cat eye light - broken ...replacements?

[thomas]

for some reason my rear light has stopped working (no sensible reason - I've not dropped it, put it in the washing machine, etc).

I've contacted them via email, but does anyone have any advice when it comes to getting them to fix/replace the light. I'm about 150 miles away from where I bought it, but it's a little LBS and they probably don't stock it any more...and would rather just deal with manufacture directly.

I can't imagine the lights is more than a couple years old, and really hasn't been through anything that should of made it stop working.

I've obviously changed the batteries, a few times, with no luck

 

[downfader]

for some reason my rear light has stopped working (no sensible reason - I've not dropped it, put it in the washing machine, etc).

I've contacted them via email, but does anyone have any advice when it comes to getting them to fix/replace the light. I'm about 150 miles away from where I bought it, but it's a little LBS and they probably don't stock it any more...and would rather just deal with manufacture directly.

I can't imagine the lights is more than a couple years old, and really hasn't been through anything that should of made it stop working.

I've obviously changed the batteries, a few times, with no luck

Is it a cateye '610?

They have an issue with the solder going in the PCB. Mine went last year, it was past the years warranty so I switched to a Knog Skink. The rubber seems to absorb the road shock pretty well. Plus if you buy a white one they tend to glow all over.

 

[thomas]

Is it a cateye '610?

They have an issue with the solder going in the PCB. Mine went last year, it was past the years warranty so I switched to a Knog Skink. The rubber seems to absorb the road shock pretty well. Plus if you buy a white one they tend to glow all over.

http://www.cateye.com/en/product_detail/468

yep. One of those...FFS. Probably over a year, although for the money I would expect more than a couple years. I'm going over to a blackburn mars 4. Reviews all seem pretty good, and it isn't that expensive.

 

[Norm]

My LBS said that they don't bother returning stuff to Cateye's distributor (Zyro, is it?) any more, they are so difficult to deal with.

The manager just replaces anything which breaks within the warranty period and trashes the broken unit. He says that it's not worth his time and effort to fill in all the forms, provide all the "proof of sale", explain the details of the fault and then follow up an unresponsive "customer service" team.

The same company distributes Altura in the UK as well, I believe.

 

[davefb]

Is it a cateye '610?

They have an issue with the solder going in the PCB. Mine went last year, it was past the years warranty so I switched to a Knog Skink. The rubber seems to absorb the road shock pretty well. Plus if you buy a white one they tend to glow all over.

if you can be bothered,

look up the SOGA... you have much more protection that 'one years warranty' ...

http://whatconsumer.co.uk/the-sale-of-goods-act/

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Consumerrights/DG_182935

i consider catseye to be a relatively quality product so you'd expect it to last ...

cutting to the chase
http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/after_you_buy/know-your-rights/SGAknowyourrights/
important bit,,
"If your goods are not satisfactory you may be able to make a claim for up to 6 years in England and Wales and 5 years in Scotland after the purchase of your goods, for a refund, repair or replacement."
(i've only managed to get anywhere with this once though, that was on my car, i got ford to accept having to pay part of a repair bill... though in the end, it never came to that, coz the car got written off )

 

[Norm]

important bit,,
"If your goods are not satisfactory you may be able to make a claim for up to 6 years in England and Wales and 5 years in Scotland after the purchase of your goods, for a refund, repair or replacement."
(i've only managed to get anywhere with this once though, that was on my car, i got ford to accept having to pay part of a repair bill... though in the end, it never came to that, coz the car got written off )

I'd say that equally important is the frequent reference to "reasonable time" (how long is that for something electrical which is hung from the back of your bike in all weathers?) and that the claim is against the retailer, not the manufacturer.

 

[the_mikey]

If all else fails, an LED lamp is not the most techincal or complicated of devices, and it may be easily repaired.

 

[davefb]

I'd say that equally important is the frequent reference to "reasonable time" (how long is that for something electrical which is hung from the back of your bike in all weathers?) and that the claim is against the retailer, not the manufacturer.

i guess not long if it's a quid from poundland,, but i'd consider catseye to be premium so would expect it to last much longer than a year....... but yeah at the minimum its really just ammunition to use in the shop..

 

[davefb]

oh and, check you manual,, just been browsing the online ones... some mention 2yr warrantys( those would be manufactor ones, not uk law ones,, though EU law has some 2yr protection)..

see this for example..

http://www.cateye.co...RC_ENG%2Bv1.pdf

[edit]
used to use length of warrenty as a major part of buying computer parts,, some stuff has 'full life' or 5yr warranty.. have sent a hard drive back after 2yrs for replacement , annoys me limited 12month stuff

 

[gbb]

I had a Cateye rear LED fail in similar circumstances (can't remember the exact model).
Checked all battery connections, solder joints and LED connections.....nothing. The electronics are minute and sealed on the circuit board, nothing to be done there....binned it.
Mine was maybe 2 or 3 years old, but used all weathers, particually in the winter of course. I would be gutted if it were less than a year old mind.

 

[thomas]

Actually got a reply this morning..

Dear Mr Etherington,

Thank you for your e-mail regarding your Cateye rear light, we are sorry to hear of the issue you have experienced with this product.

We would ask you to return the item to the shop from which it was purchased, as any warranty claim lies with the retailer even if it was given as a gift or won as a prize. This also includes mail order and internet companies as the product should also be returned to them for inspection.

As well as the receipt a proof of purchase can include a credit or debit card statement or delivery note. If you have mislaid your receipt then please discuss with the shop further.

Yours sincerely


Sarah Zarrouk

Customer Services Manager

Will probs just forget about it now.

 

[Norm]

We would ask you to return the item to the shop from which it was purchased, as any warranty claim lies with the retailer even if it was given as a gift or won as a prize. This also includes mail order and internet companies as the product should also be returned to them for inspection.

As well as the receipt a proof of purchase can include a credit or debit card statement or delivery note. If you have mislaid your receipt then please discuss with the shop further.

As I said...

...it's not worth his time and effort to fill in all the forms, provide all the "proof of sale", explain the details of the fault and then follow up an unresponsive "customer service" team.

And that's the CS Manager.

 

[thomas]

OWW! I've just blinded myself with my new blackburn ...but I better go for a bike ride before I scoff the free wiggle sweets

I spoke a bit more to cat eye and they said take it to another retailer and speak to them. Think I'll just go to the halfords bike shop in town and ask if they'll replace it for me. Hopefully they've got that model. Then I can have two decent rear lights

 

[downfader]

OWW! I've just blinded myself with my new blackburn ...but I better go for a bike ride before I scoff the free wiggle sweets

I spoke a bit more to cat eye and they said take it to another retailer and speak to them. Think I'll just go to the halfords bike shop in town and ask if they'll replace it for me. Hopefully they've got that model. Then I can have two decent rear lights

Blackburns are pretty good. Have heard some of the mounts need a bit of a redesign though.

Trouble I found with my 610 was that you struggle to get into the circuit, then as someone already said most of the components are sealed over or too small.

I really would like to see a brighter 610 with a much better pcb and mount to absorb the shocks.

 

[thomas]

Blackburns are pretty good. Have heard some of the mounts need a bit of a redesign though.

It looks like the same theory as the cat eye one, just with a bigger bit to hold it in...we shall see.

Really annoyed with myself. Since getting back from travelling across Wales and back to UNI, somewhere along the lines I've misplaced the bracket for my front light (my spare is broken ). Really fancied a night ride to test it out, but obviously can't. Have ordered a replacement as I've been through every single draw/box/jacket that I've got.