My experience of Tube Tech Soluctions, and their roll cages

[GJUK]

I'd like to share with everyone my poor experiences while dealing with Parajon and the company I believe he runs Tube Tech Solutions.

 

I am posting this because the whole experience has left me out of about £150 (fuel and storage fees at the garage doing my car). I was told that I would be getting no further payments to cover these costs so, I think it's fair and right that everyone hears about the problem I've had. And then you can decide what you think.

 

------

 

I bought a cage from Jon towards the end of January 2010, having been advised by many these were great, not over priced and well spec'd. I parted with my £520 and expected the cage with anticipation within the 2-3 weeks lead time I'd been quoted.

 

Around Five weeks later the cage turned up.

 

The cage was unwrapped checked for damage etc and all appeared fine. I was very happy.

 

Around a month or so later I took the cage to the garage fitting my car and had the cage trial fitted.

 

It did not fit. In fact, it was miles out.

 

Some of the main problems were.

 

The rear stays were too wide

The roof hoop was nearly 2 inches from the roof skin

The middle stays feet were bent in like 'daffy duck'

 

Here are the photos of the cage:

 

The back stay, too wide it would not sit on the inner arch tub

 

 

The middle stay, pointing inwards. Out by about 30 degrees.

 

 

Rear stay again too wide, the other side

 

 

I contacted Jon, I can't say when but some time ago, around 2 months say and explained the problem.

 

At first he was sure the car was bent, I was told how perfect the cages are, nothing can go wrong and perhaps my car had been in a prior accident perhaps or a dodgy shell he was sure it was not the cage. Possible I thought but strange. I was assured this was the first problem he'd ever had with cages and that was that.

 

After a few more days of calls and voicemails Jon agreed to take the cage back and check it over.

 

After another week or so of waiting the cage was confirmed 'bent' and out of shape and I was told that it would be sorted.

 

At this point I thought, brilliant. Problems happen and this gentleman is dealing with this problem, putting his hands up finally and sorting it out for me.

 

I had to wrap the cage again and wait for TNT to pick it up.

 

TNT never showed up (TNT advised no pickup was booked). I phoned Jon and I agreed to take it to my nearest depot, just to get rid of the thing. Off I went with this cage in the back of my mondeo, dropped it off some 20 miles away and waited for it to return...

 

The bent cage was bent some more by Jon and his team of skilled engineers, sent back to me and arrived at my door step around a month after I'd sent the old one back. During this time the guys in my garage are waiting to get on with the car and charging me for the shell which is sitting there gathering dust.

 

Unfortunately...It did not fit

 

The feat on the rear stays has just been bent inwards, to miss the metal they were previously catching on. This made the feet un even and they sat on their outside edge. The photos:

 

 

 

 

I contacted Jon again and after much debating I was told at how fed up he was dealing with this and after several days of calls he agreed a full refund.

 

I wrapped the cage again, another two rolls of parcel tape and packing from work and the cage was collected by TNT, this time from my home.

 

After waiting a week or so I was told the refund would be with me on the Tuesday, it never arrived.

 

I then chased this again and it did indeed arrive now around a total of 7 weeks after the 2nd wonky cage was sent to me.

 

So we're now on the 20th of July and all of this pain ended around the 5/6th of this month.

 

It's taken around 4 and a half months of messing about to get this sorted.

 

I am just over £150 out of pocket, let alone the time I've spent wrapping, transporting and waiting for this cage. It has been a painful and tiresome experience. One which I do not want to repeat ever again.

 

I was made to feel that it was my fault on several occasions and that there was nothing that could be done. Only persistence paid off and I've now got my money back.

 

All of the above is as honest as I can be. I feel hard done by the whole event and if it takes someone to be honest which might stop someone from going through what I've been though, then it's worth it.

 

After all its not a strut brace. It's a roll cage, something that might save someone’s life.

 

 

 

Following on from this I needed a cage still...

 

I bought a safety devices full cage. Ordered it from West Wales Rally Spares, who were very helpful. It arrived next day. Fitted it the day after and it fits like a glove. Almost like the car was made for it. No 2" gap around the hoop. No wonky feet. Perfect. Very happy and it only cost me £30 more than this one with door bars.

 

 

[Vista]

Poor experience? A poor experience would be where the company you purchased from ignored you or refused to do anything about your complaint.

