Hi all, reluctant to write a negative post but having given the person concerned every opportunity to do the right thing, I feel:

1) entitled to vent,

2) still hopeful of prompting an adequate response, and

3) obliged to warn others of the state of play.

Here's the story so far:

May 5th - a footstrap insert pulls out of 50fifty while simply popping to toeside. (Board is otherwise in excellent condition, never ridden with boots or run aground - a pretty easy life it's had, and within the three year warranty clearly described on Nobile's website.)

May 7th - the shop that sold it to me happily took pics and sent them to the Aus Nobile distributor, even though they no longer retail Nobile.

May and June - shop assures me that they've chased the warranty request several times with no response. They also let me know that this type of non-communication is a big part of why they no longer sell Nobile. They also lend me a used board to ride in the meantime.

21st August - I contact the Aus distributor directly via Seabreeze PM stating that unless I get a satisfactory response either directly or via my retailer, I'll write this sort of thing on seabreeze. He responds a day later asking for me to e-mail my details. I e-mail him, including my phone number.

2nd September - I e-mail again having received no response. I repeat that I'll resort to naming and shaming unless I get a response by the end of the week.

Well, that time has passed, so now you have all the information I do and may wish to adjust your board purchasing decisions accordingly.

I'm not interested in taking this to court - that would be a lose-lose situation for all but the lawyers. I'd much prefer that the distributor simply lift his game.

The performance of the 50fifty suits my riding style perfectly, and I'd like to keep riding one. I have (maybe a few years back) heard positive stories of warranty claims with Nobile, so maybe this is an anomaly that can be corrected ...

Hi djdojo,

Sucks about your board and the process you have had to go through however I would suggest that contacting a distributor with an ultimatum as a first point of contact isn't the right play. Appreciate you had already gone through your shop however not a good way to start a negotiation.

Warranty issues are always tough as there are legitimate ones (like what you have outlined) and also people doing the wrong thing.

Hope it works out

James

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djdojo said..


May 5th - a footstrap insert pulls out of 50fifty while simply popping to toeside. (Board is otherwise in excellent condition)

Why don't you repair the popped insert yourself ?

This thread is rubbish without pics.

I would say you have two options:
- Contact Nobile international
- Let him know you will contact ACCC (basically enforces Australian consumer laws), they should settle it easily..

" May 7th - the shop that sold it to me happily took pics and sent them to the Aus Nobile distributor, even though they no longer retail Nobile.
May and June - shop assures me that they've chased the warranty request several times with no response. They also let me know that this type of non-communication is a big part of why they no longer sell Nobile."



This is where kite shops can be dodgy. You bought it from them, not the manufacturer. The shops have no right "waiting to see what the distributor/agent will do". You are the customer of the shop. The shop is a customer of the distributor/agent.

No need to lawyer up, print out the suff below and go back to the shop. If you dont get a favourable response ring consumer protection and they will do the legwork for you.





You have the right to ask for a repair, replacement or refund under the Australian Consumer Law consumer guarantees for products and services bought on or after 1 January 2011.

The retailer who sold you the product or service cannot refuse to help you by sending you to the manufacturer or importer. You can approach the manufacturer or importer directly, however, you will only be entitled to recover costs from them, which include an amount for reduction in the product’s value and in some cases compensation for damages or loss. You cannot demand a repair, replacement or refund from the manufacturer.

www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/repair-replace-refund

Did you try to call the importer?
nobilekiteboarding.com/dealers.html

No issues with Nobile warranties here. I would be contacting your retailer again as it is their responsibility.
Many warranty delays are due to missing information.
Do you use boots?

Those inserts are a known weakness. I broke one and got two new ones under warranty (incase I break the other).

Kitepower nsw were awesome, no questions asked.

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BrisKites said..
No issues with Nobile warranties here. I would be contacting your retailer again as it is their responsibility.
Many warranty delays are due to missing information.
Do you use boots?

Yes contact the retailer. The warranty for Nobile has a 3 year warranty. Consumer protectioon stated a product must be fit for intended use. He pulled an insert out with a footstrap as stated, but if a board has boot inserts and they pull out, Consumer protection would argue it is not fit for its intended use.

Retailers get a margin for being a middle man and that comes with responsibility. The shop customer does NOT have to wait while the shop gets a warranty through the Australian distributor as they were separate transactions.

Dj, lots of time has passed, just insist on a full refund now and have the consumer protection number stored in your phone. Ring it in front of them if things dont go your way.
I did this with a delaminated board that was 3 months old and had the same issues as you did, 2 months passsed with no board. My money was then put in my account that day.

