Is Hardy customer service dead under the Pure Fishing banner?

[binka]

A few months ago, well after Pure Fishing acquired Hardy, I went to register a new Hardy coarse rod for warranty purposes on the Hardy Coarse Fishing site where I am registered with a profile and already had several other rods previously registered over a number of years earlier.

But…

The Hardy Coarse site had gone… Vanished, along with all of my registration and warranty details!

A phone call to Hardy confirmed that Pure Fishing wanted Greys to be the face of the Coarse Fishing side of things whilst the Hardy brand would focus purely on Game.

All good and well for them, but what about all of my registered rod details?

Well…

To my disappointment I was told that I would need to re-register them on the Greys site which, given the fact that you need date purchased and shop purchased from details, would be a bit of a task covering several rods over a number of years.

It would have been a simple IT task to transfer the details over on behalf of the customer, instead of inconveniencing the customer by asking such a thing of them.

Which brings me to the present and I need to make a warranty claim on the reel seat of my first ever Hardy which I bought about five years ago from Walkers of Trowell…



I contacted Hardy through the existing Hardy site, giving them details of the rod along with where it was purchased and the fiasco regarding the missing registration/warranty details which Hardy had removed and I was asked to send the rod, along with a copy of the purchase receipt, to them.

I have since replied explaining that it is unlikely that I will still have the receipt from five years ago, especially as the rod was registered within hours of purchase on the now missing Hardy Coarse site including the date and shop purchased from.

I have asked Hardy to confirm that the lack of a missing copy receipt will not cause a problem before I go to the trouble and expense of packaging the rod and returning it via recorded delivery, particularly as it was Hardy that removed all their Coarse customer’s registration details, but I am yet to receive a reply.

I have a bad feeling about it all.

I’ve dealt with Hardy customer services before Pure Fishing took over and it was never like this.

In one way it feels to me like an attempt to distance themselves from their warranty obligations on the Hardy coarse rods and who can blame me considering?

If this does transpire to be the way then I will obviously be giving Greys a large swerve in future along with any other brands associated with Pure Fishing.

We’ll see…

 

[sam vimes]

If it's any consolation, I dealt with Hardy/Greys prior to Pure Fishing buying them. I've also dealt with them after the takeover. I got far better service from Pure Fishing than I did from the original Hardy/Greys. However, it was only shortly after the buy out. I understand that things have changed drastically since then.

I can understand the frustration with regards to the registration details, I'll bet I'm in the same boat. It should have been easy enough for them to keep the database in some form.

 

[thecrow]

I have never owned tackle that needed registering on a website for the warranty but if hardy's have been taken over by Pure fishing (their customer service sound like pure gatherers ........ google it) then surely they will have a legal obligation to honour all the outstanding warranties that were registered with Hardy's. If they have chosen to get rid of all the records showing what was registered by whom and when that's not the customers fault, I think I would be contacting Trading Standards for some advice on where I stand.

 

[Keith M]

Well bang goes any trust and reputation that Hardy and Greys has built up in the past.

I have 6 Greys rods and two Hardy rods that I bought before Pure Fishing took over but I don't think I will ever buy another new rod from them unless they get their house in order which I very much doubt.

If anyone from Pure Fishing gets to read this "WAKE UP" and get your house in order or you'll be committing suicide very quickly.

Keith

 

[robtherake]

I have never owned tackle that needed registering on a website for the warranty but if hardy's have been taken over by Pure fishing (their customer service sound like pure gatherers ........ google it) then surely they will have a legal obligation to honour all the outstanding warranties that were registered with Hardy's. If they have chosen to get rid of all the records showing what was registered by whom and when that's not the customers fault, I think I would be contacting Trading Standards for some advice on where I stand.

I did, and was tickled by what I found. As an aside, it came from this page, which lists the names of old professions (and by association, where a lot of unusual surnames originate) including the Pykemonger, who dealt in pike and other freshwater fish.

Old Occupations - P

 

[flightliner]

A friend purchased a more than expensive car which for some reason or other needed a minor job doing on it after its warrenty had expired. He took it into the service centre of the main dealer who told him therewould be a £20 fee for the courtesy car.
He was a little incensed as having spent £48000 on the car he rather expected the loan car to be free of charge so walked out and took the car to another main dealer in the city who did the job and made him free use of a loan car.
A few days later the original seller contacted my friend asking if everything was ok--------- it beggers belief.
Long and short Steve you deserve exactly the same as my friend who like yourself as been an ardent buyer of a quality item , he wont touch the original seller at any cost now who has lost a big spender and will lose out financially--- all for a miserly £20.
If you get no satisfaction the next time you go down the M1 to buy a rod dont turn right , hang a left instead and head to Hucknall.

