72 replies to this topic

[Yoshii]

Good luck with all this

Surely it shouldnt be too difficult, you bought the item from Sydenhams so they should issue the refund, they can then sort out issues with Hobbyweld in their own time. Im sure thats how retail operates?

But I'm sure trading standards would sort this out, you've either been sold a faulty product, or something dodgy is happening somewhere.

[Ben_O]

Right I have news. Sydenhams have been waiting for Hobbyweld to call back. I spoke to sydenhams this afternoon and explained that I thought it was down to them to replace the bottle and then sort it out with hobbyweld in the meantime.

With that, sydenhams manager said he would call them back right away and let me know the outcome.

He just phoned back and told me that Hobby weld will not move on their procedure and there was no way they would allow an exchange until the bottle was examined. they openly admitted to sydenhams that they were suspicious of me to which sydenhams replied with "how would he use 2/3 of a bottle in less than an hour. Still they wouldn't budge and said that if you bought a bottle of milk from Tesco and it leaked out in your car on the way home that they wouldn't replace it.

Anyway after that Sydenhams have decided that they will give me another bottle of gas and fight it out with hobbyweld themselves.

So i'm going over now to exchange it and i'm taking my regulator with me!

So all in all a result I think.

 

Cheers for the advice guys.

 

Ben

[Frisco]

Anyway after that Sydenhams have decided that they will give me another bottle of gas and fight it out with hobbyweld themselves.

 

 

So after all they they have decided to do what they were obliged to do in the first place. 

Nice of them

[cal844]

glad its sorted!

[Ben_O]

glad its sorted!

Me too!

 

Cheers

Ben

[R1mini]

When I got my hobbyweld bottle my first from them, from a supplier in Hampshire, the maximun psi was 1200, I put this down to me not connecting up properly and quickly loosing the gas. Just to make sure I will taking my regulator with me next time and double check

 

Cheers

David

[Ethel]

Point out it's a bad analogy as it would be obvious if a milk carton was full when you bought it. If you found out it was off, or contaminated, Tescos would certainly be interested to revue their supply chain more than accuse you of fraud.

[Tamworthbay]

Anyway after that Sydenhams have decided that they will give me another bottle of gas and fight it out with hobbyweld themselves.

 
So after all they they have decided to do what they were obliged to do in the first place. 
Nice of them

The issue is balance of proof. In reality you would have no hope in hell of proving that the problem was their fault UNLESS there was a physical fault with the cylinder. Hobbyweld offered to inspect it. They are not obliged to provide a replacement while this process occurs.Technically everyone has done exactly what they are required to do by law. Super crap customer service from Hobbyweld but within the letter of the law. Sydenhams have been very good by the sound of things. I am continually surprised that small companies like Hobbyweld are willing to risk their reputation for a few quid. Even if the OP had let it leak by accident it would be worth them replacing it as a good will gesture. The old saying- 'if you have good service you tell someone, if you have bad service you tell EVERYONE'

[Rog46]

I was thinking of changing to a larger cylinder (not that I do much welding) but I think i'll try Adams Gas before Hobbyweld!
Glad it seems to be sorted!

[Ben_O]

Just got back from picking it up and I dealt with the manager. He was ever so good, shook my hand and apologised for the trouble. He checked the pressure with my regulator and signed the docket to prove he was happy with it. He had nothing but bad things to say about his experience with trying to deal with hobbyweld about this but has ordered himself a regulator so he can check every bottle before it goes out. he was telling me that some of the branches of sydenhams stock BOC and if there is ever a problem whatever it may be, they always exchange the bottle without quibble. He also told me that he involved the Sydenhams company director who has also spoke to hobbyweld and says if they have problems in the future like this then they will not be stocking the product. Whether this is true or just banter by the manager I don't know and frankly, I don't care! I'm just happy to have gotton a result.

 

So now I can get on with my work!!

 

Cheers All

 

Ben

[ANON]

Credit card companies won't be interested if it's less than £100

 

David

 

the credit card company are as liable as the supplier of the goods, it's a hand one to know about if you need to get a refund on things.

[R1mini]

 

Credit card companies won't be interested if it's less than £100

 

David

 

the credit card company are as liable as the supplier of the goods, it's a hand one to know about if you need to get a refund on things.

 

Not if it is less than £100, section75 consumer credit act

 

But they may help, debit cards have no come back at all, unless the bank decides to do it as a good will measure

 

Cheers

David

[Yoshii]

Glad it is sorted

[Hobbyweld]

Good Afternoon Ben,
 

We're really sorry to hear that you have had a problem with your Hobbyweld gas and a bad experience all round.
 

As many of the members of this forum have previously pointed out, your contract lies with the company who sold you the goods, not with the manufacturer. It is at the discretion of the agent if they reimburse you with a free fill of gas whilst awaiting a test for a fault - clearly we are not in a position to make this decision for them.
 

Our faulty cylinder procedure is standard for most gas cylinders. It is the same procedure which our parent company adheres to on their large scale industrial gas operation.

We must test the cylinder before a credit is given to the agent returning the cylinder; this is between ourselves and our agent.
 

Our filling plant has the capacity to fill in excess of 2500 cylinders in a single working day so I can assure you that we are not a small operation. The filling system will not shut off until the cylinders reach their full fill of gas and cylinder valves are closed mechanically reducing the margin for error.
 

I would like to stress that problems with under filled cylinders are very rare but of course not impossible as your case highlights.
 

We have a “claimed faulty” cylinder return rate of less than one fill per thousand and an actual fault rate (where the returned cylinder after testing has actually been found with a fault) of less than one fill per 1500.

 

When we receive the cylinder in question from Sydenhams we will forward you a copy of the test report.
 

Finally, some of the forum comments are grossly unfair. Hobbyweld do not supply “crap customer service”. We have procedures in place for good reason and cannot issue refunds without testing that the product is actually faulty. We stand behind our product and try to offer the highest standards of customer care and support which you may not find elsewhere in this industry.
 

Once again, please accept our apologies for the cylinder you purchased from Sydenhams and as a gesture of goodwill please accept a Hobbyweld consumables pack F.O.C.
 

Email us at - [email protected]

 

Best Regards, The Hobbyweld Team

[Frisco]

Weirdly it's customers who decide if your service is crap or not. If it was better you wouldn't have to come on the internet to defend it and if your procedures lead to what happened here I'd suggest that they are lacking.

If your "claimed faulty" rate is so low maybe you should trust your customers a bit more.

 

 

 

 

Ho hum it's sorted now anyway so arguing about it on the internet is pointless.

Edited by Frisco, 04 September 2013 - 03:32 PM.