ComplaintsforFoil, Inc

• Initial Complaint

  06/04/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid ~$8K for a product approximately 1.5 years ago that I STILL CANNOT get to work. The Company has shipped me multiple replacement parts, including a new controller and now an entirely new battery and potentially even now a third controller. In addition, it took the Company over 9 months to ship me the carrying/travel case for the product. So $8K, 1.5 years, and I haven't even been able to use the product. Given all the issues, I am now close to losing the 2.0 year manufacturers warranty on parts. I want a full refund. This is borderline fraudulent.

  Business response

  06/15/2023

  This customer purchased his reservation on April 14th of 2022. This reservation was produced and shipped on April 16th. A month later, the customer reached out to the support department regarding the controller no longer was functional after an update. The repair was created on the June 1st and the customer was sent out a brand-new controller within 24 hours. Looking at the delivery confirmation, the brand-new controller arrived on June 9th. Since that date, the customer explained that he was unable to us this Foil board for the remainder of the year.
  
  During the confirmation of his reservation, our delivery specialist informed the customer that the carrying case was currently a preorder only item. Foil was waiting for the carrying bag to be produced and shipped for all customers that preordered that item. On October 12th, 2022, the fulfillment team was able to fulfill the customer's preorder for the carrying case.
  
  While we do understand it may not be possible to ride our Foils year-round, it is extremely crucial that the equipment does stay fully up to date on the battery and controller software versions in order to maintain optimal charge levels. As long as the customers check on their equipment periodically to ensure the updates are processed and the charge level is maintained around ~60%. This is highlighted in our owner's manual to ensure that the customers are taking the correct steps to ensure their equipment is ready for the water.
  
  On May 30th of 2023, the customer reached out to the support hotline indicating that they have not properly stored the battery in the off season. Because of this, their equipment needed to be brought back for inspection to see if our repair team will be able to recover the Foil battery. It was at this time, the customer began threatening the support employees and using defamatory language towards the repair guidelines the support team follows.
  
  Upon receiving the battery back at our location, our engineering team was able to open up the logs to see the charging data. This helps our team understand what caused this component to fail. Upon looking at the log, the customer last fully charged his battery on May 28th of 2022. In addition, the logs also pointed out that the battery was at a very low voltage on July 22nd, 2022. After that date, there were no additional logs. Because of that, all the components inside that battery were unable to be reused, and the pack was discarded.
  
  Due to the nature of the battery upon further inspection, we will not cover these types of failures with batteries under warranty, as this type of damage would be considered 'pack abuse'. Proper battery maintenance is clearly presented in the Product Manual, where the battery is to be stored at a 60% charge level over the period of non-use; batteries cannot be stored at low voltage levels for extended periods of time. Since this customer failed to follow those guidelines, we informed them that they would need to purchase a brand-new battery. We are still honoring the 2-year warranty they received back in April 2022. However, the damage the battery received was from neglect.
  
  Since informing the customer of the findings from ***************, the customer has launched this complaint, which is not including all the information attached to the repair. In total, the customer has only received one replacement controller and has never received an additional battery. Once the customer purchases a new ******************** battery, they will be able to fully use their Foil and the warranty would be reinstated on the new equipment. Lastly, all sales are final on all Foil watercraft. That information is also displayed on the website at getfoil.com/support. In addition, this information is read out to the customer before fully funding their reservation.

  Customer response

  06/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 20134768
  
  I am rejecting this response because I want a full refund for the unusable equipment. This is horrific and the company is misrepresenting the facts of our various exchanges, including the reference to an operations manual. I literally had to search the internet for ******* videos that demonstrated how to assemble and use the unit (it came in a damaged box with no instructions). Clearly the company has had similar complaints given its canned response from their legal department to my concerns. Someone from consumer protection should do a deep investigation into this company's practices and policies. In my opinion this Company is engaging in fraudulent activities. What proper business does not refund unusable products and fully honor warranties. They have picked my pocket for $8K and are now trying to do so again for an additional $4K. I'm confident there are many other victims here. This is not a cheap piece of machinery. For this price, the equipment should work (mine never has), and if not, it should be replaced or returned. 

  The company should take back the inoperable machinery and issue me a full refund, full stop. 

   

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