Calicap drawer arrived damaged

[An-j]

Does anyone have a contact at calicap.de? Our calicap drawer arrived damaged and they won’t replace it.
They have said we can sent it back for a refund but that will cost us £120 in postage (£60 either way).
We could not inspect the box when it arrived due to covid 19. On opening, there was a small hole and something sharp has gone through and bent the front of the drawer!
Apart from a paypal dispute - is there anything else we can do?

 

[soulstyledevon]

Could you just cover over the damage and still use it...?
Very poor response from Calicap. Would put me off using them...

 

[paul_f]

Unfortunately you need to open any parcel within a few days and report damage. I suspect you have had this for some time, so Calicap can't claim from the courier

That should be easy to bend back and dress out with a hammer. The pop a sticker on it

 

[Volkywagen]

Maybe threaten to out them on the California owners forum but i think its too late for that!!!

 

[An-j]

Could you just cover over the damage and still use it...?
Very poor response from Calicap. Would put me off using them...

i guess it’s usable but the damage is right at the front and it cost almost £600!

 

[An-j]

Unfortunately you need to open any parcel within a few days and report damage. I suspect you have had this for some time, so Calicap can't claim from the courier

That should be easy to bend back and dress out with a hammer. The pop a sticker on it

We claimed within 3 hours of arrival! They have said as DPD said the parcel was delivered undamaged that’s it. DPD have said the seller needs to claim so I can’t do anything......

 

[flying banana]

I don't like calicaps attitude to uk customers after they said something to a member about a certain vote. so I would never use them. still lot of money you paid there. it would be cheaper to fix it yourself. for a proper job take it to a metal shop or panel beater or something of that ilk. lots of local engineering firms will make that like new for a lot less than £120

 

[soulstyledevon]

I don't like calicaps attitude to uk customers after they said something to a member about a certain vote. so I would never use them. still lot of money you paid there. it would be cheaper to fix it yourself. for a proper job take it to a metal shop or panel beater or something of that ilk. lots of local engineering firms will make that like new for a lot less than £120

I feel sorry for you @An-j but I too wasn’t happy about their past ( Borris Bike ) references And their attitude towards the UK in general...

 

[An-j]

I feel sorry for you @An-j but I too wasn’t happy about their past ( Borris Bike ) references And their attitude towards the UK in general...

Thank you. I just expected more!

 

[Duncan]

This is an interesting post as ours also arrived damaged , they then wanted us to send it back at our own expense !!! I ended up just living with it but in hindsight I should of kicked up a stink

 

[Annik]

They do sell these in the club shop you know ?

 

[paul_f]

We claimed within 3 hours of arrival! They have said as DPD said the parcel was delivered undamaged that’s it. DPD have said the seller needs to claim so I can’t do anything......

That's really not on then! When mine arrived I did think the packing was rather minimal for this part.
Did you pay by PayPal? If so could there be any come back from them?
It's difficult to see how much damage from that angle, but with a small sticker (maybe relocating the one from the right) it would be quite easy to fix not be noticeable

 

[Borris]

Just a thought, did you pay by credit card?

If you did then get in touch with them and raise a complaint. They will probably refund you the money straight away and take it up on your behalf. If you lose you'll have to repay it but it will certainly make Calicap take your complaint seriously.

They will ask you for full details including copies of the invoice and any communications you've had with Calicap. In my experience, you stand more chance of success by getting a large organisation to fight your corner than doing it yourself.

Last year I arranged a 7seat hire car with an Spanish rental car company for a holiday in Sardinia. When I tried to collect it the third party company said they didn't have any seven seaters and never have had. In the weeks that followed I complained and complained and complained. Result zero. I then raised it with my credit card company and it's since been sorted. The moral of the story for me is always pay by credit card.

Failing that tell Calicap, in writing, that you have notified the very many members of the California Club Forum (which has members across Europe) of their poor customer relations and are keeping them informed of developments. Accordingly, future sales of this product may be affected unless there is a satifactory resolution to this complaint

 

[paul_f]

They do sell these in the club shop you know ?

The club shop one is out of stock. The Calicap appears to be more robustly built as well

 

[An-j]

They do sell these in the club shop you know ?

