Saddle warranty/fault question

[Mambo83]

Hi if you buy a new saddle from a saddle fitter and you find it has a fault, would you expect to have to pay for the saddle fitter to come back out again? I paid my saddle fitter a fitting and fuel charge to fit my saddle and I’ve since found out that it has a fault that is under warranty (the fault has also caused some damage to my horse), however I am thinking I shouldn’t be paying £100 for my saddler to come back to me to sort out it’s repair?

 

[Amy May In A Manger]

Did they make the saddle? If not the warranty is with the maker, not them. So yes I'd expect to pay and have it reimbursed at a later by the saddle company.

 

[SEL]

Saddlers discretion i think. Mine didn't but I felt bad about that because it wasn't her fault.

 

[mini-eventer]

Not a saddle but an expensive radiator with a manufacturing fault. I had to pay the plumber twice

 

[Exasperated]

Hi if you buy a new saddle from a saddle fitter and you find it has a fault, would you expect to have to pay for the saddle fitter to come back out again? I paid my saddle fitter a fitting and fuel charge to fit my saddle and I’ve since found out that it has a fault that is under warranty (the fault has also caused some damage to my horse), however I am thinking I shouldn’t be paying £100 for my saddler to come back to me to sort out it’s repair?

No I would not!
If the new saddle is faulty, the retailer and you have the contract, and since your saddler is also your retailer - saddler should sort this out and take it up with the manufacturer, themselves.
If your saddler is expecting you to stand this - they need reminding of the relevant legislation.
Sure you want to repair and keep this saddle, or return for refund and start again? Possibly with a different saddle fitter, since this one doesn’t appear to have either noticed the issue or potential damage to your horse.
Travelling and professional time are expensive, but there are altogether too many saddle fitters seem to ‘fit’ and sell whatever is in their van, then keep on charging for subsequent visits to sort out inevitable issues - sorry, increasingly cynical about what seems to be an increasing scenario.

 

[Mambo83]

No I would not!
If the new saddle is faulty, the retailer and you have the contract, and since your saddler is also your retailer - saddler should sort this out and take it up with the manufacturer, themselves.
If your saddler is expecting you to stand this - they need reminding of the relevant legislation.
Sure you want to repair and keep this saddle, or return for refund and start again? Possibly with a different saddle fitter, since this one doesn’t appear to have either noticed the issue or potential damage to your horse.
Travelling and professional time are expensive, but there are altogether too many saddle fitters seem to ‘fit’ and sell whatever is in their van, then keep on charging for subsequent visits to sort out inevitable issues - sorry, increasingly cynical about what seems to be an increasing scenario.

I agree. The fault is something that the saddle would have been sold with and something he should have noticed during fitting. I actually really rated him as a saddle fitter and he came highly recommended which was why I didn’t mind paying his very high fees, but given this, I don’t know if I just want a refund or whether I want it repaired. It is a good saddle and the right saddle for her (I asked a different saddler who visited the yard to have a Quick Look and he agreed it was right)…but I’m now having to pay to get her put right due to the damage.

 

[Mambo83]

Did they make the saddle? If not the warranty is with the maker, not them. So yes I'd expect to pay and have it reimbursed at a later by the saddle company.

However my contract is with the fitter?

 

[ihatework]

I’d completely expect the fitter who supplied the saddle to deal with it and cover any associated cost of doing so. And any good fitter would.

 

[little_critter]

To put it in context, OH works in a cycle shop. If they have to do warranty repairs the parts are supplied free by the manufacturer, but they don't charge the customer for their time to strip off, fit, test the replacement parts. They just have to suck it up.

 

[Exasperated]

However my contract is with the fitter?

Your contract is with the fitter because that individual is also the retailer who sold a defective, new, item to you.
If the fitter incurs extra expense in consequence of ‘dealing with’ the faulty item, that is up to the fitter to iron out with the manufacturer, not you.
If the fitter’s contract with the manufacturer of the product doesn’t enable them to claim any such expenses from that manufacturer - that is their problem - not yours.
If the fitter tries to make it your problem and expense, on top of the other expenses that damage to your horse has caused (which any fitter genuinely concerned about their professional reputation should be doing their utmost to expiate) -
Since you know exactly what model, size, make etc you want, which you are confident will fit you and your animal if not faulty, then return the faulty one for a refund, buy elsewhere, and don’t engage their services again.

 

[onemoretime]

Agree with Exasperated. In 2021 I bought a lovely brand new Andrea Hicks dressage saddle. It fitted the mare beautifully and still does and was fitted and sold to me by Sam Wiltshire. Sometime later possibly over a year one of the holes in the girth strap split and ran into the hole below. I took a photo of it and sent it to Sam who came straight back to me and said ah that's not good, I will send this photo to Andrea and come out and change it for you, which he promptly did at not charge at all. That's what a good fitter does.

 

[sbloom]

Most warranties are "return to base", if the issue can't be sorted hands on by the fitter then it's normal to have the saddle shipped back to the workshop and the fitter wouldn't need to attend, especially if they're from further away. Some of my customers are 300 miles away, I can't pop back to pick a saddle up to then just send it on to the workshop.

All depends what the issue is.

 

[Red-1]

I bought a brand new XXXXX (I have removed details of the brand) for a new horse. It was fitted by the retailer. It was one of many saddles we tried.

I noticed a few days later (first time I used it) that it was not straight. It was off with the stitching and the shape.

The saddler asked me to take it back to the shop, where he agreed the saddle was defective. He also said that the cheaper saddles in the range were made by the least experienced workers, and this was not the first time he'd encountered this.

I got a full refund straight away.

 

[eahotson]

No I would not!
If the new saddle is faulty, the retailer and you have the contract, and since your saddler is also your retailer - saddler should sort this out and take it up with the manufacturer, themselves.
If your saddler is expecting you to stand this - they need reminding of the relevant legislation.
Sure you want to repair and keep this saddle, or return for refund and start again? Possibly with a different saddle fitter, since this one doesn’t appear to have either noticed the issue or potential damage to your horse.
Travelling and professional time are expensive, but there are altogether too many saddle fitters seem to ‘fit’ and sell whatever is in their van, then keep on charging for subsequent visits to sort out inevitable issues - sorry, increasingly cynical about what seems to be an increasing scenario.

Yes sadly this has been my recent experience.