 

What you have demonstrated in your post is that Jon took your complaint seriously, attempted to rectify the problem and then refunded your money when it still wasn't to your satisfaction. Ideally I'd like to deal with a company that gets it right first time 100% of the time............but as there is no such company I'd be happy to deal with a company that takes complaints and customer service seriously and refunds money when the customer is still dissatisfied, there are much bigger players in the CF parts world that will just ignore you completely.

[baz105e]

its a bit out of order slagging him off jon, people make mistakes, he didnt scam you or anything imo it was a genuine mistake

[Jiffer]

good to hear you got sorted

[turnover]

Have to agree with others chap he had the cage back tried to make it right for you then has refunded your money sounds fair enough,yes it wasnt a quick turn around but he didnt tell you to piss off either,before you say it i dont Know John and im just comenting on what youve wrote,obviously he would be out of pocket sending it back and time on repairs,

At least your sorted now

[GJUK]

Poor experience? A poor experience would be where the company you purchased from ignored you or refused to do anything about your complaint.

 

What you have demonstrated in your post is that Jon took your complaint seriously, attempted to rectify the problem and then refunded your money when it still wasn't to your satisfaction. Ideally I'd like to deal with a company that gets it right first time 100% of the time............but as there is no such company I'd be happy to deal with a company that takes complaints and customer service seriously and refunds money when the customer is still dissatisfied, there are much bigger players in the CF parts world that will just ignore you completely.

 

Poor experience, yes. Constantly had to chase to get anything done. Always missed 'deadlines' and provided 'shonky' parts which didnt fit. Like I said. People can make their own mind up after reading what happened.

 

I'm sure the site is linked to Tube Tech in some shape of form, so I was expecting this kind of replies.

 

its a bit out of order slagging him off jon, people make mistakes, he didnt scam you or anything imo it was a genuine mistake

 

I've not said anything un true. I was constantly made to feel like it was my car/my fault the cage did not fit. Hence the post.

[over_head_cam]

I'm sure the site is linked to Tube Tech in some shape of form, so I was expecting this kind of replies.

 

You will get all sorts of replies Jon whether your assumption of a 'link' is true or not. Was your post designed to tell others of your experience, or to court responses and then disregard or deride the ones that you don't like?

[Nicks53]

You will get all sorts of replies Jon whether your assumption of a 'link' is true or not. Was your post designed to tell others of your experience, or to court responses and then disregard or deride the ones that you don't like?

 

To be fair, I can't see that he's derided anyone at this point.

 

Sounds like a bit of a ball-ache considering these vehicles should all be somewhat similar to say the least and that one (cage in this case) should fit all. But then, objectively aside from losing a bit of cash, at least you're not stuck with something, have had a refund and you didn't get the old 'tough luck' response.

[GJUK]

I'm sure the site is linked to Tube Tech in some shape of form, so I was expecting this kind of replies.

 

You will get all sorts of replies Jon whether your assumption of a 'link' is true or not. Was your post designed to tell others of your experience, or to court responses and then disregard or deride the ones that you don't like?

 

This

 

...designed to tell others of your experience

[over_head_cam]

To be fair, I can't see that he's derided anyone at this point.

 

It was a question really m8, the gist of the post seemed it may be intended that way

 

 

This

That's it? I was expecting more

[GJUK]

What do you want me to say.

 

This is what happened, I'm posting this to try and make otheres aware of the problems I've had. They can make their own mind up then...

[over_head_cam]

So why the comments about links to the site and the type of responses you were expecting?

 

Sounded a little to me like you were hinting towards an accusation of some sort.

[livewire7116]

if any of us had experienced a similar problem from any other parts supplier we would of mentioned it to the rest of the forum, however it seems like everyone is defending this particular supplier because he is a member, at end of day yes he got his money back but considering the cost of the item wasnt much cheaper than a larger retailer and no doubt jon appreciated the business from a fellow member the quality was in question, and yes i agree you only find out how good a seller is when it comes to how well they deal with a problem

[boXXer]

copied and pasted from my TS post......

 

at the risk of sounding like im jumping on the "MATES" bandwagon as "joe-tait" so wisely put it, i swear on my grandfathers grave that my cage went straight into my mk1 with no issues whatsoever, well, not more than a 1-2mm tweek here and there to squeeze it in, but TBH, what aftermarket product do you know that actually bolts straight on?

