Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased an inner tube for my skidder tire on August 30. When I installed the tube, I discovered that it was defective. The stem detached from the tube when I started to fill it with air. I immediately contacted Chris at Auburn store and ordered another. When I picked up the replacement, he showed me how he instructs employees to install tubes. I had done everything as he instructed. I went home and installed the replacement tube. Even since then, I have been trying to get Stratham Tire to reimburse me for the defective tube, but they keep giving me the runaround and trying to insist that I made an error when I installed the first tube. I finally contacted D. L********* at their corporate headquarters in Brentwood, NH on Sept 30. This person contacted the store, inquiring as to whether they had any problems with any tubes, a generic question not related to this brand. Someone replied to her, advising that they did not. She replied to my email, stating that she would have the tube sent to them for inspection. My last communication with her was on Oct 3. Today I sent an email to that person. She admitted that she deliberately did not contact me. She is also insisting that I damaged the tube, which I did not. It was totally defective. I have installed dozens of tubes in everything from bicycles to skidders over nearly 6 decades. I have never purchased a defective inner tube like this before and have never had any problems with installing tubes before. This is an isolated incident. My wife and I feel that this is highway robbery and that Stratham Tire may have kept the tube, so that they could add a new stem and sell it to someone else. I am on a fixed income and cannot afford to throw away over $181, just to boost their bottom line sales figures. I was obviously wrong when I mistook Stratham Tire to be an honest business. They are obviously just a bunch of thieves! (Invoice #: 6139142 Part # OP/*534323: 16.9R18.4R34 TR $171.90 + 9.45 tax = $181.35.

  Business response

  11/08/2022

  Mr. ******* purchased a skidder tube from our Auburn location as he stated.  Unfortunately, when the tube was installed, it was installed incorrectly.  The tube was installed into the skidder tire backward.  When a tube is installed backward, the valve stem will tear out when aired up.  This is exactly the case with Mr. ********* tube.  Had the tube been faulty, the valve may have blown out, but it would not have torn the tube.  The rips at the valve penetration clearly show the valve was torn out (note the two tears in the tube on the same side) from having been installed improperly; thereby ruining the tube.  Stratham Tire has been in business over sixty years, and our team is well trained on causes for tube failures.  This tube failed as a result of installer error and will not be replaced at Stratham Tire’s expense.

  Business response

  11/09/2022

  The tube was torn exactly as shown in my earlier picture when Mr. ******* delivered it back to us.  Our Commercial center foreman specifically discussed the tear with Mr. *******, and instructed him in the proper process for tube installation as it was clear that the tube had been improperly installed.  

  Customer response

  11/14/2022

  
  Complaint: 18361714
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because: This is not true. Yes, I was shown by the rep there, about how he tells staff how to install tubes. That is exactly what I did and I told him so at the time. It is what I have always done. I advised that fact from the beginning, in my original complaint. There was nothing said to me about a tear in the tube. They have had this tube in their possession for over a month. I have no idea what has happened to it. I surmise that the photo could be of another tube altogether. This is just beyond ridiculous. Stratham Tire is obviously unwilling to admit that they sold a defective tube and even more unwilling to honor my purchase. I am sick and tired of this runaround by them. Tell them to ship the tube directly back to me, at my home and not their store in Auburn. I will be sure to let my friends, especially those in the logging and farming industries, know exactly how Stratham Tire treats their customers.
  Sincerely,
  **** *** *******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