Fenix - Total Fail On Warranty Repair

Not much to say. I think my (edited) email to Jay Patel is self-explanatory. :fail::fail::fail:

"Hello Jay;

It has now been 4 months since you received my LD25 for repair and essentially my flashlight has fallen down a rat hole, never to be seen again. Sadly, I've not received a single communication from you during this time unless I first reached out to you; sometimes having to email more than once in order to get some type of response from you. Warranty coverage is an important part of a purchasing decision. Had I known that your Fenix flashlights were "disposable" units I would not have purchased one.

<SNIP> (Edited At Mod's Request)

I will also be posting my experience to the user reviews on Amazon.com.

Sincerely disappointed and more than a little p****d off,

-Scott"

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

I don't blame you for being mad. Dang!

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That's no good. I would be very upset.

As far as leaving feedback on Amazon, PLEASE leave it with the actuall seller/store, NOT the actual product. I can't stand when people do that, diluting an otherwise good product with 1 star reviews. It's a PRODUCT review, not the seller. I believe there is a separate place for that.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

markr6 said:

That's no good. I would be very upset.

As far as leaving feedback on Amazon, PLEASE leave it with the actuall seller/store, NOT the actual product. I can't stand when people do that, diluting an otherwise good product with 1 star reviews. It's a PRODUCT review, not the seller. I believe there is a separate place for that.

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This really irks me too. However, there are some cases where the product is ONLY available from one seller, and I'd like to know the buyer's experience in those cases, as the seller and product are so intertwined.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

Which distributor is doing (or apparently not doing) the repair?

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

My experience with Fenix warranty exactly. Almost two years & I never saw my TK75 again. The last correspondence I received was "Your flashlight is stuck in customs in China." (That's where they shipped it for "further repair.") I disputed the charge with my credit card co. They said the seller wouldn't refund, so I subtracted the $149.00 from my balance & shredded the card & told them to stick it. NOBODY rips me off.

I still like Fenix lights. That one was the only Fenix I ever had a problem with.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

AA#5 said:

My experience with Fenix warranty exactly. Almost two years & I never saw my TK75 again. The last correspondence I received was "Your flashlight is stuck in customs in China." (That's where they shipped it for "further repair.") I disputed the charge with my credit card co. They said the seller wouldn't refund, so I subtracted the $149.00 from my balance & shredded the card & told them to stick it. NOBODY rips me off.I still like Fenix lights. That one was the only Fenix I ever had a problem with.

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So you paid the balance on your credit card less $149? If so, shredding your card won't close the credit card account. If the balance is still on the account, it's probably racking up fees, late charges. It potentially could damage your credit.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

Cerealand said:

So you paid the balance on your credit card less $149? If so, shredding your card won't close the credit card account. If the balance is still on the account, it's probably racking up fees, late charges. It potentially could damage your credit.

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+1, with the amendment that I would say it's "almost certainly damaging your credit." I do completely agree with the sentiment that if the card company didn't take care of me, I'd be through with them.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

AA#5 said:

My experience with Fenix warranty exactly. Almost two years & I never saw my TK75 again. The last correspondence I received was "Your flashlight is stuck in customs in China." (That's where they shipped it for "further repair.") I disputed the charge with my credit card co. They said the seller wouldn't refund, so I subtracted the $149.00 from my balance & shredded the card & told them to stick it. NOBODY rips me off.

I still like Fenix lights. That one was the only Fenix I ever had a problem with.

