Dear friend and fellow spearman,
A WARNING & A REQUEST FOR YOUR HELP
As some of you know, I'm an ex-pat living in Thailand for the past few years.
In October 2008, I purchased a 1.3m Nemesis Rail gun direct from the manufacturer, Pelaj in Australia. After around one month, this brand new gun became impossible to load and extremely dangerous to use – simply, the first band would load ok, but when any attempt was made to load the second band, the spear would discharge immediately once the wishbone was engaged and my grip on the bands was released, even when the safety catch was ON!.... Just think about that!
In December 2008, I received a replacement trigger mechanism from Pelaj, under warranty and they assured me that this was a '1-in-a-million fault/occurrence.' Everything was fine for the first 3 weeks, until I suffered the exact same defect with the replacement mech. - I had just resumed my confidence in this product, when the recoil caught me unawares the first time this problem re-occurred. As a result, I sustained a very nasty bruise to the base of my throat. Considering I was in 20m of water, this could have been a lot worse!
I immediately notified Pelaj, who offered another replacement mech., together with an additional ‘free’ gun of equivalent value; Very generous and an exceptional 'good will' gesture you might think!? Yep, I thought so too and I accepted this offer. Heck! I even parted with another AU$229 (around £105) to upgrade the 'free' gun and order an extra item from them to boot!
After a considerable amount of emails and phone calls during January and February, chasing this order, which still hadn’t arrived by March 2nd, I had finally had enough. I figured it would be better to buy another brand that I could have complete 100% confidence in, than own 2 Pelaj guns that I did not. I notified Pelaj that I would return the Nemesis and wished to cancel my existing order. They agreed to "promptly" refund the AU$229 for the upgrade/extra item, the original purchase amount and the delivery charged when purchased - I agreed to waive my costs (not an insignificant sum at £60!) to return it from Thailand to Australia, in an attempt to be fair.
I telephoned Pelaj on April 2nd and spoke with the owner, Michael McCallum, who confirmed they had received the gun and further commented “I can understand why you returned it” ...Not only was the product dangerous to use, but the protective finishes on both the barrel and the spear had begun to deteriorate after only a few weeks of use. Again, I was assured that a refund to my credit card would be forthcoming soonest.
Sad to say, since then I have been presented with some pretty lame excuses and delaying obstacles as to why they cannot issue my refund. Such as, my credit card cannot be authorised for a refund on their system (I have since supplied an alternative credit card number!) and the old... "our accounts lady is on leave, she will arrange the refund as soon as she gets back" (seriously, he said that!) and "can you supply the original invoice?" despite enclosing a copy when I returned the gun!
Like you, I have worked hard for my money and feel when I purchase something, ANYTHING AT ALL, it should be 'fit' for the purpose for which it was designed. If not, give me my money back. Am I being unfair or unreasonable in my expectations?
At the time of this post, my emails are now being ignored and phone attempts to speak to the 'man in charge?' have been in vain. I am still out-of-pocket AU$788 (that’s around £384 or 4'860 ZAR or US$565 or 427 Euros) Remember, I have never received the upgraded free? gun, the extra item, or the refund for £105 charged!
Naturally, I feel very disappointed and frustrated, to put it mildly.
I felt obliged to share my experiences with this company and it's products, as I sincerely do not want any other spearo, friend or otherwise, to find themselves in the position I am now in.
Please draw attention to this post to any and all of the spearos you know.
I AM a realist; I'm fully aware that everyone in Manufacturing has problems from time to time. Anyone who says different, isn't in Manufacturing! BUT... when things do go wrong, then it is said company's duty to make amends to their customers, and to be honourable about it too. Appalling after-sales service like this just isn't good for the sport we all love :naughty
If you agree, please take the time to express your feelings and send an email Mr. McCallum. Perhaps you could ask him why Pelaj do not stand by their products when all their marketing declares they do. Ask him why they do not honour their guarantees when all their advertising says they do. Most of all, ask him where my refund is, I would like and deserve my money back. You can reach him at:
mmccallum@aquastralis.com
service@pelaj.com
Thank you. I really appreciate it. Who knows, maybe your email(s) will prick this guy's conscience and finally, I might get the money back for which I am rightly due.
