My dealings with local Waterhousings companies.

that NINJA kid
October 2010
So I've just uploaded a bunch of shots from the water from a waterhousing and a lot of my friends who are seeing them still think I am using the housing I bought from Ian Thurtell and I would just klike to clear this up.

The housing I bought from Ian was basic to the point of being archaic but being more than I was confident in making myself to put my camera set-up inside I was stoked with it although having built a few other odds and ends myself I knew the materials hadn't cost nearly what I paid for it bu theat's how business works.

I did however shoot with it and have a lot of fun with my mates getting wet and getting shots.
I used my Thurtell housing a total of nine times over about 2 months (I counted my photo-sets) and asked my girlfriend to wipe out the inside of the port one morning after getting a little condensation (because my hands didn't fit) and the port literally popped out and broke on the floor in front of me and all my mates.

Feeling rather miffed with this whilst imagining how it could have just given up in the sea I mailed Ian and asked more politely than I felt necessary what he thought was up with that and whether he had any tips or suggestions about repairing it, even asking about me paying to post it back to Cape Town for repairs etc and I never, ever heard back from him after which I was too angry to pursue any further contact.

None of this was worthy service in my opinion for the R5000 I laid out for the housing plus postage which was a couple hundred Rand!

This has had my blood boiling a little for a while and have been questioning whether or not I should post anything or let it be for about a year now and now with people still assuming I'm using Ian's housing I've decided to just let everyone know my story in dealing with him which everyone can then read and hopefully weigh up their options and opinions.

This also raises the question of supporting the companies that support bodyboarding, do we continue even if we have bad service? To what ends? I've had some rather poor service from other bodyboarding quarters and it leaves me puzzling, if you're battling for support etc, why not actually look after the people who are already supporting?

As a side-note I am now using Marlin Marines' (who have a shocking website but don't let it fool you) waterhousings which are also very basic but constructed from much higher-quality materials and from my dealings so far have had excellent after-sales service.

Bodyboarding Photography 1,243 views

2 Replies

Ian
October 2010
Hi there "that ninja kid".
Before i respond your smearing complaint can i ask for your real name seeing that youve blasted my name around?
With regards to the price you paid, i know alot of other local housings selling for double the price i charge.
With regards to your email you sent me i would have gladly sorted something out for you. This may sound like im covering my tracks but ive had my own port pop off in the same way. Water temps can cause 2 different surfaces to pull apart. expanding and contracting....in my new housings i have solved this problem. Did you ever try contact me any other way than just one mail?
U say in you complaint below you are good at building things, so your welcome to build your own housing.
I have made other housings for customers and if you want you can contact me Privately and i will gladly give you their contact details.

Defamation of character on a forum site is a low blow and if you want to have any other personal "digs" at me you are welcome to email me privately.
If anyone wishing to contact me regarding these emails or anything else feel free. I am happy to help out in any way i can....
[email protected]
that NINJA kid
October 2010
My name is Bryan Paynter, my email at work is [email protected].

I don't consider this a smear at all, I just wrote down my experiences in dealing with this whole situation.
I suggest re-reading my post, I was more than fair. I've said I was stoked when I got it and that even though it was basic it was more than I would be confident building to put my camera set-up inside and even that I had a lot of fun with it shooting with my mates.

Nothing in my post has been defamation either, I haven't said a bad word about you as a person at all? All I've done is tell everyone else who may be considering spending what I consider to be a fair chunk of cash my dealings with your housings and that's fair market, if anything it should push you to better your products to the point where they're reassured! I didn't come on wavescape (a much bigger forum) and tear your feature because I have been trying to decide whether or not to say anything and I was over the whole idea of fighting with you almost a year later and I was in the process of sorting out a new housing through Marlin Marine but I won't let people assume I'm using one of your housings when I am not and THAT was the purpose of my post.

I'm sure there are people who are stoked with their housings and so was I which I've said now twice but I have to say I wasn't stoked with your after sales service. You never mentioned anything about ports popping out in water temps in the literature and care instructions you sent me when I bought the housing. I am glad you've resolved the problem though as it would have been a lot more of an issue for anyone, if it ended up popping-off in the water.

As for contacting you, no I didn't try again after that one email but I feel like maybe after spending the money with you, one email should have been enough to get your attention enough to get back to me at least to discuss some solutions, you're running a business and that entails service.

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