First and last Klarus, poor customer service

vickers214

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I have had a P2a for a few month now and my first impressions were positive, great build and UI, my kind of light.

However I noticed that when the head was loose to change the mode it fickers, and after emails back and forward, when I chased them up as replies were slow, they told me they had sub contracted some the lights to Jetbeam, and sent me pictures of the different springs.
These lights had a shorter silver spring meaning that the batteries dont make good contact with the head, and I explained that the retaining ring on the switch is stuck and wont budge so I need a tailcap, I was offered a switch.


If I want a tail cap I have top pay 25% of the light price and postage, and for me when you have accepted there is a problem you should bend over backwards to rectify it, I had an Eagletac clip fall to bits on me, and it was replaced no questions asked Klarus wanted photos, where I bought it from, and have not offered what I would call a reasonable solution.


I am not taking this any further as it is a cheap light, and can be fixed with a magnet ( which I will chase up over the MP ) but what a poor show:thumbsdow
 

Labrador72

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Did you contact Klarus in China? There is a distributor for the UK maybe if you can try to contact them and see if they will be more helpful.

That they outsourced production to JetBeam or anybody else is a poor argument: honestly I wouldn't even even mention the competitor/supplier!!!!

If you have a problem with your outsourcing, as a customer it means nothing to me other than you have a quality control issue in your supply chain! After all if I buy a Klarus flashlight I expect Klarus to fix any problems, regardless of whatever manufacturer they outsourced production to.

EDIT: I'm tempted to contact them and tell them the holsters of XT1A and XT2A are wrongly sized and won't close with the respective flashlights inside as the flaps are too short.
I wonder if they'll tell me some of the holsters were sub-contracted to Fenix and offer to give me two loose flaps with a needle and some thread....
 
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zenbeam

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Have you tried going through the merchant from whom you bought it? That is always a good first route IMHO. Notice that Klarus, among other things, was asking where you bought it, etc.

None the less, shame on Klarus for making such excuses and not genuinely doing what it takes to resolve your issue - period. I don't blame you for wanting to cut them off.
 

Somnophore

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It's not worth being cheap with customer service with such a nice product, ie high price flashlight, as it's all online review as word of mouth and will effect their business.
 

vickers214

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EDIT: I'm tempted to contact them and tell them the holsters of XT1A and XT2A are wrongly sized and won't close with the respective flashlights inside as the flaps are too short.
I wonder if they'll tell me some of the holsters were sub-contracted to Fenix and offer to give me two loose flaps with a needle and some thread....[/QUOTE]

Haha!

Honestly though it is a shame for me as first impressions were so good, the tint is great as well, but I should just stick with what I know works best for me.
I never bothered with the merchant.............................and when the dealer accepts there is faulty products out there, it should just sort it out not have them measuring how long the batteries in the light are!
 

AnAppleSnail

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I never bothered with the merchant.............................

No wonder you are unsatisfied. The merchant's Customer Service is your first line of recourse. According to law in most countries, the seller is the first point of contact for complaints about merchandise. The dealer isn't equipped to handle customer issues on an individual basis, nor should they be at all price points. This is one potential issue with shopping on non-community places like eBay, you have no idea who you are dealing with.
 

vickers214

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No wonder you are unsatisfied. The merchant's Customer Service is your first line of recourse. According to law in most countries, the seller is the first point of contact for complaints about merchandise. The dealer isn't equipped to handle customer issues on an individual basis, nor should they be at all price points. This is one potential issue with shopping on non-community places like eBay, you have no idea who you are dealing with.

I see your point and agree with you, yet not having much experience with faults with my branded lights, the Eagletac clip being the only one I can think of (which was sorted by them direct) I tried the same route. However on this occasion when they tell you something is wrong give you the run around with send us pics etc, I personally think they should have offered a better resolution
 

HotWire

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Service can be much better. I had a problem with a new Lumapower flashlight. I emailed them and got a quick reply. In less than a week I had a new (free) part. Excellent service.
 

Labrador72

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Personally I would still let them know which retailer you purchased the light from and send them a picture.
The warranty might state that the retailer is responsible for assisting customers with faults within a given limit of time. The pictures might also help them determine that the problem is the spring for sure rather than just mail you a spare part that won't help because the actual problem is something else.

That said, if there is an issue is caused by a short spring I'd expect them to send you a new tailcap and that's it rather than send you the switch and expect you to do your own DYI! That's the least they could do for the inconvenience and selling you a light that had a manufacturing defect. IMHO, stating that some batches have this problem and that they were manufactured by JetBeam is cheap: you bought a Klarus light so it's a Klarus problem and it's a Klarus responsability to get it sorted in a timely manner.
 

