Howdy all,

I've just about lost all faith in the majority of our suppliers.

As many of us know, a particular Control handset seems to have has an inherent problem where the display fades to a point where it becomes illegible.

When asked about this, they told me that it's fine to lodge an RMA for the affected unit (provided it's within warranty period, of course) and it will be replaced. Sounded simple.

However, there appears to be a few caveats.

The unit is only deemed to be faulty if it meets the following criteria:

-It is illegible at, and ONLY at full brightness.

-The light sensor that adjusts the brightness of the display has to be disabled.

-It is only deemed to be faulty if it is illegible on the "White" display setting, and no other.

This seems to go directly against our country's consumer laws regarding products and warranties. Why would it be acceptable to warrant a product that is sold with a set of features (Variable brightness, a wide selection of colours etc.), but then claim that the warranty only covers it under particular conditions outlined by the distributor?

I put all this aside for the time being and decided to proceed with the RMA because, well, I need to abide my MY agreement with MY customer.

I am then told that I have to actually pay the replacement cost up-front before they will release a replacement unit. Not that they will invoice me if the unit is deemed to not be faulty, but before they even start the process, I am supposed to pay the price for a replacement, to be later refunded at their discretion.

Is anybody else in the industry asking this when it comes to RMAs? Do suppliers in the US operate i the same method, or is it just over here in Australia?

Does this seem reasonable/unreasonable to any of you guys?

You might want to let Hank Eisengren know about this if it's a URC remote- he has posted here.

Edited.

Are you sure you're talking about the same control system?

Mayyyybe.

If it is the same control system that I'm thinking of, every one of them that we have sent in has been replaced without an issue. They all just had dim screens. On most of them, the screens were legible but just very dim.

The offending control system's parent company had changed the warranty to 3 years instead of 1.

Good luck.

Please use a brand name so we can respond knowledgeably.

U Really Can't expect him to do that, can you?

Yeah, what would I want to single-out one brand of control, four?

I has to be URC and like mentioned all of the ones I needed to replace with that issue were done with no problem and in the exact same manner.
I did not like paying up front either so after the first couple I somehow managed to have an extra 780 (which is all ive used) and I just kept moving forward with an extra unit I gave to each client moving forward.

Control 4

Do you have a rep who can run interference for you??

250 or 260?

The sr260 is the only one that can change colors. It is a very well documented issue.

Yup. SR-260.

Sorry for the initial cryptic introduction, but I didn't think the actual item/brand was as important as the issue. My intention is not for this to become a "brand-bash", but more to learn about what others are experiencing.

I should add, that due to my relative size in the industry, and turnover, I am only on a cash account with Control4 as a "sub-dealer", but they're happy to take my money so as far as I'm concerned, I'm a customer.

I should add, that I operate on cash-only with dozens of other suppliers and they never ask for pre-payment or any kind of security deposit before commencing with equipment change-overs. Strange indeed.

Now, on the topic of cash accounts, something ridiculous happened to me over the weekend.

Back in April I ordered a bunch of stuff for a job. Paid via CC over their portal, and received the stock in a timely fashion. Carried-out the job, got paid yadda yadda yadda.

Then, yesterday morning I woke up to find that my business transaction account (which I mainly use for shuffling money in and out of for purchases etc.), had been all but cleared out. A quick look and I discover that the transaction from back in April had only just been processed at their end, this week, 165 days after I ordered and seemingly paid for it via their online ordering portal.

Needless to say, due to me only having any serious money in that account when needed, I found myself in the red to the tune of about $500. Not mention that the actual transaction has occurred in a different financial year to the actual job.

I've managed to sort it out with my bank and there won't be any overdraw charges, but sheezus... ...who else does this? Insane.

(For those who are wondering, same mob.)

Kinda yes, Kinda no... ...it's complicated.

I'm technically only a "sub-dealer", so I operate under a larger business's account but carry my own projects/clients. I'm C4 certified etc., but not moving enough processors per annum to hold my own account with them after the shake-down of 2018.