Bad dealings with customer support for Cardo

[revnort]

OK so here is what I think I am going to send to CS and management there while I wait for Powersports Superstore to get back to me. Any thoughts or edits?

Name ommited,

I am dealing with Powersports superstore about this and they will be getting back to me on their resolution.

I would urge Cardo to rethink this policy. Your warranty information says nothing about agreements you might have with your distributors and retailers. It only stipulates I provide proof of purchase from an authorized Cardo dealer, and have a registered product. Powersports superstore is an authorized dealer per your own website, and my product is registered via your website.

Perhaps whoever decides policies such as this might want to refer to the current document you have posted online. http://www.cardosystems.com/user_files/warranty/limited_warranty.pdf

As someone who works in the consumer electronics business I am fairly suprised Cardo would choose to put its paying customers in the middle of squabble it has with its retailers. I am also pretty surprised at the refusal to stand by its products. Again my contract is with you and not the retailer. See the above warranty.

Between the failure of the product and this experience with your support team my impression so far with your company is fairly negative. As an active member of the of the motorcycling community I can't help but share this opinion.

I have already posted on this in my local motorcycle community (40,000+ enthusiasts) and will continue the discussion on Facebook and Amazon if this issue isn't resolved quickly or to my satisfaction.

If you want to charge for a premium product you should really step up to the plate and provide the same level of support and customer service. Quality goes beyond the product itself and the extra money usually is well spent when issues arise. I wish that was my experience here.

Dan

 

[stan23]

Basically, Cardo does not stand by their products and rather play a game of fine print rather than doing the right thing.

I would never buy their products.

 

[Mr Pepsi]

RIght off the bat you are giving them an out while they wait for you to get a response from the reseller. I would omit that and explain who you bought it from, and why you believe it is an authorized reseller.

 

[revnort]

RIght off the bat you are giving them an out while they wait for you to get a response from the reseller. I would omit that and explain who you bought it from, and why you believe it is an authorized reseller.

Good point. I will adjust it accordingly.

 

[Lesbusa]

According to the PDF you have the option to return the product to the seller. I would normally say your beef is with the company that sold you the product but in this case you have crossed you T's and dotted your I's and could go either way. Good job.

Funny thing is, fine print is a two edge sword. If you sell something and expect the customer to live by the fine print then you must as well. There was nothing I saw in the fine print that tells the seller anything about how the authorized seller sells the product to the buyer. Even if there was such a statement it's a stretch to expect every potential buyer to check the warr. info. on the website prior to purchase.

 

[gixxerjeff]

This is admittedly an over simplification, but basically what seems to be happening here is a manufacturer is trying to farm out its warranty responsibilites to a vendor. Thats fucked up. If the item was purchased new and there is a valid receipt to prove it, then the manufacturer needs to step up to the plate and fix their shit. Game over.
This is not the first Cardo horror story I've heard.

 

[Oh My Sack!]

I like your letter. Hopefully it will motivate them to do the right thing and take care of you. All of my communiques with them were done person to person on the phone and the rudeness was overwhelming on every account. You'll even get to enjoy the dees, dems, and doe's tough guy dialect from the Pittsburgh boys. It really added to the experience for me.

Just be ready to pitch the unit in the garbage ahead of time and chalk it up to lessons learned. Then we that have been wronged by Cardo to the tunes of hundreds of dollars for each of us can continue to bash their shit on the internet in hopes we can help somebody else out in their decision making process.

 

[Entoptic]

Sell me your Cardo!

 

[revnort]

Sell me your Cardo!

No, and why did you delete your original advice?

 

[Entoptic]

No, and why did you delete your original advice?

I deleted it because it was just a repeat of what I said earlier and there was no need to drive it home. You are going to do what you want to and I am trying to change my posting style on barf because I am not to flattered with my early years of barf posting.

 

[revnort]

I deleted it because it was just a repeat of what I said earlier and there was no need to drive it home. You are going to do what you want to and I am trying to change my posting style on barf because I am not to flattered with my early years of barf posting.

