For those of you considering the fitment of Alloygators - the wheel rim protectors;

I've had a set on the car for a few months now and feel relativly qualified to make the following comments; don't bother with this product. To be fair i have the "Version 1" product without the additonal "clips" however despite emailing Alloygator with concerns to this effect they assured me that as long as they were correctly fitted they would be fine.

I took great care in fitting them exactly as per the instructions and yet they have been nothing but a source of frustration and annoyance. I have lost count of the number of times I have had to knock them back into place with my plastic faced mallet and a couple of weeks ago I nearly sustained bodywork damage because one of them decided to come adrift to the extent it was hanging off the wheel. Despite emailing Alloygator with pictures 8 days ago showing the issue quite clearly I have yet to receive a response.

Not only is the product suspect in my humble opinion but so it appears is the customer service.

I now have the inconvenience and trouble of removing them this weekend and if i could be bothered, I'd send them back to Alloygator and demand a refund under Sale of Goods Act.

Not good service is it?

Saying that though I'm not sure I'd bother with them anyway, they do tend to tell everyone that either you can't park or you are daft enough to let the wife drive your pride and joy

Any chance of any pictures before you take them off? What colour did you choose?

Those things are an utter scam

Tried fitting to them to two different alloy designs. Couldn't even get an airtight seal.

The money-back offer they had at the time proved worthless, as the company never responded to any form of contact.

It's a shame because to be fair they did protect my nearside after some old bag tried to take me out in Hurstpierpoint the other week but I just can't see the point if they are having to be knocked back into place every 500 miles.

I have also noticed minor (3-4psi) pressure loss over time.......

I think i >will< send them back with a stinking letter and copy to trading standards just for the hell of it. Thats assuming of course I can get them off without causing any damage............

Just had a look at them on their site. They sell extra clips for 99p! That proves they are **** at staying on and with all them clips I bet the balancing would be out.

Pure manure.

You could try not driving into kerbs?

You could try not driving into kerbs?

Oh come on!

Easier said than done sometimes. I'm careful as you like but I still got caught out by a kerb in a multi-story last year which wreaked one of my fronts. Also it's not always your fault - one of the guys at work was forced intoa kerb at quite high speed by somebody not watching where they were going and these would probably have saved him a wheel refurb.

Still no response to my email and no response to another one i sent yesterday requesting a returns authorisation. Looks as if these guys simply don't give a toss about customer service.

This is why when online you should buy things with a credit card.

If you did, get onto them and tell them the goods are not fit for purpose and the seller is not responding.

The checkout system on their website is also insecure, so your personal details (name, address, phone number, email address, password) are sent unencrypted over the Internet. The card payment part uses a separate system which does use encryption though.

The checkout system on their website is also insecure, so your personal details (name, address, phone number, email address, password) are sent unencrypted over the Internet. The card payment part uses a separate system which does use encryption though.

I finally got a reply yesterday!

Good afternoon Tony Thank you for your mail.

We have not been made aware of your tyre pressure loss issue beforehand. This issue will be down to a damaged tyre bead caused whilst having tyres changed. The tyre levers put very small gouges into the bead line. The AlloyGator highlights this issue but is not the cause. A fix for this will be to get the tyre removed at the tyre bay and ask them to clean the bead line with the air tools. Then apply bead sealer and it will solve the issue. We would recommend this course of action even if you do not have AlloyGators fitted as you are only reliant on the secondary seal.

We note that your order was placed on the XX/XX/XXXX10 Ref: XXX. As this was 20 months ago we are unable to issue a refund on your original purchase. We do not accept that the profile is in any way not fit for purpose if fitted correctly. We do have plenty of satisfied customers that have this profile fitted to their vehicles. We do work with all of our customers to try and understand any issues they may have and put them right. We are happy to offer you a discount on a new set if you feel this is something of interest. However we would recommend you have the tyre bead seals rectified beforehand.

Kind Regards Curt RathboneAlloyGator Ltd

My response:

Curt

There is not an issue with the beads on these tyres as they are factory-fit (the Alloygators were fitted at 900 miles).

The delay in fitting the Alloygators was due to a change of vehicle which actually turned out to be delayed more that expected.

The fact that 20 months has passed does not affect my statutory rights under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 as the product is quite clearly not fit for purpose.

The product has only been in use since September this year and has failed to stay on the rim without regular remedial work, the latest of which was this very morning.

I reject your offer of a discounted set of the redesigned product and can only assume your satisfied customers do not have Version One of the product.

Once again I request a return of the goods for a refund in an effort to prevent this matter being taken further.

Best Regards

How did you pay for the goods?

How did you pay for the goods?

Paypal or Credit Card so I could go up that route. The biggest issue is that Alloygator are not talking to me. I took them 10 days to answer a mail and I've not heard anything on the last one.

What a bunch of schisters

Paypal or Credit Card so I could go up that route. The biggest issue is that Alloygator are not talking to me. I took them 10 days to answer a mail and I've not heard anything on the last one.

What a bunch of schisters

Just go to the credit card and tell them you've tried to contact them, the goods are not fit for purpose and you'd like to take action.

Then go to a tyre place, with them removed and get them to confirm your tyres are not leaking air....