Received replacement Radian - big concerns!

UPDATE: Received replacement Radian - big concerns!

We realized a few weeks ago that we definitely had a Canadian short strapped Radian. Company confirmed and sent us our new car seat - the day I went into labour, so this is the first chance in 5 days to take it out of box.

Original seat - granite colour, DOM: Aug/06 (this was one of my concerns considering I purchased at end of Feb./07)

Replacement seat - Radian 65, Champagne coloured car seat.

Here are our concerns:

1) Looks like a used seat - there are heavy skuff marks on back of seat, as well as a fabric stain and human hair on seat. It has Radian 65 cover on it as well - isn't this the U.S. cover? I figure they have to get rid of these before new covers come out, so they are sending them to us Canadians who got the short strapped seats.

2) Has the old Safe Stop on it, which means if we keep the seat, we still have to replace the Safe Stop (which we did receive in the mail the other day)

3) DOM: July 2006! Why would then send a replacement seat that is older than the one I complained about!!

4) UPS left it on porch overnight - no signature required.

At this point, we are pretty upset. We have a 5 day old newborn to take care of, as well as a 4 year old who has patiently been awating her new seat, and a bunch of doctor's appointments to make tomorrow. Now, we have to get on the phone to PJM Distribution and find out what the deal is with this seat. The good thing is that you can definitely see how short the straps are on old car seat - my daughter can now fit back in the 2nd slot from top and she has a very long torso. We do like the colour, although it's not our first choice as my new van is grey. When I emailed Brad (he never responded back to me at all), I told him that we would take any colour if he couldn't sent granite, as long as it had a newer DOM - the fact that it's 1year old, and doesn't match my car, just makes this whole experience even more of a problem.

What should I do? What would you do? Tiger

definitely contact them! even if it was perfect in every other way except the DOM, I would contact about the DOM. You should receive one with the same or newer DOM as you purchased, not an older one.

Yeah, definitely complain. For 200 dollars, you should not be getting a year old seat.

This is what my hubby said, but I figure they are going to say that the one we have has a DOM of August 06 (even though we purchased at end of Feb. 07), so it's not that much different. Considering though that we were sold a defective seat, they should have made sure it was at best (my hubby was hoping for a brand new 65ibs seat) a few months old, considering all the trouble we have had with this seat being short strapped.

I am so frustrated about this, especially since like I said, it looks used. My daughter's seat has no skuff marks whatsoever on it, yet this "brand new" one has a ton on back.

Thanks for replies, Tiger

But august 06 isn't acceptable either for a brandy new purchased seat. Fight!

I would contact them and tell them that the DOM and condition of the seat are both unacceptable. What a lot of bother to go through!

I have not received our replacement for one of our Radian's but I can tell you my blue Radian cover has 65 on it. I can't tell you if our Grey one does or not as its is in N.S and I am in Quebec. I can ask my Mother to take a look tomorrow. I just checked a picture and I can see that it has something in that area but can't see if it says 65 or not.


Besides the other issues which you should say something about and if I get sent one similar I would say something about it as well.The only thing that would make me happy is the fact that it is Champagne cover.

If I get sent a Grey one and you still want a Grey cover I would happily trade covers.

Is the new replacement seat stickered to 65 lbs? And how long did it take to arrive once they confirmed that they were sending a new one out?
Russ confirmed to me that they would send a new one out to me last Sunday after he saw the picture of the Lot ID # and DOM of that seat.

I hope you have some satisfaction to these issues as that is totally crumby to have to deal with PP.

BTW Congratulations

I replied to you on the Canadian forums, but I can't stress enough that you need to contact Russ. The Canadian customer service reps have been no help in my experience in the past. Russ, on the other hand, has been FANTASTIC.

BudgieStew said:

I have not received our replacement for one of our Radian's but I can tell you my blue Radian cover has 65 on it. I can't tell you if our Grey one does or not as its is in N.S and I am in Quebec. I can ask my Mother to take a look tomorrow. I just checked a picture and I can see that it has something in that area but can't see if it says 65 or not.


