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Broken Grays fly rod - guarantee?

18K views 41 replies 33 participants last post by  BrownieBasher  
#1 ·
Hi everyone

I purchased my rod in 2006 and it has just broken at the top section. I was under the impression that this rod had a lifetimes guarantee. Having telephoned the dealer I purchased it from, he informed me that it would cost £59.00 to replace.

Can anyone help me on this please?

Many thanks

Raymond
 
#4 ·
Hi everyone

I purchased my rod in 2006 and it has just broken at the top section. I was under the impression that this rod had a lifetimes guarantee. Having telephoned the dealer I purchased it from, he informed me that it would cost £59.00 to replace.

Can anyone help me on this please?

Many thanks

Raymond
I just had exactly the same problem, I spoke directly to customer service dpt. at Greys and was told that they had changed the warranty and as they no longer made that rod I was being charged for an upgrade.
After kicking up a bit of a stink and demanded that that honored the original warranty they agreed to replace the rod as an upgrade for the £25 admin /P&P charge as stated in the original warranty.
I don't think the wording of the original warranty states that they can change the terms of the warranty so it should still be applied to your rod.

I have subsequently discovered that I no longer have a copy of the warranty:eek:

Give it a try.

Frank

PS. The whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth about the integrity of Greys as a company and I will not buy any more of there products nor recommend them to clients.
 
#6 ·
hardy/greys



this is the point i am trying to make about greys, the customer relations side is minging:D but the products are good and worth the money. some people have had bad PR from greys and others cant fault them;). i will continue to buy greys products, i just wish they would be a little more understanding at times;)
 
#5 ·
PS. The whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth about the integrity of Greys as a company and I will not buy any more of there products nor recommend them to clients.

I must say that I have found the opposite to the above true. Hardy Greys customer services have always been very helpful and have gone to extremes to make me happy. I am either easily pleased or have not suffered poor service from them as some have.

Mark
 
#7 ·
I purchased a greys grxi last season, first 10 mins of use i gently pulled the line through the top ring and it snapped.
I phoned Greys who said it was no problem just send £25,
I told them,no way and to give them there due, they sent me a new top free of charge.
On the subject of breaking rods with a lifetime guarantee, when a breakage occurs,
it is usually the top section very rarely will it be the bottom.
i bet these firms buy a load of top sections at a low price, then charge joe public £25,and they will still make a profit.
 
#42 ·
I purchased a greys grxi last season, first 10 mins of use i gently pulled the line through the top ring and it snapped.
I phoned Greys who said it was no problem just send £25,
I told them,no way and to give them there due, they sent me a new top free of charge.
On the subject of breaking rods with a lifetime guarantee, when a breakage occurs,
it is usually the top section very rarely will it be the bottom.
i bet these firms buy a load of top sections at a low price, then charge joe public £25,and they will still make a profit.
To be fair they could probably give you a whole new rod for £25 and still make a profit!!;)
 
#8 ·
A slight digression, whats the situation re replacing rod sections when you don't have a guarantee (after buying a rod secondhand)?

Steve
 
#9 ·
Speaking for Hardys, I have had to replace top sections on two rods which were purchased before the lifetime guarantees came about. The first time they did it free of charge because there was a delay of about a month, their fault, and the second time they charged about £60 for a new top section, which I thought was OK. Personally I couldn't fault the staff or the service. I have also had a top joint of a Greys barbel rod for £15 on a lifetime guarantee. No problems at all. Alan
 
#10 ·
lifetime guarantee.

I wonder what the exact wording on the guarantee document says, it could be:

lifetime guarantee for the duration of that particular rod (most production run are between 3 - 5 years), hence the upgrade price.

lifetime guarantee against manufactors defects (if theirs a fault in the rod it will break on your first trip out and you wouldnt need a lifetime guarantee for that.

or

lifetime guarantee unconditional,

Dont take for granted that those two words lifetime guarantee covers your purchase for your life.
 
