Taylormade Ducato Screen

[graementl]

I have recently purchased a new Taylormade insulated screen for my new style Ducato. First use of this was in the heavy snow a few weeks ago and when I removed it from the vehicle found that water had seeped into the inner insulated material. Even after drying overnight at home it was still damp inside. Taylormade asked for it back and also found it damp inside and have sent it away for testing. Meanwhile they refuse a refund until they can establish why it is faulty. Has anybody else had a problem with a Taylormade screen or with the aftersales service. I am certainly not impressed!

[Mel B]

Hi and welcome to the mad house! :-D

 

We've had Taylormade screens and have never had a problem with them in use, we've also never had a problem with the company either but we've only ever bought from them direct at shows.

 

I wonder if they are refusing to refund as they may suspect it has been damaged and that that is the cause of the water getting in? How long ago exactly was it that you bought it?

[flicka]

Hi Graeme & welcome to the forum.

Despite Taylormade's stance, I would go back and demand a full refund.

Telling them that despite their wish to test the faulty item, it is "Unfit for Purpose".

There have been various threads regarding both Taylormade & Silver Screens on the forum (try the search)

[Minstrel]

We have Taylormade external screens and have had no problem, we have used them at a ski resort so have had snow sitting on them for a few days.

[graementl]

Bought in November. Taylormade can't find any cuts/holes and can't explain the water ingress hence they are sending it away to some research premises to find out if porous. Explained that I am not concerned about them finding out the reason why and only want a refund - refused until they find the reason why!

[Guest Tracker]

Surely having accepted that it is faulty and not damaged by your possible careless use or storage they are duty bound to replace or refund it for you?

 

Why not phone them and ask firmly but politely to speak to the company CEO and ask for an immediate replacement or refund?

 

If he/they refuse refer them to this thread and the potential for lost sales through bad publicity as that might just focus their minds?

 

You could even email them a link to this thread?

[lennyhb]

Mine are about 18 months old they did look a bit soggy after all the snow & rain but appeared to have dried out OK so if there was any water penetration it could not have been much. Conditions have been a bit extreme this year I wouldn't expect them to be fully water proof in the conditions we have had.

 

Looking at the labels on them they buy the material from Germany.

 

If they were fairly new I don't see why they shouldn't give you a refund you may need to shout louder.

 

 

[flicka]

From your description of the problem & Taylormade's acceptance that it is not the result of damage in use, they should reimburse you.

If the material is faulty, that is up to Taylormade to argue with their supplier and a seperate matter.

 

I understand Taylormade are a husband & wife team operation so you will have already spoken to their CEO or VCEO.

 

If they persist in their stance, tell them you will inform Trading Standards and if necessary proceed via the Small Claims Court for settlement.

 

[kontiki]

Bought some Talormade screens about 10-15 years ago, after using them once the stitching started coming apart. Contacted them & the women I spoke to said they would send replacements & I could send the others back. When these didn't arrive I rang again & the guy I spoke to was quite abrupt & said I would need to send them back & they would see about repairing or replacing. In the end I said I would said them back & would have a refund which he reluctantly agreed. Swore would never do business with them again.

 

Buy Silver Screens the original & still the best.

[The Decorator]

Graeame,

 

As has been said, write giving a seven day notice to return the money or you will take legal action. Don't mess about be firm.

 

PS. recorded delivery of course

 

Jon

[mirage]

I have had our Taylormade for about 16 months now and keep it on most of the time during storage, rain and snow never had any problem, as soon as the weather dries so does the screen.

The long line has the advantage over other makes of covering the Air Intake on the bonnet.

[Brian Kirby]

graementl - 2010-03-10 7:39 PM Bought in November. Taylormade can't find any cuts/holes and can't explain the water ingress hence they are sending it away to some research premises to find out if porous. Explained that I am not concerned about them finding out the reason why and only want a refund - refused until they find the reason why!

Then ask them to replace it with one that doesn't leak.  They should either refund, reimburse part cost (improbable), or replace, at your option, if the goods are faulty.  Since the fault was discovered within six months of purchase, it is legally to be assumed that the fault was present at the time of purchase.

They may be worried that some change in materials has resulted in a general fault, but they must deal promptly with your request for a replacement or refund.  Since water penetrates the interior of the screen, its insulating properties cannot be maintained, and the product is not as advertised.  There really is no argument.

I suspect they are primarily concerned that if they reimburse you in full, you will go straight to Silver Screens for a replacement!  :-)

[GypsyTom]

When did the British become so unreasonable and demanding that they won't allow a dealer a few days to ascertain what this obviously unusual fault is?

Dealers are expected to be flexible in their application of contracts, so why not customers as well? If someone buys a car with a warranty of three, five or seven years for instance, whatever that warranty is, if a fault develops six months after the warranty expires you can guarantee the the client will be banging the table and demanding that the dealer varies the original contract and pays for, or subsidises the cost of repair. And most do as it happens.

