Vaper Trails

[KulrMeStoopid]

At the end of the day, this thread is NOT here for vendors to take pop shots at Vaper Trails or any other vendor on the forum. It is here for the purpose of warning people out there the may have gotten a faulty charger.

So before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, check yourselves and untuck the wedge.

Has a recall even been issued on them? I havent found one as of yet.

 

[Doofry]

To be fair, the vast majority of chargers come from china, whether legit or not, it is easy to see on sites like FT where some people buy the cheapest they can to maximise profit and to hell with safety, the chinese will copy every detail, and we all know this.
Yes some factories produce legit gear, but some also sell inferior copies.
As Raguri has pointed out, it was a franchisee failure, i am looking at a startup when i leave the forces, and i appreciate how B&Ms need to make profit, but it should never come at the cost of safety and also reputation.

We as a collective, try and make sure everyone on here starts out in the best and safest possible way, and the scare stories don't help us, but we have a duty to educate and help anyone that needs it.

 

[AndyC1971]

Sorry Raguri, but there is a couple of issues with this: -

1. Shouldnt the chargers have been checked/tested BEFORE being sent out to Franchises?

2. If the chargers were sent to Trading Standards to be tested, then surely this would of been a 'defence' to this case, albeit a limited one and surely better than sorry, I wasnt in full control of the company and some slipped through.

3. The onus would of been on the Franchisee, and he would of been taken to court and NOT the owner of the company!

Now in my original post on this thread, I was talking about a B&M that I really do have issues with, it wouldnt take a rocket scientist to work out who I am talking about, so yes, my view of the company might be a little tainted, but to be kept being told, 'well we are doing everything right, as we are a part of ECITA' - WRONG! Vaper Trails are a part of ECITA not the franchise.

Also as Meg had validly said, the was NO recall, I dont give a monkeys toss that there was a recall of the franchises, what about those units that were sold to customers, I saw nothing to state to the end user that there was a recall.

 

[KulrMeStoopid]

I have to agree with Andy on this, what about the consumers? it IS the companies responsibility to recall the items with trading standards, even if it is for a singular localized area.


Every step needs to be taken to protect the consumers. Look at all the batteries blowing up in Birmingham right now?

 

[AndyC1971]

Raguri, I know that, and my post was not criticising you or the VT (franchise) that you work for. But I am completely frustrated by this, and when something as potentially damaging as this happens, then the best thing to do is come out, hold your hands up and issue a recall as there could well be some stray units out there, and show complete transparency, even if most of the branches are not affected.

The next stage is to ensure, that all your franchises are singing from the same hymn sheet and are safe and acting with the consumers best interests at heart.

For example some education on what strengths Low, Medium and High actually are. Even what the ratio of juice it is or if its UK souced. Couple this with not selling stuff as 'quit kits' or not asking basic questions like 'how many a day do you smoke' would really be a good start. All questions that I asked, and couldnt be answered, but ask a price, and it was all rattled off without a second of hesitation. That really tells me something!

Its a really a clever idea having franchises, but they have to be managed properly. Just a question out of curiosity, is this 'rogue franchise', still a part of Vaper Trails??

 

[KulrMeStoopid]

I dont think anyone is really thinking that all VT stores are bad more or less along the lines of (for me anyways) why wasnt the public informed of this issue first and foremost? Its not like we are lacking vaping forums or twitter/facebook accounts.

Its not like they know who those handful of people are that bought these chargers either... at least through social networking we might be able to prevent something bad happening.

 

[AndyC1971]

I understand everything that you are saying, and that makes my last post even more valid. My experience of Vaper Trails is really poor, and as a result, its human nature for me to 'tar' all VT stores with the same brush. I dont because I am active here, but to those who dont frequent the forums it will happen.

If I was your boss, I would be pretty pissed at the owner for not doing enough to rectify this. One of the risks of purchasing a franchise I suppose, but more should be done to 'vet' potential franchisee's to make sure that they have a basic understanding of vaping, instead of letting anyone with the money join, after all its the good name of your company at stake if one goes rogue, and this unfortunately is a case in point!

 

[Vaper Mods]

at least the make of the charger or the name of supplier/factory should be made public...

How many more vendors importing the same item?

 

[KulrMeStoopid]

1. For further information, please telephone Martin Thursby (principal trading standards officer) on 01305 224478, or Ivan Hancock (trading standards service manager) on 01305 224956.

Someone want to get on the horn and find out the brands of these chargers so vapers can get it out there?

 

[4madcats]

Someone want to get on the horn and find out the brands of these chargers so vapers can get it out there?

It's branded as Trustfire but since China are quite happy to copy / counterfeit their own brands . . . . who knows