Thule, Inc.

Review: I ordered a single 480-R foot from Thule in the first week of March. I was told the part would be shipped later that day,would take 7 days to arrive and that I could check back in a day or two to get a tracking number. I called two days later and was told the part hadn't been shipped. When I called the following week, I was told the same thing. I waited a few more days, then called back and was told the same thing AGAIN. At this point, I had already waited over seven days, so I spoke with a supervisor, Zack, about updating my shipping to One Day service instead. He said he would have to get back to me. He didn't, so I called the next day. He told me he could, and that it would be no charge. I called the next day to get a tracking number and was told the part hadn't been shipped yet. The following week, I played telephone tag with another rep, Melissa, who was eventually able to get me a tracking number. By this time, I had been waiting for the part for nearly three weeks. But the next day, when I checked the tracking # she gave me, there was no information available. I checked again the next day and had the same issue. By this point I was fed up with Thule, so I ordered a foot through ORSdirect.com and received the part from them the following day. Then, I called Thule to cancel my order. The only problem was, THAT'S when they shipped the part out to me (and charged me $62.00, which meant I paid $45.00 for the part PLUS the cost for next day shipping when they said the shipping would be free.) I received the foot I ordered from them on April 2nd. I refused the package, and monitored the part's journey from Rochester NH to Seymour, CT via UPS. On April 4th I called Thule to ask where my refund was. They said that, according to their shipping #, the part was still in Dover. I gave them the alternate # and they agreed the part was in the warehouse. A week ago, I called and had to give them the same information. It's now May 3rd, and I have been waiting for my refund for a month.

Product_Or_Service: Thule Rapid Traverse foot

Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Refund

All I really want is my $62.00 back. I have called and spoken with Melissa from Thule's customer service department repeatedly about this, and have basically been brushed off every time I call. I'm treated like a nuisance, and that's frustrating. I want my problems with this company to be made public because, while Thule designs and manufactures some great products, their customer service department is truly lacking in their ability to actually serve the customers who purchase these products.

Review: July 2009 I purchased two Thule [redacted] bicycle rooftop carriers. No assembly was possible due to no load carriers included in purchase. Aug 2010 getting ready for vacation by assembling the rooftop bike carriers I discovered the missing [redacted]. The parts inventory sheet and instructions shows qty.1 but each carrier requires 2. Thule Service Parts acknowledged the error and sent the part no charge. So we went on vacation without the bikes.August 2013 getting ready for vacation I opened the parts envelope containing the I-clamp received sent by Thule to find only 1 I-clamp, so the 2nd carrier is still missing its second I-clamp. I called Thule on a Monday to order the part with 2-day shipping. On Wed I called Thule to discover the part was back ordered. Thule parts guy confirmed 4 in-stock when he took the order. Thule advised call ###-###-#### to order the part. I did and with $50 overnight shipping the parts did not arrive on Thu and we left for vacation without bikes. June 2014, I discover the [redacted] on Adapter and the tamper proof screw ** are too short to span the top and bottom mounting clamps. June 27, 2014 email to Thule requesting 8 tamper proof ** screws an inch longer than the [redacted] at no charge. No response and we went on our July vacation without the bikes.August 17, 2014 I emailed Thule to send the parts to me at my cost and received no response. Nov 14, 2014 I spoke with [redacted] and was offered a 50% off my next purchase. I advised [redacted] that is not what I need and asked to escalate the matter. A Supervisor or Manager was to contact me but I heard nothing further.Dec 3, 2014 I sent a follow-up email to [redacted] advising I had no further contact from Thule.Desired Settlement: Return the two bike carriers to Thule and replace them with comparable priced Thule products. Im willing to video the carriers and send it to [redacted] or other for them to confirm the new/assembled condition.

Review: I had bought an item for use with an external car roof rack system to mount a kayak (Thule #[redacted]). After having the item for 2 1/2 years, the specialized coating on the fixtures fails and caused a rust issue that required me to shear the bolts off to remove the fixture. After sending in detailed pictures of the problem, and only asking for replacement parts- not a brand new fixture, I was denied the Lifetime Warranty because I did not have the original receipt.Desired Settlement: A replacement of the broken/stripped/de-laminated parts of the fixture.

Business

Response:

Hi:

We have reached out to the customer and settled dispute, should be all set.

thanks,

Review: I own 4 of the [redacted]. I love the product, but the rubber covered steel strap has worn at the ends that slip into the retaining collars. The collars actually cut the rubber cover over time exposing the steel core. I called to get replacement rubber covered steel bands and was told I would have to buy all new feet ($200). This must be a very bad joke. The [redacted] look like they just came out of the box. I just need the new straps. I sent numerous photos to Thule to just to show how well these have been maintained. I contacted Thule Customer Service several times, they asked if the product had been kept inside when not on the car and also requested original proof of purchase and original ownership, which I no longer have, but I indicated that I would be glad to photograph the assortment of racks and Thule roof carriers I own. I have been a very good customer of Thule. Note, the reason for the wear of the rubber around the cylinder is because of a design deficiency in the product. I am a design & process engineer and it is obvious that the steel half moon capture points cause the rubber on the cores to wear and be cut in very little time. I have attached a picture of that portion of the foot for Thule's reference. Please note, I'm not asking for warranty replacement of my four [redacted], I just need to be able to replace the rubber covered steel straps. I'm more than glad to work the issue with the company in Europe if that's what it takes. As a very good Thule customer, I don't feel I have been treated well in this process, and am disappointed by their support. I'm simply trying to buy four replacement straps. Note that these units have a limited life time warranty which Thule will not honor because of the lack of the original proof of purchase & ownership. My support incident number is [redacted].Desired Settlement: I simply need Thule to either allow me to purchase the replacement straps (which have to come from the parent company in Europe) or to honor their warranty for the product

Business

Response:

Thule will contact customer and work it it out, we will replace the product in question to settle dispute.