HK Apparition 2

[Peter A]

Hi Martin
A couple of pics to answer your questions.

20171129_165658.jpg20171129_165427.jpg

I gave the bottom of the hull a push and the battery trays began to pop off. It is no problem for me as I will strip out the inside and refit it out to suit what I want. The 4074 motor and it's mount will find a new home in my Whip 20. I have a OSE quick change mount coming and will be fitting a TP 4060 580kv motor running on 10S-12S. The aim of this boat for me is to run it as an endurance boat, so current draws of around 40-45 amps and a speed of 65-70kph are the goal for 20 min plus runs on 20000 mah batteries. The hook in the bottom I will push out and hold with strongbacks and double sided tape when I do an inlay.

[Old School]

The package has been returned to the wharehouse with signature on delivery to confirm receipt of goods. Tracking shows it as delivered this morning. Now just awaiting the outcome.

[Old School]

A week later after a visit to livechat early this morning to advise no action had been taken as yet, I received a phonecall advising that in all likelyhood the store would refund rather than replace the boat. It seems the hazing, cloudy appearance in the clearcoat is a result of interaction with the protective plastic packaging. The store person could not explain how the scratching damage and the multitude of handprints that were on the hull, or the bent shaft.

He had intended a replacement boat but it seems all their stock is similarly affected with the cloudy blotchy appearance in the clearcoating. My son was really wanting the craft so will be disappointed. I now await the final decision to refund me and wonder how long that will take.

[rol243]

maybe ask for a good discount then if you get this boat you just re paint it. remember its only cosmetic damage.

[Old School]

It would involve a fair amount of repair in getting rid of the scratches. The storesperson did say that he had success polishing the hazing with a gelcoat polish. A pity that I will not be getting the boat as it seems at the discounted price it was worth it just for the motors. It is now at full ret6ail so $100.00 more than I paid. The bent shaft was not an issue as the first mod would have been one piece flexshafts.

[Old School]

I have a response from HK warranty centre New York. They have approved a refund but due currency conversions and refusal to refund in store credit the return postage until I submit a receipt for the $32.95 Aud in return postage costs to the Australian wharehouse, I will be rather considerably out of pocket financially. The warranty refund to my PayPal account will take at least seven days and by the time PayPal clears the payment to my account it will be after Christmas before I can access the refund to get my son a Christmas present.

HK have done themselves no favours with this purchase and have certainly not fostered a desire in me to return to the store. Until now I have been quite a loyal customer. I had hoped the troubles one reads about online were ancient history but it seems the store has not learned how to deal amicably with customers when it is their fault. My purchase was a damaged product and a simple inspection instore would have saved me both money and aggravation.

[Bp9145]

That's just not right. I just recemtly had a bad experience with them. My son placed an order and told me about it but he ordered the kit instead of the RTR version and I called back 20min later and told them to cancel my order. They said it was too late because the order was already sent to the warehouse but they will try. Really, 20min and it was too late! ! ?? !@*$. Ok, so it was too late then why did it take 3 days before it even left their warehouse? The order didn't even ship until 4 days later. So I ordered the right version and even more stuff. So I was thinking of returning the kit but now after hearing your story, it looks like I'm stuck with it because then they will hit me with the $42 return shipping cost. .I've also had a pretty good experience with them until now. I can't believe they couldn't cancel my order after 20mins of ordering it. I told them I wasn't cancelling the purchase but only changing the items and they couldn't make it happen. I think they just don't care since they know people will always buy from them. Very disappointed with them this time around.

[Old School]

I have purchased five complete boats and two bare hulls plus three Turnigy ESC plus servos and batteries and until this purchase I was more than pleased. You can only tell how good customer service is when it is them refunding you money. The store has failed me. I could eventually get a store credit for the postage but it would take months of waiting plus I would have to send the post office receipt to Hong Kong so further expense on my part. The return package had the post office label on it and it showed what I paid plus the additional $2.95 for the signed on delivery to ensure they could not come back at me and claim they had not received it.

Edit: I have had a win of sorts. A complaint session on live chat and an email to the States and surprise, the refund has come through and has been cleared in my PayPal account. I can now put this sorry episode behind me.

[rol243]

well atleast they are refunding your postage , many companies specify in any returns the buyer is to pay for postage at his expense. so its just $32.95 thats all ? can,t even buy a box of beer for that. just take a pic of your post receipt and email it to them.

[Old School]

The store wants the original receipt before they will start processing any claim for a postage refund.

[Bp9145]

of course they do in hopes you don't have it or can't provide it somehow. . .another hurdle, hopefully only one

[rol243]

i made a claim some years ago with hobby king and they just asked for a pic of receipt and email is to them. why are you talking to u.s. hobby king store ? did you buy this hull in australia ?

[Old School]

The warranty emails are coming from New York. Several days ago the local (Australian) store rang me and told me they were just a wharehouse only and could not make business decisions, such as warranty claim settlement. All claims must go through head office. I presume the live chat person is in Hong Kong and that assistant told me this morning to send the receipt to them.

[Old School]

Well I know now that there is a Santa Claus. Out of the blue HK processed a store credit for the postage costs plus added an additional $10.00 in credit to spend. Tony, the warranty manager in New York was very helpful and has restored my loyalty to the store with his gracious attitude. I thank him and his staff for this positive outcome.

[rol243]

i thought all would work out fine in the long or should i say short run.