So long story short, I purchased a 2013 North Bar whilst overseas (less than a year ago) and registered it for North's 6+ Year Warranty.
The padding on the bar is dissolving with each session and I'd like to be addressed under warranty, but I'm told it has to be handled by the original vendor (who is literally the other side of the world).
Does anyone know of any friendly North contacts that could help me out?
Thanks!
This is a problem that we have here in Australia, most Australian retailers don't want to know unless you are one of there customers and even if they do try and help the importer will put the brakes on your claim.
Do this the other way round though and you will be OK. I have warranted gear brought in Australia when I have been in Europe without any problem.
Try contacting North direct. I had a claim with bindings I bought abroad, and Ronix were great to deal with, I just emailed a picture of the damage and receipt, and then had to pay postage only one way.
Good luck
North 6+ is just a marketing gimmick to help sell products. Iv personally had a poor experience with North within australia. Iv spoken with both the Aus imported ( no luck ) and then onto International North only to be told they wont help and to contact a local rep. All in all poor service. Good luck with your claim but i don't like your chances
Hi Salty Sinus,
The North additional 6+ month warranty is in addition to the 12 months standard warranty. This gives you a total of 18 months when you register your product with North. The 6+ additional months is only from the place of purchase. The original 12 months is an international warranty. Most, if not all, North dealers should be able to help you with warranty claims.
DM
Thanks all for your words of encouragement. ActionSport, that is a good point, thanks!!!
I don't suppose you're a.) a North Dealer your self and b.) have a chain in Victoria (which is obviously very unlikely, given your name!) ;-)
With regards to the service, I'll reserve judgement. I'm not expecting them to jump through hoops etc. but I would like something done given I've been very careful with the care of this bar (rinsing off with fresh water and fully drying it out of the sun etc.).
Thanks!
Select to expand quotejuicerider said..
This is a problem that we have here in Australia, most Australian retailers don't want to know unless you are one of there customers and even if they do try and help the importer will put the brakes on your claim.
Do this the other way round though and you will be OK. I have warranted gear brought in Australia when I have been in Europe without any problem.
Try contacting North direct. I had a claim with bindings I bought abroad, and Ronix were great to deal with, I just emailed a picture of the damage and receipt, and then had to pay postage only one way.
Good luck
I would't rush to blame the retailer you approached. The law clearly states that it is the responsibility of the retailer who supplies the goods to honour and warranty claims.
Many stores will still of course assist you in processing your claim but remember they cant be held to account if they didn't sell you the goods.
Select to expand quotejuicerider said..
This is a problem that we have here in Australia, most Australian retailers don't want to know unless you are one of there customers and even if they do try and help the importer will put the brakes on your claim.
Do this the other way round though and you will be OK. I have warranted gear brought in Australia when I have been in Europe without any problem.
Try contacting North direct. I had a claim with bindings I bought abroad, and Ronix were great to deal with, I just emailed a picture of the damage and receipt, and then had to pay postage only one way.
Good luck
I completely disagree. We've put plenty of North & ION claims through for guys from overseas in the past couple of seasons and rarely have we had an issue.
I bought a North Fuse in mid August. The first time I pumped it up I discovered the LE bladder wasn't holding pressure. ?!! $1700 for a kite that fricken leaks. The mob I bought it from got the kite usable by repairing the bladder, and under my insistence did a warranty claim for a new replacement bladder.
I and I think most people would agree that when you pay $1700 for kite it should come with a new, non repaired bladder. That warranty claim was made in mid/late August. It is now December and do you think I have my replacement bladder yet? Like ****. I will never buy North equipment again and would suggest that anyone who intends to buy North gear because they are "premium product with premium after sales service" think again
Thanks all for your suggestions and sharing your experience. I'm hoping to hear from my dealer today with regards to this claim and go from there...
Salty, I feel your pain. I have purchased some AK Burton Snow Gear with a lifetime warranty. Well the seams on both my jacket and pants started to come apart. Burton International tried to do the "Do you have the original receipt" which I did. Well they sent me a new jacket and pants.
I am surprised that North International is being such a pack of wankers on this one. If you have purchased any product being here or overseas or even on the Web and it is faulty, then it is their responsibility to fix it.
The problem for companies on the Web now is photographic evidence. Salty take some photos and post them up here. Take some photos of a good bar and the bar you are using.
You will be surprised how many North representatives will email you and try and solve the problem.
Select to expand quoteHappyG said..
Salty, I feel your pain. I have purchased some AK Burton Snow Gear with a lifetime warranty. Well the seams on both my jacket and pants started to come apart. Burton International tried to do the "Do you have the original receipt" which I did. Well they sent me a new jacket and pants.
I am surprised that North International is being such a pack of wankers on this one. If you have purchased any product being here or overseas or even on the Web and it is faulty, then it is their responsibility to fix it.
The problem for companies on the Web now is photographic evidence. Salty take some photos and post them up here. Take some photos of a good bar and the bar you are using.
You will be surprised how many North representatives will email you and try and solve the problem.
That's quite interesting - I've had Burton bindings with a lifetime warranty and the one time I had an issue I walked into a Burton store they have fixed them on the spot, no questions asked. The last thing you want to do is wrestle with a warranty issue when it's chest deep pow up on the mountain.
Select to expand quoteHappyG said..
