Testifire 1000 - Detectortesters

I have worked in the electrical contracting industry all of my life since leaving school over 50 years ago.

I started my own electrical contracting business over forty years ago and after attending various training courses got involved in the servicing and maintenance of fire alarm systems which I continued with for the past 25 years.

I have been a customer of No Climb Products Ltd/Detectortesters for over twenty years and have always used their test equipment. I purchase a Testifire 1000 back in 2009 and until 2019 the company ran an exchange scheme, where you returned your old Testifire which was replaced with a refurbished and recalibrated unit.

A couple of weeks ago my Testifire stopped generating smoke so I contacted Detectortesters to enquire about returning the tester for repair at my own expense. I was told by the “support department” that they don’t have any facility to carry out repairs. And I would need to purchase a new Testifire at a cost of around £ 1000.

I approached a local electronic repair engineer who diagnosed the fault to be a faulty component, a 6 volt heater which heats the smoke cartridge in order to generate smoke. All the other functions work perfectly, so I contacted Detectortesters again to ask if they could supply the necessary part, which I’m informed, would cost around £5, to which they told me they were unable to do and I would need to purchase new equipment.

I sent a letter of complaint and asked a number of questions in relation to repairs, asking if a Testifire that is under warranty is scrapped and a new replacement is sent to the customer as they are unable to carry out repairs. Needless to say I did not receive an answer to the questions I raised.

I had no option but to order a new Testifire from a Detectortesters reseller, which I did last Friday and was advised that I would receive my new Testifire within 5 days. I checked on the progress of my order yesterday only to learn that it won’t be despatched by Detectortesters until today.

I asked if could be shipped directly to me rather than the reseller and was told that this was not possible due to company policy. This means that the order will be shipped to the reseller today and they should receive it sometime on Monday for the reseller to ship to me for possibly Tuesday or Wednesday of next week.

The company makes a lot of bold claims on their website “Our vision is to provide innovative connected solutions that protect people’s lives and property. We are committed to delivering excellence and making life safer, simpler and easier for our customers”. The website also states “We embrace responsibility and take ownership in all that we do. Always honest, open, ethical, and fair, people trust us to stick to our word”

The company are uncompromising and have not made my life simpler and easier, they have not delivered excellence, they don’t embrace responsibility, are not honest, open, and ethical or fair as they claim to be on the company website. And once your 12 month warranty is up you can’t expect your equipment to be repaired, but you can buy a new one!