When a customer has a problem though, there appears to be no compromise - sue him, send him a recorded delivery letter, anything but try to work with him to solve the problem.

I'm not suggesting for one second that Graeme is dishonest and am convinced that his claim is genuine but regrettably, many customers are dishonest and will lie through their teeth if it means saving them a few pounds.

Let's assume that you buy a set of screens and three months later you decide, for whatever reason, that you no longer need them. How easy is it to introduce some water using a syringe for instance and claim that the screen is faulty! 

Taylor Made has a product here, which has presumably been fine up to now (mine have and I've just ordered my third set, so satisfied am I with them). They are then told that a customer has one that appears to be letting in water. Now the only rational explanation is that somehow, the characteristics of the material have changed or it's fraud!

Is it unreasonable to give then a few days to ascertain that the material is indeed faulty? It's actually quite important that they do this because there's no point in sending Graeme a new set it that too, may have the same fault.

Recorded delivery letters and threats will be useless anyway. A retailer has a right in law to ascertain that a product really is faulty. Some faults are obvious and can be proven immediately, others such as this may need verification and no court will grant you judgement without first having proof of the product's fault.

The sensible thing to do here is to allow Taylor Made just a few days to satisfy themselves that this is a genuine fault. I have absolutely no doubt that, when this has been done, that Graeme will receive a fair outcome to his problem.

This thread has shades of the one where so many people where so quick to denigrate Hartley's Motorhomes over a problem that turned out not to be of their doing and was eventually sorted out to Poppy's entire satisfaction.

Small businesses such as Taylor Made do not deliberately cheat or mislead customers. Their reputation can be destroyed almost overnight in this Internet age and I do not believe that they are being unfair or unreasonable in wishing to check that this product does have a fault.

Come on folks, give them a chance!

[mike 202]

Gypsey Tom,

 

I have Taylormade screen and so far it is OK. I also agree with you that reputations can be ruined overnight. It is possible that the Company have got a faulty batch of material and to replace the product would be pointless. If the material is faulty then how many other recent purchasers, myself included have a faulty product.

From a business point of view and that a rival product is readily availableI think that taylor made would be better off refunding the money, even if it means that Silver screens product is purchased.

I was 50/50 as to which I purchased so it would not have taken much to sway me one way or another.

Mike

[Basil]

GypsyTom - 2010-03-11 9:54 AM

 

Small businesses .............do not deliberately cheat or mislead customers. >

 

Unfortunately in my experience this statement is no longer correct, there are a lot of small businesses that do just that. I don't happen to think that Taylormade is one of them but I do agree with a previous poster that found them quite 'surly' to deal with.

 

Bas

[GypsyTom]

Basil - 2010-03-11 11:10 AM

GypsyTom - 2010-03-11 9:54 AMSmall businesses .............do not deliberately cheat or mislead customers. >

Unfortunately in my experience this statement is no longer correct, there are a lot of small businesses that do just that. I don't happen to think that Taylormade is one of them but I do agree with a previous poster that found them quite 'surly' to deal with.Bas

I've no doubt that you are right which is why I worded it as 'Small businesses such as Taylor Made do not deliberately cheat their customers'.

There are definitely dodgy firms out there such as rogue builders etc. but companies dealing within a specialist niche market such as motorhomes where there are forums such as this are rather different. Their reputation can be destroyed very quickly if they turn out to be unfair and dishonest.

As for being surly all I know is that I phoned him yesterday afternoon to order a new set for my new Hobby Transit and we had a very nice chat and a bit of a laugh. It should be remembered though that he is a Yorkshireman and those of us with Yorkshire ancestry, such as me, are well aware of the fact that Yorkshiremen are Scotsmen with the generosity gene removed!

[Basil]

Sorry didn't realise he was a Yorkshireman, perhaps I should have made 'allowances', cost them a sale though! :-S :-S :-S

Just thought Waudby's are in Yorkshire and they are really nice people, are they interlopers?

 

Bas

[Barney123]

 

 

I fully agree with a few of the posters who say give Taylormade a chance to check out the material.

I have dealt with Edward and Ann for years now and never had a problem with my screens. In fact I am at this time waiting for them to make up a new screen for my new motorhome.

So please all get your facts correct before you condemn them

 

[Barney123]

 

 

I fully agree with a few of the posters who say give Taylormade a chance to check out the material.

I have dealt with Edward and Ann for years now and never had a problem with my screens. In fact I am at this time waiting for them to make up a new screen for my new motorhome.

So please all get your facts correct before you condemn them

 

[euroserv]

I had no idea that in Yorkshire it is customary to pay your money and then bend over and accept whatever the vendor chooses to do to you!

 

Gypsytom once again leaps to the defence of the indefensible;

 

The customer is not satisfied with the product and frankly does not give two hoots why it is faulty past ascertaining that it was not caused by his misuse. He asked for a refund and should get one immediately.

 

The vendor would be wise to have the product examined because if there is an inherent fault, he should stop selling them until it is rectified. That is where reputations become damaged, that and not refunding customer's money when requested to do so.

