The Aqualung Discussion [ Moved ]

[mdb]

They have no law suit. They can't take away his freedom of speech and they can't sue for slander if he told the truth, right?

I hope not.

 

[countryboy]

The first issue brought up by Phil (being allowed to compete on an even playing field) I could see both sides. Phil made a choice, and had to deal with the consequences..

Being sued over an message board thread is ludicris. That is just too much..

I will join the "not buying AL products" ..

If we can prove other retailers are violating the law, and we get that information to Phil, could he sue AL for discrimination?

By me not buying AL products, I am not hurting the LDS.. I will purchase other items from them. Just not AL. There is other gear in the ocean, and it is a large ocean.

 

[CuriousRambler]

I just spent a while on the phone with someone at the FTC. They will look into the price control policies, and suggested that I also speak with my state attorney general.

I skiped the rest of the thread from this point on, so quite a few pages. I submitted an online complaint to the FTC through the link you provided. The 2,000 character limit required some editing that, to my eyes, makes the entire thing less coherent and not quite as impacting, but this was the final product that their site would finally let me submit. MS Word claims 1,971 characters, but it wouldn't take 1,974 with the 2,000 character limit...Odd :05:

Air Liquide, AquaLung's parent company, appears to be fixing prices on its products. AquaLung requires dealers to sell their products at a maximum10% under MSRP, and claims a strict enforcement of these limitations.

Many online shops (LeisurePro.com) sell AquaLung products at well under AquaLung's price limitations (Often more than 50% below MSRP) and still receive supply of AquaLung gear with no issues or contact from Air Liquide. Though not an authorized dealer, the equipment must pass through an authorized dealer at some point, and the prices being charged are obviously well below what AquaLung claims to require.

Phil Ellis from Dive Sports, Inc (www.divesports.com) - a dive shop located in Decatur, Alabama, as well as an online retailer - is/was an authorized AquaLung dealer. Phil marked down his merchandise to compete with the lower prices available from numerous dealers online. Any businessman or woman would presumably do the same if the threat of losing a sale existed. AquaLung quickly terminated their contract with Phil Ellis and Dive Sports, Inc - but continues dealing to sites such as LeisurePro, directly or indirectly.

Phil shared his story on several forums, two of which are ScubaBoard.com and TheDecoStop.com. Air Liquide threatened legal action if the story wasn't removed from ScubaBoard, but apparently hasn't discovered it on other forums as of yet. A link to the story and subsequent discussion on TheDecoStop.com is here: http://thedecostop.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18528

I'm only one of many concerned SCUBA divers who struggle to afford the sport as it is, price fixing and, in turn, destroying the SCUBA diving industry by putting local dive shops out of business is simply unacceptable to us. Air Liquide will not allow their authorized dealers to compete in a market where they are simply allowing their products to be sold in breach of the agreement bestowed upon all dealers of their goods.

A Concerned Diver,
Steve Leahy

PS: I apologize for any affiliation that I made that the owner wishes I hadn't, I simply included information that I felt necessary to convey the issue at hand. If anyone would like this post removed or edited, I'll be more than happy to do so.

 

[Brandon]

I submitted a complaint as well. Thanks for typing that up Steve! Very well written. Linking to decostop could be helpful, hopefully whoever investigates from the FTC will take the time to create an account!

I copy and pasted what you wrote... assumed you posted it here so others could do the same?

If you choose to submit a complaint, here's what you'll need:

Link to Complaint Form:

https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=

Aqualung Contact Information:

Aqua Lung
2340 Cousteau Court
Vista, CA. 92081
Phone: (760) 597-5000

E-mail: dstancil@aqualung.com (Marketing Manager), support@aqualung.com (General Customer Support)

For the 6 questions that start: "How did the Company contact you?", you'll likely want to select "Unknown"

Don't attempt to sign your name in the complaint form if you're using Steve's text... mine was just clipped off.

Other then that, it takes about 2 minutes to fill out and submit. I imagine if they get enough complaints, they'll look into it. That's usually how bureaucracy works!

-Brandon.

 

[Seraphimx]

I wanted to bring a point that many have used.
I will not buy aqualung products?

If you were thinking about getting a Apeks or AL reg you should now.
Why?

Phil has a lot of AL that he has already paid for and so he needs to get them off his floor. SO just call him!

What will it do if you dont buy them?

He will get stuck with a large inventory that he wont be able to sell.


if you buy your regs now:
-The regs have already been paid to AL
-PHil will be able to pay back the regs he has bought.
- You will get a great Apeks Reg for a low price.
- AL will pay for your repairs

Why should you not buy the thing?

I mean you could help phil by getting a new reg from Apeks and
not buy anymore products from AL, afterwards.Wouldnt it be a better idea
than just leaving Phil with his problems.

.....Mhh....I think I need to find something since I already bought from Phil about 2 month ago

 

[fire_diver]

They have no law suit. They can't take away his freedom of speech and they can't sue for slander if he told the truth, right?

Sure they can! They can sue his pants off knowing full well that they will lose the court battle. They can sue anyone for anything. They KNOW that a huge court battle will probably bankrupt him, and are hoping the threat will make him cower in the corner like a..... like a..... FRENCHMAN!

FD

 

[jwdiverdude]

That is why you file countersuit that includes covering your legal fees and then find a lawyer who will work the case for apercentage of the profits from the counter suit.

You can't tell me in all the students/valued customers that passed through his shop there isn't a lawyer or two in the mix who'd gladly help fellow diver out?

Or how about sic-ing the media on them. 20/20, dateline, 60 minutes live for this kind of stuff.

"Yes I am an agent of the devil, but my duties are mostly ceremonial"

 

[shellbackdiver1]

Being a BOC Edwards employee this all made sense to me once I read that Aire Liquide was the parent company. Nothing really left to say.....

 

[CuriousRambler]

I submitted a complaint as well. Thanks for typing that up Steve! Very well written. Linking to decostop could be helpful, hopefully whoever investigates from the FTC will take the time to create an account!

I was going to attach the story with the message, but it went (far) over their maximum limit so I had to settle with the link. I also considered asking a friend who has a forum to allow me to post that story on a page to put in the FTC link alone, just so it's far more isolated and AL can't really find it, much less get rid of it before the FTC investigator finds it.

I copy and pasted what you wrote... assumed you posted it here so others could do the same?

Everyone's more than welcome to use the text I wrote up, maybe if they see 200 of an identical complaint they'll really start looking into it.

I was ripped off last summer buying a used paintball gun online from a few states away. My local police said they wouldn't do anything, and sent me on a wild goose chase. Finally I gave up and contacted the FTC, inside a week they called me back to tell me the kid who pocketed my money ($550US) was already in jail for other crimes so they couldn't really touch him, if I wanted to go after him later he would be out within six months. I was amazed at how quickly they found the right kid with the somewhat limited information I'd kept - and suggested calling back after he was out of jail and I could likely send him back.

I haven't dealt with too many government agencies, but I can tell you the FTC is a LOT more efficient than border patrol or the local FBI office, and the agents contacting me seemed human, that was a plus

 

[nyprrthd]

The limitations of the web based complaint is one of the reasons that I called. The person I spoke with was typing away as she was asking me questions, and it was definitely much more than 2000 words/characters.