 

for example, i recently bought a world cup x-member from a reputable company, and the fit was shockingly bad. So much so, that i had to elongate holes on both sides to get it to fit AND trim the rear lip right back as it was fouling badly on the sump.

 

Same as ashley exhausts, PLR exhausts, etc. Aftermarket parts fit shit, end of.

 

As for being £150 out of pocket, and the time taken, thats for you and jon to sort out IMO. No one can comment on that.....

[c20xe]

I cant believe this thread hasn't been locked yet. I looked up Tube Tech on the companies house website...and then decided to place my order with Fabricage .

[GJUK]

I cant believe this thread hasn't been locked yet. I looked up Tube Tech on the companies house website...and then decided to place my order with Fabricage .

 

oops, never checked that.

 

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/ae252 ... ompdetails

[boXXer]

why would the thread get locked?????

[Fishtailparka]

Now you are shit stirring!

[sambo]

Well, my two pennies worth is that, if this was a company that was in no wasy affiliated with this site etc, then this post would have been welcomed and plenty of people would have nothing but negative comments to say.

 

We have all seen it before.

 

 

 

The guy had a bad experience, and if it was me, i'd of been very cheesed off too.

 

That said, John did eventually deal with the matter, although it could have been dealt with a little better.

As for being out of pocket.... i am afraid its tough tittie though. No company would refund your car storage costs. Its just the way it is.

 

[Mk2Jo]

I looked up Tube Tech on the companies house website...and then decided to place my order with Fabricage .

 

oops, never checked that.

 

http://wck2.companieshouse.gov.uk/ae252 ... ompdetails

 

The information on companies house gives you limited information. If you look at them on a credit check service that is paid you will see they are a solvent company Tube Tech Solutions UK Ltd:

 

 

analyst commentary:

The company was recently incorporated and has yet to file accounts, however our analysts are able to provide a credit limit and determine the following:

 

The company has been established for more than 18 months.

 

There is no adverse information held against this company.

 

The principal activity of the company has been identified as 27220 - Manufacture of steel tubes.

 

court judgments: there are no unsatisfied CCJs against this company

 

writs: there are no high-court writs involving this company

 

petitions & insolvency: there is no winding-up petition against this company

[escort21]

To be fair if I bought something that didn't fit properly....and looking at the pictures it is nowhere near fitting then it isn't fit for purpose. And after trying to repair it and making it even worse i'm not suprised he wanted his money back. :mrgreen:unfortunately as Jon seems to be well known to a few on here people will take sides

From what ive seen from the ford scene recently the're arent a great amount of companies that make/supply particulary good parts, one exception is 1 0 5 s p e e d who are spot on. For example I bought a carb from a well known dealer recently in apparently working condition....it was rusted solid, I could even move the butterflies with molegrips . As the scene gets bigger it is seemingly getting worse

[Finn]

All the dealings I have had with Jon have been spot on, no problems whatsoever. Finn.

[SmokeEm]

All the dealings I have had with Jon have been spot on, no problems whatsoever. Finn.

 

As no doubt have 99.9% of his customers but he can't get it right EVERY time

 

Well done Jon for sorting out a full refund

[GJUK]

i am afraid its tough tittie though. No company would refund your car storage costs. Its just the way it is.

 

 

Yeah I understand this but it's been a long winded painful experience.

 

If a retailer really cared about the customer then you'd find they would at least try as best they could to make the matter 'good' again. Treat others as you would want to be treated yourself.

 

I'm out of pocket, due to Tube Tech's fault, twice. Hours of time I've spent pissing around with this cage...

 

I thought that dealing with someone who shared my enthusiasm for these cars could only deliver great things. I was naive and wrong.

 

That doesnt seem to be the way people work in todays world.

[GJUK]

All the dealings I have had with Jon have been spot on, no problems whatsoever. Finn.

 

I'm pleased you're happy, you're adding balance to the thread.

 

I had two cages from him. Both did not fit.

 

As no doubt have 99.9% of his customers but he can't get it right EVERY time Thumbs Up YKT!

 

True. Twice though, thats a bit much. Remember this has taken months to sort out.