Titan luggage warranty is kaput?
Oct 5, 2013, 8:51 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: NY
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 630
Titan luggage warranty is kaput?
Hello,
Bought a Titan X2 a few years ago; shell cracked and now I'd like to take them up on their lifetime warranty. Titan USA has shuttered and disconnected their phone number. Do I have to harass the Hamburg office or is there a new owner that I could contact? Any advice? Thank you!
Bought a Titan X2 a few years ago; shell cracked and now I'd like to take them up on their lifetime warranty. Titan USA has shuttered and disconnected their phone number. Do I have to harass the Hamburg office or is there a new owner that I could contact? Any advice? Thank you!
Oct 8, 2013, 8:21 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Sacramento
Programs: UA 2MM/GS; SPG Lifetime Plat; MHC Lifetime; Tar Heel forever; and I "Dig the Pig" at Piggly Wiggly
Posts: 12,152
Hello,
Bought a Titan X2 a few years ago; shell cracked and now I'd like to take them up on their lifetime warranty. Titan USA has shuttered and disconnected their phone number. Do I have to harass the Hamburg office or is there a new owner that I could contact? Any advice? Thank you!
Bought a Titan X2 a few years ago; shell cracked and now I'd like to take them up on their lifetime warranty. Titan USA has shuttered and disconnected their phone number. Do I have to harass the Hamburg office or is there a new owner that I could contact? Any advice? Thank you!
Dec 5, 2013, 9:43 pm
#3
Join Date: Dec 2013
Programs: United
Posts: 1
Titan Luggage Warranty
I bought a Titan X2 international carryon about 3 years ago. United airlines damaged the handle when I had to gate check it. I went to the site of Titan GMBH and wrote on their feedback page. Below is their response. Looks like we've been had.
Victor
we are sorry for your bad experience and thank you very much for your message.
We need to give you a little bit of a background on the current situation: “Thomas Wagner GmbH (later named TITAN Kofferwerk GmbH)”, the original founder, manufacturer and warrantor of TITAN branded luggage went bankrupt in 2011. Then a German investor bought the brand out of receivership and continued to sell and produce TITAN luggage in the USA via the distributor TITANLUGGAGEUSA.com. In 2012 this investor closed the factory in Germany and stopped the production..
Our company TITAN HAMBURG, acquired the trade mark rights in september 2012 and are currently restructuring the entire distribution network all over the world. We unfortunatly don't have any partner in America yet.
None of the merchandise produced or sold in the USA has been manufactured, imported or distributed by us or by any distributor in our name. The lifetime guarantee was a service decided by TITANLUGGAGEUSA. This company is now refusing to fulfil their obligations to service.
Concerning your reclamation....
we are really sorry that we cannot help you any further. We will continue and try to re-establish a working service network in the USA under highest priority. If the situation changes we will inform you right away.
Mit besten Grüßen / with best regards
Birgit Klaus
Service
Tel. +49 - (0)40 - 6 4215 4-86
Fax +49 - (0)40 - 6 4215 4-215
Web www.titan-bags.com
Victor
we are sorry for your bad experience and thank you very much for your message.
We need to give you a little bit of a background on the current situation: “Thomas Wagner GmbH (later named TITAN Kofferwerk GmbH)”, the original founder, manufacturer and warrantor of TITAN branded luggage went bankrupt in 2011. Then a German investor bought the brand out of receivership and continued to sell and produce TITAN luggage in the USA via the distributor TITANLUGGAGEUSA.com. In 2012 this investor closed the factory in Germany and stopped the production..
Our company TITAN HAMBURG, acquired the trade mark rights in september 2012 and are currently restructuring the entire distribution network all over the world. We unfortunatly don't have any partner in America yet.
None of the merchandise produced or sold in the USA has been manufactured, imported or distributed by us or by any distributor in our name. The lifetime guarantee was a service decided by TITANLUGGAGEUSA. This company is now refusing to fulfil their obligations to service.
Concerning your reclamation....
we are really sorry that we cannot help you any further. We will continue and try to re-establish a working service network in the USA under highest priority. If the situation changes we will inform you right away.
Mit besten Grüßen / with best regards
Birgit Klaus
Service
Tel. +49 - (0)40 - 6 4215 4-86
Fax +49 - (0)40 - 6 4215 4-215
Web www.titan-bags.com
Dec 6, 2013, 6:30 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: NY
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 630
Titan luggage warranty is kaput?
This is a blatant lie. Shophydra.com is servicing their warranty in the US and they just fulfilled one for me a few weeks ago. Just to make their lives more complicated I would file against them in your local small claims court and attempt to get amazon.com to ban them. PM me if you need more info. And yes I'm the OP from above and like my new suitcase, even if it is the third one.
Last edited by pduck01; Dec 6, 2013 at 6:43 pm
Feb 26, 2014, 9:45 am
#5
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2
Greetings All,
Bruce Rickford here from shopHYDRA.com. I thought I might shed some light on this issue as we get several emails a week regarding TITAN Luggage warranties.
