My PUBLIC Apology to SNOREDOG !!

[roster]

Snoredog,

I read in another post that you relocated. Did you leave the L.A. area?

Regards,

Rooster

[Slinky]

Okay. I've cooled off.

[-SWS]

What!!!!????!!!! You doubted Snoredog????? He's the one guy on this forum who has never been wrong.

But I can see from your smiley and wink that you were never mad at our mutual friend "THE" Snoredog...

But I don't blame you for being annoyed to high heaven at the Respironics' cold shoulder... CPAP patients are just too darned inconvenient for some of these can't-be-bothered CPAP companies. And a warranty that punishes low-volume DME's and screws the patient at the same time! What corporate brilliance!!!
.

[Snoredog]

Snoredog,

I read in another post that you relocated. Did you leave the L.A. area?

Regards,

Rooster

No I never did live in LA, I traveled there over the past 8 years quite a bit while visiting my daughter while she went to UCLA but that was about it.

[Slinky]

... CPAP patients are just too darned inconvenient for some of these can't-be-bothered CPAP companies. And a warranty that punishes low-volume DME's and screws the patient at the same time! What corporate brilliance!!!

That is the part that I don't understand. I take it Respironics encourages buying in bulk by providing pricing incentives. These devices record the number of hours on the device that can't be changed. So WHY would they "protect" themselves by limiting the warranty to the date received by the DME supplier rather than the date received by the end-user, the patient??

Even the limitation on the Resmed warranty that the device MUST be returned to the DME who sold the device to the patient to be covered by the warranty is unreasonable. This is a mobile society. Why couldn't it just be submitted to the nearest "authorized Resmed dealer"???

I really wish somone who has a recent Puritan Bennett, and a recent DeVilBiss, etc. would post their warranty. Just for comparisns sake. And curiosity.

[Snoredog]

But I don't blame you for being annoyed to high heaven at the Respironics' cold shoulder... CPAP patients are just too darned inconvenient for some of these can't-be-bothered CPAP companies. And a warranty that punishes low-volume DME's and screws the patient at the same time! What corporate brilliance!!!
.

I expect what goes around will come around to them arrogant mfg's. All that needs to happen is a simple change in medicare reimbursement and things could change overnight. But the medical lobby will fight that one.

What they need to do is change medicare reimbursement schedule and their attitudes would change. Right now they are protected from the consumer by the dysfunctional FDA and medicare reimbursement.

That reimbursement schedule is driving up costs as it guarantees these mfgs a set price and shifts the customer focus from the patient to the DME, so they don't have to answer to the patient.

For example, if lower premiums for medicare were put in place and patients were allowed to shop around for the best price, the amount medicare pays out would have to drop. At the same time those companies would then have to compete for that business and you would see the focus shift from the DME to the patient.

As it is now, the price we pay for therapy devices is dictated by medicare reimbursement schedules and rules, as we ALL know that price is many times higher than what a person could obtain off the street if they were allowed to shop around many times getting a more advanced device.

The current system is simply wrong.

[GumbyCT]

why did she leave us?

....cause she got tired of being wrong all the time...

LOL

and the ol' dog is wise beyond his years. lmao so we can ALL make money by betting on whatever she votes against??

George just might get that unprecedented 3rd term eh Slinky?

Go dems roflmao
dem slinkies shur do put a smile on yer face lmao

[Snoredog]

why did she leave us?

....cause she got tired of being wrong all the time...

LOL

and the ol' dog is wise beyond his years. lmao so we can ALL make money by betting on whatever she votes against??

George just might get that unprecedented 3rd term eh Slinky?

Go dems roflmao
dem slinkies shur do put a smile on yer face lmao

George won last time because he appeared as the least dumb of the two candidates. Boy did he fool us.

Unfortunately this time around McCain doesn't appear to be any brighter. At least George was funny on Leno, there he was pretty good.

