CWD rant

[mds79]

So, I finally gave up my aspirations of attaining CWD so jump stirrup leathers today.

I first ordered them in November. I ordered medium black, which was readily available according to the website. They arrived a couple weeks later, and though they were marked as medium they were a good 6 inches shorter than what was listed on the size chart and according to the size chart measurements, they were smalls.

Thinking it was some sort of simple mix up I emailed CWD and after a few weeks and a bunch of rigmarole I finally got a return shipping label and sent them back.

A few weeks later my exchanged stirrup leathers arrived and lo and behold they were the exact same pair I had just sent back to them!!! I could tell by how I had taped up the plastic bag inside the box.

I was pretty pissed off by this time and was even more angry when I called CWD (long distance) who said that these WERE mediums, as that is what they were labeled and I had ordered the wrong thing. They told me to check the size chart on the website and when I did it was different than the one that I had ordered from in November. Lucky for me I had taken a screen shot of the size chart in November and needed it to back up my claims as CWD repeatedly tried to make it seem like I was in the wrong even after I sent them the photo proof.

The next couple of weeks and a dozen emails later (it took so many bc they would go days without answering me), they finally relented and said that they no longer made medium (now large according to new size chart) so jump leathers in black and they would have to special order them from France; it would take three weeks they said. I agreed and then never heard anything back from them for a month, so I got in touch with the lady I had been dealing with. She never answered me and after emailing everyone at cwd, my case was passed to someone else. She was very responsive for the first week, saying my new leathers were there and going to be shipped as soon as the old ones were returned (again). I hadn’t sent them before, bc even after multiple requests I hadn’t been sent a shipping label; once I finally got it, I sent back the old leathers (again). This was 3 weeks ago; they were confirmed to have arrived, but the lady I was talking to has apparently fallen into a sink hole, bc it’s been 2 weeks and probably 10 emails with no reply on getting my new ones.

Now here we are, they finally broke me. I called again today (long distance) and asked for my money back. Let’s see how long it takes them to refund my money… any bets? … mine is 6 more months.

Long story short, DONT BUY ANYTHING FROM CWD!!! WORST COMPANY EVER!!!

Please share to help others not make the same mistake I did.

[trubandloki]

Oh my!

That is way too much drama for a pair of stirrup leathers.

I admit I did giggle when I read that they just sent you the same leathers back. What the heck. Did they think you were not going to notice that they were the same leathers?

[fourfillies]

Not to minimize your pain but imagine how stressed the folks are that run in to these exact same issues with their $7K “custom” saddles. Agree. Terrible company, IMO and experience.

[mds79]

That’s exactly what I was thinking!! That’s why I’m trying to get the word out to all of my horsey friends😊

[mds79]

I know right? Like my legs just magically shrunk over the 3 weeks of the exchange process

[Moneypitt]

Lol. I swear they drink wine while making French tack. Once our trainer noticed the stirrup leather hole numbers were all punched upside down. Seriously.

The M Toulouse calfskin covered leathers are what we switched to about a decade ago. You can get two pairs for the price of the French ones. They are great.

The French Antares stirrup leathers just felt flimsy after the pair with the upside down numbers.

[Faye]

Goodness, please contact your credit card company to get your $$ back!

[NaturallyHappy]

^^^^this

[Peggy]

I got a substantial gift certificate from CWD for the adult horsemanship quiz. A bit more than the cost of hind boots; not enough for front boots. They would not let me apply the gift certificate towards shipping, nor would they let me carry over the amount to another purchase.

It took several follow up emails and web form queries to various people and I may have even contacted them via their Facebook page, but I ultimately got my boots

I got size 4 to fit a giant horse I’m borrowing, but the owner said that boots make her trip and advised the use of polo wraps. Thus, they haven’t been used. I figure it’s not worth the aggravation to exchange them so I may just sell them eventually.

[mds79]

They said that bc it’s been so long they might have to cut me a cheque… which I’m assuming would be in US dollars, so I’m not even sure if I can cash it in Canada?!? If this is the case I will definitely be contacting visa!!!

[mds79]

What a run around!! Did the completely ignore 3/4 of your emails too?

[TheDBYC]

Interesting! I picked up a pair of Luc Childrac leathers for my daughter’s saddle at the consignment store. They appeared unused. But I’ve wondered if they sat around somewhere for a while because: 1) Luc Childrac isn’t very popular anymore 2) they are really nice compared to much of the new French tack I see.

[CHT]

I have deposited US cheques before, but they were held for a longer than usual time. I think I had to do it in person though? I hope you get the $$ one way or another! How dissappointing.

[Peggy]

@mds79

What a run around!! Did the completely ignore 3/4 of your emails too?

They ignored a fair number. Then towards the end I had two people interacting with me.

I am grateful to CWD for being a sponsor, but I felt like had to work almost as hard to get the product as I did to place in the competition.

[mds79]

I just ordered some similar ones off of eBay. They are WAY cheaper, and I feel good about supporting a small business…especially since they actually return my messages

[Equibrit]

Investment group business ! https://lim-group.com/en/home/#
All about money.

[mds79]

Glad I bought my chiberta before that happened!!!

[BalancingAct]

I just paid $9k for a CWD Hunter Mademoiselle and have been sweating bullets reading this.

I also paid $500 for “rush” manufacturing and the “expected ship date” never changed.

Since I pretty much had my horse fitted for *everything * I also purchased a bridle with reins. Didn’t work out for me and wasn’t worth the $$$ imo. So, I sent them back. Guess what they did? They mailed me back the reins (and charged me for it). Makes no sense.

As much as I love the saddle I am feeling very anxious about how this will all play out.

[mds79]

What!?! Just the reins? That’s so weird! Did they refund the shipping and send you a label to send them back?

I’m assuming for your saddle you went through a rep, so hopefully they will go to bat for you of anything happens with it!!

I’m sure lots of people have had good experiences with CWD, though a few people I have talked to at my barn have also had incidents with them that took months to sort out.

Fingers crossed for you!!!

[BalancingAct]

Yup, just the reins with no return label. I’ve paid the $15 return shipping each time.

I do have a rep and she seems equally confused at what’s going on.

I just pray that my saddle comes in perfect shape without any issues. I cant imagine having to send it back and forth to them. It seems like people have started having issues once CWD, Butet, and Devoucoux merged into the LIM (Leather In Motion) group.