1. TITAN has pulled out of the USA. They have decided to withdraw completely and will possibly launch at a future date. We have no further details and have only heard rumors and/or speculation, nothing certain as of today.
2. ShopHYDRA.com is servicing warranties for customers who bought from shopHDYRA.com only. Once we found out that TITAN Luggage USA would discontinue, we took in a limited amount of parts to service our customers' warranties so they wouldn't have to go to TITAN Germany where it's possible they could be ignored. If you bought from our shopHYDRA Amazon store, we should have enough parts for you too. If you bought from someone else's Amazon webstore, please contact them.
3. Even if you bought your case from us, some issues may have to defer to Germany, like cracked shells or uncommon parts from older models. We tried to anticipate a few years' worth of warranty needs. Please accept our sincerest apologies in advance if we don't have the ability to remedy your issue domestically.
4. TITAN Luggage USA had parts for one year after TITAN Germany stopped bringing goods in. These parts were free to authorized dealers with repair capabilities. They only had to pay shipping. If your luggage dealer did not request these FREE parts, shame on them. It was widely known that TITAN Germany was pulling out before they did. The first thing we did when we heard the news was ask for parts for every case we sold. As a retailer, this should be an automatic reflex.
5. ShopHYDRA.com only took in enough parts to service what we sold. I wish I could send parts to everyone that needed them. In the beginning we were sending out small parts like zipper pulls to everyone, but as this relaunch drags on to the indefinite, we must ration our parts to only those who bought from us.
6. Your luggage dealer is not responsible to handle warranty issues. Understood that this may sound like a cop out, but in almost all cases, luggage warranties are manufacturer's warranties. All angry emails, pitchforks, and flaming bags of poo should be hurled at the one who made the warranty claim and is therefore responsible to satisfy it, the manufacturer.
7. It is engrained in all service oriented retailers to help our loyal customers in any way possible. If you send an email to your dealer with your order number and nature of problem (bonus points for a picture) most quality retailers will get back to you within a day or so with the best possible solution.
We have been a member of FlyerTalk for several years, but are not terribly active. Should you have any questions or comments, please email us. I am intentionally not posting our email here for spam bot reasons, but you can reach us by using the contact button on our homepage.
Happy Travels,
Bruce Rickford
Customer Care Team
www.shopHYDRA.com
Bruce Rickford here from shopHYDRA.com. I thought I might shed some light on this issue as we get several emails a week regarding TITAN Luggage warranties.
1. TITAN has pulled out of the USA. They have decided to withdraw completely and will possibly launch at a future date. We have no further details and have only heard rumors and/or speculation, nothing certain as of today.
2. ShopHYDRA.com is servicing warranties for customers who bought from shopHDYRA.com only. Once we found out that TITAN Luggage USA would discontinue, we took in a limited amount of parts to service our customers' warranties so they wouldn't have to go to TITAN Germany where it's possible they could be ignored. If you bought from our shopHYDRA Amazon store, we should have enough parts for you too. If you bought from someone else's Amazon webstore, please contact them.
3. Even if you bought your case from us, some issues may have to defer to Germany, like cracked shells or uncommon parts from older models. We tried to anticipate a few years' worth of warranty needs. Please accept our sincerest apologies in advance if we don't have the ability to remedy your issue domestically.
4. TITAN Luggage USA had parts for one year after TITAN Germany stopped bringing goods in. These parts were free to authorized dealers with repair capabilities. They only had to pay shipping. If your luggage dealer did not request these FREE parts, shame on them. It was widely known that TITAN Germany was pulling out before they did. The first thing we did when we heard the news was ask for parts for every case we sold. As a retailer, this should be an automatic reflex.
5. ShopHYDRA.com only took in enough parts to service what we sold. I wish I could send parts to everyone that needed them. In the beginning we were sending out small parts like zipper pulls to everyone, but as this relaunch drags on to the indefinite, we must ration our parts to only those who bought from us.
6. Your luggage dealer is not responsible to handle warranty issues. Understood that this may sound like a cop out, but in almost all cases, luggage warranties are manufacturer's warranties. All angry emails, pitchforks, and flaming bags of poo should be hurled at the one who made the warranty claim and is therefore responsible to satisfy it, the manufacturer.
7. It is engrained in all service oriented retailers to help our loyal customers in any way possible. If you send an email to your dealer with your order number and nature of problem (bonus points for a picture) most quality retailers will get back to you within a day or so with the best possible solution.
We have been a member of FlyerTalk for several years, but are not terribly active. Should you have any questions or comments, please email us. I am intentionally not posting our email here for spam bot reasons, but you can reach us by using the contact button on our homepage.
Happy Travels,
Bruce Rickford
Customer Care Team
www.shopHYDRA.com
Feb 26, 2014, 5:16 pm
#6
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 2
One last thought on this - I do tend to agree with pduck01 and algebravic. From what I understand, the letter does not seem to be entirely truthful. If it is the official opinion of TITAN and not just a single misguided employee, it appears they would be leaving their customers high and dry.
