Galileo Sol Warranty **BEWARE**

[Splash-X]

CA as in Canada or California?

 

[redacted]

CA as in Canada or California?

California

 

[Splash-X]

When that happened to you did you ask for the name and phone number of your regional Scubapro Rep? Or when you talked to the Scubapro Service Center did you ask to speak to a manager regarding the warranty and your treatment?

Allowing dealers to give you the brush off is part of the problem. If there is a warranty on your item, start making phone calls to the people you need to so you can be covered under the warranty you are entitled to.

The more you complain to Scubapro about a dealer the more likely they are to get their status as a dealer pulled. I know you said the service center didn't care who the shop was but in my opinion you should have gone up the chain. Take then name of the person and the department they work in and ask to speak to their supervisior or ask for a customer service phone number.

I have yet to experience any issues with Scubapro myself or any of the dealers in my area but thats not to say other people haven't had pleasnat experiences (you included).

 

[TheMadDane]

Here is what it comes down to, authorized dealers don't touch the computers. There is nothing they can service other than changing the battery on some units.

The OP contacted Scubapro directly and NOT his LDS. Scubapro Europe (where his purchase is registered) requested that he send in his unit to them for service.

No one REFUSED to service the equipment, regardless of warranty it has to go direct to Scubapro. Had this been a regulator, a simple trip to the LDS would have been fine under the warranty. Scubapro did request that the OP send them the computer so they could service it.

Why Scubapro didn't suggest he take it to a LDS where they could send it to Scubapro USA who would then ship it to Scubapro Europe... who would then fix it and send it back to Scubapro USA who would then send it to the LDS is beyond me

I mean, what is another 2 weeks or more worth of shipping right?

I see now what I missed in the original post. The OP contacted Scubapro directly instead of taking it to the nearest authorized dealer. FWIW, Scubapro's FAQ section states that Scubapro won't except any equipment for warranty work directly from the consumer. It has to come from an authorized dealer. The Warranty on the other hand states that for warranty work you need to deliver it to a authorized dealer, Scubapro service center, or Scubapro factory. Given what Scubapro's own Warranty and FAQ page states (in very conflicting ways), I wonder if the OP had taken it to the nearest authorized dealer (excluding dealers that wouldn't deal with you because you didn't buy it from them,) and not contacted Scubapro directly, would the outcome had been different (I read your earlier post touching on this)? This isn't a jab at the OP, just curiosity. Then again the OP may have just gotten a person on the phone at Scubapro that didn't know squat. I don't know, any way you slice it, Scubapro could've done a much better job dealing with this and making their own Warranty terms a lot clearer.

This worries me because my wife dives Scubapro (Sol, S600t/Mk25t) and I would hate to be out of the country and have Scubapro Wherever not want to work on it under warranty just because it wasn't bought in that country.

I have a feeling that a regulator is going to be a completly different story since those items are servicable by a LDS. My point was that the computer, regardless of which LDS you take it to, goes back to the manufacturer.

The "global limited lifetime warranty" (see #9 on the FAQ page) indicated that the global warranty only applies to certain items, like a regulator.

I would expect any Scubapro USA LDS to refuse warranty service on any piece of gear that came from a non-USA distribution channel.

Look at: FAQs - SCUBAPRO-UWATEC

Items 9 and 10 apply to warranty on items purchased outside of the USA that need to be serviced here. The catch is I bet you will need to provide a receipt from an Authorized Dealer or have registered the product with Scubapro (any country).

I saw that. Unfortunately, that has absolutely no power over independent LDSs that happen to be Scubapro dealers. I even had a dealer refuse to perform a CPSC recall service. The Scubapro service center in CA wanted me to send the reg to them for the service. They were not even interested in the identity of the shop.

EDIT: Actually, he did not refuse to perform the service. He just refused to perform it for free as called for in the recall notice.

