Discount Divers Supply Discount Divers Supply in Seattle class-action suit needed! Seattle Washington

On July 25th, 2008, I purchased a Zeagle Ranger scuba buoyancy compensator (BCD) and a Bare D6 Pro drysuit from Discount Divers Supply. The buoyancy compensator (BCD) was in the store but the drysuit was to be sent to me from the manufacturer. The salesperson, Matt, (stated he was the manager) said the drysuit would be sent to me directly from the manufacturer in two weeks.

On August 13th, I phoned Matt and advised him that I had not received the drysuit. He acted perplexed and stated that I should have received it, and he would call Bare to determine the status. A short time later, Matt phoned me and said I should be receiving the drysuit on August 19th. When I reminded him that he told me initially it would be two weeks for delivery, he apologized and said they did not have a drysuit in my size. Subsequently, it would be longer than two weeks since they had to make it.

On August 21st, I received the drysuit. On August 22nd, I phoned Matt regarding some technical questions about the drysuit.

On August 27th, I made the first dive (local lake) with the drysuit and the Zeagle BCD. The left pocket of the BCD that holds the lead shot weight mesh pouch tore open almost to the point of losing the pouch. The right pocket tore about one inch. Also, the top of the BCD near the neck area was becoming unraveled.

On August 28th, I took this BCD into a local military backpack manufacturer, Mystery Ranch, and spoke to the owner, David Baker. He advised me that the BCD's material was substandard and the weight pockets/neck area would have to be replaced. I phoned Matt and advised him of what transpired. He told me to send the BCD back to him and it would be repaired or replaced. He also stated he would call me once they received the BCD. I immediately sent the BCD by Federal Express.

On September 3rd, I called Matt and asked him if he had received the BCD. He stated the manager, John Manzo, received it and sent it back to me with a letter. When I asked him why it was sent back without being repaired or replaced, he could not answer. I told him to have the manager call me as soon as possible to explain. I never received a return phone call.

On September 5th, I called Discount Divers and left a message for John Manzo to call me back. A short time later, Manzo phoned. He stated that I needed to resolve the problem with the BCD through Zeagle directly since it was a material issue. When I asked why I was told by Matt that it would be replaced or repaired, and it obviously was not, Manzo said he determined it was a problem that needed to be handled by Zeagle. I strongly voiced my displeasure with the way he handled the situation.

On Sept. 8th, I phoned Zeagle (Florida) and spoke with Jeff (last name unknown). He stated that Zeagle had a recall due to defective material on a batch of their BCDs a while ago, and the BCD I have may be one of those BCDs. He transferred me to customer service. A female employee told me to send the BCD in for repair. She also advised me the Discount Divers is not a Zeagle dealer and should have never sold that BCD to me. The BCD was shipped to Zeagle the following day.

In conclusion, Discount Divers should have never sold me a Zeagle BCD in the first place since they are not an authorized dealer. They should have replaced or repaired the BCD, or at least contacted Zeagle to arrange for the repair. Several times I left messages for them to return my calls but to no avail. Matt appears to be a pleasant and reasonable individual, but it seems he is under the control of John Manzo so, subsequently, he cannot do what is right. In general, their customer service is terrible. Save yourself from the misery and don't purchase anything from these clowns. All they care about is making the sale. Customer service is not in their vocabulary.

If anyone else has been scammed by this business, please contact me for the purpose of filing a class-action lawsuit.

Paul
Bozeman, Montana
U.S.A.