Nah it was good advice and I probably will call today.

As for posting style I thought it was a good post so I am not sure what there is to be ashamed of.

 

[Entoptic]

No, and why did you delete your original advice?

Nah it was good advice and I probably will call today.

As for posting style I thought it was a good post so I am not sure what there is to be ashamed of.

Thanks Revnort. I'm am doing my best to remove my ass hat and wear my gentleman hat.

Good luck with the call!

 

[revnort]

I spoke with Cardo over the phone. The line was that it is company policy not to warranty anything sold through amazon, and are just as rude over the phone as they are via email.

Powersports super store is still handling the situation and it should be resolved tonight or tomorrow. I will update then.

This will definitely be my last Cardo purchase.

 

[rodr]

I spoke with Cardo over the phone. The line was that it is company policy not to warranty anything sold through amazon

Amazon might be interested to hear that.

 

[HaisseM]

So I need some advice on how to handle this.

I bought two Cardo G9 communicators for my recent trip to Baja. During the trip one of the earpieces gave out and is only sending audio from one earpiece. I contacted Cardo when I got back and have been going back in forth with their CS rep.

He requested info from me for an RMA which I sent him (contact and proof of purchase). I purchased the set from Amazon, through Powersports superstore. He responded that they could not warranty the product bought through Amazon and that I should buy from an authorized dealer. I checked Cardo's website and Powersports superstore is in fact an authorized dealer. I responded to his email stating this fact. I even spoke with a rep at Powersports superstore and he said yes I need to go through Cardo.

Today I get the fourth email from CS and he says again they cannot help me and that powersports superstore will need to. Again, they say that Cardo is the one but have offered to call over and talk to them for me. I will call tomorrow and do this, but it shouldn't be their problem as it ultimately has to go through Cardo for the repair.

I am getting pretty pissed because each time the rep responds it is at the very end of their work day and their is no response until late the next day.

I am contemplating copying the management email on their website on my next communication. Is that too far? Admittedly I am pretty fucking angry right now and I don't want to go off the deep end for no reason. I am however very unhappy with the service on a premium product. Thoughts from the peanut gallery?

This is the latest response from them:


This is what I am contemplating sending back and copying their management:


Ok I might not add that last part.

Did i read that wrong? They don't allow their authorized vendors to sell things thru amazon or ebay. The vendor broke the rule by selling throught amazon.

Did i read that right?

If i did read that right then your issue should be with powersport for selling u a product that does not have a warrenty. And not with cardo since the vendor broke the rules.

 

[revnort]

Did i read that wrong? They don't allow their authorized vendors to sell things thru amazon or ebay. The vendor broke the rule by selling throught amazon.

Did i read that right?

Sure, you read what they are saying to me correctly.

What does that have to do with me, and the broken product I have? If they have an issue with what their retailers are doing then take it up with the retailer. Why is it my problem?

They manufactured the product and it is broken. According to the terms in all of the paperwork I have and what is posted on their site, they should take care of the issue.

 

[HaisseM]

Sure, you read what they are saying to me correctly.

What does that have to do with me, and the broken product I have? If they have an issue with what their retailers are doing then take it up with the retailer. Why is it my problem?

They manufactured the product and it is broken. According to the terms in all of the paperwork I have and what is posted on their site, they should take care of the issue.

Here is MY thought. For various reasons unknown to us cardo doesnt warrent products sold through amazon or ebay and i'd suspect craigslist also. When powersport became a vendor i'm sure they were made aware of that rule. They decided to ignore the rule and still sale the product through the blacklisted(for lack of a better word) site.

Would you agree thats fair to say?

I'd ask powersports why they are selling non-warrenty items as warrentied items. It would seem they figure the customer will just go to cardo to address the issue and that isnt fair to cardo since they cant control the issues u come across through amazon or ebay.

 

[Dmitriy]

Did i read that wrong? They don't allow their authorized vendors to sell things thru amazon or ebay. The vendor broke the rule by selling throught amazon.

Did i read that right?