From experience, Nobile really don't give a toss. Been in touch with one of the owners in the past. Arrogant unhelpful type.
Good luck with it.

on the one hand, the shop giving you a board in the interim is why it makes sense to support local stores

good luck with getting a satisfactory outcome

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/ozone-Reo-2014/?page=1

Have you forgot how you frowned upon another user for using seabreeze to pursue a personal vendetta against a brand. Probably should just remove this thread you don't want to go down to this level do you ?

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PRAWNDOG said..
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/ozone-Reo-2014/?page=1

Have you forgot how you frowned upon another user for using seabreeze to pursue a personal vendetta against a brand. Probably should just remove this thread you don't want to go down to this level do you ?

Totally different issue there PRAWNDOG.

Just curious,

how does one pronounce this NOBILE name ?

Is it like 'No Bile' ?

or

Is it like 'knob ill eee' ?

Many constructive suggestions, thanks all.

Ideally the distributor will get in touch with the retailer and sort it with a replacement deck. If so I will be happy to publicise the outcome - good-will and face-saving all round.

Beyond that, here are some of my other thoughts so far:

Whilst recognising the retailer's ultimate legal responsibility as spelled out clearly in the above posts, there's also the reality that they may be between a rock and a hard place. As such there may be other options - more collaborative and less legalistic - that give me reasonable value without leaving a bitter taste for any of us.

Whilst it didn't last the guaranteed 3 years, I did have a moderate amount of use out of the board. A replacement from the manufacturer would be appropriate, but I wouldn't feel right about a full refund from the retailer (who did give me a good price to start with), whatever the law says.

One middle path solution may be for the retailer to give me a very good deal on a new board from a brand whose warranty process they can vouch for with more certainty.

I have an established relationship with the retailer. I have no relationship with the distributor or manufacturer. This human element does make a difference.

Ultimately it's a first world problem - trivial in the scheme of things, but if we in the first world show a bit more diligence and integrity on small and large scales, the rest of the world may have fewer third world problems too...

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waveslave said..
Just curious,

how does one pronounce this NOBILE name ?

Is it like 'No Bile' ?

or

Is it like 'knob ill eee' ?

Like NOBLE ? How many write noble, they might rename the brand.


Got similar experience with this 'noble' kite, never got around it and fixed it myself...Negotiated for like 1 year. Sent the kite back to the original shop in the UK since International Warranty was obviously crap. Didn't help either. Waste of money and effort.

Best of lucky djdojo, been there, done that = waste of time:(

This is where the good retailers show their worth and earn your loyalty. I recently put a warranty claim in for two broken lines with BrisKites. In this case I was unlikely to receive support from the manufacturer but Jas repaired them for me at no charge. I've since ordered a new bar, board and kite from him. So support your local and hopefully they will support you.

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djdojo said..
Hi all, reluctant to write a negative post but having given the person concerned every opportunity to do the right thing, I feel:

1) entitled to vent,

2) still hopeful of prompting an adequate response, and

3) obliged to warn others of the state of play.

Here's the story so far:

May 5th - a footstrap insert pulls out of 50fifty while simply popping to toeside. (Board is otherwise in excellent condition, never ridden with boots or run aground - a pretty easy life it's had, and within the three year warranty clearly described on Nobile's website.)

May 7th - the shop that sold it to me happily took pics and sent them to the Aus Nobile distributor, even though they no longer retail Nobile.

May and June - shop assures me that they've chased the warranty request several times with no response. They also let me know that this type of non-communication is a big part of why they no longer sell Nobile. They also lend me a used board to ride in the meantime.

21st August - I contact the Aus distributor directly via Seabreeze PM stating that unless I get a satisfactory response either directly or via my retailer, I'll write this sort of thing on seabreeze. He responds a day later asking for me to e-mail my details. I e-mail him, including my phone number.

2nd September - I e-mail again having received no response. I repeat that I'll resort to naming and shaming unless I get a response by the end of the week.

Well, that time has passed, so now you have all the information I do and may wish to adjust your board purchasing decisions accordingly.

I'm not interested in taking this to court - that would be a lose-lose situation for all but the lawyers. I'd much prefer that the distributor simply lift his game.

