想买护膝 或类似的东西
- 主题发起人 ell
- 开始时间
- 注册
- 2006-09-30
- 消息
- 14,407
- 荣誉分数
- 94
- 声望点数
- 0
买这种车内电加热的东西，一定要慎重考虑，可能会引起火灾，甚至其它危险，损失金钱甚至安全！
下面转一个刚发生的事：
Heated Cdn Tire Seat Cushion Catches Fire and Burns My Driver's Seat
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dec 16th, 2006 at 12:48 PM.
Last spring I purchased a heated (plug in the cigarette lighter) automotive seat cushion at Cdn Tire.
Two weeks ago it caught fire while I was driving the car, burning a hole in my car seat and burning my fingers as I tried to remove it. (wierd that the burn was between the seat side of the cushion and the seat - nothing other than extreme heat towards my back).
I ended up pouring a bottle of water on the seat cover to put out the smouldering upholstery.
I ended up getting the seat repaired at an auto upholstery shop for $285.
I called CDN Tire head office - customer relations dept. who were not very cooperative and asked me for the original bill of sale and SKU. (of course I had neither - after all who saves the bill from every $15 item they buy).
I demanded the CSR write up a customer report and give me the incident number.
Later that day when I was examining the heated cushion itself I found CT's supplier's name on the "remove this under penalty of death" new upholstery tag. So I called CT back with their supplier name. Again I was told "no bill - no SKU - sorry we can't help you".
So I Googled the supplier name and found their web site and called the company (in New Jersey). I spoke with their CSR who advised me there was a Mfr. recall last spring which was advertised in the media. (BTW I later Googled every permutation of seat cover/company name/CT and the word recall and found nothing). All the cushions were recalled as they were a "fire hazzard". The CSR instructed me to fax them the upholstery repair invoice and they would reimburse me.
Later that day CT's insurance adjuster called me to advise that he received a copy of the incident report and that CT's supplier would pay for my seat repair.
Three days after the fire - the alternator in my car failed and my car died right infront of a Crappy Tire store. I had them look at the car and they diagnosed (and replaced) the alternator, battery, fan belt with a total repair cost of $550. (Yes I know CT mechanics are crooks but there wasn't much of an alternative with a dead car at 8 am on my way to work).
I spoke to my mechanic and several other mechanics who advised me that the failure of the seat cushion sent a voltage spike and excessive current demand into my car's electrical system which blew the diodes in alternator. As well, since I unknowingly was driving around using my battery to power the car (dead alternator - wierd no idiot light came on) my battery completely discharged and reversed polarity and wouldn't take charge.
My mechanic (http://www.ricksrepair.ca) was kind enough to write me a letter providing his professional opinion as a licensed mechanic, and detailing that the failure of the alternator was directly related (caused) by the faulty seat cushion.
So, I emailed a scan of my repair invoice and the mechanic's email to CT's insurance adjuster with an email requesting reimbursement.
(At this point I was out of pocket about $835.)
I called the company back in New Jersey and ended up speaking with their CFO who advised me that they sold 200,000 of the cushions to CT and so far they have had 30 incidents of seats catching fire. He was somewhat less than enthusiastic about paying for the additional (alternator/battery etc.)repair and told me that they had already issued a cheque for the initial upholstery repair - which he had now issued a stop payment. I was told to fax in my CT repair invoice & mechanic's letter and it would be forwarded to their insurance company for consideration.
On the same day, CT's insurance adjuster emails me a curt email which intimated that based upon my additional insurance claim for the electrical repair "I was attempting to seek profit from my situation" and that the existing alternator in my car would probably have failed anyway and that since a percentage of it's lifespan had been used up during normal day to day usage, CT would only reimbuse me for the "depreciated balance of the alternator's value".
At this point I lost my cool and sent both CT's insurance adjuster and CT's supplier a nasty email threatening small claims court action and I advised them I would also be seeking the assistance of any number of the media "Consumer Assistance" guru's. I included links to the following web sites: "Goldhawk Fights Back", "Silverman Helps", "CBC Marketplace", "CBC Underdogs", "CTV W5", the APA and Car Help Canada etc.
I also emailed Goldhawk, CBC, Silverman Helps etc. detailing the incident and what had transpired and asking for their assistance.
Dale Goldhawk ("Goldhawk Fights Back") was kind enough to forward my email with a two line comment to CT head office asking for assistance with my situation.
3 days later I received an email from CT's supplier that I would be fully re-imbursed for all my expenses including $16 for the cost of the cushion that caught fire, providing I acknowledged that I considered the matter closed to which I replied, that once I received my monies, I would consider the matter closed.
Earlier this week I received a cheque for full restitution.
There are probably thousands of Canadians driving around with one of these cushions in their car who face the potential of a similar problem.
Moral(s) of the story:
Don't buy heated (plug in the cigarette lighter) seat cushions from CT.
Never give up and fight for what is right.
Thanks to Goldhawk and my mechanic for their assistance.
CT's customer service sucks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