 

[S-Kippy]

I suspect they worked out who you were, Steve. There's probably an " in the event of a good Binkering the warranty is invalid" clause somewhere.

I've had superb after sales service from Hardy in the past. I'll just have to take good care of my babies from now on. Quite worrying this.......you'd expect better.

 

[tigger]

Steve, I think you might be as well finding a god rod builder and get a fuji seat fitted (unless the cork peice can be re-attatched ok).
The seat on the marksman rods is the only thing I don't like.

 

[binka]

The plot thickens!

I have had a reply from Hardy confirming what I already knew, namely that my rod is registered along with confirmation that new butt sections are in stock... At a cost of £50!

Erm... I don't think so.

I've replied and reminded Hardy that this is a warranty claim so we'll see what they come back with this time.

It really shouldn't have to be this difficult hno:

 

[tigger]

Sounds about right Steve, going off what I remember about their guarantee at least. I think they always wanted money for a replacement section even with the cover of the guarantee. As far as I remember you have to send them your damaged section chopped up into 6inch peices, must be checking you've really broken it and your not just trying to get a free section...lol at the free!

By the way Steve, how can you find out if your rod is registerd as (I only registerd a coupleof mine) I never got any comformation of registering them when I did so?

 

[binka]

Sounds about right Steve, going off what I remember about their guarantee at least. I think they always wanted money for a replacement section even with the cover of the guarantee. As far as I remember you have to send them your damaged section chopped up into 6inch peices, must be checking you've really broken it and your not just trying to get a free section...lol at the free!

By the way Steve, how can you find out if your rod is registerd as (I only registerd a coupleof mine) I never got any comformation of registering them when I did so?

You're right.

The £50 is a fee that applies to all rods over twelve months old... Some warranty eh?

I have to say I'm very disappointed and have declined Hardy's offer to replace the section at that cost, it might be cheap on the face of it but I disagree on principle.

As far as I'm concerned a warranty is a warranty and I shouldn't be penalised financially for a part on their product that wasn't up to the job, end of.

As far as finding out if your rods are registered Ian, I reckon the only way is to contact Hardy but don't expect an express reply.

Very disappointed indeed

I don't even know why Hardy are talking about replacing the entire butt section when it's just one of the collars on the reel seat that has come adrift?

 

[sam vimes]

Hardy/Greys lifetime guarantee has always been the same. You are effectively buying replacement sections at cost. I can understand your disappointment and irritation if you didn't realise that this was the case. However, I can't quite understand why you would decline the offer. Unless you get very lucky on the secondary market, a replacement section is going to cost you more than Hardy want. If you end up with an unusable rod, it'll be a bad case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

I've also got the sneaking suspicion that you could be fortunate that they have the section. An awful lot of Hardy spares have been offered for sale since Pure Fishing came on the scene. I'd guess that Pure Fishing won't be using the old (failed) Hardy/Greys business model that saw them retain spares for years and years. You can't really blame them, it may be a nostalgic throwback, but it's hardly the modern way.

 

[greenie62]

......I don't even know why Hardy are talking about replacing the entire butt section when it's just one of the collars on the reel seat that has come adrift?

Perhaps because it's more economical to replace the whole section than to try and effect a repair on the collar?
Don't forget you are now talking to a company whose business acumen has seen them take-over a company whose business acumen saw them going out of business!

I sympathise with you Binka - but I tend to agree with Sam that you'd be daft to refuse the £50 offer for the new butt. After all - what's the rest of the rod worth without it? mg:

 

[tigger]

You're right.
I don't even know why Hardy are talking about replacing the entire butt section when it's just one of the collars on the reel seat that has come adrift?

Even if had only been a broken guide they would want to replace the whole section !

It looks like you've got two choices....have the handle repaired yourself at a cost of ?
Or buy the new section from hardys, I think i'd probably (begrugingly) get the new section from hardys.

 

[Richard Jamieson 2]

The plot thickens!

