Grippatank

[Brianbarber]

Cable wired in over a moving suspension part ….

Despite asking Oliver to come to fix this and him saying I must travel to Cambridge to put right a dangerous fault as this wiring error, he refused my suggesting my van mechanic re route this correctly
Just lucky my guy spotted this
System fitted brand new van in 2019
I just find this level of poor service unbelievable.
They could have pooped to my house to fix this but flatly refused.
I am getting my mechanic to do this at next service .
He has said he won’t pay if I do this .
I’ve recommend him to 3 guys who all bought complete system sand this is my thanks




IMG_9769.jpg (57.81 kB, 180x320 - viewed 0 times.)

 

[Pjj]

I would report it to VOSA Brian that’s dangerous a live cable rubbing on moving mechanical metal parts is a high fire risk . I certainly wouldn’t not deal with them anymore and know many that have had major issues with them customer service is appalling.

 

[P4dstar]

Jesus H, that thread in CIU makes my blood boil. Scottish still knocking around like he’s got shares in Grippa or something. I’ve just remembered I don’t miss that guy. You’re welcome to him at CIU.

Here’s what you need to do Brian, get a quote for the cost of the repair. Put it to Oliver and he will ignore you. If you do get a response it’s likely tell you they can’t help because you’re putting the info on a public forum. Give him a deadline after which you’ll take them to court. The day after the deadline apply to the county court. It’s only between £50-70. At this point you have to tell the story in chronological order.

They have 14 days to respond. At around 3pm on day 14 they will request further time and be allocated the statutory 21 days extra. At around the same time on day 21 they will claim they owe you nothing but agree to mediation.

During mediation the mediator will ring you and get your version of events. Then ring Grippa. It’s at a scheduled time so happens all at once. Phone down to you, phone them, phone down to them, phone you etc etc. You need to be willing to compromise otherwise the mediation won’t work. Interest has been added to the debt, so has court fees. You may want to compromise by knocking £10 off the interest, you may want to forgo the interest altogether. Either way you make your compromise and come up with an agreement. Payment should be made in 7 days.

Day 7 will come about and you won’t have been paid. Awkward one because you can go straight to the court and send a bailiff… in truth they’ll pay you the following day just because they’re that cash strapped or stupid.

***please note*** the above is a completely fabricated scenario and not in any way my own personal experience. I am allowed to tell you that I took Grippa to court but the final agreement etc and resolution to the case is private and confidential as you are required to agree with mediation.

 

[spruce]

Personally, I wouldn't waste my time. Re-routing that cable will take just a few minutes of a mechanic's time. In my case, I would just do it myself and know it's done properly.

It has lasted 4 or 5 years without issue. It isn't a good installation job, I agree. Hopefully the cable has been fused at either end. It also hasn't been flagged up by an MOT inspector. I would just let it go. IMHO, it's just not worth getting an ulcer over. Unfortunately, industry is full of people who do half a job and try to get away with it. When you employ it gets even worse as you can't micromanage staff.

You also have the choice of whether you deal with that company again or not, and whether you would recommend them to others or not.

This is just my opinion in this case and what I would do. I don't mean to offend anyone. When it becomes a major issue like was the case with @P4dstar then that's different.

If you book your van in for a service, how do you know that the mechanic has done the full job properly? One of the YouTube garages showed an example of a sports car that came into them for service. It had a full, stamped service history, but the paper oil filter element was blocked full of muck. It indicated that it hadn't been changed for years.

Back in my younger days, VW Beetles with air-cooled engines were very popular. Puzey and Payne were the agents in Bulawayo.
When changing spark plugs, one of the plugs was extremely difficult to get to. So mechanics just replaced 3 and left the 4th. If the engine sounded fine, then they sent the car out. Struggling to remove and replace that spark plug took time, and a mechanic would lose his bonus on that job. Did the owners know about what the mechanics did? No. Each mechanic had a box of new spark plugs at his bench, so they were all doing it.

Twenty years ago, we had a 'premium' kitchen fitted. The product was good quality, but the workmanship fitting it was terrible. Two of the counter tops weren't even level. You didn't need to spirit level, as you could see it with your eyes. We had them back several times. Over the years, we have found other issues that I have had to address myself. All they were interested in was getting the job done as fast as they could, and the fitters took plenty of shortcuts.