Salty, I feel your pain. I have purchased some AK Burton Snow Gear with a lifetime warranty. Well the seams on both my jacket and pants started to come apart. Burton International tried to do the "Do you have the original receipt" which I did. Well they sent me a new jacket and pants.
I am surprised that North International is being such a pack of wankers on this one. If you have purchased any product being here or overseas or even on the Web and it is faulty, then it is their responsibility to fix it.
The problem for companies on the Web now is photographic evidence. Salty take some photos and post them up here. Take some photos of a good bar and the bar you are using.
You will be surprised how many North representatives will email you and try and solve the problem.
Hi HappyG. Thanks for sharing, the advice and sorry to hear your pain.
I would stress that, the North Dealers I have dealt with here has been responsive and helpful. As ActionSportsWA kindly pointed out, as this warranty claim is under 12 months since ownership, the 6+ thing doesn't come into play and I'm hopeful that ActionSportWA comment will come true:
"The original 12 months is an international warranty. Most, if not all, North dealers should be able to help you with warranty claims. "
Good tip on the photos. These were sent over with the product registration confirmation, serial numbers etc. so I'm hoping for a smooth warranty claim.
I'm curious to know in such a circumstance, whether the dealer simply forwards the gear to be repaired to North, or do they do some sort of exchange?
^^^ I think you will find most warranties give the retailer/manufacturer the option to repair or replace, at their discretion.
Yep Salty I had to deal with Burton International Direct and they were very professional.
To my last point, Find a good retailer and be friendly with the distributor. Send plenty of photos and proof of purchase and they should sort it very quickly.
Again post a couple of photos online in a forum and you should quickly get a response.
Thanks Happy. I am VERY friendly, so no worries on that front ;-)
I'll let my local dealer revert before any forum post of pictures, as I don't want to 'escalate' the issue Unnecessarily.
Cheers!
Select to expand quoteSaltySinus said..
Thanks Happy. I am VERY friendly, so no worries on that front ;-)
I'll let my local dealer revert before any forum post of pictures, as I don't want to 'escalate' the issue Unnecessarily.
Cheers!
Hi Happy G,
Sending pictures online to public forums straight off the bat is NOT the way to get people to help you, it, as Saltysinus says, will escalate things and get tempers running high unnecessarily. I agree it can be used as a last resort if you are SURE you are in the right. Pretty much all legitimate claims are sorted straight away without much fuss. We have warranted heaps of stuff with North and Fanatic (same parent company) with generally no problems.
At Saltysinus, it is the discretion of the manufacturer to repair or to replace the faulty item. It's a bit like buying a car with a faulty differential, they will repair or replace the defective item, not the whole car.
I'm sure things will work out OK for you if it's all above board.
DM
Select to expand quoteActionSportsWA said..
At Saltysinus, it is the discretion of the manufacturer to repair or to replace the faulty item. It's a bit like buying a car with a faulty differential, they will repair or replace the defective item, not the whole car.
I'm sure things will work out OK for you if it's all above board.
DM
Hey DM,
Thanks for the feedback.
Yep, totally understood. It's not a massive issue, and I'm sure it's something North or their agent will sort in due course. I can still kite in the interim, so it's not like I'm sitting at home looking at the rustling leaves through the window, with a wistful look on my face... well, actually that often happens but is due to work getting in the way rather than defective gear.
So yeah, thanks again for everyone's input and I'm sure it will work out in due course. I will of course be singing the praises as and when it is resolved.
Cheers all.
Not sure if that warranty applys to the super thin bindings, mine has started to do the same with disintegrating, one side is worse but the other has also just started to break away.
Think I'll leave it til end of season and then just go to Clark Rubber and buy some decent padding and DIY.
got the same prob with my bar, im the second owner of the kite tho, don't no how I would go getting it under warranty lol
Action Sports -
I was talking about it as last resort, I have worked on online marketing campaigns and photos get manufacturers attention. The next step up is video with hits. I think Salty got where I was coming from.
I have dealt with retailers in Melbourne and there has been no problem with warranty claims at all.
I know you guys are standing up for the professional retailers out there, and you are one of the good ones.
All good
So, I'm sure you're all as interested as I am on this one... I've chase this one up and have been told the Warranty claim has been with North since 22nd Oct and I await an (initial) response from North.
Again, this issue isn't a showstopper for me, but I'd appreciate a reply from North, at least with an expected timeline.
Their website doesn't appear to have Australian End Customer contact area, so it's unclear who I can touch base with on this. Again, I'm not bagging the brand, or company, just asking the question on where the contact details are?
Salty,
I am happy to translate a letter/email into German if you want to kick the North mothership in the nuts. 
...or call them:
North Kiteboarding
Keltenring 9
D-82041 Oberhaching
Phone +49 (0)89 66655-0
English should not be an issue, just ignore the funny accent. 
Thanks WeirdEd. I'm appreciate the contact details and offer of help. Daas ist goot.
Just a quick update if interested (I'm sure you're not really), but I've been told our friends at North have sent a new, replacement bar to my original merchant who are posting it over... I'll let you know if it arrives!
Thanks again for the support...
Well done North, I ride your gear and its always been quality???
Well done Salty for getting their support??? Retailers should be supported, this really does support this.
Sorry Guys every time I put down three dots it comes out as 3 ??? question marks.
Must be a mac thing, I am not questioning anything. All good.
The New Bar has arrived from my original merchant in the UK. A successful warranty claim. Thanks North.