Besides the other issues which you should say something about and if I get sent one similar I would say something about it as well.The only thing that would make me happy is the fact that it is Champagne cover.

If I get sent a Grey one and you still want a Grey cover I would happily trade covers.

Is the new replacement seat stickered to 65 lbs? And how long did it take to arrive once they confirmed that they were sending a new one out?
Russ confirmed to me that they would send a new one out to me last Sunday after he saw the picture of the Lot ID # and DOM of that seat.

I hope you have some satisfaction to these issues as that is totally crumby to have to deal with PP.

BTW Congratulations

Click to expand...

Nope, no sticker for 65lbs - I thought they coudn't resticker? This seat was manufactured one year ago, so it wouldn't qualify for restickering would it?

I'll see what happens when I call tomorrow, and if I don't get anywhere, then I may have to email Russ, which I have been hesitant to do as we were told to go through Canadian distributors and I know he has his hands full. We do have some legitimate concerns though, so I'll keep everyone posted about what happens when I call tomorrow.

Thanks, Tiger

In my head I was thinking its coming from themanufactor after May that it would/should be 65 lbs on it although I guess the reasoning of it being a older DOM and not having the 65 lb limit makes sense.
Can you tell that I am fixated on our replacement being a new one?

Absolutely contact them! It was THEIR fault so you shouldn't be the one being punished by getting an older seat! It doesn't matter that it's only a couple of months older -- it's the principle of the matter! Fight it!

Sure you are totally busy but
Have you been in contact with SK yet? Are they sending another replacement?

BudgieStew said:

In my head I was thinking its coming from themanufactor after May that it would/should be 65 lbs on it although I guess the reasoning of it being a older DOM and not having the 65 lb limit makes sense.
Can you tell that I am fixated on our replacement being a new one?

Click to expand...

Just wanted to say that I bought Radians with a DOM Jan 07 (so well before May) which were re-stickered at the store. So I don't see why the company couldn't re-sticker a replacement. Fight for that as well!

UPDATE:

We are not happy campers over here! Russ emailed back and asked us to send photos - he made it sound like he would really help us out (you can plainly see from photos how skuffed up the seat looks - it actually has a gooey substance on it). Got his reply a few minutes ago and he basically just reiterates how the seat has an 8yr life, so I can email him in 7 years if there is a problem and he'll help us out should we have warranty issues. WTH? Did he even look at our photos?

My hubby is steaming right now as we assume based on his reply (which doesn't really address anything) that we are stuck with the old replacement seat that they sent us. This is so not right! I specifically addressed the fact that had I not found this board, I wouldn't have even known that I had a defective seat and that's a big problem in and of itself, so that alone, not counting the skuffed up replacement seat should mean that should offer us something more. He basically says that he believes that the skuff marks are from the conveyor belt and he sent me a photo of how the seats are placed on the conveyor belt.

We are so irritated because 1) why did they have a 1yr old seat sitting around the warehouse anyway 2) we don't know what the sticky substance is on back of seat and 3) we know they didn't inspect the seat at all, as it still has the old Safe Stop on it.

I do not know what to do at this point as I am trying to take care of a newborn (Russ just had a baby on the weekend as well, so he should know how sensitive a time this is for us) and a 4yr old who just wants her proper seat.

I would love some more opinions as to what to say to Russ in a reply email (I emailed him due to the suggestions from this board since the Canadian distributors sent me this crappy seat in the first place).

