Bea
06-07-2007, 04:04 AM
I don't think i've ever posted about my cage ordeal here so i will now. In January the tiels got a "good" quality large cage:
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/birdybea/Other/January202007-newcageeggies003Custo.jpg
I'm sure many of you will recognise this type of cage, it's extremely popular.
I was SO happy to finally have one as i had never seen them in Australia before and this one was on sale. In March i purchased a second one for the budgies because i loved it so much. Only two weeks after getting the second cage, the tiels cage went rusty in a joint. It took over a week of phoning the store and speaking to different people to get them to replace it for a new one. The replaced cage is cage number three.
Then shortly afterwards i noticed a small amount of rust under the door wires on the budgies cage.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/birdybea/Other/June52007-birdsandcagefaults039Cust.jpg
So that's two cages that have rusted within just a few months, i was not happy. I emailed the manufacturer. At first they seemed concerned and helpful but i then received an email telling be that, despite the fact that the cages are kept indoors, out of harsh conditions, and are never soaked or left wet, the rust was surface rust and a fault of my own, they couldn't do anything about it. As the rust is such a small amount and clearly inaccessable to the budgies, i gave up.
Within just a few more weeks, suprise suprise, the tiel cage was rusting in a joint!
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/birdybea/Other/June52007-birdsandcagefaults035Cust.jpg
THREE cages, all from the same place, all the same make, rusting within barely months of me purchasing them. I was furious! This time i emailed the head of the company i bought the cages from, demanding a refund on both cages i currently have. At first they were helpful and after a couple of weeks of emailing information back and forth i was told the store would phone me in a few days. They didn't. I emailed the company back asking WHY i hadn't been called and i was ignored. It would seem that my emails to both the manufacturer and the company were being 100% ignored. Again, with such a small amount of rust in an inaccessable place, i was ready to give up.
There's more! On tuesday i was home sick from school and when getting the budgies out to play i noticed that the paint on the frame of the cage was chipping.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/birdybea/Other/June52007-birdsandcagefaults027Cust.jpg
This was the last straw. I emailed the company again and dropped the magic words: "If my money is not refunded, i will be contacting consumer affairs (fair trading). I am extremely unhappy with the service i have received."
Well, that did the trick. Within 5 minutes of sending this email i received a reply from the company and all of a sudden they whole heartedly agreed that my money should be refunded. :p Go me! The sales manager contacted the store manager, and they have agreed to refund my money.
Obviously i can't take the cages back until the birdies have new houses so with the money i will be getting from the refund (i've borrowed from dad for now) plus a little more we've ordered two black POWDER COATED versions of the cages, they are much better designed than the ones i've been having trouble with. They should hopefully arrive tomorrow, or early next week!
These are some pics of a white version of the cages i've ordered:
http://i16.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/9d/f8/e69f_12.JPG
You can see how the powder coated looks different to my old plastic coated ones.
http://i4.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/9d/f8/db3c_12.JPG
And they're the slightly larger two door versions too, which is great!
Anyway, i'm looking forward to getting my new cages and even more to taking back the old ones, i've really not had a lot of luck with this pet store i got the cages from, grrr. I definitely won't be visiting that particular store again. :p
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/birdybea/Other/January202007-newcageeggies003Custo.jpg
I'm sure many of you will recognise this type of cage, it's extremely popular.
I was SO happy to finally have one as i had never seen them in Australia before and this one was on sale. In March i purchased a second one for the budgies because i loved it so much. Only two weeks after getting the second cage, the tiels cage went rusty in a joint. It took over a week of phoning the store and speaking to different people to get them to replace it for a new one. The replaced cage is cage number three.
Then shortly afterwards i noticed a small amount of rust under the door wires on the budgies cage.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/birdybea/Other/June52007-birdsandcagefaults039Cust.jpg
So that's two cages that have rusted within just a few months, i was not happy. I emailed the manufacturer. At first they seemed concerned and helpful but i then received an email telling be that, despite the fact that the cages are kept indoors, out of harsh conditions, and are never soaked or left wet, the rust was surface rust and a fault of my own, they couldn't do anything about it. As the rust is such a small amount and clearly inaccessable to the budgies, i gave up.
Within just a few more weeks, suprise suprise, the tiel cage was rusting in a joint!
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/birdybea/Other/June52007-birdsandcagefaults035Cust.jpg
THREE cages, all from the same place, all the same make, rusting within barely months of me purchasing them. I was furious! This time i emailed the head of the company i bought the cages from, demanding a refund on both cages i currently have. At first they were helpful and after a couple of weeks of emailing information back and forth i was told the store would phone me in a few days. They didn't. I emailed the company back asking WHY i hadn't been called and i was ignored. It would seem that my emails to both the manufacturer and the company were being 100% ignored. Again, with such a small amount of rust in an inaccessable place, i was ready to give up.
There's more! On tuesday i was home sick from school and when getting the budgies out to play i noticed that the paint on the frame of the cage was chipping.
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r78/birdybea/Other/June52007-birdsandcagefaults027Cust.jpg
This was the last straw. I emailed the company again and dropped the magic words: "If my money is not refunded, i will be contacting consumer affairs (fair trading). I am extremely unhappy with the service i have received."
Well, that did the trick. Within 5 minutes of sending this email i received a reply from the company and all of a sudden they whole heartedly agreed that my money should be refunded. :p Go me! The sales manager contacted the store manager, and they have agreed to refund my money.
Obviously i can't take the cages back until the birdies have new houses so with the money i will be getting from the refund (i've borrowed from dad for now) plus a little more we've ordered two black POWDER COATED versions of the cages, they are much better designed than the ones i've been having trouble with. They should hopefully arrive tomorrow, or early next week!
These are some pics of a white version of the cages i've ordered:
http://i16.ebayimg.com/03/i/000/9d/f8/e69f_12.JPG
You can see how the powder coated looks different to my old plastic coated ones.
http://i4.ebayimg.com/04/i/000/9d/f8/db3c_12.JPG
And they're the slightly larger two door versions too, which is great!
Anyway, i'm looking forward to getting my new cages and even more to taking back the old ones, i've really not had a lot of luck with this pet store i got the cages from, grrr. I definitely won't be visiting that particular store again. :p