Fantasea housing trouble - buyer beware

[SeaYoda]

Fantasea sold me a housing that did not have ports to support the 14-54mm lens I have for my new Oly E-330. This is the latest customer service I have received after sending back the product ($137.60 shipping out of my pocket) and asking for a refund (this is a good example of how all of my dealings with this company have been through all of this transaction). I have been dealing with this mess since December. I thought this last response from them (before I initiated a dispute with my credit card company) might be of use to anyone that is thinking of buying products from Fantasea.

Bill;

I talked to (Fantasea Distributor in Canada's Name withheld) this morning and he showed me online the damaged port. It is severely scratched in the corner of the glass. It's not just a mar from shipping, but a deep gouge easily visible on a video camera in poor light.

It all arrived well-packed with no evidence of shipping damage. The cover
was on the port. The housing was used and you must of damaged it without
knowing, giving you the benefit of of doubt.

I am refunding you today on PayPal the cost of the second shipment of the
dome lens, extension ring and arms, less $xx shipping, for a total of $xxx.

When we make a determination of what it will cost to repair or replace the
port (btw a new one is somewhere between $125-200), and any restocking fees,
we will refund you the amount you paid, less shipping. You cannot expect to
return damaged items and get a full refund. But you still are getting back a
substantial amount of the money you paid.

Further Bill, my website clearly states that there are NO returns for used
items, or shipping costs, and if a return is made within 5 days, the items
must be in new, unused condition with all packaging. We are bending way over
in taking this back at all, but feel that in the light of us all being given
the wrong information by our supplier, we will make it right to you.

Shipping back a returned item is always at the buyer's expense. As you can
see, we also ate shipping costs way over the amount that you were charged.

Look for the $xxx refund today, and further information on the the remaining
amount due back soon.

(Seller's Name withheld)

 

[JackConnick]

Ah Bill; I knew you'd post something.

Bill bought his housing through me. We have worked with him over several months time to get him information, special order parts and then give a refund. I am more than a bit p.o.'d that he posted a private email from me without my permission.

Per the email, he returned a used, damaged item and wanted a full refund. The scratch on the port is not minor abrasion from shipping, but made by a rock or metal.

We are bending over backwards to make this right, but he can't expect the full amount. Most dealers wouldn't take it back at all, and my terms of sale are pretty clear on my website. I processed the refund of the second part of his order today and the remaining amount less damages to the housing, shipping and any restocking fees will be processed as soon as we can make a determination, hopefully within a day or two.

I would ask that the email quoted above be removed as it was posted without my permission.

Jack

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I've been following Bill's little adventure into the dSLR game and have read out all the issues he's had with the Fantasea housing and the many chances he's given the company to provide him with a decent product.

Sounds like he's finally had enough with being patient and positive towards a company that could not provide him with a quality product that would work with the lense he had.

I know Bill personally, if he says the port wasn't damaged by him, I'd believe him.

The seller's name was withheld - you outted yourself. If you found the post derogatory, you probably shouldn't have claimed to be the opposing side

 

[SeaYoda]

SuPrBuGmAn is correct, you named yourself. You can have your own post removed. It implicates the type of relationship I've had with Fantasea over the last few months.

There were several folks here very interested in your product and in good conscience I could not allow them to go through what I have. I hope your customer service improves to the point that I can say I would do business with Fantasea again. As of this time I can't say that this has been at all a rewarding experience.

I have no way to prove or disprove whether the port was damaged on the one dive I had with it. If I damaged the port with one dive, what does that say about the quality of the product?

 

[JackConnick]

I'm not saying it was intentional Bill, it it easy to scratch a port and not see it. Glass on any port will scratch and we can't give a full refund for a damaged item. It simply was not done in shipping as you claimed. We've processed a partial refund for the other items.

I sell lots and lots of housings and this is the first one I've had returned.

Jack

 

[RonFrank]

Yoda,

Sorry to hear of your problems.

Upon reading the previous posts, it sure seems as if Fantasea sure did a poor job of design/quality control for this housing. It's enough to have me stay clear of them as my Ikelike D200 housing works almost flawlessly even if there are a couple niggles I could nit pick about.

On the port front however, they can either make a port that works with certain extension differences, or not. If not, they should certainly make that very clear.

No zoom ability? Difficulty changing things like aperture setting UW. IMO that is unacceptable.

It sounds like Optical Ocean has worked with you to try to resolve the problems. OTOH, one thing I like about ReefPhoto is that those guys shoot the equipment they sell, and seem to be very aware of compatibility issues, and how various lenses work with different port options.

As for the scratch on the port, it's VERY easy to scratch a Plexiglas port. I scratched my Ike 8" dome on the second day of diving.... It could have as easily been the first. I don't think you can really be too upset with the retailer for NOT accepting a scratched port as a return as new.

I hope you get this resolved to your mutual satisfaction, but given the other issues with the housing, and ports, unless you were told up front of those problems, I'd be upset as well.

I think you will be happy with Ikelite. Also, the iTTL REALLY works well. I'm not sure what you saved with the Fantasea purchase, but in hind sight, I'm sure you feel it was NOT worth it!

 

[SeaYoda]

I'm not saying it was intentional Bill, it it easy to scratch a port and not see it. Glass on any port will scratch and we can't give a full refund for a damaged item. It simply was not done in shipping as you claimed. We've processed a partial refund for the other items.

I sell lots and lots of housings and this is the first one I've had returned.

Jack

I don't claim nor have I claimed to have knowledge of where and when the scratch occurred. It could have been on the port when I got it. I wasn't looking for scratches on a brand new product. Just no way to tell where the scratch happened but I have to take the hit?

What is the flat port made of? The dome may be made of plastic but I thought the flat port was glass. I had my PT-015 at the rocks around the jetties for two years and had no scratches. I took the Fantasea to a freshwater spring with soft surroundings on one dive and it scratched???? It never would have made it at the jetties. My new Ike dome has been to the jetties twice and has no scratches and it's made of plastic.

Ron,
Reef Photo has been excellent for me as well. They knew what I needed, answered all my questions, and the Ike is perfect for the E-330 and 14-54 lens.

 

[Cacia]

I see a lot of sexier housings out there...but man, it's
hard to beat Ikelite customer service.

My question is, if he couldn't get the ports he needed for the lens he uses, why should he have to keep a set-up, used or not if he was led to believe that his lenses were compatible?

 

[JackConnick]

All our standard ports are high quality optical glass.

We made no guarantees as to suitability, we made measurements and it was up to him. He was told that it probably would vignette or not get full extension, but there would be a usable range - before the sale.

And in going through my notes, he was offered a refund in December after he got the housing. And when it still wasn't suitable to him later, we did offer a refund. And have given it for the undamaged items.

Look, there was a whole chain of events, probably no one's direct fault that happened in this sale. We stand by our sales and offered him a refund, less shipping that he paid (we paid quite a bit more), even though we were not obligated to do so.

Unfortunately the item was received damaged and has to be repaired or replaced before we can resell it, even discounted.

I am not going to continue the debate on these forums. You have received a partial refund and the rest, less damages and shipping, will be processed asap.

Jack

 

[haha49]

personaly if i were you i would call my cridet card company and see if they can get you the refund tell them basicly what happend and most card companys have policys that cover you from this sort of thing and can get your money back most people dont know that some credit card companys even cover them for this sort of thing and can get all the money back easly..

ive gotten damged ang used goods befor and people always try to get me to pay for shipping back ect and dont give full refunds.. why should you be out money for defective product sent to you.. and 137.27 for shipping is just a plain rip off it must weigh a ton.. or be very remote to were you shiped it too..