 

[P4dstar]

Personally, I wouldn't waste my time. Re-routing that cable will take just a few minutes of a mechanic's time. In my case, I would just do it myself and know it's done properly.

It has lasted 4 or 5 years without issue. It isn't a good installation job, I agree. Hopefully the cable has been fused at either end. It also hasn't been flagged up by an MOT inspector. I would just let it go. IMHO, it's just not worth getting an ulcer over. Unfortunately, industry is full of people who do half a job and try to get away with it. When you employ it gets even worse as you can't micromanage staff.

You also have the choice of whether you deal with that company again or not, and whether you would recommend them to others or not.

This is just my opinion in this case and what I would do. I don't mean to offend anyone. When it becomes a major issue like was the case with @P4dstar then that's different.

If you book your van in for a service, how do you know that the mechanic has done the full job properly? One of the YouTube garages showed an example of a sports car that came into them for service. It had a full, stamped service history, but the paper oil filter element was blocked full of muck. It indicated that it hadn't been changed for years.

Back in my younger days, VW Beetles with air-cooled engines were very popular. Puzey and Payne were the agents in Bulawayo.
When changing spark plugs, one of the plugs was extremely difficult to get to. So mechanics just replaced 3 and left the 4th. If the engine sounded fine, then they sent the car out. Struggling to remove and replace that spark plug took time, and a mechanic would lose his bonus on that job. Did the owners know about what the mechanics did? No. Each mechanic had a box of new spark plugs at his bench, so they were all doing it.

Twenty years ago, we had a 'premium' kitchen fitted. The product was good quality, but the workmanship fitting it was terrible. Two of the counter tops weren't even level. You didn't need to spirit level, as you could see it with your eyes. We had them back several times. Over the years, we have found other issues that I have had to address myself. All they were interested in was getting the job done as fast as they could, and the fitters took plenty of shortcuts.

I think Grippa have a fantastic design with poor execution. Parts of my system have different bolts, the two controllers on the hot system for example and held in with counter sunk machine screws on one side and then found head screws on the other. I know some engineers, they've looked at it and winced at the state.

I think at this point you are likely right. The OP has had a his system a long time and got use from it. The other issue we have is, when someone takes a company to court they usually get a resolution. That resolution includes a clause that what is agreed with mediation is private and confidential. This puts you in a grey area with regards to posting a review, however honest it would be.

I do think more people should take the opportunity to make people aware of their experience with Grippa. There are a handful of reviews on Google to this effect but I do think it's the most important thing people can do.

 

[spruce]

I think Grippa have a fantastic design with poor execution. Parts of my system have different bolts, the two controllers on the hot system for example and held in with counter sunk machine screws on one side and then found head screws on the other. I know some engineers, they've looked at it and winced at the state.

I think at this point you are likely right. The OP has had a his system a long time and got use from it. The other issue we have is, when someone takes a company to court they usually get a resolution. That resolution includes a clause that what is agreed with mediation is private and confidential. This puts you in a grey area with regards to posting a review, however honest it would be.

I do think more people should take the opportunity to make people aware of their experience with Grippa. There are a handful of reviews on Google to this effect but I do think it's the most important thing people can do.

One of the downsides with social media, generally, is you never know exactly what a poster's motivation is behind the post. Some advice is to believe none of what you hear and very little of what you see. So many product reviews are biased.

As with anything, we are all inclined to 'shout from the rooftops' when we receive poor service from a company, but expect good service as a given when we receive it. So you don't often hear both sides of the story.

Having been around the proverbial block, I have seen lots of examples of people in management positions who haven't a clue how to manage staff, as we all have. On top of that, finding good, competent staff is getting more difficult every year. More and more we see a trend with people that they just don't care. For example, most window cleaners who employee will acknowledge this.

One of the major plus points with Gardiners is their after sales service. It is the reason why I buy from them, as I have confidence in what I'm buying. It's the same with Daqua.

