Terra Nova replied. 

CHARITY RAFFLE 👉 raffall.com/349799/enter-raffle-to-win-wild-country-panacea-2-tent-hosted-by-daley-outdoors

Just makes you wonder how people with no RU-vid channel would get on. Awful service, only trying to cover themselves as it's gone public.

Wow, James did a fantastic job explaining the issue and repair. It looks better than new. He's very talented!

Very disappointing that they had to be shamed into treating customers as they should be treated. They won’t be getting my money. Mistakes happen, but as you rightly say, it’s often how a company deals with issues when they go wrong that is a true reflection of whether they deserve your custom. Glad you got it sorted.

My question to them would be: how does someone *without* a RU-vid channel with 14k subs get the same level of service? Edit/ 14.6k subs, apologies 😂

Thanks for the update! Not usually one for raffles but it's a cause that's close to my own heart so happy to buy a few tickets on this occasion. Good of you to make something positive out of all of this!

It's a shame they couldn't have sorted it sooner, but I think sometimes things just happen for a reason. The tent now has a back story and is a great raffle prize. I'm in, and hope it does well for your chosen charity Ben!

I particularly liked James’ closing comment about giving the tent “a new lease of life”. The camping world is full of ‘throw away’ ultra cheap items, none of them recyclable. Buying for the long term (and mending when needed) is where the industry and customers needs to go. Well done!

I agree with all the others. It’s a shame it came to this. Terranova. Dropped the ball and are now fumbling it. To be honest after the post-mortem repair from James. I have little faith in wild country products now After my own experiences of them. Clearly just cheaper less effective materials. Terranova branded tents may be better materials. But for me I’d have no faith now. Terranova tents are too expensive to have little trust in their material specification. Or in the customer service after fouling this up. Shame. Especially to a British company.

Simply respect for how you handled it. Having it repaired yourself professionally, so it's ready now for the raffle winner. Too bad about the initial service level. About a meter of entirely ripped 'rip-stop fabric' apparently went unnoticed completely initially...

They admitted it was defective surely a replacement was the way to go

Great what James does. I do the same here (I learnt to use a sewing machine 😆) I often go over poor stitching on the peg out points, I make modifications to tents. I repair old tents so they can be used again. The biggest driver for me to do this was modification as I wanted extra guy points and strength in places for rough conditions. Another thing I do is put a second grommet in so I can double pole the tent, this gives it superb strength in wind. I’ll buy new poles and cut them down to fit alongside the existing. I also do this for winter and have a shorter set of poles so I can pull the tent down to the floor. Something to do in the winter months!

Good to hear the tent had a good ending and also that TN are going to review QC, procedures etc. Great choice of charity for the raffle too mate. I hope that raises lots of money for Tommy's.

I hope they do improve their customer service after this. Not everyone has a large enough RU-vid following to be able to force them in to action. The customer service I had with my tent was shite, but in the end they agreed to take it back for a refund.

I have a helm 2 in my basket ready to finalise purchase tomorrow, so I'm very happy that i came upon your RU-vid channel Ben. Will not be going ahead with my purchase now. The product looks reasonable for the money, and chances are that I would have had no problems, but the customer service stinks and Terra Nova are dead to me now. Great channel by the way!

Good deal sweetie big hearts to th man who did th sewing and fixing , & I'm glad all worked out. I'm also thankful to Grizz for throwing your name out for your vids ! Have a great day

I'm glad to hear you got it sorted, even if it was without Terra Nova's help. It was good to hear them reach out, but it's a pity they couldn't do the right thing just from your initial contact. Hopefully, their review of their customer service team will produce a different result in the future for others. As a Scout leader, I own multiple tents for different purposes, one of which is a Terra Nova Laser Compact, which is serving me well.

Nice to see Terra Nova replied, and a great video from James identifying the issue (and fixing of course).

Very interesting that they reached out. Outstanding job Ben.

Good Charity. Glad you sorted the issue . Thanx for another great video.

Glad they came back to you, shame it was tool late though, It's always worth drawing attention to faulty kit, Cheers.

Im glad they got in touch and offered to sort the problem, hopefully it will bode well for future customers.. as I'm contemplating one of there helm compact tents next year 😂

Good result really mate, entered the raffle for a great cause, cheers Ben 👍👍

What great service from Sussex Outdoors. 👍

Thanks for the update video!

It's polyester fabric not ripstop nylon, as I'm sure you already know😊. Some manufacturers put a ripstop style pattern on polyester fabrics but I think that's more for aesthetics than increasing tensile strength though some poly fabricsare rip stop as may be the case here. Great series of vids buddy👍🏼🙏

I wonder if terra nova will donate a free tent for the raffle?

They only did something sadly once you aired the problem ans they did t want the backlash from customers.

Issue exactly as I thought/posted previously. For anyone making/repairing their own equipment, this could also have been avoided by doubling over the fabric edge before Double stitching the Edging strip on. As for TN...why did they only act as a result of a RU-vid video?....by offering the appropriate customer service now that should have been offered originally further/unnecessary damage has been done to their brand reputation...this would suggest a short-sighted approach!