I have had a reply from Hardy confirming what I already knew, namely that my rod is registered along with confirmation that new butt sections are in stock... At a cost of £50!

Erm... I don't think so.

I've replied and reminded Hardy that this is a warranty claim so we'll see what they come back with this time.
B
It really shouldn't have to be this difficult hno:

That's not unusual. Hardy/Greys have been charging £50.00 for replacement sections under their warranty for years now. You're lucky they've actually got the section in stock. The last claim I made for a broken tip section on a fly rod, I was informed that as the rod was out of production it was also exempt from the lifetime warranty (lifetime by them being defined as the production life of the product) but that they'd sell me the replacement model at half price which in this particular case was going to be £185.00. Struggling to contain myself, I was eventually put through to somebody in a position of authority and after some verbals eventually ended up paying £50.00 for the replacement rod. It wasn't a pleasant experience and is, to date, the last dealings I've had with that company.

 

[binka]

I understand fully what everyone is saying but Hardy can still go and stick it as far as I'm concerned.

The point Greenie mentioned about it being more expensive to strip off and replace the problem reel seat is spot on but that's Hardy's problem, not mine.

If I'm going to pay that sort of money I would rather take it to an independent and just have the reel seat replaced, I certainly don't want a new butt section any more than I need one.

Ok, so I missed the bit about the fifty quid excess on the warranty card but it wouldn't have altered my opinion of their so called "Lifetime Warranty" if I hadn't.

Let's say a thirteen month old rod has a ring liner out and needs a replacement eye, is it really reasonable to expect to pay fifty quid plus the cost of getting the rod to them?

I've got a five year warranty on my car but if I took it in tomorrow, or any time over the next four years, the dealer wouldn't be asking me to finance the replacement parts and/or cost of repair.

Not having it, end of, Hardy can go and ffff... fig themselves, I'd rather roll my money up and poke it in a dog turd!

Not taking anything away from their products of the past, and the service which went with it, it does seem odd to now have Hardy & Greys sitting in the corner of shame beside TFG on my steer clear list.

 

[tigger]

I understand fully what everyone is saying but Hardy can still go and stick it as far as I'm concerned.

The point Greenie mentioned about it being more expensive to strip off and replace the problem reel seat is spot on but that's Hardy's problem, not mine.

If I'm going to pay that sort of money I would rather take it to an independent and just have the reel seat replaced, I certainly don't want a new butt section any more than I need one.

Ok, so I missed the bit about the fifty quid excess on the warranty card but it wouldn't have altered my opinion of their so called "Lifetime Warranty" if I hadn't.

Let's say a thirteen month old rod has a ring liner out and needs a replacement eye, is it really reasonable to expect to pay fifty quid plus the cost of getting the rod to them?

I've got a five year warranty on my car but if I took it in tomorrow, or any time over the next four years, the dealer wouldn't be asking me to finance the replacement parts and/or cost of repair.

Not having it, end of, Hardy can go and ffff... fig themselves, I'd rather roll my money up and poke it in a dog turd!

Lol Steve....I like your style :w

I've always said their guarantee is a crock of shyte, which it is.

I doubt it but you never know they might get back to you and do the right thing!

 

[binka]

I was informed that as the rod was out of production it was also exempt from the lifetime warranty (lifetime by them being defined as the production life of the product)

More loopholes than an election manifesto!

Ian, i'll just use the rod as it is until I kill it I think... It just means putting the reel collar over the reel seat by hand and screwing down onto it as opposed to it all being as one.

Still not happy though...

 

[sagalout]

I'd rather roll my money up and poke it in a dog turd!

If you send me the £50 you ain't sending to Hardys and another £50 for the registration process I will stick the £50 Hardys wanted into a dog turd for you thus saving you the trouble and you will have a lifetime service of sticking money into dog turds totally free of charge (except the £25 turd finding fee)

 

[tigger]

More loopholes than an election manifesto!

Ian, i'll just use the rod as it is until I kill it I think... It just means putting the reel collar over the reel seat by hand and screwing down onto it as opposed to it all being as one.

Still not happy though...

I'm sure that little peice of cork is only glued on so it may well be easy enough to just re-glue it ?
Thinkin' about it i'm sure a rod builder told me (when I was chatting with him about having him make me a rod) that it's better to have that little bit in duplon as it sticks/glues better than cork and that cork often comes off.

I wonder why it happend Steve.....just overtightening....binkerd maybe :w