Warranty Denial / Recourse?

**Jordo** · 12-18-2014, 04:35 PM

So I bought a pair of skis from Yurp (yeah in hindsight not smart bu I've done this lots of times before with no probs) and when they arrive one of the skis is much heavier than the other, has way more sidewall material, and a completely different flex than the other ski. Company tells me if I don't like em I can return them to Yurp. Won't answer any questions about manufacturing defects / warranty itself. It's really strange. Stated warranty clearly covers defects in materials and workmanship. I'm gonna lose a pile of money sending these back. Suggestions? How would this play out in small claims court?

**PNWbrit** · 12-18-2014, 04:39 PM

From a retailer or direct from a manufacturer?

**Jordo** · 12-18-2014, 05:03 PM

Bought from retailer in Yurp.

**PNWbrit** · 12-18-2014, 05:04 PM

Try contacting the manufacturer direct and explain the problem their retailer is giving you?

**MagnificentUnicorn** · 12-18-2014, 05:06 PM

Small claims court against a retailer in Europe? Good luck. Maybe dispute it with your credit card and try and recoup shipping that way?

**adrenalated** · 12-18-2014, 05:07 PM

Have you contacted both the retailer and the manufacturer?

Is the brand distributed in N. America? If so, you could contact a local retailer or the NA distributor, but they may be disinclined to help you since you bypassed them when you bought the skis.

I'm no legal expert, but an overseas lawsuit/small claims seems like a giant PITA and potentially way more expensive than it's worth.

Edit: Aaron's post above made me think of this, a lot of CC companies now include some sort of warranty/purchase protection/etc. now, check and see what you've got.

**shirk** · 12-18-2014, 05:35 PM

Originally Posted by Jordo

So I bought a pair of skis from Yurp (yeah in hindsight not smart bu I've done this lots of times before with no probs) and when they arrive one of the skis is much heavier than the other, has way more sidewall material, and a completely different flex than the other ski. Company tells me if I don't like em I can return them to Yurp. Won't answer any questions about manufacturing defects / warranty itself. It's really strange. Stated warranty clearly covers defects in materials and workmanship. I'm gonna lose a pile of money sending these back. Suggestions? How would this play out in small claims court?

I don't see the problem.

They said return em.

They don't need to answer questions about flex/weight/sidewalls.

They gave you the most logical option, you return them. It's not their problem that you'll be out extra cash shipping them back to europe.

**PNWbrit** · 12-18-2014, 05:37 PM

Originally Posted by shirk

I don't see the problem.

They said return em.

They don't need to answer questions about flex/weight/sidewalls.

They gave you the most logical option, you return them. It's not their problem that you'll be out extra cash shipping them back to europe.

^ good point.

**Jordo** · 12-18-2014, 05:45 PM

Except that warranty covers defects. Skis have defects. Failure to honour warranty, no?

Company is based in NA. Retailer in europe.

**TahoeJ** · 12-18-2014, 05:46 PM

Small claims... for skis that cost less than a plane ticket there. lol...

**cmcrawfo** · 12-18-2014, 05:50 PM

Originally Posted by Jordo

Except that warranty covers defects. Skis have defects. Failure to honour warranty, no?

Company is based in NA. Retailer in europe.

Sound like they are honoring their warranty.

You should stop bitching and start sending your skis back.

Next year maybe buy from a local distributor.

**dcpnz** · 12-18-2014, 05:52 PM

Not sure what you're claiming. Has anyone actually denied warranty coverage. Generally to pursue warranty you're going to have to ship them back anyway which is exactly what they've offered.
Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions but seems like you tried to save a bunch of money buying in Yurp and now not happy about accepting the consequences of doing so.

**MagnificentUnicorn** · 12-18-2014, 05:54 PM

North American ski company? Trying contacting them and see if you can work out an exchange. When you buy stuff online, shipping is on your dime unless stated otherwise.

Is this a case of having the same ski in two different lay ups and they just mismatched a pair?

**PNWbrit** · 12-18-2014, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by Jordo

Failure to honour warranty, no?

Not yet anyway.

You'll have to send them back to find out if they will fail to honour warranty.

Polite request for assist from US Manufacturer might be best option (best for you)... they might be also interested to hear that a euro store is selling to a NA customer.

**thewon** · 12-18-2014, 05:58 PM

Surely you must have one leg/side that's stronger than the other, yeah?

problem solved.

