Hardware & Technical X52 Pro - Madcatz what you should know!

[Arnak]

Hi,

I feel that I should issue a warning regarding the support from Madcatz in the UK.

I had to return my X52 Pro after 4 months with faults under the warranty.

The stick is a good one for ED in my opinion but what has really let me down is the fact that they state on their website that they will refund the postage to return the stick to them.

I had this confirmed by email from tech support.

Finally after getting my stick replaced, I have not tested the new one yet as I have only just come out of hospital.

What has occurred is that Madcatz are refusing to to refund my postage for returning the stick after they had agreed to do so, this was £27!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I realise that is a lot of money but Madcatz insisted that the whole stick and throttle was returned in the original packing, this resulted in a large parcel plus the necessary insurance for loss or damage.

As I had paid about £160 for the stick the insurance was expensive.

All they will offer is another cheap stick or an expensive mouse matt or after an argument a coupon for the £27.

Why I would need another cheap stick or a mouse matt when I use a roller ball mouse I have no idea.:S

I will be taking this up with trading standards just because of the principal, I refuse to be ripped off....

So keep that in mind if you have to claim under the warranty.

Arak

 

[Melly Sminge]

I feel your pain but £27 is a lot of money for return postage on a joystick.
Sounds like you just used the most expensive special delivery option at the post office to get it there next day with insurance!
You could have used a courier online for around £10 which would have had standard insurance and tracking on it.
There are companies you can book online who will collect from you as well.

Most companies that offer to pay for return postage for warranty issues will either send you a pre-paid postage slip or they will have terms stating that you send it back using a non-expedited standard shipping option which they will then refund.
Expecting them to pay you back £27 for return postage on a £160 joystick would put them out of business fast.
I bet there would be a lot more posts online about how sad it is they went out of business and no one was making quality flight sticks anymore!

 

[HipToss]

I had the same issue. My detents failed and they wanted me to ship the entire HOTAS back, WHAT? I do not have the original packaging and shipping from the states is expensive. I just voided the warranty and broke open the throttle and removed it. Was very easy and works better then before.

Do not understand why they don't offer an RMA option.

 

[Commander Silex]

I bet there would be a lot more posts online about how sad it is they went out of business and no one was making quality flight sticks anymore!

Considering the amount of people complaining Madcatz run of the X52 are breaking after a matter of months, I'd debate the validity of the word 'quality' in that sentence.

 

[Telnets]

If a manufacturer ever asks you to ship something back to them on thier dime.. ALWAYS get them to give you thier courier account number to make the waybill out to.. otherwise there is no guarentee they will refund you.

Any legit company willing to accept a return has a courier account, and you should be able to walk into UPS, say "this is going back to SO-and-so" and here is thier account number.. It should be as easy as that.

Ive sent LOTS of stuff back to manufacturers this way.. Boardgame pieces.. Logitech, Asus, Dell, Lenovo, Microsoft, LG.. You name it..

Its a common practice

 

[B1ll Adama]

2x X52 failed here in 14 weeks... also can confirm Madcatz tech support in the UK is like the worst comedy impression of a support department...

I will never buy Saitek again, told them i would spread my honest feedback so its my duty to tell everyone how bad they are

Honestly, they are amazing.

PC World saved me though - they actually seem to give a frak.

 

[Arnak]

Hi,

Yes I agree that £27 is a lot for the postage by courier but due to the need to send the entire kit back and to get sufficient insurance that was the cheapest I could find.

Cheap carriers do not insure above £50 so I had to pay extra to get sufficient coverage.

The post office prices are very similar I'm afraid.8-((

Madcatz did not offer to get the item collected at their expense which I would have been very happy for them to do so.

However they did instruct me to make sure I had sufficient insurance and were happy with the proof I supplied as to the cost of the carrier.

I will not let this matter rest as they have broken the terms of their contract so I will be pursuing the matter through trading standards.

Off course this entire issue would not have happened if they made decent quality sticks in the first place as the detents failed and then one of the switches in 4 months.....

If I had attempted to fix the problems myself I would have voided the warranty, detents are fixable but not the 4 way switches.

Arnak

 

[theEmohawk]

Where did you buy it from? You should really have taken it up with the retailer rather than going through MadCatz warranty, because your contract was with the retailer and consumer legislation (I'm rusty, but I think this is covered by The Supply of Goods and Services Act). Up to 6 months they need to prove that the goods were of merchantable quality (after that you would need to prove that they weren't).
By going through a manufacturer warranty you throw away your best protection as a consumer in UK. This obviously doesn't help the OP, but if the purpose of the thread is to warn others Saitek customers it's only right to inform people that dealing with Saitek should be a last resort. I had to return an X52 Pro to Amazon after 2 months, there was little quibbling from them, and they provided a return label so I didn't pay for the return.

 

[Arnak]

Hi theEmohawk,

Yes, you are quite correct, I slipped up because the supplier recommended going to the manufacturer rather than through the supplier.

However if the stick goes faulty again I will indeed follow your advice.

Arnak