Yes, That would have been easier but we wanted the 810 length and the club one is shorter - 720 I think.

 

[An-j]

This is an interesting post as ours also arrived damaged , they then wanted us to send it back at our own expense !!! I ended up just living with it but in hindsight I should of kicked up a stink

Sadly, I think we will have to live with it. They have said the same to us - we would have to pay to send it back. And only the seller can claim off the courier so we are stuck.
ho hum!

 

[ThomasHJ]

Thomas Königs E-Mail: tom@vwcamper.de is the manager (but you already knew that I assume).

I can fully understand, that although you might be able to bend it, cover it up with a sticker and use it without problems, it just doesn't feel right that you pay 600 quid for something and then get a damaged product, where you could have and should have a mint product. That's simply because it -isn't- right. I wouldn't let it go. However, they seem to be willing to refund your money. That's a good thing. The problem is the shipping costs, which is huge compared to the purchase amount. In EU (sorry) the law says that the selling party should pay for the cost of returning in case of you receiving a faulty product. This obviously is. As it happens, you're not in EU. That's the risk with buying outside UK.

On every DPD website (for different countries) I read that if a package arrives damaged, the sender should contact DPD and lay a claim with DPD. So I would lookup this information on the DPD website for Germany and then confront calicap / vwcamper.de with the fact that it is their responsibility to make a claim at DPD. I would put it in writing (e-mail).

Good luck, keep at it. Hope it turns out ok.

 

[Duncan]

I would email them with a link to this thread?

 

[Borris]

Actually, my grey matter has just stirred and I seem to recall that they don't accept credit cards.

On a separate note, looking at the damage, have you tried peeling back the protective film on exposed face. You may find that the damage is only very slight if not non existant. The side up right could easily be returned to it's original shape with a bit of gentle pursuation. I know it's very annoying but getting it bent back might just save a heap of hassle.

 

[An-j]

Actually, my grey matter has just stirred and I seem to recall that they don't accept credit cards.

On a separate note, looking at the damage, have you tried peeling back the protective film on exposed face. You may find that the damage is only very slight if not non existant. The side up right could easily be returned to it's original shape with a bit of gentle pursuation. I know it's very annoying but getting it bent back might just save a heap of hassle.

I know, in the scheme of things, it can be sorted and is a minor issue. But I like my van to be perfect..........

 

[An-j]

Thomas Königs E-Mail: tom@vwcamper.de is the manager (but you already knew that I assume).

I can fully understand, that although you might be able to bend it, cover it up with a sticker and use it without problems, it just doesn't feel right that you pay 600 quid for something and then get a damaged product, where you could have and should have a mint product. That's simply because it -isn't- right. I wouldn't let it go. However, they seem to be willing to refund your money. That's a good thing. The problem is the shipping costs, which is huge compared to the purchase amount. In EU (sorry) the law says that the selling party should pay for the cost of returning in case of you receiving a faulty product. This obviously is. As it happens, you're not in EU. That's the risk with buying outside UK.

On every DPD website (for different countries) I read that if a package arrives damaged, the sender should contact DPD and lay a claim with DPD. So I would lookup this information on the DPD website for Germany and then confront calicap / vwcamper.de with the fact that it is their responsibility to make a claim at DPD. I would put it in writing (e-mail).

Good luck, keep at it. Hope it turns out ok.

I hadn’t realised that about the EU now. I will bear that in mind in future.

I don’t want a refund, the drawer looks great, I just would really like one without a dent!

 

[Meoncoast]

I would go down the PayPal route to raise the issue with them. PayPal I have found always very much on the side of the customer in the past when I have had issues with suppliers.

 

[An-j]

Well, they have emailed DPD to see if they can raise a claim so I will see what happens.......

 

[Meoncoast]

and as a PS. the packing was not that great. I recall when we got ours several years ago it was just a thin box

 

[Stanstanley1980]

This is very concerning. With lots of people reporting the same issue and their attitude towards the UK customers, do you think they are just sending seconds or damaged stock knowing people will not want to pay to return it?
I’m considering one. How much difference is there between the Calicap and the Club Shop version?