#11 ·
3 or 4 years ago I was talking to a tackle dealer who shall remain nameless,and is a good reliable friend of mine He was informed by the Rep for a very expensive tackle maker mainly top end rods that begins with S ;)
that it cost them more to despatch the rods to dealers in the UK than it cost to manufacture a complete rod.
The cost per rod for delivery was then approx £10.
IMHO we are being ripped off left right and centre and yet we keep paying premium prices for rods (and I include myself in this) that are no more capable of catching fish than a £40 Trion.
 
#12 ·
Broken Greys rod - guarantee

Read the above posts with interest. As a former tackle dealer for 30 years and a Greys dealer let me add a few comments from the other side of the fence.

if the product is faulty - ie breaks for no particular reason then it is the responsibility of the selling retailer to make good - the "life time warranty is irrelevent ". The biggest cause of rod breakage is setting up the rod prior to fishing and pulling out extra line at a sharp angle - the rod is not designed to take this. The next most common problem is snapping during casting. Almost always caused by being inadvertenly hit by a fly at some time in the past - especially a gold head. like a car windscreen the rod may last months or years before shattering. Both are not warranty problems but would be covered y the "lifetime warranty". In my vast experience if there is a manufacturing defect then usually the first time the rod is used , either casting or playing a fish, the problem will show. In 99% of cases any breakages after the first day are normally user caused.

Getting back to the warranty it should not matter how the damage is caused the warranty should cover it. Over the years the cost per section has unfortunately increased but normally Greys are very good. If the rod is no longer in production they should replace with a new one at the cost of the damaged section as its not your fault that the Company have discontinued a particular model.After all they waranty that rod for life.

In a nut shell if you feel that there is a real fault caused by manufacturing then the selling dealer is responsible and probably a reasonable period would be about 12 months. In such cases the "lifetime warranty" is irrelevant and dont let a dealer bull**** you otherwise. Hpe this helps and good luck to all with warranty problems.
 
#13 ·
In a nut shell if you feel that there is a real fault caused by manufacturing then the selling dealer is responsible and probably a reasonable period would be about 12 months. In such cases the "lifetime warranty" is irrelevant and dont let a dealer bull**** you otherwise. Hpe this helps and good luck to all with warranty problems.[/QUOTE]

well cumbria i have just returned my greys grxi rod to my local agent fmtc of bonnybridge, one of the eyes on the middle section has worked loose should be returned in a couple of days will post my comments on service later.:)
from another cumbrian...
 
#14 ·
I have had 2 dealings with Greys recently regarding rod section replacements, first I broke the top section of one of my XD's this was replced in under a week for £25 and secondly I rang and told them that one of my sons GRXi rods had the cork filler falling out.

I was told to return the bottom section for them to have a look at, they then sent me a new bottom piece free of charge again in less than a week. Both dealings were painless and very well handled by Greys with both the customer services on the phone and the return time excellent.

Dave
 
#17 ·
Your dead right mrtrout.Alot of anglers have been brainwashed by the sages and the hardys.Sometimes its sickening to read alot of the jargon about rods and reels,youd think it was formula one cars they were talking about.A friend of mine has fished for my country 6 times and he uses mill ends all the time. I have stopped buying magazines because all they are doing is pushing products that are ripping us off.
 
#18 ·
Thank You!

Can I say a big thank you to you all for the excellent advice. I telephoned Greys, and low and behold my dealer was, shall I say, overcharging me!
Greys instructed me to send back the broken part with a cheque for £25, and they would send me a new rod asap.

If it wasnt for this forum I would have been many £s out of pocket.
So many thanks to you all once again, and happy fishing!

Ray
 
#19 ·
Is it really a liftetime warranty ?

You can register on line very easy no problem

First rod broke within 6 months , sent nice letter to Greys saying that i didnt think the £25 wa appropriate within the first year , they agreed and sent replacemnt section free of charge.

Second time 18 months later rod snapped due to some over enthusiastic double hauling. Sent broken section of with £25 and received replacment section 2 days later.

The reality is that the lifetime warranty is a con , in actual fact you pay a not too unreasonable price for a section of broken rod direct from the manufacturer. Obviously the more expensive the rod the better value the £25 is.