I nominate Gilbert Godfree as President (son of a b*tch or that other guy that does that roving reporter stuff and comes off as drunk in tahiti)

[Goofproof]

You folks with your XPAP machine warrenties have it easy. What if a company called Metronics, makes a defibrillator, which got installed with their Sprint Fedelis leads, which are know to be defective.

The company says it's more dangerious to change the leads than use them.
That's not what the costomers that died would say about it, but it's cheaper to leave them in. In the mean time, they sent me a modem to send tests of the defibrillator to them every 3 months.

And here I sit, watching the hours go by, Tick, tick, tick, most failures start at 18 months, guess whose is past that now. Mine.

If it's shorts out it can send 750 volts D/C into a working heart, that should be a heck of a test. Jim

So I don't worry much about warrenties, I just hope I get the one out of 5,000 units that are made correctly.

[betty303]

About a month ago, I traveled for the weekend and took my M-series BiPap. I left in a hurry and put my M-series travel bag into the back of my truck and when I got home, discovered that I had totally spaced and forgotten to remove the water out of the humidifier. aaargh. Water soaked blanket under the travel bag.

I called up the online store I bought the BiPap from and described what had happened. They said Respironics had a new procedure for those machines still under warranty, called One Touch. I was FedEx'd a reconditioned BiPap and the return label to return my water damaged BiPap. The reconditioned machine arrive in a few days, and when I started to use it - it smelled horrible and I had a bad reaction (stuffy nose, runny eyes, etc.) that was the same as I have around cigarette smoke.

I called back the online store, told them about how bad it smelled, and they said to hold on, they would see if Respironics would send another one. A few days later, here came reconditioned BiPap #2. It smelled just as bad.

After asking here what to do - I followed suggestions and let outside air run through both of them for about 5 hrs, continues to use pur-sleep oils at the intake and now I had two machines that seemed like they were working fine. I am testing both now for a few nights each to make sure the air is no longer smelly. So far so good.

I have returned my water damaged machine, and will be sending back one of the reconditioned ones.

BTW, the reconditioned machine that I am keeping starts the 2 yr warranty time anew.

[Ram]

[quote="Anonymous"]Slinky, And yup Snoredog is right, the warranty starts when the machine ships from the factory.

That is illegal in any country. Your warranty starts from the date you purchase the machine
Shame on Respironics hiding behind distributors
and not backing their warranty..

Slinky you should challenge Respironics and I am sure many of us here will back you..

Please read the warranty book let you received with the machine carefully. I will write to my local sydney Respironics agent if you so wish.

[Ram]

What if a company called Metronics, makes a defibrillator, which got installed with their Sprint Fedelis leads, which are know to be defective.

Something like this will send my BP up to 250...
It is like leaky Breast implants but even more scary indeed

[Slinky]

Thanks, Ram. That is so good of you. But I didn't buy a pre-M Series Bi-PAP w/Bi-Flex. I was thinking of doing so as there are still some new ones for sale at cpap.com as a backup/travel bi-level.

Given that evasive reply from Respironics I'm not so sure now if I want to or not. Most likely I'll contact cpap.com to see what they have to say 'bout whether THEY would stand behind it for 2 years or not. But I haven't really decided. Its a lotta money. Not the same as buying a backup/travel CPAP or autoPAP!!!

I may just rely on my AutoSet Vantage as a backup/travel device even tho it isn't a bi-level.

[Ram]

[quote="Slinky"]Thanks, Ram. That is so good of you. But I didn't buy a pre-M Series Bi-PAP w/Bi-Flex. I was thinking of doing so as there are still some new ones for sale at cpap.com as a backup/travel bi-level.

If you have not bought one already then it is not an issue worth pursuing and fighting.

But at least it tells us about Resprionics as a company and their lack of commitment to back their products. I am actually disappointed as I though Respironics was a better company than Resmed

[GumbyCT]

I am actually disappointed as I though Respironics was a better company than Resmed

Apparently NOT - must be run by dem republicans