build stand vs. warranty

[BeanAnimal]

You can put a lot of pressure on a company that is swindling it's buyers. The BBB, forums, and other resources are something that any company in a small niche market should fear. If they don't then court is the only answer. BTW they could have to end up paying the court costs in a situation like this.

 

[brackishdude]

The perfecto site is "under construction", but I found this on a retailer's site on the page where they sell the perfectos:

Perfecto Aquarium Company Info:
Phone Number: 317-773-6627
Web Site: www.perfectomfg.com

Manufacturer's Warranty Info: On aquariums 65 gallons and larger, when purchased with a Perfecto aquarium stand, the warranty to the original purchaser against manufacturerââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s defects is five years. On all other products, and on tanks 65 gallons and over purchased without a Perfecto stand, the warranty period against manufacturerââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s defects is 90 days from the original date of purchase


So any literature that may have come with the tank likely had similiar description of the warranty. The question is whether it was prominantly displayed and/or did the salesman make you aware? Also, does it matter anyway with respect to the legality of tie-ins? Does the "idiocy of the masses" with regard to stand design make these strict rules a neccessity? Perhaps Perfecto does in fact have such a waiver.

Other manufacturers:

Oceanic has a similiar stand clause. 5 year warrantee of the "seams", but not the glass, and only if you use thei stand (they make an in wall version, even). The warrantee is int he FAQ. Has Oceanic run afoul of the tie-in law?
http://www.oceanicsystems.com/

GLass cages: only warrants the silicone, and only for 90 days.
http://www.glasscages.com/?sAction=AqWarranty

90 DAY SEAM LEAKAGE WARRANTY
The aquarium is warranted by Twin Oaks not to leak or come apart at the silicone seams for a period of ninety (90) days from date of purchase.
This warranty is void if the SET UP INSTRUCTIONS are not followed and/or if you cut or alter the silicone seams of the aquarium.
This warranty is void if the aquarium is chipped or shows any glass damage.
This warranty is limited to replacement of the aquarium and does not cover fish loss, personal injury, property loss or direct, incidental or consequantial damage arising out of use of this aquarium.
Due to the manufacturing techniques eliminating pressure bonding: stress and pressure cracks and all other types of breakage are not caused by manufacturing defects and therefore are not warranted and no free replacdement is available. Breakage that occurs after the aquarium is set up is caused by improper set up or accident.



Can't find a warranty at all on allglass's site, (which is my tank. . .). I'm certain that I was aware of the warantee at the time of purchase, but I don't recall a "stand" issue. It wouldn't have mattered to me at the time, though, since I knew I would build my own in either case. The tank sat in my attached garage for nearly a year, and the trim (not the brace) around the top snapped, as though it had been in tension, leaving a 1/8 inch gap (and presumably weakened the structure). They shipped a new one to the dealer and I replaced it, using the hood I had made to compress the silicone during assembly. Talk about a custom fit!
http://www.all-glass.com/index.shtml

 

[MrZ2u]

the warranty act goes further to protect you by making the mfg. prove that what ever actions you took actually caused the problem.

Using cars again for exampleââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦lets say you use super low grade recycled motor oil (which is a stupid thing to do) and you donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t change it on scheduleââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦not even close. One day your transmission dies and they say nogo because of the oil thing. They would have to prove that that oil you used and you improper maintenance cause the transmission problemââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦which they could not. Further they may have to prove that using the prescribed oil would have prevented the problem with the transmission.

Apply that to your situation.

Assuming you stand is squared and flush which it looks to be, would their stand have prevented this? Take a look at many of the prefab stands and you will find they are not very substantial. Often the smaller ones are even made of particle board. Talk about warping potential! Now look at the DIY stands most folks buildââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦look at this one! Could it warp? Sure. But what ever could have warped it would have warped the Perfecto one as bad but probably worse. Further, the DIY stand will probably support 4x the weight of the prefab ones. Unless your carpentry is just crap then your stand did not do this.

I went round with a certain company about my stand. They had the audacity to claim my stand was insufficient to support my 200gal 3ft off the ground and said they would provide no warranty at all.

Take a look at my stand

It is 14ga 1.5 inch square steel tube. It is perceftly square and flush. I dont have a way to show you the blue prints so you can see how the load is distributed in the design but a friend of mine who is an bridge design engineer for TXDOT looked over my plans to tell me if it would hold the load I would have. His response was that I could put my aquarium in the back of my truck, fill it with water and fill the rest of the bed with sand, park it on this stand and still not have concerns. Do you know the steel was actually cheaper than the lumber would have been? All total the steel cost me about $75.

The warranty can say what ever it wants but the burden of proof is on the company, not the consumer. You donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t need a lawyer to take them to small claims court, you can publish legal notices in the paper, petition their resellers and distributors for common practice and exceptions they may have received in the past, file on the retailer, etc. There is quite a lot that you can legally do to make them unhappy for not helping you. Be nice to your reseller and tell them you expect them to apply pressure to the company to honor the warranty. After all, they are truly Perfectoââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s customer, not you. Loosing your loyalty is more or less no concern to Perfectoââ"šÂ¬Ã‚¦loosing their retailers stings a bit.

 

[brian3]

I guess I am not getting it. What would a company like Perfecto have to prove if you don't have a receipt that you purchased a stand with their tank and the warranty states the difference in time periods? You need a receipt to prove you did not own the tank itself for 25 years anyway. For my tank the warranty was right on the tank along with it's size so you could not miss it unless you decided not to read it. Unless of course if the warranty somehow is illegal in the first place but we don't know that is the case.

 

[brian3]

I don't believe tie-in sales apply to this case because they are still giving you a warranty for the product regardless of the stand you use. They just decided to give you an extended one using their stand. JMHO.