I was extremely lucky to be given the chance to get a dream tent for my 40th bday this summer. At the time the TN Lazer All Season had just come out. Almost no reviews were around at the time so I wrote to their CS and explained everything and I’d like to buy from a local Derbyshire tent maker and can I possibly come see one at the Factory or set up at a recommended retailer. Honestly they couldn’t care less in the reply. It was shocking considering the price tag of the shelter. I ended up asking for a Hilleberg and the after care is perfect.

Hiya Ben I complained about not being able to get a end pole for my zephyrs 1 .Well a lady called Abbie warton got in touch,I’ve just been to Terra Nova and they got me a spare so credit were it’s due ,but you started the ball rolling so thanksBen

Great job on the repairs. Got a little mod for him to do. 👍

They should just send you a new flysheet No questions asked!

Well done mate. Sounds like a good outcome. Great idea to raffle for charity. I’ll have a go with it being for a good cause 👍

Great vid Ben, just illustrated the power of RU-vid lol. Dave has done a great job there btw, glad you got it sorted in the end.

Great video and great gesture mate. Like other people say only reached out cause of bad press

Pleased you got it sorted mate you did the right thing there terra Nova been going for years and they are a very very good tent brand I'm very surprised this happened mate looks like there QC could do with being better mate just my thoughts 👍👍💯

It would be interesting to see if you anonymously claimed similar damage on another tent if they have infact improved their process. We in the outdoor community should be looking after each other, which includes these so called "reputable brands"

Glad you got the tent sorted Daley. Now off to get myself some raffle tickets 😁 Great charity by the way 👍

Unfortunately Terra Nova have a bit of a reputation for poor customer service. Hopefully they will seriously try to sort that bit out too.

all for a good cause grabbed some tickets and shared the link round a few mates

I dont know why, but the inner fly fabric on the Terra Nova Southern Cross 1 is also not as good as it used to be. I also told Terra Nova that they need to look at their QC process in China.

I’ve always heard bad stories about TN’s customer service going back years, and it sounds like nothing has changed. They make great tents, but have never bought one for this reason.

That’s the customer service you should’ve got in the first place, too little too late sadly 👍✌️

I thought they'd be watching Ben 👀😉. Glad the tent is sorted...by a professional 👌

Tried to make a donation to Tommys, but the site doesn't seem to be working.??? Will try again......issue is pertinent to me.

Hi Ben. Although it's not the same situation as your experience with the Tera Nova tent, I recently damaged the zip on the flysheet door on my Naturehike Cloud Peak 2 tent where the slider has become detached, although the actual zip sides and teeth are fine. I would like to get it repaired, if economically viable. Can you suggest who could do that? I now live in South Devon, but occasionally return to West Sussex / Surrey to visit friends & family.

It’s a bit like trying to get past the doctors receptionist 🙄

Would you still recommend the tent, I was going to get the helm 2, but I see I can get the panacea for £10 more, I like the way the poles attach to fly sheet rather than on the helm 2

Result! I guess Kinder is a bit of a beast eh

I bought a Helm 1 here in South Africa and I must admit that I was not to impressed with the sewing quality and had to do infield repairs when one on the tabs connecting the inner tent to the outer - the stitching was right on the edge and on the pole sleeves there is also stitching that is poor quality as it's very close to the sides and pulled out. Not impressed is all I can say for a tent every one raved about.

Good cause Ben

It could be worse. I once had RAB accuse me of deliberately damaging a jacket that had the plastic toggles melt in the dryer! A good five years have passed but I’m still angry about it and would never buy another RAB product. Firms need to pay more attention to customer service as a way of adding value, especially when it’s so easy to roll the dice on something from China that costs buttons.

They should have sent a voucher if there was no repair, it's till bad customer service

I tested my Xmid in strong winds at the same spot your tent failed. I may have found a few red, WC V pegs too so I’m guessing they were yours! 😆

Seems customer service has trended poorly the last few yrs, along with quality control in manufacturing across the board. Many companies I have communication with are as frustrated as their customers. Vendors they rely on, and even departments in house, are struggling to keep employees on the job and focused on the task at hand. The Covid epidemic has had a lingeing effect.

I’ve just had an abysmal experience with Suunto - they sent me a compass that had no fluid in it and ‘closed’ the case when I advised them. That ended up with offering a refund but I was expected to agree to paying their expenses! No chance.

OK to buy if you have your own youtube channel then

Great as long as you have a youtube channel with a few thousand subscribers.

I think they should have given a refund or a new tent. Repairing your own camping gear is an easy skill to learn and very useful, making your own camping gear is just awesome I love it.

Not really sorry are they? The response should have been to offer you a replacement flysheet, not a free repair. They stated in their reply that they suspect the original was faulty so you are entitled to a replacement under consumer law. Pretty rubbish from a company that I previously had high regard for. Ah well, that’s what cutting production cost does for your reputation.

Would never buy from them again, I had poles breaking within a week on a Wild Country tent(same company) and they said it was my fault!! I've camped for over 25 years in many tents and conditions including a 18month cycle tour and never had an issue, funny replacements I bought from ebay have been fine. Awful customer service!!!

