Hi to everyone,
I'm new here and have already learnt alot from the posts of your generosity. Thanks
I have a question i would like to ask:
Yesterday i went to Mister fish and bought two Shimano reels for spinning. I was surprised to learn that these are not covered by any warranty. The helpfull salesman there, promised me he will speak to josef about this. Under the E.U law, as far as i am concerned, any product that is sold by anyone that has a trader's licence must give a 2 year warranty on every product they sell. Having bought another reel also from the same outlet some time ago, the same thing had happened but i had not really bothered since it wasn't an axpensive buy. I do not know if this happens in every shop because MF is the place for me to do my shopping. the people there are very knowledgable and their customer care is excellent - the kind of people i would want in my shop.
I was assured that should anything happen to my reels, there would'nt be any problems. I would like to know if there is any reason why this is the case, that you people would know of.
JC
Hi fish-noob, First and foremost welcome to the forum, about the warranty wath you are saying is true..Not too long ago i bought a spinning rod & reel wich are quite costly and the salesman did'nt mention anything about warranty. When i brought it to his attention he also said he wasnt sure, What you have said about the 2 year warrany is correct. The best thing you could do is persist, because if you do not they simply ''forget'' or ignore the problem. About 5 years ago the same thing happened to me on a carlson reel, after about fshing with it for 3-4 trips it broke a gear and MF salesman told me it cant be fixed since they wouldnt have te parts in stock !....so be carefull before its too late.
Hi fish-noob, i'm a lawyer so maybe i can help you out here. The Consumer Affairs Act provides that (as a consumer) you are covered by a two year guarantee. This right cannot be contracted out of, which means that even if you signed a paper which said that the guarantee is only for 6 months or that there is no guarantee, the paper would be worthless and the law would still prevail. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise - your product is covered by a two year guarantee, whether the trader likes it or not.
Fish-noob, Art 73 and 74 of the Consumer Affairs Act give you a 2 year warranty automatically. Art 82 speaks of commercial guarantees which serve only to put the consumer in a more advantageous position than that provided for by the the law. This means that the law, through Art 73 and 74 creates the minimum form of protection which is applicable in each and every case, and Art 82 gives the possibility to traders to increase that degree of protection but never to reduce it.
Fish-noob.. There is a difference between the company guarantee and the legal guarantee.. What mr fish is not giving is the company guarantee, but still has to comply with the legal guarantee which is of 2 years.. so keep the receipt and you're covered..
Just seeing malliaa's post - in such a case as mentioned in his post, if you sign an agreement giving you a guarantee for 6 mths, then, if that agreement is more advantageous to you than the minimum established by law, that will apply for those six months, upon the expiration of which, the minimum guarantee created by law will apply.
Thanks for your replies, I understood that warranty card or not, any product being bought automatically has two years warranty which can be proven by showing the reciept. Can i assume that shimano (neing the reels i bought) supplier do not offer warranty, thus distributer, doing the same? My other reel, which is an orion, also has'nt any warranty. Is it just, these two brands? or ebery brand?? and most importantly, is it just MF or just common practice on one of the most delicate and expensive piece of equipment you will be fishing with?
Recently Fishing Frenzy brought some new reels that are covered with 3 years warranty. Brand is sarfix if not mistaken. As regards reels I haven't yet tried them but to tell the truth a 3year warranty on all mechanism is nice to have. To tell also till now I own 4 Shimano reels and hadn't even one problem with them.
Hi Aab131 - three years warranty on all mechanism is exceptional!!! that what was the strangest thing, alot of people swear by Shimano!! main reason why i bought mine, so why not offer warranty for such a good product!! beats me....
As regards my Shimano reels I have 2 of them that I bought from Sicily. The supplier over there gave me 2 years international warranty. I think it's some policy from MF not to provide warranty. As regards pricing, both from sicily and Malta were priced the same (just a difference of around 3 euro).
Sounds very strange to me, a reel with no warranty, especially a Shimano. Rather than us speculating fish-noob, may I suggest that you email Josef who replies within 2 days usually at hookandline@waldonet.net.mt and ask him for clarification. Malliaa and Robert have given you the relevant legal info, however I would still query it with Josef.
Few weeks ago I purchase the exage 4000 from Mr fish an the sales man specifically said that there is no warranty on the reels. The reels are manufactured in Malaysia and I have my doubts if the EU warranty law applies for items manufactured outside eu. Maybe someone can illumine us on this issue.
