who've never read your posts. Mathematically, it's a win for them for probably 2 years. And business wise, they'll either be bought out, or fold.

LarryR, I reached the same conclusion you did about several trail camera manufacturers. I kept going up the ladder in their customer service department until someone sent me prepaid mailing labels to return the products that would not work. I could deal with a product working for several months and then failing just before the warranty expired. At least I got some value out of it before it failed. But I refused to pay to ship crap back that was dead when I opened the box. Trying to keep cameras working was such a hassle that I finally said the heck with it.

All of the brands that I tried were either poor design or poor quality or poor customer service or a combination of all of the aforementioned. If they were unwilling to stand behind their products without causing a hassle or costing me extra money, I was not willing to spend any money with them.

I don't like to do business with a store that has a policy stating, merchandise has to be returned to the manufacturer, if the venders where more accountable maybe they wouldn't sell inferior goods.

On the other note, I too, would not be very happy about having to pay shipping to return merchandise while under warranty.

Glad I read this, was just fixing to order some of their product. Tks Larry ! also yall dont buy Under Armour either ! read my thread about what they are doing in support of anti-hunters...

Sorry to hear about your issues with Covert they are the only cameras I use due to the customer service. I'm running about 35 of their cameras and have experienced their customer service on several occasions and as long as I had my ducks in row it has went very smoothly. Went I had poacher problems in South Texas they overnighted me 12 cameras at their cost because there was not a dealer within 100 miles of me so they sent them to a hardware store 25 miles from the ranch. All I had done was call looking for the closest place to buy them and the girl took it upon herself to make it all happen to help me out in a jam. Not saying your was good or bad I have no idea but sometime it more about the approach going in then the landing. Took me a long time to get that.

NCSTATEHUNTER: Excuse me????? I suggest you go back to my original post and read paragraph one. Quote: I have no problem returning the item, my beef is having to pay for another defective product then on top of that pay to return the defective product. UNQUOTE.

I don't see how that can be misinterpreted.

STxdeer hound: After the purchase of fifteen Covert cameras you would think I had finally found a good camera. Well up until a point yes they worked but when I got about the 12th one and it was DEAD right out of the box I contacted them and was advised they would be glad to replace the camera, just send the dead one back. I discussed the camera with their rep (David) and he said I would have to pay to return the defective camera. Even after I explained again and again that the camera was defective upon receipt I still had to pay to return the camera. I considered the fact that I had already invested a couple of hundred in the camera what was $35 or $40 more to insure and ship. Well the replacement camera leaked the first time it rained after I put the camera out. Again I was told that I WOULD HAVE TO PAY TO RETURN THAT CAMERA. I also had a couple of cameras that DIED before their warranty was up. When I contacted Covert they no longer made that model nor did they have any parts to repair the camera BUT for an additional $150 they would send me an updated model. DUH??? I now had $350 invested in a new camera that only cost $200 if purchased outright. What kind of business/service is that? And at first my approach was upright and civil but after so much BS I got tired of BS and changed my attitude. I also changed game camera companies. I don't appreciate being crapped on again and again. JFYI I had my ducks in a row and it still did not go worth a crap.

sounds like my deal with lacrosse.

send em back and we might replace.. and this was after i sent pics of new rubber boots that were obviously less than first quality.

Yes, those CONVERT cameras I have owned have been nothing but problems...I waited and bought the latest models (few years ago) and they still needed "software updates"........

Customer service on a scale of 1 to 10 was a 1 dealing with older man...........( the young girl has always been professional).

I wouldnt use any of their products again if they were 50% off.

* read some of the posts on here re: COVERT....do a search.

x.

It was late when I read it Larry, I missed that part when I skimmedbto the meat of the post. This is what confused me:

"Then came the "great customer service". You must ship the defective nocks back to our company before we can send the new nocks. What kind of BS is this?".

See how I was confused? Yes you said you had no issue sending it back at least a twice. It was just that the above quote is sandwiched between those two times. No worries, thanks for clearing it up.

What's the shipping cost on 3 nocks? An envelope and a 47 cent stamp?

I had the same problem with Zebco. I purchased a Zebco reel and rod combo from a local bait and tackle company that was a certified Zebco service dealer. (This bait and tackle store also repairs all types of reels and rods.) Anyway, the day after the purchase my wife and i were 10 mins into our fishing trip and the first fish she caught stripped the gears out of it. It was a 2 lb catfish. The next day i took the reel back to the place i purchased it and they told me i had to send it back to Zebco. In my mind here is the problem. The warranty reads from Zebco to send my broken reel back to them and include a 6 dollar money order for return shipping and they will fix or replace the broken reel. if it cost them 6 bucks to send it to me, then it cost 6 bucks to send it to them, I have payed $12 dollars more for a broken reel than it cost for one that works ( not to mention for the time lost or the aggravation.) I called Zebco and they told me to take it to a certified Zebco dealer for replacement, i explained that i did take it back to them and they refused to work on it because they could not get parts for it and they wanted me to return to Zebco. Zebco said they could not make their authorized service center replace the reel. (lol WTF ) I told Zebco that i would not pay $12 more for the back and forth shipping on a broken reel. I took it back to the retailer where i got it and they kept it for about 3 months until i went and got it last week. Still broken. I like to support the local mom and pop stores but if i had got it at wal-mart they would have replaced it then and there. My local shop lost a customer and so did Zebco!

Had a similar issue with a audio cable from Radio Shack that I had paid cash for. It would not work. Got another cable from WalMart and it worked fine. Took the one back to Radio Shack and you would have thought I was applying for a mortgage. They wanted my name, address, telephone # and email address before they would give me a refund for their defective cable. Said it was company policy, no exceptions. I told them it was none of their business where I lived or what my phone number or email address was. They refused to give me a refund.

The store manager tried to tell me that all companies required that info for a cash refund but I know better. I have carried stuff back to lots of places and usually only have to sign a receipt saying I received the money.

I cut the cable into and told the store manager to stick it up his . I will never spent another penny at Radio Shack. And companies wonder why they are losing business.

LEO: Perhaps but then if you consider insurance since the item wasn't cheap, a trip to the post office, the envelope, the stamp. LOL. Somehow I think you may have missed the whole point. Why should the customer be penalized for poor workmanship and quality control. As I stated no problem returning it just the idea of having to pay for shitty products. And probably the biggest point is that this occurs in about every companies products. The more WE condone this the less likely companies are to change their products or improve them.

I love my nockturnals, they have all worked as described. Perhaps you should look into buying from a better store. I get mine from Amazon and they have an excellent return policy.

No thanks I'll not buy anything with such a poor customer service at the main place of manufacture.

I'm with you Larry. Nocturnal can take their trash and stove it. I bought a pack of 3 Nocturnals, installed them, and took 3 shots. The first nock worked fine. The second Nocturnal when fired, split in the V of the nock, sending the arrow off course and miss the target, and ruined the arrow ($15+) when it hit a tree stump. Third knock didn't light up when shot ( tried numerous times).
When I called them up, they said I would need to pay to ship them back and they would decide if they would replace the 2. I was told that I would also have to pay the shipping of the new nocks if they replaced them. And of course I was out if luck for my broken Easton ACC arrow. They won't get another penny from me..