With warmest regards,
Charlie
A WARNING & A REQUEST FOR YOUR HELP
As some of you know, I'm an ex-pat living in Thailand for the past few years.
In October 2008, I purchased a 1.3m Nemesis Rail gun direct from the manufacturer, Pelaj in Australia. After around one month, this brand new gun became impossible to load and extremely dangerous to use – simply, the first band would load ok, but when any attempt was made to load the second band, the spear would discharge immediately once the wishbone was engaged and my grip on the bands was released, even when the safety catch was ON!.... Just think about that!
In December 2008, I received a replacement trigger mechanism from Pelaj, under warranty and they assured me that this was a '1-in-a-million fault/occurrence.' Everything was fine for the first 3 weeks, until I suffered the exact same defect with the replacement mech. - I had just resumed my confidence in this product, when the recoil caught me unawares the first time this problem re-occurred. As a result, I sustained a very nasty bruise to the base of my throat. Considering I was in 20m of water, this could have been a lot worse!
I immediately notified Pelaj, who offered another replacement mech., together with an additional ‘free’ gun of equivalent value; Very generous and an exceptional 'good will' gesture you might think!? Yep, I thought so too and I accepted this offer. Heck! I even parted with another AU$229 (around £105) to upgrade the 'free' gun and order an extra item from them to boot!
After a considerable amount of emails and phone calls during January and February, chasing this order, which still hadn’t arrived by March 2nd, I had finally had enough. I figured it would be better to buy another brand that I could have complete 100% confidence in, than own 2 Pelaj guns that I did not. I notified Pelaj that I would return the Nemesis and wished to cancel my existing order. They agreed to "promptly" refund the AU$229 for the upgrade/extra item, the original purchase amount and the delivery charged when purchased - I agreed to waive my costs (not an insignificant sum at £60!) to return it from Thailand to Australia, in an attempt to be fair.
I telephoned Pelaj on April 2nd and spoke with the owner, Michael McCallum, who confirmed they had received the gun and further commented “I can understand why you returned it” ...Not only was the product dangerous to use, but the protective finishes on both the barrel and the spear had begun to deteriorate after only a few weeks of use. Again, I was assured that a refund to my credit card would be forthcoming soonest.
Sad to say, since then I have been presented with some pretty lame excuses and delaying obstacles as to why they cannot issue my refund. Such as, my credit card cannot be authorised for a refund on their system (I have since supplied an alternative credit card number!) and the old... "our accounts lady is on leave, she will arrange the refund as soon as she gets back" (seriously, he said that!) and "can you supply the original invoice?" despite enclosing a copy when I returned the gun!
Like you, I have worked hard for my money and feel when I purchase something, ANYTHING AT ALL, it should be 'fit' for the purpose for which it was designed. If not, give me my money back. Am I being unfair or unreasonable in my expectations?
At the time of this post, my emails are now being ignored and phone attempts to speak to the 'man in charge?' have been in vain. I am still out-of-pocket AU$788 (that’s around £384 or 4'860 ZAR or US$565 or 427 Euros) Remember, I have never received the upgraded free? gun, the extra item, or the refund for £105 charged!
Naturally, I feel very disappointed and frustrated, to put it mildly.
I felt obliged to share my experiences with this company and it's products, as I sincerely do not want any other spearo, friend or otherwise, to find themselves in the position I am now in.
Please draw attention to this post to any and all of the spearos you know.
I AM a realist; I'm fully aware that everyone in Manufacturing has problems from time to time. Anyone who says different, isn't in Manufacturing! BUT... when things do go wrong, then it is said company's duty to make amends to their customers, and to be honourable about it too. Appalling after-sales service like this just isn't good for the sport we all love :naughty
If you agree, please take the time to express your feelings and send an email Mr. McCallum. Perhaps you could ask him why Pelaj do not stand by their products when all their marketing declares they do. Ask him why they do not honour their guarantees when all their advertising says they do. Most of all, ask him where my refund is, I would like and deserve my money back. You can reach him at:
mmccallum@aquastralis.com
service@pelaj.com
Thank you. I really appreciate it. Who knows, maybe your email(s) will prick this guy's conscience and finally, I might get the money back for which I am rightly due.
With warmest regards,
Charlie
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