It has always been my feeling that Grippa as a company took on more than they could chew. It would appear to me that where Grippa fails is quality control and communication. But this isn't something I have personally experienced, as I have never dealt with them regarding product fitment. I purchased a some prefilters from them once when Daqua were out of stock, but that's about it. They were delivered on time, so for me, the experience was positive. But I also listen to other's experiences, and form a mental picture of that company's workings, rightly or wrongly.

 

[Pjj]

One of the downsides with social media, generally, is you never know exactly what a poster's motivation is behind the post. Some advice is to believe none of what you hear and very little of what you see. So many product reviews are biased.

As with anything, we are all inclined to 'shout from the rooftops' when we receive poor service from a company, but expect good service as a given when we receive it. So you don't often hear both sides of the story.

Having been around the proverbial block, I have seen lots of examples of people in management positions who haven't a clue how to manage staff, as we all have. On top of that, finding good, competent staff is getting more difficult every year. More and more we see a trend with people that they just don't care. For example, most window cleaners who employee will acknowledge this.

One of the major plus points with Gardiners is their after sales service. It is the reason why I buy from them, as I have confidence in what I'm buying. It's the same with Daqua.

It has always been my feeling that Grippa as a company took on more than they could chew. It would appear to me that where Grippa fails is quality control and communication. But this isn't something I have personally experienced, as I have never dealt with them regarding product fitment. I purchased a some prefilters from them once when Daqua were out of stock, but that's about it. They were delivered on time, so for me, the experience was positive. But I also listen to other's experiences, and form a mental picture of that company's workings, rightly or wrongly.

Yes Bruce you have summed it up very accurately, we don’t deal with them anymore due to some major issues with reels that took me 8 months ,trading standards, and a solicitor to resolve and get my money back . In the end it was Oliver’s brother who phoned and apologised for what had gone on . Another issue they had at the time was they couldn’t keep staff don’t know why . They also had far more work than they had staff to cover . But what annoyed me was you phone up and buy something they take your money tell you it will be posted tomorrow and several weeks go by and nothing arrives phone them back and then they say it’s out if stock but when I bought it claimed it was in stock . One of the reels I bought as soon as you connected it ti the battery the drum was turning Oliver basic accused me of sabotaging it , I had a member off staff with me from unboxing it to fitting it who witnessed the whole thing he wanted to speak to Oliver as he was so enraged that Oliver had made theses accusations Oliver was supposed to have phoned the guy the next day still waiting for the call . Oliver claimed he had personally checked the reel before dispatch if he had then it wasn’t a very good check, I got my marine electrician to look at it and the controler was wired up wrong . Then bought a heat exchanger that had all the fittings already fitted to it when I installed it it was leaking again Oliver claimed he had personally done a pressure test on it and it was fine , I sent him a video of the leak . His company cost me nearly 1k in loss of earnings due to failure of there faulty equipment etc . It’s a shame as there boiler set up in my opinion is the best on the market when they first fitted the boiler I had several problems with it and Oliver came down from Cambridge two or three times to sort it out out that’s good customer service but shows very poor quality control for it being sent out not working properly in the first place . They also cut into the return to tank fuel line to take diesel for the heater unfortunately they didn’t realise this was a pressure return so when the van was being driven it kept blowing the return fitting apart . They should have fitted a standpipe to the top of the tank not cut into the fuel line , again this cost me over £600 to sort out as Renault said it voided the vehicle 4 year warranty. I know many that have experienced similar things. As I say it’s a great shame as there boiler set up is very good as is there booster pump . Oliver I think is running around trying to do stuff but can’t cope with everything himself and it appears to me that at the time I had theses issue didn’t have staff that knew what they were doing or didn’t give a dam . But due to theses experiences and there are many more things I could go into but won’t I won’t deal with them anymore .

 

[ched999uk]

This sounds to me like Grippa have 2 fundamental problems.
1. They don't appear to be trained engineers. A trained engineer would be using the correct bolts, creating procedures to ensure things are done correctly and are checked before leaving the factory - quality control. It shouldn't matter if you have poorly trained staff or ones who cut corners if you have robust quality control, the faults should never leave the factory. Once issues are found mitigations need to be put in place.
2. They are not good at resolving conflict. If/when something goes wrong that's the time when customer service is tested. In an ideal world the company making the mistake should sort it asap with the customer having as little disruption as possible.

