Sunlight Supply .. Buyer BEWARE

[eskymick]

I have a Sunlight Supply 400w Galaxy electronic ballast. It was purchased new from a reputable online vendor in March or '09. I have the invoice. The unit was not initially used, but was put into service in November of '09. For several months the ballast worked perfectly. Then, about a month ago, it began to flicker and dim. I phoned Sunlight Supply and described the problem and they told me that such symptoms were indicative of a problem with the ballast.

Since this product is advertised as having a 5-year warranty, I asked about return for repair or replacement. I was told to work through the original vendor to obtain a RMA number. The vendor obtained the RMA request form and sent it to me. I immediately filled it out and faxed it to Sunlight Supply. That same afternoon, the vendor e-mailed me to say that Sunlight Supply denied the request for warranty because the unit was manufactured in 2007. Call me stupid, but by my calculations 2007 to 2010 falls within the 5-year warranty time period. In fact, by Sunlight Supply's own admission, the serial number of 03012007400072 indicates to them that the unit was manufactured in March of '07.

Another request for RMA was submitted. This time including the receipt of purchase and the explanation that I was aware of the date of manufacture "coding" in their serial number. Sunlight Supply did not even give me the "courtesy" of a reply.

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

In fact, by Sunlight Supply's own admission, the serial number of 03012007400072 indicates to them that the unit was manufactured in March of '07.

We use similar serial numbers at work, the portion I unlined clearly shows: 03/01/2007, hence March 1st 2007.

Fax the form over religiously, email it too, and keep calling. Eventually you should be able to get a manager or someone who does more then just push pencils and pick their nose and get this taken care of. Or, just send it in with some letter stating "RMA # unable to be obtained", with pictures to document, and heck even have the people you bought it from get involved with that somehow.

This is BS, sorry to hear about it.

 

[mr_X]

post this on every forum you know of. i bet they will change their minds.

 

[chadfarmer]

are u serious might make me change ballast if this dont get fixed-- i will no longeer push there products

 

[lamarine23]

This story is hard to believe as I've dealt with them so much and I've never heard of them denying a claim like that. They would always send the RMA form back to you and inspect the ballast upon receiving it before any replacement took place, but they never deny beforehand.

The warranty is 3 years full replacement and 2 years prorated, so it doesn't make sense they would deny because of the manufacturing date.

Tell you what send me your info and I'll see what I can do for you.


Jesse

 

[Neptune Aquatics]

Doesn't sounds like the same Sunlight I know. Have you try to call them directly instead of email? Your email may get lost in their spam box or something. As sad as I hate to say it, not every company is email savy.

 

[eskymick]

This story is hard to believe as I've dealt with them so much and I've never heard of them denying a claim like that. They would always send the RMA form back to you and inspect the ballast upon receiving it before any replacement took place, but they never deny beforehand.

The warranty is 3 years full replacement and 2 years prorated, so it doesn't make sense they would deny because of the manufacturing date.

Tell you what send me your info and I'll see what I can do for you.


Jesse

I did phone them directly when the ballast first started malfunctioning. The technical support rep was very helpful and even told me that such a problem was indicative of a fault in the ballast. When I asked about warranty repair/replacement, I was told that such requests had to be initiated by the vendor from which the ballast was purchased.

The retail vendor was very helpful (and surprised that the warranty had to be initiated through them). The vendor contacted Sunlight Supply on my behalf and then received a request for RMA which was forwarded to me.

I immediately completed the form and faxed it, as instructed, to the Sunlight Supply facility in Vancouver, WA. That same afternoon, I received an e-mail from my vendor reporting that Sunlight Supply had rejected the request for RMA (as stated in my OP).

As I stated in my original post, the RMA request was resubmitted with additional information and a copy of the proof of purchase (invoice). No response to that submission has been received by me or by my vendor.

 

[eskymick]

As some have suggested, the request for RMA was resubmitted first thing this morning.
I await a reply.

 

[AlexStinson]

Ive never heard of a company that starts thier "warranty" from the moment the product is manufactured... I always thought it had to do with when it was purchased... am I crazy?
I have, however, had some trouble with sunlight supply in the past...

 

[Blackhawk Fan]

Ive never heard of a company that starts thier "warranty" from the moment the product is manufactured... I always thought it had to do with when it was purchased... am I crazy?
I have, however, had some trouble with sunlight supply in the past...

I had some trouble with them in the past too. I bought three 400w HQI ballasts that were all bad and they tried to blame me. Luckily someone that works for Advance saw my thread ripping them and told me about a bad line of capacitors that was sent to SLS. I mentioned that to SLS and then they decided to fix them.

I will say it was the only time I ever had a problem with any of their equipment though.

 

[eskymick]

Ive never heard of a company that starts thier "warranty" from the moment the product is manufactured... I always thought it had to do with when it was purchased...

Exactly !!
.. But even if they didn't, it STILL falls within the advertised warranty period.

 

[drew.michael]

are u serious might make me change ballast if this dont get fixed-- i will no longeer push there products

+1

"post this on every forum you know of. i bet they will change their minds."

+1 lol

 

[eskymick]

I'm happy to say, that the warranty "issues" with Sunlight Supply have been resolved.
We can blame the whole ordeal on a breakdown of communications, responsibility and understanding.

I want to thank one contributor to this thread who went "above and beyond" to resolve this for me. Also, thanks to all who offered insight and advice, and thank you to the people at Sunlight Supply who took the time to "make it right". My faith in them has been restored.

 

[lamarine23]

Sunlight Supply is one of the best in the business, it was a quick fix if you know who to call. I'm happy to report he already got a brand new ballast!

Jesse