Complain about a product or service

Fantom Technologies

William of Lakewood, OH June 17, 2002

I purchased a Fantom Cyclone XT Vacuum from Best Buy a little over a year ago. The main reason I purchased it was the warranty. I did not purchase any extended warranty from BestBuy because of the excellent warranty offered by Fantom. Soon after Fantom went out of business and the vacuum stopped working. No repair shop will look at it because of the availibility of parts. With-out the warranty, or service of any kind the vacuum is worthless.

BestBuy has always reverted back to my not purchasing thier extended warranty and they will not assist me in any way. The Fantom company no longer has either a telephone number or web site that would allow me to contact them. Someone should be liable for a broken product under warranty, either the manufacturer or the retailer.

Michael of Staen Island, NY March 21, 2002

I purchased a Fantom Cyclone home vacuum cleaner from Best Buy in January 2001.The vacuum comes with a manufacturers two year warranty.My vacuum is in need of repair and I have not been able to contact the Fantom company for several weeks. I was told by a representative at the customer service department in Best Buy that Fantom went out of business. I was also told that another company would honor Fantoms warranty and I should contact your office for information. I would appriciate your help in this matter.

The cost of the vacuum was 248.93 and without repair it is useless and has to be thrown out. I think for the amount of money I paid for the vacuum it should last longer than 14 months.

Chris of Westminster, MD March 11, 2002

I purchased a Fantom Wildcat from WalMart. After 4 months it broke and I descovered the warranty problem Fantom was having. Fantom is honoring warranty claims if purchased directly from them. They are not out of business. The reply to my email stated that the company is being purchased by another company. Going bankrupt would stop all warrantys. If the company is bankrupt then why is it selling products and covering the warranty on certain items?

Sally of Omaha, NE January 7, 2002

On June 1, 2001, I purchased a Fantom Crosswind Vacuum from HSN for 179.85 + 18.95 S & H and 12.92 tax. The vacuum worked O.K. for about 2 weeks. Ever since then, I have had nothing but problems with it. Each time I use it, after a short time in operation it stops and will not turn back on again. I have cleaned out hoses, filters, etc,. and nothng makes any difference. The only thing that works is time... a day or two later, the vacuum will work again and repeat the same scenario.

I tried calling HSN customer service time after time. I ususally got messages that said the operators are all busy and try the call again later. Twice, I finally got a real person, who gave me the run around about having someone else get in touch with me later. I have never been called back. I was told by the second person I spoke with that the Fantom company went out of business in about September and they are no longer honoring the warranties for their products. I thought this was quite odd since I have had items replaced or refunded before that were broken or damaged even though the product may not be a discontinued model.

Also, I recalled that only a few weeks prior to my conversation wtih the customer service rep at HSN about Fantom company going under, I saw that HSN was still selling some of the Fantom vacuums on their channel. How can they sell a product they know is no longer being serviced and brag on its efficiency, economy, etc? I call it fraud.

I sent the vacuum back today via UPS along with the original order form. Let's see if they credit my account for the cost of the vacuum... if not.... I want my money back and them to be forced to stop selling products they know do not work and cannot be serviced or repaired. The customer service operator I sopke with said they have been receiving dozens of calls about the Fantom products - in fact he said he was surprised the handle hadn't broken off my vacuum since most of them have that problem.

Kay of Henderson, NV October 29, 2001

I purchased a Fantom Cyclone vacuum cleaner. Since it was under warranty and needed repair, I called Fantom approximately 3 weeks ago and they gave me the address of an authorized dealer that handles their products under warranty and also provided me with a customer number. When I went to pick up my vacuum, I was told that Fantom was not paying their bills and that I would have to pay for the repairs.

I have tried calling their 800 number over the last two weeks and they state that they can be reached online, but that their office is closed until further notice. I have emailed them twice and they do not respond. I just spoke to the dealer this morning and they also have tried them by phone and online and cannot reach them. I do not want to have to pay 70 for a product that is under warranty and the dealer will not release it until they receive payment.

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