Somnophore

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Personally I would always go back to the retailer with any quality issues first and they can choose to refer back to the manufacturer if they won't/can't deal with it.

I have a klarus mi x6 which has been fine, I have had a problem with a cheap Ultrafire off eBay, but the seller sent me a new one no quibbles, I'd always give a retailer chance to put right any issues as its then you have a contract of sale with.
 

TooManyGizmos

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~

What about the lights bought on the CPF-MarketPlace from other members ?

The Manufacturer is the only one you can go to for Warranty repairs .

Why does it matter where you got the light from ?

They Manufactured it , so they should be obligated to resolve issues .

~
 

dc38

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I see your point and agree with you, yet not having much experience with faults with my branded lights, the Eagletac clip being the only one I can think of (which was sorted by them direct) I tried the same route. However on this occasion when they tell you something is wrong give you the run around with send us pics etc, I personally think they should have offered a better resolution

Hey vickers! answering from the other thread, I managed to get the tailcap open on my ST20. It is, indeed as other members saif, a reversed threading. It requires quite a bit of force, but as soon as i got it past a certain point, the whole thread came out like butter. now it goes in without a hitch, and its working just as well as before. with your hands, hold the tailcap firmly. with the pliers, twist the retaining ring to the rightuntil it gives. If not, i suppose you may be able to send me the light/tailcap and I can have a go at it lol...sometimes neanderthal type brute force is all that is required. Also, do you think the flicker might be from the head ?? have you tried closing the circuit without the tailcap, like taking aluminum foil to close the circuit between battery andbody tube??
 
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vickers214

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I did inform them of the vendor, sent them pictures, battery measurements, pictures of the battery nipple barely poking out of the top of the tube, explained that I cannot remove the retaining ring, and that I have a decent working knowledge of flashlights, and said again the tailcap is the fix required. I have been offered another switch and sent a photo of how to get the retaining ring out!!!
I am tempted to tell them to jam it again, but might take your kind offer of help up dc38, stand by I wil let you know how it goes.
And above another example of direct contact (although possibly not the correct route) getting a good resolve and getting at least a recommendation for good service
 

dc38

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I'm glad to hear that they're "stepping up" to some extent, lol.. At the very least, it seems as if they'll send you a brand new switch! :D When I was able to get my retaining ring out, you should've seen the look on my face hahaha...it was a cross between "Durrr..." and "wtf???" I suppose the term would be....bewildered haha. Anyways, Standing by!
 

vickers214

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Well I have requested the switch a couple of times now but recieved no reply so im not sure if im getting a switch at all, but I have been emailed by a UK based Klarus agent who will replace the switch for £18, im speachless!
 

dc38

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Well I have requested the switch a couple of times now but recieved no reply so im not sure if im getting a switch at all, but I have been emailed by a UK based Klarus agent who will replace the switch for £18, im speachless!

Wow...18 pounds is pretty steep...wouldn't that be enough to almost replace the whole light? 6 pounds more would get you a brand new p2a...Are you sure there's absolutely no way to free the retaining ring from the tailcap? When i opened mine, it wasn't really any sort of enclosure, just a round retaining washer with a rubber oring insert. I'm sorry if you've tried this already, but just give it a nice firm twist in the clockwise direction with a pair of ring pliers...considering that the light is pretty much out of commission anyway, would it hurt to apply a bit of martial law on it? Anyways, I'm sorry to hear that the customer service isn't exactly customer centric...maybe their two day reply policy doesn't extend to weekends?
 

vickers214

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Im going to spray some WD40 on it and warm it up a bit and have another bash, if I get a switch that is.....................as for the £18 charge to fix a defect it left the factory with where do I start!...................an new P2a here is £33 but i could get a nice little Fenix or ITP for the price of the 'repair'
 

dc38

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Don't warm it up to much, you might melt the plastic switch! The spring itself seems easy enough to replace, just some unwinding and maybe a dab of solder will secure a new spring in place...Anyways, just FORCE it! I saw that extra force works...on the Television anyways
 

dc38

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Im going to spray some WD40 on it and warm it up a bit and have another bash, if I get a switch that is.....................as for the £18 charge to fix a defect it left the factory with where do I start!...................an new P2a here is £33 but i could get a nice little Fenix or ITP for the price of the 'repair'

Any news, vickers?
 

vickers214

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Still waiting for them to answer the question on giving me a switch, then the slow boat from China if they ever send one,,,,,,,,,gonna be a long time dc38
 
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