They just don't seem to have robust procedures in place, be that for stock control or quality control.

 

[spruce]

As management you can quickly spend all your time becoming involved with putting out fires. So much so that you haven't time to find the person who is starting the fires.

As you say @ched999uk quality control at the workshop side is paramount. Good quality control will help to identify problems before buyers find them.

As a company you have to believe that satisfying your customers is most important and above all else. Your customer is king.

 

[P4dstar]

One of the downsides with social media, generally, is you never know exactly what a poster's motivation is behind the post. Some advice is to believe none of what you hear and very little of what you see. So many product reviews are biased.

As ever that is very wise advice. It’s also very true to this situation, if you look on Google alone it would appear that Grippa are the highest rated company in the industry with 4.6 stars. Higher than Gardiner pole systems and only matched by the window cleaning warehouse. When you look further into it you find that they have possibly the worst reputation amongst actual window cleaners. In order to find that out you need to trawl this website and CIU. Could that be because people who have the biggest issues with them end up taking them to court where they’re bound by confidentiality?
My suggestion here is that Brian has the right to post the picture of this and make people aware of his issue as a review in the relevant places. I genuinely believe that people who have an actual issue such as this should do that and not just complain on the window cleaning forum. I am however quite hypocritical here as I myself didn’t post the picture of the melted fuel line from my install.

 

[ched999uk]

Could that be because people who have the biggest issues with them end up taking them to court where they’re bound by confidentiality?

I didn't realise that when you take someone to court the outcome is confidential. Seems a bit iffy as if the companies lose then all they lose is ££.

I do like Grippa kit and the stuff that they make. I almost bought 1 of their reels but their delivery timescales and what I read during my research put me off. I did order their through the floor rollers and they arrived way ahead of schedule and have worked well. They did need a bit of fettling to take the rough edges off though but for the money they are decent. They would have to increase the price by about 30min to an hours labour to have made them very well made.

I guess it's just the small percentage of things that go wrong, which I would guess happens to most companies, but it's the stories of the problems getting faults rectified that would concern me on a big monetary purchase from them. While you can protect yourself a little using a credit card that doesn't actually help getting any issue resolved so you can actually work with the kit.

 

[P4dstar]

This sounds to me like Grippa have 2 fundamental problems.
1. They don't appear to be trained engineers. A trained engineer would be using the correct bolts, creating procedures to ensure things are done correctly and are checked before leaving the factory - quality control. It shouldn't matter if you have poorly trained staff or ones who cut corners if you have robust quality control, the faults should never leave the factory. Once issues are found mitigations need to be put in place.
2. They are not good at resolving conflict. If/when something goes wrong that's the time when customer service is tested. In an ideal world the company making the mistake should sort it asap with the customer having as little disruption as possible.

They just don't seem to have robust procedures in place, be that for stock control or quality control.

I think I can elaborate on this a little from my experience….

When I first contacted Grippa I did so because they were affiliated with Gardiner pole systems. Google told me they were a decent company who provide a great service. I ordered a 650 cold water delivery only system and had it fitted on my driveway. The fellas they sent were too blokes, one a former mechanic. They were referred to as engineers through every communication with Grippa. When you call up there are loads of options and talk of different departments etc.

Had the second system fitted & dropped the van to them. Dropped it at the train station to a chap and jumped on the train so never saw the place. Van was dropped back to me and I thought the system was a little small. In actuality the original system was too big. They had fitted an 850. This is where the lies and deceit start. You’re calling through to a customer service line as if you’re getting through to an office. In truth they all work from home, there is no office. No matter what option you select you get the same people. Sometimes they arrange for an engineer call back. You feel as though there are a team of engineers ready to help. In truth they’re emailing Oliver and he decides if he’ll call you back. They told me they upgraded me free of charge to an 850. Quick trip to the weigh bridge and I proved I was well over the weight limit.

At this point they agreed to sort the issue and change it for a 650. I didn't even post publicly about it. I also had issues with an electric reel that they sent Justin across the country to fix, on a Saturday I believe. When they replaced the system I had them do Speedliner at the same time so they were making something on it.

