Echo Incorporated

Please understand that as the manufacturer, it is difficult for us to troubleshoot these types of problems over the phone. That is why we directed you to your local dealer who is able to inspect the product first hand. While we can appreciate your unfamiliarity with certain aspects of product (safety switch info which is on page of the manual and fuel info on page 16), the dealer is technically correct in that these are not warrantable items (the warranty statement on page explains that we warranty defects in material and workmanship, not maintenance items). Since we as the manufacturer did not inspect the product, we don’t have enough information to contradict the dealer’s findings (such as the condition of the fuel). Also, the dealer is an independent business and not a subsidiary of ECHO Inc. Therefore, any request for refund of your repair costs should be directed to *** *** ***. Nevertheless, considering all these factors, we are willing to offer you similar compensation in the form of our *** *** *** (2-year shelf life and $value) as well as our Rain Gutter accessory (reference *** on our website and $value). If you agree, please respond accordingly and we will ship direct to your address listed on this complaint. Thank you for your understanding

We've contacted the dealer who has agreed to inspect the unit again.? Waiting for customer to bring the unit back to the? dealer

According to the dealer (*** *** ***), the knob for the debris cover was not tightened all the way down.? There is a safety switch on the unit that prevents the unit from starting if the cover is? not secured properly with the knob.? Since all units are run at the factory, it is
presumed this knob was not tightened by the customer (and thus, not a warrantable defect).? Secondly, the unit had stale fuel (over days old).? *** *** *** installed fresh fuel & adjusted the carburetor (fresh fuel is the owner’s responsibility and carburetor adjustments are only covered under warranty within the first days of ownership).? The customer did not have a receipt but indicated the unit was 1½ years old.? These are the primary reasons the repairs were not covered under the limited warranty.?

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
? I accept the compensation that was offered by the business in restitution for the payment that was made.? ?
Sincerely,
Gabriel ***

We (ECHO Inc.) have spoken with the customer, Mr. [redacted], who agreed to take the blowers to our authorized dealer ([redacted]) for diagnosis.  [redacted] determined that one unit contained raw gas and one unit had only small traces of oil, not 50/1 fuel/oil mix as...

specified for 2-stroke engines.  This likely was the cause of the scored pistons & cylinders.  Mr. [redacted] stated the blowers were never able to start or run but he could not verify the purchase date or other usage information as these blowers were purchased by an ex-employee.  Normally, raw gas failures are not covered under the terms of the limited warranty; however, we have agreed to replace both blowers for Mr. [redacted] as goodwill.

Revdex.com: We are very pleased with Echo's response.  Although these units were not run by us with improper fuel, we appreciate the goodwill, and will closely monitor the fuel mixtures from now on.
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
 I accept the compensation that was offered by the business in restitution for the payment that was made.  
Sincerely,
Gabriel [redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/08/14) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted] - VP Service
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@echo-usa.com
Based on the manufacturing date of the unit, we've registered this unit for the customer (no receipt). However, our dealer...

has inspected the unit and determined that the issue was caused by stale fuel which is not a product defect and thus, not covered under warranty.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/08/17) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I was given the supplies exactly how they were to be mixed by Home Depot with the exact can of oil needed for 1 gallon of gasoline. It's not echo fault on their recommendations, but if any company is going to recommend products and the right way to use them they should be providing the correct information.

We’ve contacted the dealer ([redacted]) and they explained that the reason these repairs were not covered under warranty is due to the carburetor contained varnish internally.  This was most likely caused by stale fuel (over 30 days old).  The Operator’s Manual states not to use fuel more...

than 30 days old (90 days when a fuel stabilizer is used).    The Limited Warranty Statement in the Operator’s Manual also states that the warranty does not cover damage caused by (a) corrosion, rust, varnish, abrasives, and moisture as well as (b) incorrect storage procedures, stale fuel, including failure to provide or perform required maintenance services as prescribed in the operator's manual.   Unfortunately, fuel related issues are often not easily understood by the general public. ECHO Inc. as well as the Outdoor Power Equipment Industry (http://opei.org) are continually trying to educate consumers on this topic; please refer to this link on our website (http://www.echo-usa.com/Warranty/Learn-About-Ethanol) for further information.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/25) */
Contact Name and Title: Terry [redacted] - VP Service
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@echo-usa.com
The customer picked up the unit from our dealer and advised us he was taking the unit back to Home Depot so we are unable...

to respond further at this time.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:-----Original Message-----From: [redacted] [mailto:c[redacted][email protected]] Sent: Monday, December 12, 2016 5:18 PMTo: Customer Relations <[email protected]>Subject: Re: Waiting on resolution  Customer name(consumer) [redacted] complaint #[redacted] date filed 11-3-2016 echo corporation regarding a leaf blower under 5 yr. warranty which is only 3yrs old. Echo stated they would replace the part & I pay for labor,I do NOT want deans outdoor power equipment performing the labor,I simply want the part(carburetor) shipped to me @[redacted] st. Ne [redacted],Oh.[redacted] Sent from my iPhone
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:I saw the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted]. I took the unit to ECHO dealer "Five Stars Equipment Rental and Supply" for re-inspection and waiting for their update. The issue is not resolved yet.Sincerely, [redacted]

We've contacted the dealer who has agreed to inspect the unit again.  Waiting for customer to bring the unit back to the dealer.