Photos of replacement seat:
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v196/tiger926/Radian Car Seat/?action=view&current=p10504962.jpg

I am interested to hear any and all thoughts on this matter as we are really not feeling good about Sunshine Kids, nor Canadian Tire. As customers we never should have to be going through this since we spent over $200.00 for a seat with the good intention that it was a safe and sturdy seat. Instead we learn we have a defective, short strapped seat from this board, as well as fighting with her seat for the past few months (why no recalls or notices in CT stores to customers?) and our replacement is a banged up seat with an older DOM! Not good customer service in our eyes at all! We totally appreciate Russ emailing us, but it hasn't really done much except make us more upset. The whole short strapped problem has been handled badly, IMHO. We thought we stressed to both Russ & Canadian office that had we not found this message board, we would not have known about this issue and would not have gotten anywhere near the lifespan of this car seat and that is a big problem that none of them have addressed at all!

Help! Tiger

Sorry you're not happy with the response you got from Russ. I can see the brown substance you're talking about on the seat, and that would make me wonder too...

You asked for opinions, so I'm going to give you my opinion over all and I hope that you'll take it for what it is - an opinion on the situation and not anything more than that.

The short strapped radians I think should've been pulled by the supplier from the CAnadian Tire stores affected. In terms of a recall, the short straps do not pose a safety issue, so there is nothing to be recalled - although a notice could be issued for customers to check the straps and contact SK if they found their straps had the specific serial # on them. I do think that would be a good announcement to have made to customers, however, the short straps are not a recall issue IMO. Seats in CAnada only have to be recalled if there is a safety issue affecting how the seat performs in a crash.

The DOM would bother me a bit, but it is only one month different from your original seat purchase. Seats do sit around that long, and while I think it's reasonable to hope and expect a replacement seat would have a newer date of manufacture, one month in the big scheme of things isn't a huge deal IMO. It's all about the warehouse stock...

As for 65lb sticker - I would ask Russ about that. Seats that were sold after the interim order came into affect May 1st are eligible for re-stickering regardless of DOM. Given that you just received this seat, I'd think you could request the updated stickers etc - but I'm not sure if they're sending them to consumers or only allowing distributors/retailers to add them.

Me personally, I'd drop the DOM issue, and address the human hair and brown substance on the back that concerns you about the seat having been used and returned prior to you receiving it. I can understand scuffs from a conveyor belt, but would have a hard time understanding the brown substance and human hairs inside the seat.

As for the safe-stop, I would expect any seat currently purchased in Canada to have the updated safestop only if the retailer had made the substitution. I think this is an oversight and really nothing more than that since the new safestops have only been available for a month at most. They'll replace the safestop with the updated one without any difficulty. I understand expecting the seat would've come with the new one - it just may not have been possible depending on where the seat shipped from and if they had the updated safe stops yet. :twocents:

So anyways, that's my honest opinion. My issue would be with the seat being seemingly previously used - the brown gooey stuff and the human hair. That's what I would want addressed. The DOM while irksome, is just one of those things that happens. And with an 8yr expiry date really isn't as much of an issue as if the seat expired in 6yrs. The newest DOM I've seen anyone get within Canada is Jan 07. And the safestop you'll get a replacement for and the old one would still be ok to use in the interim as per Transport Canada.

I totally understand how all of these things added up has been a real thorn in you and your dh's side. I do think though that if you contact Russ again and explain your concern about the brown gooey stuff not seeming like something that would come off an assembly line and that you're worried the seat has been previously purchased and then returned, he will address those concerns. Those are the big ones to me - and the ones that I would want answered.

My experience with companies/organizations when you email them with multiple issues, is that sometimes one or two of them either gets missed or they forget to address it. I'm sure if you focus on your main concern and drop the others, that he'll likely send you a new seat. Maybe still not a Jan 07 DOM, and maybe still have the older safe stop that you'd need to register to get the new one, but I think you would get an acceptable resolution by focusing on the main issue. :twocents:

I completely agree with Trudy.

The scuff marks in your pictures do not concern me at all... that is going to happen in your vehicle regardless and could've easily come from a conveyor belt.

I am a little concerned at sticky stuff *inside* your seat.

I have also found that you need to address one issue at a time with Russ... otherwise parts of your e-mail gets overlooked.