All in all, quite happy with Greys and excellent value for money rods
 
#21 ·
We are seeing more and more problems like this popping up like this and I think it's becoming quite clear that some companies are regretting offering a life time warranty at a fairly low charge. With most brands now it usually states on the warranty card that you should register your new purchase on their website within a short time (usually something like 14 days) and this then eliminates the option for the original customer to sell the rod on with a blank warranty card. As long as the customer has regsitered their new purchase before any changes to the lifetime warranty have been made (such as an increase in handling charge) then the company will honour the warranty that came with their purchase. A friend of mine recently made a claim with Loomis as the tip went on his streamdance. When he first contacted them they didn't want to know as their warranty is NOW DOWN TO 2 YEARS! but as he purchased it 5 or 6 years ago they processed his claim.

Rob
 
#23 ·
I've just whacked a goldhead thru my GRXi tip section which folded on the back cast. Totally my fault. I bought it 2yrs ago, registered it as required and kept the receipt. It's been discontinued some time now; in fact it probably was I bought it for full whack. I've dealt with Greys before and had nothing but exemplary service from them; albeit a tad expensive (£30 for a Missionary 7 section, worth it though 'cos I love the rod).
I'll let you know my findings......who knows they might offer me a GRXi+ in place of it :thumbs:
 
#25 · (Edited)
Grays and others should scrap the guarantee and supply rods with two tip sections as standard.

Most rod breaks are on the tip section in the first 10 inches, if you break you rod 100 miles from home your fishing is over.
Carbon is very easly crushed much easer than bamboo its IMO crazy you dont get a spare top section on a carbon rod.


gary
 
#27 ·
I have the Grxi 13'. Great lightweight rod for summer fishing. Last season I was casting and one of the wraps on a top section guide EXPLODED. I couldn't believe the mess. Contacted Greys to be told to send £40. I complained that the rod must have had that defect when finished in the factory. Perhaps the guide was wrapped too tightly? Anyway, they told me to send down the section and have it examined. I sent it down in January and they have no record of it arriving. :eek::eek:mg:

Anyway, if a 3 piece rod can be replaced for £40 a section, that comes in at £120. So why was the rod retailing at £279 in the first instance?

(I never paid that for it mind you, I got it 3 or 4 years ago for £112 including del, brand spanking, from the bay.)
 
#30 · (Edited)
I recently snapped the tip of my 3 wt streamflex whilst playing a large grayling which swam straight past my legs in to strong flow whilst i was still facing upstream. Ping! the tip went. Still managed to land it, great fish around 12 inches!

I contacted Greys who asked me to return the broken section. 2 days later a new section was delivered to me FOC. So my experience with them couldn't have been better really.
 
#31 ·
Re: Broken Grays fly rod - guarantee?
Raise the argument another level.
two years ago, took two rather expensive salmon rods to the hardy /greys shop/factory at alnwick.
one was a eight year old 15' gem, given to me by hardy.
other was a 12 year old 15' 3" elite. purchased by me.
both unregistered.
at time of production, gem had 25 year guarantee, subject to post and packaging costs, elite had none!, but was sold on hardy reputation for repair replacement f.o.c.
STAFF ASKED ME FOR £50 PER ROD TO COVER POST AND PACKAGING!
Elite needed complete new reel seat, as original uplocker was worn out.
Gem needed new tip section as had broken clean through half way down.
Told them i would collect on repair, but was told was still the same handling charge, irrespective of guarantees.
Stumped up, and informed them was not happy about situation.
Upshot was elite was totally refurbished, new handle, reel seat, and two stripping rings replaced.
gem had tip replaced, and striping rings replaced, cork had been cleaned.

Now compare that to orvis.
My youngest broke my 10 year old #6 weight silver label,again unregistered, sent it to them after quick conversation on phone, was replaced with brand spanking newer model 48 hours later, at no cost at all.
there is lifetime guarantees and then there is lifetime guarantees!
regards
bert