If i did read that right then your issue should be with powersport for selling u a product that does not have a warrenty. And not with cardo since the vendor broke the rules.

When you go to a physical store to buy something, do you assume like everyone else that they are an authorized vendor? How is that different via the web? How can you tell that a warranty of a product will be affected depending on who you buy it from (warranty card is inside the product catch 22, & NO going on the manufacturer website before buying anything online to check warranty coverage is INSANE)?

This is just a BS move by some manufacturers to cut down on warranty claims. So is making you register a product online before getting an RMA, so is asking for a receipt ESPECIALLY if the product hasn't even been on the market for more then the warranty period (look it up on consumerist).

good luck Dan, hopefully powersports will make it right. If they do let us know & at least we'll continue using Amazon to buy through them (just not Cardo products)

 

[Oh My Sack!]

So their product is unwarrantable just because the means of modern day commerce make it so?

Such bullshit but again, I am not the least bit surprised.

Welcome to a world without Cardo. When your ready to step up to the plate for the real thing, contact Keith at Tulsa Truck Center - 918-446-2245. Let him know what you want a system to do and he will give you the suggestions. He is the guru of Autocom and I'm positive that he knows more about Autocom than Autocom itself and likely other similar units, perhaps Starcom. Anytime I want to integrate a gadget into my Autocom system, I call him. He'll tell me "Oh, you just need this and that, this is how you make the connection, it's on it's way!" He has my payment info on file and stuff shows up a day or two later USPS Priority. Always within market pricing, sometimes even less. I have 5 wired helmets, run GPS, XM, Radar Detector, intercom, bluetoothed phone (only occassionally) all through my Autocom and it produces stereo quality audio up to 180mph. All bets are off at 181.

You don't want wireless 'cuz ultimately it suxballz and won't last nor deliver results as promised or it will have this large tumorous electronic looking growth attached to the side of your helmet. I've been that route with several. One quality cable connects to my headset. It's very easy to remember and to use. It doesn't get in the way like you might think it would. You're in for around $300 for the basic yet very capable set-up with a build out potential that would make a electronic gadget nerd blush.

 

[HaisseM]

So their product is unwarrantable just because the means of modern day commerce make it so?

Such bullshit but again, I am not the least bit surprised.

When you go to a physical store to buy something, do you assume like everyone else that they are an authorized vendor? How is that different via the web? How can you tell that a warranty of a product will be affected depending on who you buy it from (warranty card is inside the product catch 22, & NO going on the manufacturer website before buying anything online to check warranty coverage is INSANE)?

This is just a BS move by some manufacturers to cut down on warranty claims. So is making you register a product online before getting an RMA, so is asking for a receipt ESPECIALLY if the product hasn't even been on the market for more then the warranty period (look it up on consumerist).

good luck Dan, hopefully powersports will make it right. If they do let us know & at least we'll continue using Amazon to buy through them (just not Cardo products)

Both of you got me here. I'm not sure how either of you don't see this as an issue with Powersport.

Powersport is told they are NOT allowed to sell a product through a certain venue (for reasons UNKNOWN to us). They do anyway (-1 Powersport)

Customer has issue with item, Powersport says it's under warranty contact the manufacturer (knowing it's not actually under warranty due to terms of their agreement) (-2 Powersport)

Seems like Powersport is the real issue here. They stuck both the customer and the manufacturer in a bind and just looking to make a buck. (Granted this is just information based on this thread here).

So let me tell you a little story and you tell me what I should do.

I bought a GoPro Wifi remote from someone on craigslist (new in a box as far as I could see). Got home and used the remove a couple of times and believe I have an issue with it. Can I go back to GoPro and tell them to fix the unit? I have no idea when the manufacture date is, no clue is this model is outdated.

Or how about this one.. I bought Saints Row the Third from Gamestop the other day, it was used and I knew that, but it actually came with the online pass (in the paperwork) -- Here is the kicker, it was already used, so I couldn't go online with it. Should I call THQ and ask them to give me a new code since the one I have doesn't work?

I'm really curious if you think I have any right to go back to the manufacture on either of these.