The performance of the 50fifty suits my riding style perfectly, and I'd like to keep riding one. I have (maybe a few years back) heard positive stories of warranty claims with Nobile, so maybe this is an anomaly that can be corrected ...

that sucks,, i ride a T5 and its been amazing. I bought it in 2011 so its probably out of warranty now anyways....

hope they come through for you,

There are sometimes a few grey areas when it comes to warranties. Sometimes it can also take a while for the information to get to those who need it. It is in your best interest to gather all the information first to make the process run smoothly.

Here is a list of things that will slow any warranty process-

- No proof of purchase or purchase date (even if the shop knows you bought it the manufacturer will want to see it)
- Not providing the serial number
- Lack of information supporting your claim, detailed pics etc.
- Purchasing goods overseas then claiming warranty through a store or distributor in Aus

PS- We have never seen a legitimate claim denied by Nobile here in our store and we have sold them since 2007.

^^^ Hello Briskites. The shop has all this information and assures me it's been sent to distributor. Board was purchased from this local shop.

If Nobile need even more information or pictures they should ask the shop in question and it will be done but several pics of serial number, damaged area and overall excellent condition of the board were supplied. The argument that there's a lack of information holds no water in this case.

If you happen to have privileged access to the powers that be at Nobile then a diplomatic word of encouragement ASAP would support their brand and yours.

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BrisKites said..
There are sometimes a few grey areas when it comes to warranties. Sometimes it can also take a while for the information to get to those who need it. It is in your best interest to gather all the information first to make the process run smoothly.

Here is a list of things that will slow any warranty process-

- No proof of purchase or purchase date (even if the shop knows you bought it the manufacturer will want to see it)
- Not providing the serial number
- Lack of information supporting your claim, detailed pics etc.
- Purchasing goods overseas then claiming warranty through a store or distributor in Aus

PS- We have never seen a legitimate claim denied by Nobile here in our store and we have sold them since 2007.

Hold on, is that the ONLY purpose of the International Warranty?

If this is not the purpose of it, could you explain what the International Warranty is than?

You buy an expensive watch, you service the same under the warranty anywhere in the world. That is my understanding of official distributors around the Planet.

No idea what you mean about an international warranty. What is an international warranty?
No mention of it on their website - nobilekiteboarding.com/warranty.html
The responsibility will always be with the store you purchased the item from, so yes you should be able to claim no matter where you purchased your item but you should contact the store you purchased it from even if it was in another country. I didn't say you can't try to process a claim in another country, just that it would slow the process.



djdojo, I wasn't specifically referring to your situation just putting up some tips for any warranty claim.

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TerryMcTool said...

PRAWNDOG said..
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/ozone-Reo-2014/?page=1

Have you forgot how you frowned upon another user for using seabreeze to pursue a personal vendetta against a brand. Probably should just remove this thread you don't want to go down to this level do you ?

Totally different issue there PRAWNDOG.

No different at all, different motives yes same intentions...... dj loro I mean dojo how old is the board exactly and do you think perhaps if you didn't threaten the guy but kept persisting through the shop to keep the communication channels open you might of got a better result ?

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PRAWNDOG said..

TerryMcTool said...

PRAWNDOG said..
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/ozone-Reo-2014/?page=1

Have you forgot how you frowned upon another user for using seabreeze to pursue a personal vendetta against a brand. Probably should just remove this thread you don't want to go down to this level do you ?

Totally different issue there PRAWNDOG.

No different at all, different motives yes same intentions...... dj loro I mean dojo how old is the board exactly and do you think perhaps if you didn't threaten the guy but kept persisting through the shop to keep the communication channels open you might of got a better result ?

Don't know anything about that old story you refer to and I am not really interested but

"you think perhaps if you didn't threaten the guy but kept persisting through the shop to keep the communication channels open you might of got a better result ?"
Seriously???

If the timeline of events is correct: claim in early May, still no response and threat to "escalate" in late August, how long does one have tolerate this type of behavior? Does one have to bend over as well to get your warranty claim at least looked at?

Unfortunately Mr Knob ill eee has a few problems treating customer's as an important part of his business. It's very amusing too read everyone's opinion, mostly from people with no experience with the guy. Having had a new board purchased from him and had it arrive missing a small fitting and after two months of chasing him for it and being told it's been sent... Bla Bla Bla... Left a bad taste in my mouth. Not a good way too promote the products you represent or the customer's who are your livelihood. Arrogant attitude and for some reason he thought he could treat me like a 12 yr old.

Thanks guys... I'll stay from Nobile

It could be interesting to see how this thread went on KF, even Mr NOBile might see it.