 

Perhaps for too long the English have politely cowered away from confrontation and I welcome the new age of not putting up with poor service and the 'ducking and weaving' approach to customer care.

 

Good for you, stand your ground or do what Gypsytom says and brace yourself.

 

Nick

[GypsyTom]

euroserv - 2010-03-11 12:46 PMI had no idea that in Yorkshire it is customary to pay your money and then bend over and accept whatever the vendor chooses to do to you!Gypsytom once again leaps to the defence of the indefensible;The customer is not satisfied with the product and frankly does not give two hoots why it is faulty past ascertaining that it was not caused by his misuse. He asked for a refund and should get one immediately.The vendor would be wise to have the product examined because if there is an inherent fault, he should stop selling them until it is rectified. That is where reputations become damaged, that and not refunding customer's money when requested to do so.Perhaps for too long the English have politely cowered away from confrontation and I welcome the new age of not putting up with poor service and the 'ducking and weaving' approach to customer care.Good for you, stand your ground or do what Gypsytom says and brace yourself.Nick

What an incredible exaggeration!

Any dealer or retailer has an absolute moral and legal right to ascertain that a product actually is faulty before having to refund or replace. In some instances the fault is obvious and in others it isn't. And the vendor is having the product examined, that was made clear.

You seem to live in a world where every customer is honest and would never cheat or lie but I'm in the real world! Not by the way that I'm suggesting that this is the case here.

What I'm complaining about is people who go off half-cock, without the full facts, and start denigrating dealers before they've even been give the chance to respond to a complaint.

I believe in fairness and being reasonable. If the screens turn out to be genuinely faulty then there should be a refund or replacement, whatever the buyer wants.

I'm sorry that you choose to make this personal and I suspect that your attack is more because of some antipathy to me than based on the grounds of basic decency and common sense. When I do business I like to deal fairly with people and give them a chance to sort out any problem.

Your rather angry method is the one least likely to produce a satisfactory result and usually results in people taking an obstinate stance because no one likes being bullied, no matter how justified their claim.

[Rayjsj]

I have had a Taylormade screen cover for 4 years or so with no problems,

suspect a change of material or material supplier is at the root of this problem, ask them for replacement or your money back, if they refuse mention the small claims court. Not pleasant but neither is bad customer services.

Why do all the threads get personal lately ?? *-) Ray

[GypsyTom]

Rayjsj - 2010-03-11 1:15 PMI have had a Taylormade screen cover for 4 years or so with no problems,suspect a change of material or material supplier is at the root of this problem, ask them for replacement or your money back, if they refuse mention the small claims court. Not pleasant but neither is bad customer services. Why do all the threads get personal lately ?? *-) Ray

I agree. I hope that you notice that it's not me that starts it. The problem is that people don't like the cold logic of rational argument and so resort to personal animosity. If I have one fault, and I'm sure I've many, it's that I won't stand for it and respond. Perhaps I should learn to ignore them.

Can I remind you though that I am not defending Taylor Made. If the screen turns out to be genuinely faulty then we all know what their responsibilities are. What I really object to is this new breed of macho consumers who seem more interested in showing how tough they are, rather than trying to sort out a problem reasonably and, if necessary, which it will be in a small number of cases, giving the dealer a day or two to try to sort out the problem. Is that unreasonable?

If ultimately you get nowhere then you can start with the nasty stuff but fair and reasonable people give others a chance.

[Guest Tracker]

The point here is that from what we are told Taylor Made have already accepted that there is a fault and that it does not appear to be customer's, but instead of correcting it instantly they chose for whatever reason to have the fault 'investigated'.

 

Any such investigation is a matter for Taylor Made and does not detract from the rights of the end user to a product for for purpose and of merchantable quality.

 

Anything less leaves a nasty taste - apart from which why should anyone settle for less?

 

 

[euroserv]

What I said was that the customer has returned the goods, and the vendor has agreed that the customer has not caused the problem therefore the goods are faulty.

 

The customer then asked for a refund and was not given one. That is wrong.

 

No amount of pontificating will change that fact, and other than sending the customer some sort of explaination of the fault at a later date in order to restore their confidence the transaction should have been concluded with a full refund.

 

If that had happened the customer would not have come on here to air his grievance because he would have been satisfied with the outcome.

 

The customer raised the issue because he was not happy and wanted to know if this was a wider problem with the vendor. I don't think that he sought an essay on morals or being British, but I could be wrong.

 

Good customer service is about dealing swiftly and efficiently with customer complaints, not faffing about with tests and suppliers. When you buy an item you are not entering into a lifelong relationship with the vendor, you are just buying a product and you have a right to expect it to perform properly or get a replacement or your money back.

 

You did make this personal by regaling us with your theory of social breakdown and bully tactics in modern society when actually all 'we' want are good products or refunds and the freedom to tell others of our concerns without being made to feel churlish.

 

Nick