The service left a lot to be desired. They were making mistakes but they were trying to make up for them. It didn't go unnoticed they sent Justin cross country to help. They provided me a hire van when they had issues getting mine back to me. They also arranged zoom support calls that they didn't show up for though. Everything took longer than agreed etc.

Fast forward 12 months and I wanted hot water. Because of the shape and position of the tank having them do the upgrade was the best option. They integrate their webasto heaters and build them into the cabinets. Any other heater would have blocked the cabinet opening and cost me vital space. At the same time I had them speed liner the floor of the second van and bought a bunch of consumables and loads of their van storage pieces. This is where the wheels fell off the cart.

This order was the first time I had to visit site directly. Once you arrive at this run down shack in the middle of nowhere you realise how big the facade is. There is no office, just an old run down unit. Falling to pieces with no one except the "engineers" working there. Suddenly you realise there is no "technical support team" or "accounts team". There is a couple of fellas in a warehouse, a couple more on the road and a couple of girls working from home.

Before anyone tries to tell me they're all like this I've been and sat in the office at ionics where they are exactly what Grippa are pretending to be.

We had issues with the getting the van back. One minute it wouldn't be ready until after good Friday, then at 2pm on the Thursday we needed to rush and collect it that day as they needed the hire van back. The install was half complete, one pump running hot water. The whole thing was a bit of a shambles. They said they would be with us the following week, ended up being about a month. Things were missing when they did arrive and the controllers were installed wonky. As I mentioned above the exhaust was set pointing back into the van. Consumable items were missing.

After months of back and forth with the customer service team I gave them an ultimatum of a resolution that week or I was taking them to court. Particularly for the consumables they had not supplied such as RO filters from the same order. I cannot discuss that part of it or how it was resolved.

The other parts I continued to try and resolve. The Bat warning on my controller I have recently posted about is clearly a wiring fault. When you have an issue they use everything they can to get out of it. For example the initial response to the bat logo showing was to tell me that I would be responsible for a call out fee if they felt it was an issue caused by me not charging the batteries enough. They would determine this with Webasto logs that only they could access and they could not advise me how to access. I refused this, there were other issues and I tried to come up with a compromise with them where they would diagnose and check the batteries etc while they fixed the other issues. They agreed to fix the faulty controller and reroute the exhaust but just never gave a date and never actually did it. They also agreed to look at an in warranty £1k electric reel.

Eventually I had it fixed myself. The chap who fixed it did so because the heater broke, that was done under warranty. He found the fuel line had been fitted across the hot exhaust and had melted to it. All was fixed under warranty and I paid him for rerouting the exhaust. My son was quite ill, it ran towards xmas time and I just had too much on to deal with them. I wish I had the energy at the time. I could have just taken them to court for the amount it cost to fix the problems.

From my assessment they went wrong during the initial sale. Instead of telling me that I need to wait 3,4 or 5 months they rushed it in. The systems are great and a good install would be worth the wait. I imagine this is through fear of losing out to ionics or Streamline.
The second thing is Oliver was open about the fact he moved away from Cambridge. He was trying to work on the road without securing the relevant staffing and completing training. The initial two chaps I met had moved on and that seemed to be common. It is a revolving door for staff. This I would liken to me trying to run my company from 100 miles away but doing it when I have no staff.

 

[P4dstar]

I didn't realise that when you take someone to court the outcome is confidential. Seems a bit iffy as if the companies lose then all they lose is ££.

I can't comment on court directly but anything agreed through mediation is agreed as private and confidential. It is as legally binding as an agreement in court.

 

[P4dstar]

I do like Grippa kit and the stuff that they make. I almost bought 1 of their reels but their delivery timescales and what I read during my research put me off. I did order their through the floor rollers and they arrived way ahead of schedule and have worked well. They did need a bit of fettling to take the rough edges off though but for the money they are decent. They would have to increase the price by about 30min to an hours labour to have made them very well made.

So, I owned 3 of their reels. All stainless steel and powered. The seals started leaking and their answer was to try and sell me an upgraded part, stating that it is because I use hot water... They sold me the reels at the same time as I bought hot water. Their support, as mentioned above, was non existent.