Hi skip,
Great idea, i will send him an email and will come back later with the reply.
Fish eye,
great meeting you today and nice kubrita :D:D:D
The provisions of the Consumer Affairs Act apply to all goods sold by traders to consumers in Malta (in order to qualify as a consumer one must purchase the goods for his personal use - not for business use) irrespective of the origin of the goods.
In order to abide by Josef's request not to publish his email, the below quote is the reply
"Regarding fishing tackle ,it is not bound by law as if it was the distributors abroad would be aware and also let us know .If the reels are still knew and you wish to return the reel you can "
This was his second reply after he initially told me that as a matter of fact none of his tackle has warranty and if i want i can verify abroad.
For me that's not an anwaer :P I cant beleive it's not ...... ;D ;)
i don't bother to buy any reels from malta, i buy them from an online shops which provides me with 3 years shimano warranty.
Real shimano europe gives out 3 years international warranty, if not i might think that mr fish stock is coming from a grain market which is illegal, bdw
if yo want i may scan a REAL WARRANTY DOCUMENT THAT SHIMANO SENDS WITH THEIR REELS
brrrrrrrrrr i feel cold all over ...very strange isnt it. Is this a matter of only in Malta?
Anyone in the legal section let us know more of our rights and its not just i have a right but also what to do with that right. Cause if one goes with the reel and he is given an answer like that what what be the next course of action?
Hi Granitu,
Would be much obliged if you can send me a scanned copy of a shimano warranty card :D
i uploaded a photo but dn't know how to attach it here
I have scanned through the Shimano Fishing North America and Shimano Fishing Europe and whilst warranty info can clearly be found in North America it cannot be found on the Europe site.
This therefore tells me that this is something that Shimano have chosen to do and in no way reflects on Mister Fish, in fact his sales people are rightly pointing out upon purchase that there isn't warranty, however bizarre it may sound, including to myself.
So to answer Tony's question, no this isn't only in Malta, but warrants more of a find out. It seems that this issue about warranty is news to us all, and I think our 'fight' here is clearly with Shimano Europe, as I don't see why USA should get a limited warranty and not Europe.
Terminal tackle I can accept, but branded rods and reels should have a limited warranty covering mechanical failure, rather than failure because the fish you caught was too big for the equipment.
Here is the USA warranty info:
http://fish.shimano.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/us/index/customer_service0/Warrenty_Services.html
This is what I found directly on the Shimano Italy site, don't press language English or it goes, so tells me that this is something offered by Shimano Italy, via their S.A.S service
http://fish.shimano-eu.com/publish/content/global_fish/it/nl/index/customer_service0/authorized_warranty.html
skip, i assure you it is an official warranty, don't know if it is international but the supplier gave me a voucher of "service" too with the reel. and it is an official "shimano italy fishing s.r.l."
I encourage you all to email Shimano Europe. If it's down to the country level, then who do we fall under, I would imagine Italy?!
Here's the UK link which you cannot find directly!! http://fish.shimano-eu.com/publish/content/global_fish/en/nl/index/customer_service0/authorized_warranty.html
And here's what it says:
Warranty Policy
Here at Shimano, we believe that you, our customers deserve more than just quality products. Our warranty on the rods and reels give you added assurance on your investment. This is an extension of our commitment to you.
Shimano warrants to the original purchaser that this product will be free from non-confirmities in material or workmanships for the period of two years from the date of purchase. Please keep your receipt for all warranty claims.
Shimano After Sales Centre
Felindre Servicing (SAS) are Shimano's exclusive authorised Shimano warranty and after sales centre in the UK.
At Felindre Servicing they provide expert reel servicing, with the reassurement of Shimano's endorsement. Felindre's aim is to provide unparalleled service, and they currently return 95% of all reels sent in for service/repair within 24 hours of receipt.
Address
Felindre Servicing (SAS)
Blaen Nant Ddu
Felindre
Swansea
SA5 7ND
Telephone: 01792 796584
Fax: 01792 702525
Website: www.shimanofelindre.co.uk
So it seems Shimano are leaving warranty in the hand of each country's Shimano office, of course Malta doesn't have one!
http://corporate.shimano.com/publish/content/corporate/en/shimanocorporatesiteen/locations_en.html