Viking Bags sold me CRAP and won't stand by their product. Whittier California
My experience with this company and their product is extremely poor. I ordered a set of hard luggage motorcycle bags.
First, when I ordered on October 2, 2008, I received no confirmation email acknowledging the order was successfully received. I've encountered this before, so I let it ride for a few days. Finally, after 6 days (october 8) my credit card was charged for the item. I waited for delivery. After another days I had not received my order. When I checked my order status on the website it said that it was ready for shipment.
I called on the phone, no one answered and a voicemail box said it was full and could not accept any messagdes.
I sent an email the afternoon of October 13 requesting status. No Response.
I sent another email on the afternoon of the 14th of October. Response was 2 days later and they finally provided a shipping confirmation.
When I finally received the bags 9 days later I was relieved, although still miffed that it took nearly 4 weeks to receive my order.
I installed the bags according to instructions on the 25th of October. They looked pretty good. I drove my bike with the luggage attached for short distances until weather became less than desirable and I parked the bike for the winter. Total milage with the bags, less than 300 miles.
Fast forward to March of this year, as a few days of nice weather broke, I took the opportunity to ride a little. On March 11, I discovered that the left bag had suffered some fairly major structural failure. I can provide photos of the damage.
I sent a very patient email to Viking bags explaining the issue and requesting either a replacement bag or repair of the bag. 2 days later (I am used to the delays by now) they respond with a request for the photos I told them I could provide. After providing the photos, 14 days later, they email me back saying "we do not offer warranty of any kind on our products." And they will not allow any return.
Frankly, anyone that refuses to provide or honor any warranty at all is virtually guaranteed to sell you crap. Had this "no warranty" policy been made clear to me, I would not have purchased from them. This company is the essence of poor customer service and they deserve nothing but to be run out of business on a rail.
Lee G
Norcross, Georgia
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Lee Green
Norcross,Georgia,
U.S.A.
Completely untrue? What a crock!
#8Author of original report
Fri, April 17, 2009
Mr. Vikingbags,
It's interesting you tout your 30 day return policy so much. It took you 24 days to SHIP it to me and you refer to my order date as being the beginning of my "usage". Shipping tracking can show when it was delivered and you KNOW that it wasn't the same as my order date.
Yes it is unfortunate that I ordered just before weather became such that I had to garage my bike for 4 months before riding it again, then within 2 weeks of riding it breaks. But then again, if the product wasn't CRAP, I wouldn't have to worry about that, now would I?
When I first contacted you about the issue, I asked you for REPAIR of the broken part and some assistance with the poor mounting that seems to be the root of the problem. A very reasonable request. Instead you throw up your hands and refuse to take any action to make sure your customer is happy with your service and your products.
You say you are not in the business of ripping people off? Well, you could have fooled me. When you sell product that you KNOW is of poor quality, you do not warn the purchasers of potential issues, you do not attend to customer issues AND you do not stand behind any product or service you provide. THAT, SIR, IS RIPPING PEOPLE OFF!
I can guarantee you, that your company will be well known within and avoided by the motorcycle groups I associate with.
Flynrider
Phoeix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Your warranty policy says a lot.
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, April 02, 2009
From VikingBags website : "We at Viking bags do not offer any warranty for the products sold at Vikingbags.com."
So, the OP really shouldn't expect to be able to return the bags.
On the other hand, anyone in the market for motorcycle luggage should note that they will be out of luck if they buy your bags and they fall apart. There are many other sellers of motorcycle luggage that actually stand behind their products. Why anyone would buy from Viking Bags is a mystery.
Flynrider
Phoeix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Your warranty policy says a lot.
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, April 02, 2009
From VikingBags website : "We at Viking bags do not offer any warranty for the products sold at Vikingbags.com."
So, the OP really shouldn't expect to be able to return the bags.
On the other hand, anyone in the market for motorcycle luggage should note that they will be out of luck if they buy your bags and they fall apart. There are many other sellers of motorcycle luggage that actually stand behind their products. Why anyone would buy from Viking Bags is a mystery.
Flynrider
Phoeix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Your warranty policy says a lot.
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, April 02, 2009
From VikingBags website : "We at Viking bags do not offer any warranty for the products sold at Vikingbags.com."
So, the OP really shouldn't expect to be able to return the bags.
On the other hand, anyone in the market for motorcycle luggage should note that they will be out of luck if they buy your bags and they fall apart. There are many other sellers of motorcycle luggage that actually stand behind their products. Why anyone would buy from Viking Bags is a mystery.
Flynrider
Phoeix,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Your warranty policy says a lot.
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, April 02, 2009
From VikingBags website : "We at Viking bags do not offer any warranty for the products sold at Vikingbags.com."
So, the OP really shouldn't expect to be able to return the bags.
On the other hand, anyone in the market for motorcycle luggage should note that they will be out of luck if they buy your bags and they fall apart. There are many other sellers of motorcycle luggage that actually stand behind their products. Why anyone would buy from Viking Bags is a mystery.
Vikingbags
Santa Fe Springs,California,
U.S.A.
Report is Completely Inacurrate
#8REBUTTAL Owner of company
Thu, April 02, 2009
We at viking bags find Lee Green to be a customer who is simply upset because we are not willing to refund merchandise he used for more than 6 months. Our terms and conditions are very clear, and he agreed to these terms and conditions when placing the order. We are not in the business ripping off customers. As a matter of fact we provide great saddlebags at very affordable prices.
Of course sometimes there are errors in manufacturing. However, if he did in fact receive saddlebags that were defected, he simply could have called or emailed us within 30 days and not 6 months later. We always abide by our terms and conditions and would have wanted to work with Lee Green but we feel that he was trying to take advantage of our services.
His claims are completely false and we are sorry this had to happen.
Lee Green
Norcross,Georgia,
U.S.A.
A new development
#8Author of original report
Mon, March 30, 2009
This is an interesting development: Some fraudulent charges were attempted on the card I used with this Merchant. I haven't purchased anything in over a week on that card, but suddenly, within a few days of voicing my displeasure with him, this shows up.
I do NOT as yet have any proof of this, but I intend to find out if at all possible and will post the results here. I just think it's just a tiny bit more than coincidence. If it wasn't him, I will post and correct.
Luckily, I deal with a very good banking organization and they detected the activity before my morning inspection of my online financial records and shut down the card. Sweet. Now to call his states' Attourney General to see what can be done...