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Probably would have filed a lawsuit with Fenix. Would have raised hell until they gave you a working TK75 or refunded your money. If any company did this to me i would practically be in the corporate building talking to the CEO to get the damn thing resolved. Good to know that Fenix has terrible service, if any of my lights go out on me i'll simply go to a different brand or attempt to fix it on my own. I don't even know why Fenix shipped your light for 'further repair' but that's just ridiculous.

scm54449, as i have said, i would be raising hell in the consumer department every day until they finally get the light fixed, packaged and mailed to your home. Keep going up the ladder, talk to supervisors, management and higher ups. Once you get to the CEO or someone who takes their job seriously will hopefully fire those people in the service department who probably sit all day in front of a computer eating donuts and isn't doing what they should be doing to provide good service.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

MidnightDistortions said:

Probably would have filed a lawsuit with Fenix. Would have raised hell until they gave you a working TK75 or refunded your money. If any company did this to me i would practically be in the corporate building talking to the CEO to get the damn thing resolved. Good to know that Fenix has terrible service, if any of my lights go out on me i'll simply go to a different brand or attempt to fix it on my own. I don't even know why Fenix shipped your light for 'further repair' but that's just ridiculous.

scm54449, as i have said, i would be raising hell in the consumer department every day until they finally get the light fixed, packaged and mailed to your home. Keep going up the ladder, talk to supervisors, management and higher ups. Once you get to the CEO or someone who takes their job seriously will hopefully fire those people in the service department who probably sit all day in front of a computer eating donuts and isn't doing what they should be doing to provide good service.

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Sorry OP for derailing this thread just a bit. I share everybody's frustration and anguish and I want to share a general comment.

We, consumers, in general, are putting up with poor service and mistreatment in SO many different sectors, be it our mobile communications service provider, cable company, insurance company, credit card company, Social Security, the FU**ING IRS (we pay our taxes and it doesn't verify that SSNs match names of people to which they're issued, in effect, ALLOWING SSN theft to continue), and the list goes on.

There's not much we can do to force our goverment institutions to change in a timely manner (so much for democracy), so we have to put up with all that poop.

In the commercial sector, we have to put up with it because we COLLECTIVELY have demonstrated to businesses that we ARE willing to put up with it!

God damn it! Unite and vote with your dollars!

Let businesses know that if they screw us we'll take our business elsewhere and spread the news hard and fast so they don't get new business from anyone else.

But you know what, none of that will ever happen, because businesses are crafty. Nitecore knows it doesn't have to up its quality and QC across the board, because it knows that by continuing to churn out "innovative" features, it will distract people from all the faults and shortcomings and convince people to keep buying.

Across the board, businesses know exactly how much they can screw and **** off their customers and still stay in business.

If we REALLY want higher standards of products and services, we have to REALLY DEMAND it, consistently and resolutely.

Otherwise, it's all empty talk, just like everything I've said.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

Well said, scs, especially:

scs said:

Unite and vote with your dollars!
Otherwise, it's all empty talk, just like everything I've said.

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+1 from me.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

Cerealand said:

So you paid the balance on your credit card less $149? If so, shredding your card won't close the credit card account. If the balance is still on the account, it's probably racking up fees, late charges. It potentially could damage your credit.

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Like most credit card companies, they'll send it to "collections" which will offer to settle for half the disputed amount, then after a year or so, when they realize their scare tactics won't work & you won't pay, they give up. The credit card company involved in the Fenix situation has already given up.

As for "Late Charges, Interest etc." It is illegal for them to charge interest during a charge dispute. Credit card companies know this but they'll send bills with added interest anyway, hoping the consumer is ignorant & will be scared into paying when they see the charges. "Hurting your credit score" is a common tactic, frequently used to intimidate a consumer into paying something they shouldn't pay. Contrary to popular belief, it won't do much damage to your credit unless your credit is already bad. It may temporarily take 20 or 30 points off your total credit score which is insignificant. My credit score is one of the highest encountered, so it doesn't make much difference. I lease a new car every three years (which requires good credit) & it's never stopped me. What damages credit is not ONE or TWO "non payments" but a PATTERN of non payments.

Example: A few years ago, I was in the ER for two hours. (The medical profession = King of fraud). I paid the $2,400.00 bill in full when I left & received a "Paid in Full" invoice. A few weeks later, I started receiving bills for $1,500.00 from other medical facilities hundreds of miles away. I asked them what the extra charges were for. They explained, "We showed your chart to other doctors at other facilities for evaluation & you have to pay them too." I said, "I didn't ask you for other doctors' "evaluations & I already got an accurate diagnosis," so if you decided to do that, you can pay them yourself." They gave up after a year of "added interest" & "Damage Your Credit" threats.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

I'd like to add that I have purchased all of my current (in production) Fenix lights from fenix-store.com, and they have EXCELLENT service. May I ask who the dissatisfied folks have been going through?

