OK folks since VH came on-line I have been buying planes, batts and parts from them and have gotten good stuff ..... this is why I have recommended them and promoted them here on RCG.

Well.... just this past week I received a plane that had some factory quality issues....some glue in the hinges not allowing a aileron to swing.

Ok first step is contact VH for support.... they asked me to send pictures (which I offered to do upon my initial support request)... so I sent pictures (close up shots of the glue blobs in the actual hinges).

OK here is where I am a bit shocked at my first experience with the VH Customer Service Rep reply.....


============================================
Dear Customer,

New answer was just posted on your ticket: New plane with bad main wing.

Answer: Hi. This is a foam plane, and think hinge can be made to work. Can you fix it yourself? Thanks.


Thank you again,
Value Hobby

This email is sent from an un-monitored email address, so if you reply to this email, our support team will not see it. To send a reply for your support ticket, please log into your account and click on "Support Tickets".

============================================

I sent a reply this morning telling them this reply was unacceptable and that I bought a new plane from VH... not a factory issue plane that I needed to solve quality issues on.

Well up to now I have sent people to VH..... but no longer will I promote a company that treats their customers this way. Now if they fix the problem like most other Hobby Companies in the RC Industry.... I will gladly give them KUDOS and continue to send them business.

Anyway.... just wanted folks to know what is happening and will report out how this gets handled.

I want to be a fan of these guys.... but I will no longer buy or promote if this is how they treat US.... their customers.

Thanks All for reading....more to come.

Kyle
KYDAWG1

Do you think your "careful" label might be premature? How about reporting how the whole transaction went as opposed to the start of it? It's been 3 days, what has transpired since your original report?

A couple of things to consider. VH is basically one guy, Alex. If you get him on the phone, you've done well. He is usually pretty responsive via e-mail though.

When you e-mailed, what did you ask them/him? Were you looking for a replacement piece (if available) or a complete new frame. Any suggestion of partial refund etc?

I've never been asked to send a pic of something by Hobby Lobby, Horizon etc, never understood the "send me a pic" thing. Speaking of pics, can you add the ones you sent to them here? What plane was it?

I haven't had a service issue with VH yet, knock on wood.

I received a plane also that had a broken wing mount. He asked me to fix it. It cannot be fixed. He has not responded to any emails and just won't back what he sells. I have a ebay dispute open. 7 days and nothing. I will never buy from him again and waiting for my 100.00. Also purchased many power hd mini servos and 5 of them stripped gears setting up the linkages.

Originally Posted by porcia83

Do you think your "careful" label might be premature? How about reporting how the whole transaction went as opposed to the start of it? It's been 3 days, what has transpired since your original report?

A couple of things to consider. VH is basically one guy, Alex. If you get him on the phone, you've done well. He is usually pretty responsive via e-mail though.

When you e-mailed, what did you ask them/him? Were you looking for a replacement piece (if available) or a complete new frame. Any suggestion of partial refund etc?

I've never been asked to send a pic of something by Hobby Lobby, Horizon etc, never understood the "send me a pic" thing. Speaking of pics, can you add the ones you sent to them here? What plane was it?

I haven't had a service issue with VH yet, knock on wood.

FreeWing Piper J-5 Cub Cruiser

http://www.valuehobby.com/airplanes/...b-cruiser.html

So far Alex has proposed a resolution of a partial refund for me to try and fix the hinges. So far they are pretty glue locked....I have been picking the glue and paint off of the hinge linkages and I just added some silicone oil to see if they let go.

Will report out final resolution.

If it all pans out I will buy again.... I am already a multiple purcgase repeat customer..... a couple of planes, multiple 6S packs, small packs and many receivers.

I only bought one plane from him, an EDF that's pretty popular, but ended up selling it. I love the batteries and props, not a concern yet.

That hinge ain't goin anywhere, that's some weird glue placement for sure. I'd work the partial refund angle and just cut and re-hinge. I doubt he has parts for that. Sucks to pay good money and have to do surgery, maybe you can work a new deal with no shipping for another plane. I hope it works out.

Nothing is worse than not being responded to by any store/vendor/seller when things don't go right. While everyone should get a fair chance to respond, 5 days with nothing isn't good.

My freewing/hobby lobby Eurofighter and F-35 both had similar glue in hinge issues. Both causes they used "704 glue" which is a type of silicone RTV glue. All it takes is a sharp exacto or needle nose pliers to pull the glue off the hinge.

Been buying from Alex for the past two plus years without issues.

My only problem arose from a folding prop spinner that did no have the nut that goes on the collet in the package (M.I.A.). Since I had purchased several items with that same order, I looked for the "missing" nut in the box (great packaging as always) but no nut.

I called and talked to Alex, sho promised to send me a replacement nut right away. After a few calls and several emails, the nut arrived three weeks after our first conversation. This irritated me to no end becasue it cost me three weeks of great flying weather that I missed because of someone's carelessness. I have remained a faithful customer of V/H though.

I was seriously thinking about buying one of these J5s to have with me in the car at all times. I even have it in my V/H Cart, but since reading this thread here, I will forego this purchase even though its price makes it very tempting.

BTW, I have never have an issue with any of my previous FREEWING models from Alex, though a couple of local flyers have, thus my reason for not buying the J5 at this time, just in case.

End result was a few bucks back for the issue from Alex and I fixed it myself.

Value Hobby came thru..... so far 5-6 purchases and ALL were Good.

2 Thumbs Up from these guys.

If you have an issue.... give em some time to get it resolved. Keep calling and emailing....they eventually get around to it.

Originally Posted by kydawg1

End result was a few bucks back for the issue from Alex and I fixed it myself.

Value Hobby came thru..... so far 5-6 purchases and ALL were Good.

2 Thumbs Up from these guys.

If you have an issue.... give em some time to get it resolved. Keep calling and emailing....they eventually get around to it.

Glad to hear you are satisfied with the end result.

I have yet to encounter an issue with any of the stuff I get from him, sans the missing prop nut from the spinner. Not a bad record when considering how much $$$ I have spent at V/H. Alex is a good guy, perhaps he needs to learn a few things pertaining to customer relations, but he's a good guy nevertheless.