Compare that against the reel master and those guys, although not quick, always give me support and are happy to help. The reel master is fantastic. I have 6 of them now!

With regards to the sharp edges I had the same issue. It sliced a hose. They agreed to fix this also. In the end our local garage threw it on the ramp and sorted them for me.

 

[P4dstar]

I guess it's just the small percentage of things that go wrong, which I would guess happens to most companies, but it's the stories of the problems getting faults rectified that would concern me on a big monetary purchase from them. While you can protect yourself a little using a credit card that doesn't actually help getting any issue resolved so you can actually work with the kit.

I did this also. It was an grey area though because in the middle of the dispute we became a limited company. Although this would have originally been covered it wouldn't for a limited company. That would have been messy to prove to the credit card company. Section 75 only covers individuals.

 

[Pjj]

I can't comment on court directly but anything agreed through mediation is agreed as private and confidential. It is as legally binding as an agreement in court.

Bit like a gaging order it’s all done to try and stop this coming in to the open for all to see I feel it’s important for the truth to be told as this stopes others from being treated the same way , hopefully they will learn from theses issues and put them right as I said earlier it’s a great shame as some of there products are very good

 

[P4dstar]

Bit like a gaging order it’s all done to try and stop this coming in to the open for all to see I feel it’s important for the truth to be told as this stopes others from being treated the same way , hopefully they will learn from theses issues and put them right as I said earlier it’s a great shame as some of there products are very good

We’ve been saying this for a few years though mate. As I understand it the sled system they have was developed by Gardiners who allowed Grippa to sell it in partnership them them so that Alex could concentrate on making the best poles. Once Grippa consistently showed their true colours Gardiners distanced themselves. My tank actually says Gardiner pole systems on it.

 

[Pjj]

We’ve been saying this for a few years though mate. As I understand it the sled system they have was developed by Gardiners who allowed Grippa to sell it in partnership them them so that Alex could concentrate on making the best poles. Once Grippa consistently showed their true colours Gardiners distanced themselves. My tank actually says Gardiner pole systems on it.

I don’t have a Grippatank system I have the Grippatank boiler fitted to an Ionic’s system all my vans have ionics set ups . So not sure what’s on the Grippatank systems, maybe they have their logo on it now ? You can’t put Grippatank in the same league as Gardiner’s gardeners are top notch

 

[Part Timer]

5 or 6 years ago there were posts about them getting CCJ's against them. Scottish accused anyone saying anything negative about them as being jealous.
Personally couldn't give a flying f*** about then but really don't understand why anyone wants to spend £5k +, why they don't actually check them out rather than spending money then complain it's overpriced

 

[P4dstar]

I don’t have a Grippatank system I have the Grippatank boiler fitted to an Ionic’s system all my vans have ionics set ups . So not sure what’s on the Grippatank systems, maybe they have their logo on it now ? You can’t put Grippatank in the same league as Gardiner’s gardeners are top notch

I’m not putting them in the same league. I’m suggesting that Gardiners set Grippa Tank up with the design and got them started. They started by working closely with them and distanced themselves once Grippa started to let everyone down. I have been told the above is the correct version of events.

 

[P4dstar]

5 or 6 years ago there were posts about them getting CCJ's against them. Scottish accused anyone saying anything negative about them as being jealous.
Personally couldn't give a flying f*** about then but really don't understand why anyone wants to spend £5k +, why they don't actually check them out rather than spending money then complain it's overpriced

People on here didn’t really warn me off at the time I bought from them. I don’t use CIU unless it is to troll Scottish, they have been screaming about them over there for a long time from what I can understand.

I googled them, looked over reviews and they seemed decent. They still do if you believe online reviews to be fair. That’s why I suggested Brian share his experience.

Scottish is still so far up Oliver’s bum it’s ridiculous. Shouting about how he’s doing well and sticking by Oliver. He’s deluded. I think he’s the only one defending them. Dazmond has shared a positive experience with them but certainly not defended them. I love the part of the story where Scottish mentions Oliver travelling to him X amount of times but forgetting to mention he was paying him go do a service