Thanks for opinions.

I have only addressed a few issues - I'm an English teacher, so my email was very short - a few numbered points and very concise. In my response to him with the photos, I keyed in on skuff marks on back of seat, and not so much the DOM although he said he was very surprised that they had a 1 year old seat sitting around. This is what concerns us though: Where has this seat been for the past year? Was it a return that got overlooked? I made mention of the DOM in relation to these points as a lot could have happened to it sitting or "lost" (Russ' word) in the warehouse all of this time.

The gooey substance is on the back of the seat - these photos are exactly how we took it out of the box. There is no gooey substance inside the seat at all.

I am known as a consumer advocate to friends/family as I write and phone many companies about positive praise and negative concerns, so I am a bit upset with how this has been handled. I totally understand that they are busy with dealing with this short strap issue, but I read on here about people being sent new seats for much less - if I'm not mistaken, someone was sent a new Princess cover, for what reason? We have an obviously skuffed up seat that shouldn't have been sent out, IMHO as it reflects negatively on the company. I really think that the replacement seats that are being sent out to those of us with short straps (and it's a big deal for those of us with long torsoed kids, let me assure you of that), should be triple checked. We should be sent the best seats they have as we have already been sold a defective product of which we had to find out about ourselves.

Thanks for all opinions - I am anxious to read any and all opinions before I compose my reply to Russ, Tina

Wow that's troublesome. I would be worried that it was a return that accidentally got resent out to you.

I am still waiting for our replacement. I asked for a tracking number(as we are rural and missing the delivery could mean I am unable to get the seat for weeks due to my DH being away for work) and was told they would send me that info but that was Sunday and still no word.
You case makes me worried about what will turn up at our door.

BudgieStew said:

Wow that's troublesome. I would be worried that it was a return that accidentally got resent out to you.

I am still waiting for our replacement. I asked for a tracking number(as we are rural and missing the delivery could mean I am unable to get the seat for weeks due to my DH being away for work) and was told they would send me that info but that was Sunday and still no word.
You case makes me worried about what will turn up at our door.

Click to expand...

You won't know what and when the seat is turning up as Brad doesn't seem to return emails, and, UPS drivers just leave the seat as no signature is required (our seat sat out all night on front porch). Hopefully, you'll get a good seat.

My hubby just put the new seat in our van as our daughter was tired of waiting and based on Russ' email, they aren't doing anything else for us. It's amazing to see how much strap slack is left now - she is back to 2nd from top slot and she is a very long torsoed girl (4 year old, 41lbs and 42" at doc's yesterday). We hope to get good use out of seat, and will more than likely pass it to her brother as he is even longer than she is. We were contemplating buying at least one more Radian (maybe even 2), but since having all of these problems, my hubby wants to purchase a Marathon. Don't think this will work for us though as my daughter was too tall to fit in Marathon, and her baby brother is even taller, so we'll have to see.

Good luck with whatever seat shows up at your door - we used a baby wipe on back of seat, and most of sticky goop washed off of the plastic shell, so I guess this issue has resolved itself - I will be hesitant to recommend Radian car seats now though as their customer service is a bit suspect (admitted I shouldn't have been sent a one year old seat, and not sure why I was, but they are doing nothing about it - although sending out a new replacement seat so quickly was good customer service, but this is the least they should have done since they didn't handle the whole short strap issue very well at all), as well as the whole issue with Canadian Tire - old DOMs and where do they get their seats from? I do like the seat, so I will only recommend that people purchase from a reputable baby store (not CT!) and know the DOM before they purchase.

Tiger

That sucks that you were treated in such a manner. I have been emailing Russ back and forth about a few different minor issues about my seat, and he has been wonderful. I am glad that you were able to get the gooey stuff off of your seat! Did you send the old seat back already? Because if you have not, I would suggest that you switch the covers. That way you would still have the granite that you prefer.:twocents: