TFtuned Packaging Warning

for packaging my forks in plastic.

What sort of plastic? Some sort of box? Cling film etc.

There's a lot of things plastic could be and flappy bits of shrink wrap are pretty much guaranteed to be caught in something where as a proper bag is significantly less likely to

To be fair their website is pretty clear on how to pack items for shipping to them and consequences of  doing it incorrectly.

Its not really their problem if you didn't read it.

In addition to the risks of jamming conveyors etc. I imagine it would get pretty tedious and be very time consuming having to de-shroud items wrapped in excessive tape or plastic.

The forks were in the original box but I wrapped the box in a bin liner to hide the fact there were some expensive forks in there whilst it was in transit.

Unless you put them on the conveyor I'd be telling them to **** off with their £30 charge

forks were in the original box but I wrapped the box in a bin liner

That's what I usually do. Who charged the £30? TFT or the courier?

Useful to know and seems very harsh.

Tftuned charged me. You'd of thought the courier would of known not to put them on the conveyor if it was a common problem. I used Tftuned's pick up drop off service.  It was only a last minute decision to wrap them in a bin liner.

You’d of thought the courier would of known not to put them on the conveyor if it was a common problem

The vans will be as close to tipped as its possible to get, you pay a big surcharge for non-conveyerable consignments.

Add to that the carrier issues packing guidelines then charge "you" if you breach them and it causes a problem.

So it's do as your told or they bill you, why would they pull them out for you and not bill you? (also if they pulled them out it would probably be to stick them in goods on hold forever or to bin them, you really don't want them doing that)

FWIW Had you used a rubble sack you'd probably have been fine, a thin flimsy bin liner will snag/tear easily on other consignments etc then get jammed despite potentially looking fine when loaded.

Please only use cardboard/ box materials for your packing. Do not use plastic, fabrics or bubble wrap as an external cover as loose materials can get caught in the moving parts of conveyors/ transportation machinery

In summary:

- your package must have a cardboard outer/ do not use any type of plastic/ fabric material or any form of plastic/ solid wood as the outer wrapping.

- your box cannot exceed 100cm x 70cm x 60cm

- your package must be square or retangular, do not use cylinders or tubes

Any package that that doesn't meet these criteria will be subject to an additional £25 handling charge levied by DPD that will be added to your final invoice

Please follow our packing instruction carefully to avoid any additional costs!

Seems like they do their best to make sure you know these things tbh.

do not use cylinders or tubes

Good to know, I sent them a Bikeyoke dropper in its original cylindrical box a few years back, no problems, so the rule change must be since then.

I read those instructions and decided to drive there and drop the forks off. Then when they sent them back, I opened the package carefully and kept it for next time.

TF Tuned are on my black-balled list after twice pulling the same stunt - namely going over the fork with an electron microscope looking for imperfections so they didn’t have to warranty their work - along with making some promises they didn’t keep around reassembly. There are much better providers out there.

EDIT: not just a non-specific rant - they are quite pinickity looking for ways to charge you or wriggle out of warranties. Or at least they have been in my experience.

it’s possible to turn suspension boxes inside out. flatten the box by unfolding it, turn the cardboard over,  then re fold it into a box with all the markings on the inside.

so they didn’t have to warranty their work

I'm intrigued, what was wrong?

What did they say was the problem? User error? Component default? Manufacturing fault?

If the fault was with a part they haven't supplied you can't really expect them to warranty the part, though arguably they should maybe have checked before they did the work.

they are quite pinickity looking for ways to charge you or wriggle out of warranties.

Not necessarily you but a lot of people seem to think a warranty is carte blanche to break things and then have them fixed for free.

"any form of ... solid wood as the outer wrapping"

*takes forks out of chest of drawers he had to hand, looks for a cardboard box*

The one time I had a problem with something they'd done for me, they paid for it to be collected, fixed it, and got it back to me within a couple of days. Excellent service.

OP, it does seem to be DPD that levy the extra charge, not TFTuned, and it does seem to be clear in their T&Cs.

It’s my fault for not reading the packaging instructions but they must of changed as I used to send them that way. I posted it up just to make people aware. I’ve always had decent service from Tf to be honest.

I know TF are the market leader, but surely they don't have so many parcels that they need a conveyor belt?

The conveyor in question is at the DPD depot then?

a thin flimsy bin liner

Clever to know it was thin and flimsy from the OP's description

OP, it does seem to be DPD that levy the extra charge, not TFTuned, and it does seem to be clear in their T&Cs.

It's odd though - is there anything in DPD's general t&cs which prohibits all this stuff?

@dangeourbrain

Let's take those in order.

I’m intrigued, what was wrong?

What did they say was the problem? User error? Component default? Manufacturing fault?

Both times it was supposedly irreparable damage to the airside internal of the upper. In both cases there was miniscule (I'm talking less than the size of a grain of rice) marking which was the lightest of light scratching. And I mean an imperfection that can all but be totally removed with a good rub with a soft rag and some IPA.

If the fault was with a part they haven’t supplied you can’t really expect them to warranty the part, though arguably they should maybe have checked before they did the work.

Sort of. Obviously they can't find stuff until there already disassembled in a lot of cases. BUT, in both cases I had other suspension tuning say that the imperfections were so small as not to make any difference at all to performance.

Not necessarily you but a lot of people seem to think a warranty is carte blanche to break things and then have them fixed for free.

This was to warranty their own work. Ie. I think they just wanted to cover their own arses if someone tried to blame them for faulty service or reassembly. The issue was that the supposed faults were something you really had to look super-hard to find.

In any case, people can continue to use TF if they want. But I won't use them again because other reputable servicing outfits said they were being way overzealous in what they said was a critical fault - which simply wasn't. This is what prompted me to start doing my own fork servicing in any case.

Just my experience, but it did happen twice and then they charged full whack for an unwarrantied service having basically taken them to bits, had a look around for anything that could be construed as unfixable and put them back together again. They also promised reassembly would be done by a certain time so I could collect them in person mid a long drive back from a family hols with two young kids in the car. I was met with bewilderment then arseyness when I turned up as arranged. One irate wife and two tired kids as a result. The customer service was poor and at no stage did I raise my voice or give it the big 'I am the customer'.

That's basically it. I wouldn't use them again for servicing under any circumstances. I'd buy hardware from them and install myself.

So if I read that right you weren't trying to claim warranty, rather they said they weren't going to offer a warranty on the work if it failed because there was a (tiny imperceptible) fault in the leg before they did the work?

Yeah, the not having the stuff ready isn't good - assuming you weren't bang on time/early and the answer wasn't "sorry, five more minutes jane/John is just finishing then up, so you want a coffee?"

Clever to know it was thin and flimsy from the OP’s description

It's a bin liner, it is innately thin and flimsy lest you not have to worry about it splitting all over the kitchen floor. I assume you've not changed one recently?

The bin liner was to simply mask what was in the box. It was not used structurally.

The bin liner was to simply mask what was in the box.

Sorry yes, that was pretty clear from your earlier post

TFtuned were never the same after Tim left. I stopped using them because of their zero tolerance approach to minor imperfections that would cost me £100s, but its a good way to increase their turnover for the VCs I imagine.

More recently their approach to suspension advice has been of the 'buy this latest expensive one' variety.

There are a few other fettlers of quality around these days though so at least there are options.

Didn't know Tim left, not exactly TF tuned then if he's not even overlooking the operation,  its Jtech for me then unless Jay tech has left 😀

So, reading between the lines this is because they use a courier for their returns that has specific conditions about packaging, presumably for price reasons, and they are passing that back to the customer? The return shipping actually looks pretty cheap at £7 a shock, £10 a fork- Sprung are my preference these days, they don't have any weird hoops to jump through on packaging but they charge more at £11/£15, and that's not unreasonable I think. Mind you, Jtech are ace too and charge £15 collection AND return.

I tend to just book Windhill for a day and drop them off before getting there and pick them up on the way back, less than 30 quid overall including lunch 😁