build stand vs. warranty

S

schrader

Member
I have a chip on my 220g perfecto on the center bottom front panel.Perfecto wont replace becuase I didnt use there tank.

So is it really worth it to buy the same brand stand?to me YES even if I dont use it just so they cant screw me out of a 20year warranty.When the tank is less the 2 years old.

So guys just had to vent some.:mad2:
 
Is that down in writeing? That the stand is covered strictly on the basis that you have one of their tanks? I don't know what it looks like so it's hard to say if you should get a new one or should you just have it fixed at your cost.
 
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If it is in writing, and you had access to the fine print when you purchased the tank... well they are in the right.

However, you may want to approach the situation from a different perspective. Firstly, make them aware that the salesperson did not inform you of this stipulation. Secondly, you may want to have a look at your stand. If it caused the problem then you really are out of luck. I would hope that if the DIY stand is sufficient and the tank is flawed, that perfect would honor their warrenty regardless. If they do not, and talking to the executive branch of the company is fruitless, then I would not patronize their product line. I would also make my problem, and concerns very known in the form of a polite letter to the CEO or assistant to the CEO of the company. Don't threaten them, just make sure they understand your frustration and that you are a member of a community full of reefers that take customer service experiences very seriously and pass them on to help other reefers.

Bean
 
For some reason or other I can not fathom the reasoning behind having to use their stand if a stand thatw as used is equal or better.....Its like many years ago, Ford and GM refused warranty on vehicles just because the owners did not use Gneuine GM or Ford motor oils and filters.....SOmething called the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act or something like that, that a company can not compel you to use a certain proeduct if an equal product is capable of doing the same job. I'll admit there are probably lots of stands in use out there today that leave a lot to be desired, but its a poor excuse for a manufacturer to compell one to use their stands only in order to get a warranty....I for one wold not give them 1/4th of there asking prices on some of their stands.

The part that is questionoable under the M-M act is whats called Tie-In Sales" Provisions which basically prohibits a manufacturer from doing what Perfecto (Ford/GM) is /was doing. All you have to do is demonstrate your stand is sufficient for support of the tank and they can not legally deny you warranty coverage......Proving that should be a walk in the park if your sure of your stand.
 
I failed to remember that provisions of that act. HP tried to pull that with their printers and aftermarket inks.... they lost.

Yup looks pretty straight forward with regards to the "tie in" warrenty. They either have to sell the stand as part of the tank, and never seperatly, or apply for the "tie in" permission if they wish to mke the use of their stand part of the warranty provisions. There about 5 other places in the act that you could get them on.

If it were me, I would not let this rest until I had a new tank in place, at their expense. I may even go as far as trying to find other customers that were denied warranty replacement due to not having an OEM stand.
 
ANother thing is a retailer is responsible for providing the customer with the temrs of the warranty etc at the time of sale, and the manuf is responsible to make sure the retailer has all the materials on hnad to do so, so if a retailers sales associated just happens to neglect to state the so called have to use their stand thingie, they breeched the contract agreement between them and the maker as wel as not providing the customer with pertinent details....Makes no difference how laong an employee worked there or not, he is a representative of the retailer as is the retailer a rep of the maker........I would post a poll, visit various forums and do the same, and get a list up.......perhaps give the company a call, and if given a run around just telem your gonna have Atty James Sokolov ,the infamouse class action atty aways seen after midnight on TV , take action on it as a class action suit....bet that gets em moving in your direction :)
 
I dont know what to do about it.The tank was setup about 2 years ago and it has been setting empty for the past year.So that is just one year of use.I thought of useing my backhoe and setting my jeep on it .Then send them a picture and ask them to do the same.I would bet anything my could with stand anything thiers can and more.
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Well not to take sides here but just because you used 2x6 or 2x8 construction on the stand doesn't mean that it wouldn't cause a crack in the tank. Sure it's sturdy enough to carry a load 100 times the weight of the tank, but is it perfectly flat? That is the major issue with DIY stands, the top of the stand needs to be perfectly flat to FULLY support the tank, especially a glass tank. This is also the main reason for the warranty stating that the tank must be on their stand, they are not sure of what people put their tanks on and therefore can not warranty their tank on another stand. I have seen numerous tanks on cement cinder block stands, or stands that are not even close to being flat (1/8" or even less can lead to serious failures). Now what you might want to try and convince them to do is to offer them to come and inspect your stand so you can prove to them that it is more than adaquate (flatness wise) for thier aquarium, if they can agree to this then hopefully you will have an upper hand in this battle. Don't really know too much about glass aquariums, but that crack seems a bit odd as it doesn't span too large of an area, maybe defective glass?? most cracks I've seen due to inadaquate stands pretty much crack the entire pane. HTH?
 
I do agree on the surface has to be flat I made sure of that with wood filler and sanding.It couldnt hurt to see what they say about looking at the stand.It really isnt a crack it is a chip about the size of a qaurter.By measureing the width of the chip I figured the chip started right where the two glass pieces meet.They said the only why a tank will chip like this is for someone to drop something on it like a rock.They have no way of telling,But I have never had anything closer then 8" from the front of the tank.
 
Well if what they say is true there has to be a point of impact, meaning you should be able to see or feel where the rock or other object hit the pane, a bit like a when a rock hits your windshield it leaves a small mark, but cracks from there or you just get a circle. I doubt a rock wouldnt leave that mark.

The other thing that may have caused this though not likely is if there was a small chip on the edge of the pane under the moulding (unseen) and pressure over time caused a slight bow (horizontal) at that point. Instead of the crack running vertically it just did full circle as it was very slight.

Either way since like they said " they have no way of telling" it should be covered unless they decide to hide behind their warranty (stand thing), which I think is a joke since I bet their stand wouldn't be any better if it were true flat and on an uneven floor.
 
I owuld not be afraid to bet even the best made stands are prone to warping, as most any wood product will over time, as its the nature of the beast. Perhaps if tank had water in it and not allowed to set empty, there would have been sufficient weight on the stand to keep it from possibly warping or twisting....if that did cause the problem. Just lookinmg at some stands these companies make, I would be leary of setting even an empty tank on them..
 
Well I am takeing the tank down and going to look into some more before I go any where with this.I am giong to check the stand and check the tank for impact marks and see why this happened.
 
I got this back from Perfecto

The warranty is not void without a Perfecto stand, it is just a much
shorter warranty. Tanks have a one year warranty without a Perfecto
stand. Tanks up to 60 gallons have a 5 year and larger tanks have a 20
year warranty with a Perfecto stand.
 
You need to re-read the post above regarding the warranty laws. I am not sure they can stipulate such criteria without govt aproval. Fruthermore, was this information conveyed to you at the time of purchase?

There is no way I would let this go. It is poor customer service and they are using their own fine print to keep from having to replace a flawed tank.

It appears that the glass had a nick or flaw in it for this to happen. It could also be a problem with the plastic frame. In any case don't let it rest.

Bean
 
I have seen it before where he warranty is different if you do not use their stand. Even if it is illegal what the heck would you do? A lawyer would cost more than the tank.
 
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