Actually, i did take it to my Local Dive Shop, where I have a great rapport with the owner, who I have dived with in the past. He helped me out with a defunct Air-X getting me a Brand New Air-Z for $375.00. He could do nothing about the Galileo, "They won't touch it" end quote.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

That just puts Uwatec/Scubapro/Johnson Outdoors in an even worse light. Misrepresenting their warranty like that is just pathetic. It is disingenuous to tell people that they're covered "locally" with foreign purchases from authorized dealers on their website. And then come back with "well, not for that item. That item you'll have to send back to the country of origin." I know Johnson Outdoors is having financial difficulties, so I can only hope that this isn't some creative way to keep warranty expenses off of their U.S. books.

 

[doctock993]

So now I'm confused.
Even thought the Scubapro website states specifically that as long as the product is purchased from an authorized dealer, they will provide warranty work locally.

Is scubastore.com not an AD? They state specifically "Uwatec Authorized Dealer Full manufacturer warranty".

Also, they seem to be the only one with the Sol in stock right now. Even if I wanted to buy one from my LDS I cannot.

 

[Splash-X]

So now I'm confused.
Even thought the Scubapro website states specifically that as long as the product is purchased from an authorized dealer, they will provide warranty work locally.

Is scubastore.com not an AD? They state specifically "Uwatec Authorized Dealer Full manufacturer warranty".

Also, they seem to be the only one with the Sol in stock right now. Even if I wanted to buy one from my LDS I cannot.

You're reading the terms for the US arm of Scubapro. They are stating that if you purchased the item from a Scubapro USA authorized dealer you are granted those benifits.


The OP is not bound by the Scubapro US terms. He is bound by the Scubapro Europe terms due to the fact that he bought from an online store in Europe that is an authorized dealer. According to the terms of HIS agreement:

FAQs - SCUBAPRO-UWATEC

#11 - Can I get warranty / service for products bought through internet websites?

In Europe yes, however only if you purchased your product from an internet website which is an Authorized Dealer.

 

[FishOutUvH2O]

It seems that what Scubapro is saying is that if you were to physically walk into an authorized dealer in another country and purchase a product, that product would be covered under warranty in the U.S. But since it was a foreign online purchase, only the warranty in effect in the country of purchase applies.

I can understand wanting to "level the playing field" for U.S. retailers, but punishing the consumer for a political decision (i.e. the EU felt it was anti-consumer to not allow internet sales, while the U.S. doesn't) is just asinine.

 

[Splash-X]

Why should a brick and mortar store pickup the cost for performing service on items that were purchased from an online store? If a consumer purchased from an online store in Europe and has the item shipped to the US why shouldn't the buyer send the item back to where they bought it from to have it serviced? There is great overhead in operating a store and that is part of the price that is the markup on dive gear purchased at your LDS.

Why Europe allows online sales and the US arm does not is a question for Scubapro.


I think one important point has been lost in this entire thread. That is, NO LDS WILL PERFORM SERVICE ON THE GALILEO SOL, no matter how you spin it the computer has to go back to the manufactuer.

You simply can not compare how a LDS would treat a regulator under warranty vs a computer. Thats apples to oranges. The GLOBAL warranty the Scubapro site talks about specifies that it is only for regulators and fins, not computers.

I'm failing to see why everyone is crying that you have to :GASP: send the computer in for service. WHO CARES, either way, it's going back to the manufacturer to get services. Scubapro is standing behind their warranty. What is the big deal? It isn't like the LDS was going to be able to fix it.

The only issue I see here is the OP paying for the shipping vs the LDS paying the bill. IMO, having saved $500 - $700 on the orginal purchase and spending $50 IF anything goes wrong to get it serviced is well worth it. I don't mean any disrespect to the OP by any means.

Now, if you bought a regulator with world wide warranty and they wanted you to send it in to Europe yearly to get serviced, there is a problem with that. Difference is, the LDS performs the service on site and sends in for reimbursment from Scubapro.

See how a regulator is different from a computer?

 

[Brian Sharpe]

More and more shops are adopting an attitude of "didn't buy it from us, we won't service it; you want our service, then support us by purchasing it here".

What is becoming more obvious to me by the moment is that many LDS operators don't understand the most basic concepts of marketing.

Don't they realize that when you bring your gear in for servicing you are supporting them? It's also an opportunity for them to earn your future business. I hate to say it but businesses run that badly deserve to fail.