BEWARE Spider Cases review - Flightcase Warehouse - Nitro damage

Iamnobody

http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/16568/1/Holding-a-Grudge-Is-Like-Letting-Someone-Live-Rent-Free-in-Your-Mind.html

nibs

LOL - really not letting it get to me - LOL - just a heads up to anyone who wants to purchase a case from flightcase warehouse - don't bother! - It can damage your lovely guitar and the company just won't want to know or help you if you complain...

IvisonGuitars

BloodEagle said:

You already posted about this a month or so ago didn’t you? Let it go mate 

I tell you who is taking the piss in this thread, GIbson restoration suggesting it’ll be $1200 to refinish the back of a guitar neck!

ICBM

miserneil said:

I tell you who is taking the piss in this thread, GIbson restoration suggesting it’ll be $1200 to refinish the back of a guitar neck!

They've got to pay off their half billion dollar debt somehow...

Roland

BloodEagle said:

You already posted about this a month or so ago didn’t you? Let it go mate 

Threads merged. A discussion is fine. Using the forum to post multiple threads is harassment.

impmann

Interesting.
i have exactly the same case. I’ve had it for three years and my Les Paul has lived in it as has my LP junior before it. Both Gibsons both nitro. No damage.

I need to check but I think mine hasn’t got the same lift tab - I think mine is cloth. I’d check but it’s in the loft (no guitar in it).

Good luck with getting it sorted.

thebreeze

JerkMoans said:

Right.

I normally avoid these threads but this one - if it’s the one I’ve read about before - seems pretty clear.

@nibs there’s a decent summery of the law here: https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

Pay particular attention to the fitness for purpose bit.

See if you can get a written statement from one or preferably more of the people who’ve examined it and concluded that the tab caused the damage.

Then write a ‘letter of claim’ to the supplier explaining precisely why you are entitled to hold them liable to repair the damage. Identify the cost and give them a reasonable time to consider and respond - 21 or 28 days would seem sensible.

If they continue to refuse to play ball, go here and follow the instructions:  https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money

This is the best advice. If you’ve got the time and can afford the court fee (£35 I think).  Good luck.

streethawk

miserneil said:

BloodEagle said:

You already posted about this a month or so ago didn’t you? Let it go mate 

I tell you who is taking the piss in this thread, GIbson restoration suggesting it’ll be $1200 to refinish the back of a guitar neck!

Got a 335 here with darkened binding from the black Gibson case lining. I'll get right on to them for my 1200 smackers.

Woohoo!

Legionreturns

impmann said:

Interesting.
i have exactly the same case. I’ve had it for three years and my Les Paul has lived in it as has my LP junior before it. Both Gibsons both nitro. No damage.

I need to check but I think mine hasn’t got the same lift tab - I think mine is cloth. I’d check but it’s in the loft (no guitar in it).

Good luck with getting it sorted.

I don't think it can damage your guitar unless you put it in it  

sweepy

Guitar cases are Evil I tell ya, hang them up so the poor things might at least get played

Username

I Stumbled on this thread as I was looking for a case for an Aerodyne strat (short scale neck)... And was looking for reviews on the Flightcase Warehouse thermometer case. (Still haven't found a suitable hard case btw. In my G&G deluxe case the thing just moves about too much, so if anyone knows of a good case, I'd like to know).

Anyway, your experience has put me off FW, even though it isn't nitro...

I think you should pursue it with them, as they have sold you something not fit for purpose. Nitro hates certain types of plastic, and obviously the tab is plastic.

If it was not suitable for nitro finishes, they should have explicitly said so.

If you take a read of the paperwork that comes with a Snark tuner, it says on there about not using in on nitro finishes or not leaving it on for long periods, I forget the exact wording, and that is what FW should have for their cases if  they "don't know" if they are suitable or not.

You basically have an admission from the email the director sent you when he tells you "I don't know". He should know, and if he doesn't that is no excuse legally.

100% these cases (not the aluminium flightcases, but the tolex kinda cases) are made in China for FW.

The cost of the case is immaterial. It would be relevant if it broke after say 2 years, as under consumer law a product must be "reasonably durable", so it could be argued that a £50 case is not expected to last a long time.

But this case has reacted with your guitar and damaged it, so I would say its pretty clear that if you can get a reputable third party to test and reproduce the reaction (maybe using somewhere along the neck area of your guitar as a test area and the same door tab in contact with it), you are bound to win your case. 

Chances are that it would be settled out of court, but if you send them an email giving them advance warning that this is what you are going to do, and that you will be claiming also for the cost of the independent testing, and give them a chance to reply first. The negative publicity might also alert others who have has similar issues.

I find it strange that people have said it is your fault and you should have checked it, rather than leaving it for too long in its case.  

I have guitars that don't see light of day for up to a year maybe. I don't think they would be saying that if they were in your position with a damaged guitar.

Nitro is a common Gibson finish. If it was mermaid saliva, then FW might have an excuse, so if they advertise a case for a LP, it is not unreasonable to expect it to be Nitro tolerant.

Imagine if it was an item of  clothing, or a cosmetic product that had caused a  similar reaction on a persons skin, or a food that had nuts in and didn't have a warning on the packaging.