If TITAN claims to be a different company and therefore not responsible to handle legacy warranties, they should change their name and logo upon their return to the states. To benefit from the recognition of the brand and not honor its past warranties would seem rather unscrupulous.
We're reserving judgement for the relaunch. If they don't honor warranties then, we won't be stocking or promoting their merchandise, and we will be encouraging all other dealers to do the same.
Cheers,
Bruce Rickford
Customer Care Team
www.shopHYDRA.com
If TITAN claims to be a different company and therefore not responsible to handle legacy warranties, they should change their name and logo upon their return to the states. To benefit from the recognition of the brand and not honor its past warranties would seem rather unscrupulous.
We're reserving judgement for the relaunch. If they don't honor warranties then, we won't be stocking or promoting their merchandise, and we will be encouraging all other dealers to do the same.
Cheers,
Bruce Rickford
Customer Care Team
www.shopHYDRA.com
Mar 4, 2014, 2:42 pm
#7
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: NYC
Programs: United Premier 1K/SA *Gold
Posts: 26
Hi,
My bag just cracked on my recent trip. Did anyone figure out a resolution to this warranty issue or do I just buy a new bag with a new company? Mine came from TitanUSA. When is the proposed relaunch as referenced by Bruck Rickford of Shop Hyrdra? Should I bother emailing the German HQ?
Thanks for any enlightenment...
Lauren
My bag just cracked on my recent trip. Did anyone figure out a resolution to this warranty issue or do I just buy a new bag with a new company? Mine came from TitanUSA. When is the proposed relaunch as referenced by Bruck Rickford of Shop Hyrdra? Should I bother emailing the German HQ?
Thanks for any enlightenment...
Lauren
Nov 19, 2014, 2:07 am
#8
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: МДС - Влад Копп
Posts: 17
I bought my Titan Luggage back from TitanUSA as well. Admittedly I am clicking some miles ~ about 36 -50 flights a year. So the bags would not last long, I used to replace them every second year.
I did bother to send email to new owner in Germany. After some emails exchanges and procrastination they send me a replacement bag but to European address only.
I paid almost 500 USD back in 2008-2009 for my bag TitanUSA bag. Now I got 180 USD replacement : http://www.titan-koffershop.de/titan...-4-rollen.html
It is very light and it is very kind and considered of them to understand the customer needs. However, as you could see there top of the line is 260-280 USD line and there is a lot of normall bags, as opposite to light weight ones.
I do not think they are aiming for luxury products, albeit it is all depends on the point of view. Still very nice bag.
I did bother to send email to new owner in Germany. After some emails exchanges and procrastination they send me a replacement bag but to European address only.
I paid almost 500 USD back in 2008-2009 for my bag TitanUSA bag. Now I got 180 USD replacement : http://www.titan-koffershop.de/titan...-4-rollen.html
It is very light and it is very kind and considered of them to understand the customer needs. However, as you could see there top of the line is 260-280 USD line and there is a lot of normall bags, as opposite to light weight ones.
I do not think they are aiming for luxury products, albeit it is all depends on the point of view. Still very nice bag.
Nov 20, 2014, 1:16 am
#10
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: МДС - Влад Копп
Posts: 17
YKF,
Titan germany has never provided lifetime warranty on their products. I think TitanUSA was aiming to position product as luxury at a bit elevated price. It was a bet on a quality and there will be no need to replace so many bags. Looks like it did not work out.
However with light bags it is always an issue - if they are not full, they will crack, as the shell is not strong enough to support 6+ bag on top in the luggage compartment.
Personally I will not go for light weight or hardshell luggage anymore. It is very expensive and impractical option in my humble opinion.
Titan germany has never provided lifetime warranty on their products. I think TitanUSA was aiming to position product as luxury at a bit elevated price. It was a bet on a quality and there will be no need to replace so many bags. Looks like it did not work out.
However with light bags it is always an issue - if they are not full, they will crack, as the shell is not strong enough to support 6+ bag on top in the luggage compartment.
Personally I will not go for light weight or hardshell luggage anymore. It is very expensive and impractical option in my humble opinion.
Jan 9, 2016, 10:05 am
#12
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 1
Sometime in 2011 or maybe 2012, I purchased this now cracked and broken Titan luggage at the discount store (either TJ Maxx or Marshall's) here in NYC. Before doing so, I noticed that Gilt.com was selling Titan luggage pieces, and the one I bought at the discount shop for $120 was offered on Gilt.com for $250 or more (the website shows they are all sold out: http://www.gilt.com/brand/titan-luggage). Anyhow, I assumed since Gilt was a reputable seller for high-end brands and merchandise, I figured the luggage was both durable and fashionable. I'm now out $120 or more, but I'm just glad I did not spend more on this crappy luggage. I agree with others here, the hard-shell stuff doesn't seem to hold up like you might think it should.
