New Manticore Defective Out Of Box

[GB_Amateur]

1 hour ago, Steve Herschbach said:

They could not find my registration information in their system, even though I had provided the serial number and date I registered it online (3/5/24). Process stalled until I prove I'm under warranty. Luckily I kept a copy of the email confirming my registration so have sent a copy back to them. I also pointed out the detectors have only been made for a year and the warranty is three years.

'Disappointing' is too mild of a description for this.  I assume you are dealing with Minelab of the Americas.  But also presumably the data you uploaded went to an all-encompassing international (headquarters) database?

If ML keeps shooting themselves in the foot they soon won't have a leg to stand on....

[Steve Herschbach]

2 hours ago, GB_Amateur said:

'Disappointing' is too mild of a description for this.  I assume you are dealing with Minelab of the Americas.  But also presumably the data you uploaded went to an all-encompassing international (headquarters) database?

If ML keeps shooting themselves in the foot they soon won't have a leg to stand on....

It was registered online here https://register.minelab.com/index.html#/form/product

It appears maybe he looked for warranty under the email address I used to report the issue which was different than that used to register the detector. Or that's my guess anyway as to why he could not find it. That makes little sense though as all records should be by serial number as it is the product that is under warranty, not the owner. The same serial number would track claims under multiple owners assuming the product changed hands while under warranty. I did supply my serial number, name, address, and phone number in the orignal report so it should have been easy to find.

The good news is I got an answer back within the hour after sending my registration confirmation copy, along with an RMA number. I of course get to pay the shipping to send back the defective coil, always a happy feeling.

Coil shipped 4/26 USPS Ground 12"x12"x4" 1 lb 12 oz $9.99 expected delivery 4/30 to:

Minelab Americas Inc
3565 Butterfield Rd. Unit 121
Aurora, IL 60502

[Jeff McClendon]

2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The good news is I got an answer back within the hour after sending my registration confirmation copy, along with an RMA number. I of course get to pay the shipping to send back the defective coil, always a happy feeling.

Coil shipped 4/26 USPS Ground 12"x12"x4" 1 lb 12 oz $9.99 expected delivery 4/30 to:

Minelab Americas Inc
3565 Butterfield Rd. Unit 121
Aurora, IL 60502

I had to pay for shipping and insure my former GPX 6000 to get the speaker/EMI upgrade done under warranty. It definitely did not cost me $9.99!!!

I hope they get you a working 11" coil soon. Found more ridiculous coins at 11" deep today with my Manticore 11" coil in an aluminum trashed public park. These coins are from the time that the park was built and are very old for the Denver area. I am positive that the M8 would not have gotten anywhere near that depth in that park.

[RobNC]

That is a real 💩 sandwich. Defective coil and they make the customer pay. That isn't customer service. That's just slack. As big a company that Minelab is and with all their money they could have sent you a call tag/shipping label. I'm sure they would not have been on the hook for $9.99 it would have been much less since they do volume.

I also am not impressed with the "can't find your registration" game either. Obvious stall tactic. I always felt like when Jamie left Minelab it would be poop. Sure sounds to be the case. She was the best.

[Steve Herschbach]

1 hour ago, Jeff McClendon said:

I hope they get you a working 11" coil soon. Found more ridiculous coins at 11" deep today with my Manticore 11" coil in an aluminum trashed public park. These coins are from the time that the park was built and are very old for the Denver area. I am positive that the M8 would not have gotten anywhere near that depth in that park.

Yeah that was kind of the plan but I’ll just have to make do with what I have until I get a new coil. No point in getting upset over minor things and if this is the worst thing that happens to me this year I’ll count my blessings.

[Chase Goldman]

4 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

I of course get to pay the shipping to send back the defective coil

That is totally unacceptable for a DOA coil right out of the box.  I thought ML had a policy that if you have a failure within the the first 30 days with a detector/component, they will give you a pre-paid FEDEX return label and ship you out a new component upon receipt of the defective.  That is how my return went down when my brand new Equinox 900 had a broken Horseshoe button right out of box in December 2022.  They paid for me to ship it back and sent me a new detector upon receipt.  Maybe things have changed in just two years, maybe their policy had to do with the fact that the Nox 900 was a newly released detector at that time, or maybe it doesn't apply to coils.  Whatever the reason, it does not seem right despite the small shipping fee for the coil.

See my post below.

https://www.detectorprospector.com/topic/21284-update-on-nox-900-horseshoe-button-failure-and-a-surprise-on-pinpoint-function/?do=findComment&comment=226970

[Steve Herschbach]

My purchase date was 2/27 and registered 3/5 so over 30 days. Went unused due to poor weather until now. I did fire it up initially but with the 5x8 coil which works. Only found out yesterday the 11” coil is bad. 

[Chase Goldman]

31 minutes ago, Steve Herschbach said:

My purchase date was 2/27 and registered 3/5 so over 30 days. Went unused due to poor weather until now. I did fire it up initially but with the 5x8 coil which works. Only found out yesterday the 11’ coil is bad. 

Gotcha, so that 30 day thing even if it is a thing wouldn't apply in this case.  I will stop frothing at the mouth now.

[strick]

3 hours ago, Jeff McClendon said:

I had to pay for shipping and insure my former GPX 6000 to get the speaker/EMI upgrade done under warranty. It definitely did not cost me $9.99!!!

Sent my 6000 in twice to minelab paid myself both times..the first time was before they admitted to the speaker issue so that was a fake on them paid by me as it did nothing to fix the detector... the second time was the speaker fix so I at least got a detector that worked properly after that...before that all i could think of was to get rid of the dam thing. It's a great detector now. really love using it..

strick

[AirmetTango]

21 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

The good news is I got an answer back within the hour after sending my registration confirmation copy, along with an RMA number. I of course get to pay the shipping to send back the defective coil, always a happy feeling.

Sorry you had this issue right out of the box, Steve, but as you said, at least the machine itself and the coil you really wanted to use was fine. Ludicrous that you had to pay the shipping for a failure right out of the box on a brand new, obviously in-warranty item. The only time I ever dealt with Minelab Service was with my out-of-warranty EQ800 control pod - I didn’t complain about paying the shipping when I sent the control pod in because the warranty was expired. I didn’t realize that was just what Minelab expects! At least they didn’t charge me the shipping on the new pod when I bought it (although I’m sure it was factored into the cost)…I assume they won’t send you a bill for shipping you a replacement coil?!? 😉

 

17 hours ago, RobNC said:

That is a real 💩 sandwich. Defective coil and they make the customer pay. That isn't customer service. That's just slack. As big a company that Minelab is and with all their money they could have sent you a call tag/shipping label. I'm sure they would not have been on the hook for $9.99 it would have been much less since they do volume.

Agreed, Rob - except I’d make the case that it shouldn’t even matter whether they’re a big company or not…they should provide a shipping label and pay the cost on an out-of-box failure simply because it’s the right thing to do. I have a very small side business - it doesn’t happen often, but if ever I make a mistake or there is a problem with my product, I eat the cost of making sure I fix it to my customer’s satisfaction. It’s good karma as well as wise business, in my opinion. Mistakes and problems are going to happen - it’s how they get dealt with that speaks volumes about a person’s or company’s character.