Obviously its more serious when a guitar gets damaged, but its the same scenario.  )


(BTW, I have a Gibson Supreme that has lifted laquer around the Gibson logo and Supreme insert, and I spoke to an authorised Gibson repairer who quoted me about £150 to refinish it. He said with Nitro you can sometimes just soften it (I'm not sure if they use FW case door tabs to do this, or a specialised chemical- actually I think they just put Nitro on top of the old finish, and it breaks it down, and then they stipple it in and then finish it. Takes a while though, but you obviously can live without this guitar for a month or two).

Good luck ...

TJT1979

I am shopping for a strat/tele sized case at the moment. One of my other cases was bought through this same company - after reading this I definitely won't be going back.

Hiscox here I come...

IvisonGuitars

Username said:

I Stumbled on this thread as I was looking for a case for an Aerodyne strat (short scale neck)... And was looking for reviews on the Flightcase Warehouse thermometer case. (Still haven't found a suitable hard case btw. In my G&G deluxe case the thing just moves about too much, so if anyone knows of a good case, I'd like to know).

Anyway, your experience has put me off FW, even though it isn't nitro...

I think you should pursue it with them, as they have sold you something not fit for purpose. Nitro hates certain types of plastic, and obviously the tab is plastic.

If it was not suitable for nitro finishes, they should have explicitly said so.

If you take a read of the paperwork that comes with a Snark tuner, it says on there about not using in on nitro finishes or not leaving it on for long periods, I forget the exact wording, and that is what FW should have for their cases if  they "don't know" if they are suitable or not.

You basically have an admission from the email the director sent you when he tells you "I don't know". He should know, and if he doesn't that is no excuse legally.

100% these cases (not the aluminium flightcases, but the tolex kinda cases) are made in China for FW.

The cost of the case is immaterial. It would be relevant if it broke after say 2 years, as under consumer law a product must be "reasonably durable", so it could be argued that a £50 case is not expected to last a long time.

But this case has reacted with your guitar and damaged it, so I would say its pretty clear that if you can get a reputable third party to test and reproduce the reaction (maybe using somewhere along the neck area of your guitar as a test area and the same door tab in contact with it), you are bound to win your case. 

Chances are that it would be settled out of court, but if you send them an email giving them advance warning that this is what you are going to do, and that you will be claiming also for the cost of the independent testing, and give them a chance to reply first. The negative publicity might also alert others who have has similar issues.

I find it strange that people have said it is your fault and you should have checked it, rather than leaving it for too long in its case.  

I have guitars that don't see light of day for up to a year maybe. I don't think they would be saying that if they were in your position with a damaged guitar.

Nitro is a common Gibson finish. If it was mermaid saliva, then FW might have an excuse, so if they advertise a case for a LP, it is not unreasonable to expect it to be Nitro tolerant.

Imagine if it was an item of  clothing, or a cosmetic product that had caused a  similar reaction on a persons skin, or a food that had nuts in and didn't have a warning on the packaging.


Obviously its more serious when a guitar gets damaged, but its the same scenario.  )


(BTW, I have a Gibson Supreme that has lifted laquer around the Gibson logo and Supreme insert, and I spoke to an authorised Gibson repairer who quoted me about £150 to refinish it. He said with Nitro you can sometimes just soften it (I'm not sure if they use FW case door tabs to do this, or a specialised chemical- actually I think they just put Nitro on top of the old finish, and it breaks it down, and then they stipple it in and then finish it. Takes a while though, but you obviously can live without this guitar for a month or two).

Good luck ...

Hi Nibs....

Neil

CHRISB50

skunkwerx

CHRISB50 said:

They’ve cut the hardline... its a trap.. get out!!!!

mr-mac

I'm with poster..  Any one of us would be freeking livid if it happened to our pride and joy and we'd likely post about it in a few places (at least here and facebook) and do all we can to get it fixed (i for one if saved for a les paul couldn't afford a repair like this). 

Seems a bit crap to dismiss him just cos you think he's posted slightly much.  

TonyR

I bought a Harley Benton bass from Thomann and got a cheap hardcase for it at the same time.

On the face of it the case looks great, in fact not dissimilar to the Rickenbacker case I’ve got, but it’s easy to tell this one is cheaply made from cheap component parts  - the chemical smell is a real giveaway!

I generally wouldn’t buy a cheap case, but as the bass was cheap it didn’t bother me.

If I needed to buy a case for one of my more expensive guitars then I’d be stumping up the cash for a Hiscox or something along those lines. I just wouldn’t be happy with the cheap option.

fandango

Username said:

I Stumbled on this thread as I was looking for a case for an Aerodyne strat (short scale neck)... And was looking for reviews on the Flightcase Warehouse thermometer case. (Still haven't found a suitable hard case btw. In my G&G deluxe case the thing just moves about too much, so if anyone knows of a good case, I'd like to know).

Hiscox case.

There are a number of folk on tFB who swear by them. I've got a Hiscox case for one of my guitars. Very pleased.

Alegree

If you're taking legal action (which I think at least threatening it at this point is a good idea), familiarise yourself with the Wagonmound case - it's one of the main cases that illustrates the law's position on negligent liability and consequential losses.

The Wagon Mound no 1 [1961] AC 388