Scubapro buyers--Beware and be informed

[Jax]

Were you the original owner of the Smart Tec? If so, did you purchase it from an authorized Scubapro dealer?

Really!!!

What difference does that made. Are you suggesting that it is OK for Scubapro to steal from people who obtained one of their products used or from other than a USA authorized dealer?

Did you ever communicate directly with Scubapro or did you only deal with Denver Divers? I am not a fan of Scubapro Inc, but this just sounds bizarre.

Been trying for 2 weeks to contact Scubapro via their web contact numbers since Jules told my dealer "that's just the way it is and is their policy". If I haven't heard from them by this Friday, it goes to my state's consumer and fraud divisions as well as my attorney. I really didn't want to make a big deal about this; just to either be contacted OR treated fairly.

ScubaPro bought Uwatec out a few years back, and now ScubaPro is owned by Johnson.

I can tell you that BEFORE-- I have bought a lot of Uwatecs used, and have sent them in for checkouts (i.e., I was NOT the original owner). I had one returned as a "cannot fix it". No bricking. No battery gone. Just that it wasn't safe to use.

So, you want to write to the State Attorney General of the ScubaPro Headquarters, and to the Johnson Co Consumer Rep. CC your own State Attorney General. Claim that their practice is fraudulent and no one has heard of it.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I am staying the heck away from Scubapro anything. There are better brands out there that treat their customers far better than these guys.

 

[kelemvor]

I guess I've been lucky to have good experiences with SP customer service. If you really have a lawyer on retainer, you should probably already have contacted him. I bet once SP gets a letter from him they would make it right fairly quickly.

 

[halocline]

What I find interesting is that a large company with supposedly intelligent people on its payroll would be clueless enough to not realize that it would be in their best interest to simply give the guy a new computer, or at least one at cost. Considering the cost of ONE advertisement, companies spend huge amounts of money trying to elevate and maintain their products' reputation. If they had spent a few dollars sending the OP a new computer, maybe this thread would have been about how good the customer service was. You can't buy that sort of advertising. (Although the beav certainly tries)

But then again, it's not the first time SP has shown itself to be hamfisted.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I am so done with Scubapro! This company has reputation for snootiness and arrogance that goes beyond normal comprehension. They were one of the last companies to honor warranties for online purchases. They like to set criteria as to how their products should be owned and they punish customers for not following their self created and bizarre "ownership rules." They treat their customers like the customer should be GRATEFUL to be owning their product. There are plenty of good manufacturers out there much more worthy of my business.

 

[tbrady]

Please let me try to fix it for you. I can at least put a battery back in to make it usable and retrieve the data via the logbook. No charge if I fail.
brassanchor.com/battery

 

[Long-John-Silver]

No, when a cylinder is condemned the DOT markings are X'd out or stamped "CONDEMNED". That is per the CFR as referenced above.To render a cylinder un-usable (unable to hold pressure) requires permission from the owner.

Here in Italy it's completely different: if a cylinder does not pass hydro test, the official lab drills a hole in the neck. Hence you get back an unusable tank. (They are authorized by country regulation)But I agree that in this case SP behavior is beyond limits. A good company just contact you directly or via the shop and offer you a good deal. It happens everywhere.e.g. My friends had their Liquivision Zen display unreadable after just a couple of year of mild use. It was clearly a cheap oled display. Returned to the company out of warranty they were offered a brand new device at 50% discount.

 

[Panama Dive School]

Been trying for 2 weeks to contact Scubapro via their web contact numbers since Jules told my dealer "that's just the way it is and is their policy". If I haven't heard from them by this Friday, it goes to my state's consumer and fraud divisions as well as my attorney. I really didn't want to make a big deal about this; just to either be contacted OR treated fairly.

I am the owner of one of the biggest PADI resorts in Panama, and ScubaPro also commited fra

Been trying for 2 weeks to contact Scubapro via their web contact numbers since Jules told my dealer "that's just the way it is and is their policy". If I haven't heard from them by this Friday, it goes to my state's consumer and fraud divisions as well as my attorney. I really didn't want to make a big deal about this; just to either be contacted OR treated fairly.

I am the owner of one of the biggest PADI resorts in Panama and scubapro also commited fraud against us for several thousand dollars and its been 5 months and they have failed to make it right. Be very carefull ordering from scubapro or their distributor johnson outdoors. Extremely poor organization, unfilled orders, fraudulent card charges, and lack of care or attempt to make it right. We will never promote or supply scubapro equipment again.

 

[Stoo]

That sucks, I'd be super pissed. It's almost unbelievable. I recently bought some SP regs and was given the whole parts for life speech, I declined. I was told unless I registered and complied then they would not be covered should a warranty issue arise. I have no idea if this is correct or not or even if that's legal. I resented the "strong arm tactics" seemingly employed and declined anyway. I think they make great regs but their policies leave something to be desired.

Apeks (Aqualung) has had a requirement for an annual inspection/service in alternate years in order to maintain the parts for life. However, it was rarely enforced, but according to my LDS it is now.

I have six Apeks regs so I took them all in this year and the shop was able to get all aligned with the warranty.

With regard to the "bricking" mentioned in the OP, I think I'd be making a continuous stink about it in Social Media with all the appropriate tags. In my experience, it's a surprisingly effective.

 

[buddhasummer]

Apeks (Aqualung) has had a requirement for an annual inspection/service in alternate years in order to maintain the parts for life. However, it was rarely enforced, but according to my LDS it is now.

I have six Apeks regs so I took them all in this year and the shop was able to get all aligned with the warranty.

With regard to the "bricking" mentioned in the OP, I think I'd be making a continuous stink about it in Social Media with all the appropriate tags. In my experience, it's a surprisingly effective.

I know it's easy to say for me and I know it's not for everyone but this is why I service my own regs.

This is also why I'll go out of my way to help anyone in anyway I can who wants to go down the self service route.

As mentioned many times, with a modicum of post dive care, regs can go many years without needing service.

Again, I know for whatever reason this is not a solution for some but if inclined, it's really not that hard. YMMV.