<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">A refurbished unit might be appropriate for a warranty replacement of a controller that had a couple years on it. A new product that was "Dead On Arrival" definitely calls for a new unit. That's what the customer paid for. Outback generally makes a decent product, but as you've found, their customer service is truly lacking. It's why I tried to move to support other companies, like Midnite Solar when possible.<div>Nobody (including me) is perfect, but how they handle problems speaks volumes about their integrity.</div><div><br></div><div>Ray Walters</div><div><br><div><div>On Jun 20, 2012, at 6:35 PM, Allan Sindelar wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite">
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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Todd,<br>
No, this has always been Outback's warranty policy. Agreed, it
sucks. For awhile Sandra in tech support found ways to quietly
"make it right" on bona fide warranty issues, but she moved on. <br>
<br>
But if the FM80 was defective out of the box, you should have
received a new one. You might talk with Phil U. - he would
understand the customer's dissatisfaction, as he cut his industry
teeth as an installer and has seen it from your perspective.<br>
<br>
Good luck,<br>
Allan<br>
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<font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><b>Allan Sindelar</b></font><br>
<small><a href="mailto:Allan@positiveenergysolar.com"><font color="#000099" face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><u>Allan@positiveenergysolar.com</u></font></a></small><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">NABCEP Certified Photovoltaic
Installer<br>
NABCEP Certified Technical Sales Professional<br>
New Mexico EE98J Journeyman Electrician<br>
Founder and Chief Technology Officer<br>
<b>Positive Energy, Inc.</b><br>
3209 Richards Lane (note new address)<br>
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507<br>
<b>505 424-1112</b><br>
<a href="http://www.positiveenergysolar.com/" target="_blank"><u>www.positiveenergysolar.com</u></a><o:p></o:p></span></font><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: 722.25pt;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><font face="Times New Roman, Times,
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On 6/20/2012 5:46 PM, <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:toddcory@finestplanet.com">toddcory@finestplanet.com</a> wrote:<br>
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<blockquote cite="mid:1340235970.621712390@webmail.finestplanet.com" type="cite"><font face="arial" size="4"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">wrenches,</div><p style="margin:0;padding:0;"> </p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">i recently installed a grid-tie
with battery backup system. the fm 80 was defective out of the
box, so i called outback for a replacement. i got a
refurbished unit which when installed resolved the problem.
the customer was not happy about paying for a new unit and
getting a used one.</div><p style="margin:0;padding:0;"> </p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">when contacting outback about why
a new (defective) charge controller was replaced with a
refurbished one and how can i be compensated for basically
doing outback's product quality control i was told:</div><p style="margin:0;padding:0;"> </p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span style="color: #000080;
font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">"OutBack
Power Technologies does not offer compensation for warranty
work."</span></div><p style="margin:0;padding:0;"> </p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">question: is this the new norm at
outback? if so... this is a sad day for me.</div><p style="margin:0;padding:0;"> </p><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">todd</div>
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