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

MidnightDistortions said:

Probably would have filed a lawsuit with Fenix. Would have raised hell until they gave you a working TK75 or refunded your money. If any company did this to me i would practically be in the corporate building talking to the CEO to get the damn thing resolved. Good to know that Fenix has terrible service, if any of my lights go out on me i'll simply go to a different brand or attempt to fix it on my own. I don't even know why Fenix shipped your light for 'further repair' but that's just ridiculous.

scm54449, as i have said, i would be raising hell in the consumer department every day until they finally get the light fixed, packaged and mailed to your home. Keep going up the ladder, talk to supervisors, management and higher ups. Once you get to the CEO or someone who takes their job seriously will hopefully fire those people in the service department who probably sit all day in front of a computer eating donuts and isn't doing what they should be doing to provide good service.

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Good point, but most people don't have the time to file such lawsuits for that small an amount - $149.00. It would cost most working people far more in lost time & trouble. When I experience something like that, I leave appropriate reviews on "Yelp" & "ripoff.com" as well as positive reviews for good customer service.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

Grijon said:

I'd like to add that I have purchased all of my current (in production) Fenix lights from fenix-store.com, and they have EXCELLENT service. May I ask who the dissatisfied folks have been going through?

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I purchased my TK75 from "Battery Junction." Their response was "Tough luck because you didn't purchase an extended warranty" B.S. It didn't work.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

AA#5 said:

I purchased my TK75 from "Battery Junction." Their response was "Tough luck because you didn't purchase an extended warranty" B.S. It didn't work.

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Your problem could be that Battery Junction may be a gray market dealer. If you check batteryjunction.com's posted warranty information, it's not the standard info posted by the authorized Fenix distributors (e.g., Fenix Outfitters, Fenix Store, Fenix Tactical, etc.).

The Fenix warranty states that, if you bought the flashlight through the authorized distribution chain, warranty service will be provided by the authorized distributor(s) in the region of purchase.

Although I've bought a couple of E05s gray market, I always buy the more expensive models though a dealer that clearly indicates they're part of the authorized distribution chain.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

Yamabushi said:

Your problem could be that Battery Junction may be a gray market dealer. If you check batteryjunction.com's posted warranty information, it's not the standard info posted by the authorized Fenix distributors (e.g., Fenix Outfitters, Fenix Store, Fenix Tactical, etc.).

The Fenix warranty states that, if you bought the flashlight through the authorized distribution chain, warranty service will be provided by the authorized distributor(s) in the region of purchase.

Thanks for the info. I did purchase later items from the Fenix store. The really crappy thing was, I contacted Fenix & shipped the light at my expense to the warranty station they instructed me to ship it to. Then, it disappeared.


Although I've bought a couple of E05s gray market, I always buy the more expensive models though a dealer that clearly indicates they're part of the authorized distribution chain.

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Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

AA#5 said:

Good point, but most people don't have the time to file such lawsuits for that small an amount - $149.00. It would cost most working people far more in lost time & trouble. When I experience something like that, I leave appropriate reviews on "Yelp" & "ripoff.com" as well as positive reviews for good customer service.

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That's true. It's probably cheaper in the long run to just buy a light as well, but well if you do happen to run into this situation, among giving bad reviews on how the company handles these problems they should be made aware that they are ripping people off.

I called Fenix when my TK12 switch went bad and they sent me a new switch for FREE. Very helpful and even sent a pic asked which switch I had (older vs newer).


I'm glad I didn't buy anything from Battery Junction! You should have reported it to your CC company.

service @ fenixlight .com worked for me.

Re: Fenix F***s-Up Flashlight Repair

Yamabushi said:

Your problem could be that Battery Junction may be a gray market dealer.

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Let's not get into such supposition here.

Bill