Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/26/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Purchased a snowblower from this retailer and it broke within 15 minutes. I brought it back that same evening and requested a full refund. Retailer will not offer a full refund based on equipment breaking.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/07/2025

  While what the consumer says is partially true, what he is failing to state is the condition of which it was returned or the conversation that happened within a week of the unit's attempted return. First off, the housings on a snow thrower do not just crack. They are designed for use. The unit that was returned to me was cracked in multiple places. including the top, front corner, indicating damage caused by dropping or misuse. It also was cracked around s**** housings on the top of the shroud. The customer indicated that he worked on the unit prior to returning it to me. It is very likely, given the other cracking, that the customer used excessive force. 

  When the customer called, approximately 5 days after returning the unit to the store, the customer indicated that he would never have purchased the unit if his "plow wasn't out for repair." This indicates to me that the customer never had any inclination to keep the unit that he purchased. In this industry, gas powered equipment is frequently "rented" to compete a task and then a customer will attempt to return it. In this case, the customer appears to have had no intention of keeping the unit to begin with. 

  The final piece of important information is the return policy. Gas powered equipment, due to the sensitive nature of fuel and the parts within, is subject to manufacturer policy after it has fuel in it. We provided, free of charge, the repair that the customer indicated as being at the heart of this complaint. The customer has indicated that this is not ok and that only a full refund was acceptable. It is, however, within the parameters of operation with our obligations to the manufacture. 

  At this time, the customer's unit is still awaiting his pick-up. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/07/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  

  My exact point is that the unit did not operate correctly from the very beginning.  The notes that Qualheim's should review again is that when I returned this product, I informed the person that I used the unit for less than 15 minutes in 8 inches of snow (see snowfall record on the prior day and day of purchase).  Ariens determines that is an acceptable amount of snow to be used for this particular snowblower.  The snowblower was back at their store, the very same night, within 30 minutes of my purchase after clearing less than one fifth of only one of my driveways.  My precise complaint is that the screws were not properly tightened when I originally brought it home.  That would have most likely resulted in the potential 'damage' they are claiming.  And yes, as a normal course of work, I did attempt to hand tighten the screw(s) that fell out with reasonable force (no powered drills were utilized) to avoid the unnecessary return of the product.  So, if their claim is that I had no intention of keeping this product, why would I attempt to fix it in the first place?  I had the realization that I could spend $750 to purchase a new snowblower for a one time use and I was accepting of that cost because the alternative would be having me hire a company to clear the snow in both of my properties which would result in hundreds of dollars of fees with nothing in return.  I was willing and able to pay for a working unit for $750 for a one time use but this product failed which required me to hire a company anyways and incur a $150 charge for snow removal from my two properties which I was trying to avoid in the first place.  I knowingly paid more for a brand name product with the anticipation it would operate the way it was intended.  However, it failed and having it fixed after I had to hire an excavating company to clear my snow serves no purpose to me going forward.  I have no further use of a failed product even though it was repaired.  Additionally, I never once requested this repair, I only wanted a working unit when I needed 8 inches of snow removed and that didn't occur.  I own and operate three different businesses and I stand behind each and every product that I sell to consumers.  I had a reasonable expectation that other local small businessowners would do the same.  Since the very beginning, the manager has been hostile and unreasonable showing no willingness to try to work this out together.  Lastly, I used a combination of both cash and credit card to make this purchase.  After my credit card company performed an investigation, they too determined that a refund was in order so they credited my account for this product failure.  As a result, Qualheim's is out $200 and I lost $550 at this point as well.  He's holding the snowblower and will not release it to me.  My reasonable request was to agree to disagree and have us meet in the middle.  That would allow me to pickup this unit and I'll be out $550 and he'll lose $200 and we'll call it fair.  That seems quite reasonable to any prudent person.  At the end of the day, the product was unable to perform it's duties in a timely manner and that's the main argument.

  
  Regards,
  
  ***** *****

  Business Response

  Date: 05/10/2025

  Better Business Bureau,
  
  In response to the continued frustration surrounding this damaged unit.

  
  Bullying tactics, when disappointed by both the manufacturer and the retailer, are reasons small businesses can ultimately fail. When informed that, due to the condition of machine returned to us, we would not offer a full refund, this customer went to his credit card and removed the funding. He decided that business ethics and a reasonable willingness to try to work this out didnt exist after one phone call with us at the store. As a result, he willingly, knowingly, and intentionally defrauded us of any profit margin that we stood to gain. His solution is now that we sell, to him, the unit that he damaged at a discount to him. If we did this for every customer that decided to break their unit then call it defective, we would have been out of business decades ago, yet we are a staple and pillar of commerce in our geographical area, trusted by a customer base that numbers over 4x our towns population.

  
  Our responsibility to our community, the businesses we serve, and the manufacturers we represent needs to be consistent. In such, we must adhere to strict representation of policies of hundreds of manufacturers. In this particular case, the customer apparently did not read through their warranty which EXCLUDES paddles. Please see the supplied manufacturer 2024 warranty,document number ********M, which is valid on any units post 09/01/2022. We exceeded the responsibility entrusted to us by the manufacturer, when we repaired, free of charge, the augers that were, in the customers words defective, which carry no warranty at all.

  
  While this is not the resolution that the customer wanted to ****** from his bullying tactics, we sincerely apologize for the product not exceeding his expectations. We will continue to retain his merchandise until his financial obligations to us are met. If not done so in a timely fashion, 90 days from the point of this letter, we will consider the merchandise abandoned and process the merchandise in the way we see best fit.
  
  Regards
  *****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/12/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  I have phone records indicating phone calls that I have placed in excess of five times to his retailer so his claim that it was one phone call is utterly false which has been his narrative since this whole episode began with his unprofessional tones and actions.  When this establishment decided to bully me, as a consumer, I had no other choice than to talk with my credit card company.  After their investigation, they too determined a refund was warranted.  As to their claim that I had expectations that exceeded the product, I quoted the product specifications listing the snow depth that this unit is coded for and with the unit failing within 15 mins is proof enough the product did not meet the manufacturer's listed expectations.  When a consumer purchases a product, a reasonable expectation is for that product to perform according to those guidelines, when it fails, the average person would request a full refund.  I was left with two properties that needed to be cleared and required additional costs on my side.  So, while they are not happy with this, neither am I, the customer, so we are requesting that we each budge a little, that appears to be a rational and sensible compromise for both parties.  

  
  Regards,
  
  ***** *****