Merchantable quality of bee associated equipment

[m100]

Having recently bought a couple of miller type feeders I have just been informed that the seller considers them to be of merchantable quality.

This is despite them being supplied with the following evidence:

Paint lining the interior still smelling strongly after the feeder was left in a well ventilated warm room for five days.

One divider board completely missing meaning that bees will drown in the main body of the feeder

Paint still tacky on surfaces in contact with the feed of feeding bees FIVE DAYS AFTER DELIVERY!



In addition, after informing them of these defects the company concerned completely fails to observe their obligations under the Distance Selling Regulations.

Pictures attached showing the paint still tacky and leaving a deposit on a piece of paper applied with light thumb pressure.

 

[BKF Admin]

Send them a link to this page..

 

[m100]

Send them a link to this page..

No, not for now as I'm too busy filling out the court papers as it's raining and I can't look at bees - lost and captured a swarm yesterday - mainly because of having to stagger my feeding arrangements caused by a lack of feeders caused by their late delivery of clearly faulty goods and then an unexpected good flow coming from the balsam.

Their arrogance in this matter staggers me.

 

[GingerNut]

Name & Shame them.................

Yours Roy

 

[m100]

I would name and shame them, but lets save that for later.

This is a more recent reply from them:

I do not not disagree that the paint on one of the feeders may have been slighlty sticky and you wear also missing one slide, we could have simply sent the slide to you and your miller feeders would have been fit for purpose, gloss paint will dry within 24 hours but will still leave an aroma of paint, this does not stop you from using the feeders to feed your bees

By the time I photographed the tacky paint it had been six days since the feeders had left their premises, by the time they had received them back a total of twelve days had elapsed - and the paint still wasn't dry 'but would dry within 24 hours'

Has anyone got a link to a peer reviewed paper on the effects of tacky gloss paint on honey bees?

 

[taff..]

what are you trying to achieve with this thread?

you wont name the supplier, you are intent on taking court action yet for the cost of the court action and the time it'll take you could actually get in your car and make them a visit and sort it out

 

[Rosti]

what are you trying to achieve with this thread?

Taff has a point! Two observations

1. name them, part of the purpose of this forum is to inform and for-arm fellow beeks, whether that be shoddy workmanship or a new disease threat. Who is the cowboy?

2. Contact your local trading standards, a call from them to the vendors local trading standards and an investigation will show you are serious, may well get you your refund and is a necessary and compelling independent evidence step if you are going to take legal action (and cheaper and quicker than the 'get in the car' option) "not of the nature, substance or quality reasonably demanded or implied by the vendor"

 

[RoofTops]

The Small Claims procedure is designed for this sort of thing. I guess this is what you are doing but if not here is the link http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/claims/index.htm

The important thing is to tell the company you bought these feeders from you are following this track. It gives them the option to settle before it goes to court.

I would advise against naming them - if you lose the case (and it could be on a technicality) it could prove expensive.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Reading this, (and I am sure there are two sides to the story), it sounds like both parties need there heads bashing together!

 

[mikethebee]

Interesting occurrence that comes up regularly.
A customer ordered 4 nucs in JANUERY to be deliverd to Scotland in MAY and gave the address and post code of his works.
It was in AUGUST we had a phone call asking from a very irate customer demanding his money back as he had not received the bees. We looked the history up and found the bees had been posted on the 30th of APRIL to the address on the order a factory. We later found out he left his job at the address given and was too embarrassed to go back and ask for his bees that were being cared for at his old factory, every thing turned out all right in the end.
I recently had an order for 10 queens to be sent ASAP we sent the queens the very next day this was on the 1st Sept.
Since then every day we have had Emails asking for the Queens we Emailed back the tracking number to the customer and proof of the post for him to track.
We were told the post had been signed for, the customer still insisted he has not received his bees.
AGAIN today we rang the post office giving the full address and post code on the order? Guess what!!! the customer had given us the wrong post code.
WE make mistakes as well.
see web site Re lost post

 

[m100]

Reading this, (and I am sure there are two sides to the story), it sounds like both parties need there heads bashing together!

Jim, just imagine if Omlet had supplied your Beehaus as a bag of plastic chips and a blurry photo of the finished product, or as a few bits of nailed together mdf plastered with kermit green emulsion paint? ...not that the bees would mind

There are some, indeed many in the Beekeeping supply business who bend over backwards to provide good products and good service, and if they somehow screw up they put it right to the customers satisfaction and in compliance with law...then there are the others.

Rooftops, I have informed them and they couldn't give a stuff!

 

[taff..]

Reading this, (and I am sure there are two sides to the story), it sounds like both parties need there heads bashing together!

Indeed!!

I still cant see what you are trying to achieve with this thread, is it to tell us that there are some unscrupulous people out there but then not tell us who they are??

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Jim, just imagine if Omlet had supplied your Beehaus as a bag of plastic chips and a blurry photo of the finished product, or as a few bits of nailed together mdf plastered with kermit green emulsion paint? ...not that the bees would mind

There are some, indeed many in the Beekeeping supply business who bend over backwards to provide good products and good service, and if they somehow screw up they put it right to the customers satisfaction and in compliance with law...then there are the others.

Rooftops, I have informed them and they couldn't give a stuff!

Well I would publicy name and shame them! Hence my blog!

From the sound of it court action will not get very far, and only add to fire them up more.

 

[victor meldrew]

Surely this can be resolved quietly and without all this public hand wringing?.
The quality looks ok (as far as can be seen on a picture .)
The paint job seems to be the stumbling block, Lawyers become fat cats by people getting petty disputes out of all proportion and paying their exhorbitant fees !.
Come on, bury the hatchet ,there's got to be a compromise in there somewhere?.
Nothing personel intended, just an attempt to pour oil on troubled water.

John Wilkinson

 

[Black Comb]

This thread is also on the "other" forum and from this we can deduce that the supplier is in the Gloucester area.

 

[Black Comb]

Meant to say also
for 25 years I only worked in business to business arena,
then decided to supply Mr & Mrs J PUblic.
We quickly learnt that with a complaint there is usually only one course of action - replace or give money back because all the goodwill you've worked hard to build up can go very quickly.
If I was the supplier I'd replace it - it's probably cost them more than that in lost sales already.

 

[Tom Bick]

I think I recognise from part of one of the photos it looks like feeders currently on sale on Ebay? as for the paint if they as I suspect have painted over the knots and not first treated the knots the paint will probably never dry properly also if it is constructed right no need for paint this only makes a slippery surface for the bees
If its bad service and bad workmanship then it should be broadcasted from the highest loudest point as a joiner and manufacture of hive parts and other things it annoys me to see poor workmanship

 

[Hivemaker.]

Reading another forum,they are not from e bay,and most miller or ashforth feeders are painted,to seal them. Slippery surface for bee's,? they are to hold syrup,not for bee's to walk around in.

 

[Tom Bick]

You try and tell them that

 

[Hivemaker.]

Why,do you allow yours to dive straight into the syrup, no baffles.