**Jordo** · 12-18-2014, 06:27 PM

Yep only buying from local shop now, which obviously should have been doing to support locals anyways. Just never suspected company would throw up such a fuss. Previous warranty dealings with 3 or so other companies in past decade has always been to send em back to company and company sends back to me. Whatever, more fuss than it's worth probably.

**MagnificentUnicorn** · 12-18-2014, 06:52 PM

Originally Posted by Jordo

Yep only buying from local shop now, which obviously should have been doing to support locals anyways. Just never suspected company would throw up such a fuss. Previous warranty dealings with 3 or so other companies in past decade has always been to send em back to company and company sends back to me. Whatever, more fuss than it's worth probably.

What was the fuss, having to ship them back? I asked earlier, was this a case of a ski model with two different lay-ups that were mismatched?

Are you talking about the manufacturer or retailer when you say company?

**shirk** · 12-18-2014, 06:55 PM

Lots of brands handle warranty via the place of original purchase.

So you have an issue with product x, that's fine, return to the place of purchase and they'll handle the warranty claim. You return product to shop, and manufacture deals with shop.

This is where trying to skim few bucks and buying online or overseas can really suck.

Sorry pal you learned the hard way.

**Jordo** · 12-18-2014, 07:00 PM

Indeed Shirk.

aaron, company= manufacturer. And just to be clear, manufacturer did not suggest that I deal with retailer to investigate warranty. Manufacturer is saying that if I don't like them I can return them to retailer for a refund. No discussion of warranty/defects.

**creaky fossil** · 12-18-2014, 08:06 PM

Originally Posted by Jordo

Except that warranty covers defects. Skis have defects. Failure to honour warranty, no?

Company is based in NA. Retailer in europe.

modern business practice in America, and the courts overseeing it, now considers consumer coverage of return shipping costs to be reasonable. 20 yrs ago you could push to say that's covered under warranty and no out-of-pocket but we're in a different world now. some mfrs will be understanding and will comp you a shipping label or something similar, but companies seem to get away with putting that shipping cost burden on the innocent consumer these days. maybe just because nobody sues over $50 on a $500 item?

existence of defect is not something the consumer gets to declare. it's usually subject to some forensic examination of the item alleged to be defective. defects are either manufacture or design in nature. most consumers lack the ability to show how the item is defective with any precision, though in some cases it can be obvious.

have some fun. read the Uniform Commercial Code.

**XXX-er** · 12-18-2014, 08:30 PM

I have bought stuff from TP.com cuz I figured T-1's and dynafit verts are pretty safe also Vittoria road tires from chain reaction BUT its not as safe as buying from the local store and I accept that

I would return the skis to vendor

**old goat** · 12-18-2014, 10:13 PM

In general big ski manufacturers don't want to deal with consumers. They deal with vendors. With a boutique ski you might have a different experience. Good luck even finding contact information for some of the major ski companies, and if you do good luck even getting a reply. You were lucky to get as much from the manufacturer as you did. I can think of one possible alternative that might work--if you can get a shop to put you in touch with your regional rep for the company, the rep might be able to look at the skis and help you out. I was having trouble replacing the buckle on some Rossi boots until I wandered into a shop where the Rossi rep just happened to be visiting. But chances are a shop is not going to want to help you if you haven't done business with them. Can't blame them for that.

What I don't get is this--you keep saying they are refusing to honor the warranty. We keep saying they are honoring the warranty--send them back to the dealer, per the terms of the warranty. What is it you think they should be doing and why? Perhaps you could look up the warranty on the company's web site and quote us the part where it says they should be doing more.

**Jordo** · 12-18-2014, 10:54 PM

Previous experience a few years ago: bought skis online, they had a protruding edge, emailed manufacturer, they processed everything though a local dealer, didn't care where I bought them, got a new pair in two weeks. This experience: bought skis online, find they're defective in my opinion, manufacturer says seek a refund from retailer, no discussion of warranty/defect/replacement. Guess previous experience no longer happens. Anyway, more trouble than it's worth I figure.

**DasBlunt** · 12-18-2014, 11:36 PM

Holy shit, some people on this board are assholes.........

Who cares where he bought them?

100% guarantee that any good-great manufacturer would want those skis back to warranty them.

ANY snowboard manufacturer in the USA would honor a warranty claim like this, in a heartbeat......again, assholes in this thread.

God damn, some of you fuckers are assholes.