Cloud-Rider Designs® Ltd.

On November 15th I emailed Cloud-Rider Designs (below) As of 12/5, no acknowledgement of my request has been received. -----------------------------Problem with Cloud-Rider Grill. -------------------------------------Hello,I am writing in regard to a problem with Cloud-Rider Grill that I purchased for a [redacted] Element, [redacted] The black coating on both the top and bottom grills is cracking and peeling off from the metal surface.Can you assist, thanks, [redacted]Desired SettlementRespond to request with replacement or refund.Business Response We did receive this past customer's email on Sunday November 15, 2015. The email was reviewed on Monday November 16, 2015 and was forwarded to the Customer Service department for follow-up. [redacted], in customer service did contact the customer via return email, on December 7, 2015 and did aplogize for the delay in responding.She did also inform the customer that according to the warranty stick number he provided ([redacted])our records indicate that this product was purchased 7 to 8 years ago.Our warranty, as published on our web site for this product, states that is comes with a Three (3) Year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty.[redacted] did inform the customer that his product was no longer under warranty. She did inform him that the black powder coat item had been replaced with black aluminum for the same vehicle.[redacted] informed the customer of the MSRP price of this new product and offered him a substantial discount if he wished to purchase this replacement. (excluding shipping & taxes) Since this date the customer has not responded to [redacted] or this office.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)Regardless of teh now stated warranty policy, Cloud-Rider's response (below) suggests that the product was defective in design and needed to be modified. Consequently, I cannot accept it as satisfactory[redacted]"We are now doing black screens in a black painted industrial aluminum. The retail price for a similar screen to what you have is $255.24, I could give you a new one for $154.93 plus shipping and taxes if applicable."Final Business Response Perhaps a bit more information would help this consumer to understand.We offer a pretty healthy 3 Year Limited Manufacturer's Warranty on our vehicle grill inserts, whether they are a bright Stainless finish or a black powder coat finish. This warranty is on any manufacturing defects that are out of the consumer's control. We pride ourselves on our product and our customer service. We always support the customer fully if the defect is, like I said, out of the consumers control.The finish on the product that this consumer purchased at least 7-8 years ago, was a black powder coat. After a product leaves us, we have no control over what happens to it. -Is the vehicle driving mainly on gravel roads and being pitted with rocks?-Is the consumer using a harsh chemical on the product?-When cleaning the product, is the consumer using a harsh wire brush to 'scrub' the product clean?-Is the product located near a chemical mine?-Has the product been damaged in any way?These factors and others are why we chose a decent 3 years for the consumer to let us know if there is a legitimate problem with what we sold him.If, after that time, a problem like the one described does arise, we are sorry, but we did not offer a Lifetime warranty on anything that could possibly arise with the product in the consumer's lifetime. Black powder coating on anything does not last forever. This is especially true if it is exposed to the elements.Now as to this consumer's assumption, in error, that the product was defective in design and needed to be modified. This is not the case. We have chosen, just recently to not offer our black powder coated product in favor of black aluminum for a variety of reasons.-The cost for us to produce the aluminum is less therefore the cost to our customers is less.-We do not powder coat in out facility, therefore with aluminum we do not have to send product out to achieve a black finish. This greatly reduces the time it takes to produce and ship to the consumer.This consumer seems to feel that the warranty policy is only 'just now' being stated. As the consumer did contact this office through our 20 year old web site where he found the email address; I think he also had ample opportunity to read our warranty policy for the product he purchased. All of that information is always available to the public. Failing that, we do have a published Toll Free 1-800 number for the public to call and receive all the help they need with any questions,in placing their order, or in asking to replace a legitimate warranty item.We feel that our offer to the consumer of almost 40% off a new product, 'after all these years' is more than fair and our wish has always been to come to a satisfactory resolution. Our offer to him still stands.