Sounds very much like no one was bothered about helping until they realised you had a large RU-vid following. Don't particularly care for this approach of customer service.

I lost my faith in Terra nova after a 3 month bicyle tour outside the UK with a Pioneer Compact 2 about 2 years ago, note this is not the cheaper version they do called Wild Country but an actual 3/4 season Terra Nova brand tent. Also beware that this tent is always on sale now at almost 50% off for some reason and has been for at least a year since I purchased it, I paid the full price when I purchased it though. I'm not going to disrespect the tent design because it's really damn good but the actual build quality of the inner has so many fail points on the bathtub I can only assume it was never actually tested for more than a week in a warehouse at room temperature if it was even actually tested? The tent had so many taped seals on the bathtub/inner it's a a joke and thats exactly where it failed after 1 month of use, cleaning the inside of the floor with a damp cloth the seal seam tape literally split in a surgical cut type line at the joins like you had used a stanley knife on both sides of the tent for about a 1m length whilst i wasnt even inside it trying to get some sand out of it with a damp cloth. Why do they tape the bottom edges of a bathtub floor? Surely this should be a full curve of the actual material and not joined to the bottom (probably why it's always 50% off now)? Obviously I took some seal seam with me to fix any potential issues on my trip and I was about to head into an area where the weather was predicted to be heavy rain for the following weeks to come. I contacted them via email about the issue and my reply was that if I had tried to repair the tent it could affect my warranty even though I had explained the rain issue above and still had 2 months to go on my trip! So I sealed it anyway as I had no choice and then sent it back for repair when i got back after my trip, more seals had split by then btw. Granted they did literally send me a totally new inner tent but it was exactly the same build again with far too many taped seams again. I sold it on it's warranty return (sadly) even though I think the layout/design is amazing but I no longer trust or would even think of buying one of their tents without being able to fully inspect it beforehand. After trying out and inspecting many tents afterwards I'm still surprised they are using this taped design on all the major stress points of a bathtub floor. Granted this is very specific to this tent model/year and lets ignore that this model is always 50% off now probably due to the fact the inner build is a guaranteed fail (on a 3/4 seasong tent!) but I was not impressed with the customer feedback when literally my life was in the hands of the tent and they were warning me to not do anything or I might not be able to make a warranty claim... Not to be another Hilliberg fanboy but I did upgrade from the Terra Nova to one of the Hilliberg tents and I did actually have an issue with the new tent I had purchased whilst out of the country. I was shipped something to fix the issue and it arrived in 2 days. I guess you get what you pay for etc. Also the bathtub on the new tent is pretty much 1 solid piece of material with very minimal taping.

110% behind your choice of charity.

Got rid of my terra nova..

It's been said already, those of us without a RU-vid channel would have been ripped off for a repair cost because they can never admit fault. Seems to be the way with many companies now. Know some customers try it on, but most people are honest and don't appreciate being treated like a liar when they've forked out a couple of hundred quid. Next time I'm in the market for another tent I think I'll avoid Teranova (And that design seemed poor anyway, what with failing at 35mph. That use of trekking poles to strengthen the tent rings alarm bells anyway, and I can't see how they would stop it twisting, for example. Looks like a bad design).

It should had been replaced not repaired this shocking service will cost these companies,customers just will Not return,they only have their incompetence and arrogance to blame.

The camping industry is too competitive to have average service and quality. At the prices they are selling this tent for it should be an easy and speedy replacement, not a repair in response to a RU-vid video. Sell returned/repaired items as a factory seconds or open box products so people can enter into the brand at a cheaper price. Use what can’t be sold as field tested research and use the knowledge to make better products.

Not good enough mate, poor response in my opinion, not even a £50 good will refund! Furthermore they only got back to you because you made the video public, imagine all the normal customers having to deal with their customer service, I’d never buy anything from them no matter how good the product might be.

Yeah i agree lol

I suppose you having a channel as made a massive difference to there response but for normal guy on the street they wouldn't have the same outcome

I'm not impressed, they should have asked you to send them the tent back at their expense so they could examine in it and learn from it, and sent you a new replacement.

This makes no difference to me really in fact its made me more annoyed lol. The only reason they reached out is because 1000's are seeing your video. If you didn't have this channel they would never have reached out. Gives me little faith in this company especially when there are so many companies to choose from

Still not good enough , imo you should of been offered a full refund aswell as a free repair/another tent . Will personally never buy one of their products now.

I think this is miss leading as it appears that you put the tent through to much stress and then blamed the manufacturer for the tent failing

Its a shame that youre now out of pocket.

So you took a mid level tent out in 37+ miles a hour wind and blamed the manufacturer. Terra nova say they will guarantee there poles for 2 years no questions asked and from what I understand they did an exalent job. You say I must not know anything about tent designs or matirials but I know that I take my hileburge atko when I know it will be very bad weather and my panacia 2 when it's going to be mild to moderate because the price reflects the overall quality and there for streangh of a tent. And you also said the seem haven't been stitched properly when in your next video it was made clear that it was stitched correctly, just over streached due to high winds. True wild campers are usually honest and take responsibility for there actions. That is why I've made a coment