Subject: Catastrophic Failures / Umarex Design Flaw / Injuries.

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To all departments:

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My name is [insert your name]. I am a customer of Umarex.

I own the following Umarex products: [list your products].

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I am writing to you to address my concerns and grievances over certain product design flaws and the existing risks your products represent to your customers.

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I am a member of various online community groups. My fellow Umarex product owners represent customers from all over the world. We are truly an International community, equating to many thousands of Umarex customers. Our concerns are widespread and you can consider us as a growing social-movement with genuine safety concerns over products we have purchased from Umarex.

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In the past few months there have been incidents of catastrophic failures of certain Umarex products. Some failures result in air leaks (leaving the product unusable), others resulting in products exploding whilst the user was handling it. Members of our community are discussing this issue - and discussing the fact that this problem has been reported to Umarex... and there has been no response from your company.

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The products affected by this design flaw are as follows:

HDB68 / HDR50 / HDR68 / HDP50 / HDP50 Compact / HDX68 ... and TR models.

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On these models, the tube that receives the 12g CO2 capsule is attached to the main aluminium valve body by a simple compression (crimped) fitting... whereas earlier models used a stronger / safer, threaded design.

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The non-threaded models are failing at this joint. On some customers' products this failure results in slow CO2 loss. In a growing number of cases, this leads to a catastrophic failure by way of a violent detachment, causing an explosion and fragmented plastic.

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Umarex is apparently ignoring reports from your customers. People who have emailed Umarex have reported that you have not responded to them. You may be assuming that the customer has been negligent by tampering or modifying your products beyond their designed capability - but I can assure you that there are a growing number of cases where this dangerous design failure has occurred on factory specification, unmodified products, being used for their intended purpose. So far one person has reported (and provided photos of) a serious injury requiring medical attention to close a wound a few inches above his eyes. Others have reported damage to property after fragments (travelling at high velocity) have hit windows. Some have been fortunate not to have sustained either after the explosion - but in all these cases, their product is no longer usable.

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It is my duty to point out that this design flaw represents a RISK OF SERIOUS INJURY to the user. These products are currently 'Not Fit For Purpose'.

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The non-threaded design is being weakened each time the quick-piercing cap is removed & replaced when changing 12g CO2 capsules. The entire black CO2 tube is not being held in place securely. The twisting motion from the quick-piercing cap is being transferred through to the CO2 tube, and this twisting motion is weakening the crimped connection that holds the CO2 tube to the main aluminium valve body.

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I - like many thousands of Umarex product owners, are extremely concerned and annoyed that you have released a number of products that are not safe to use. We, as a community - demand action from Umarex to address this issue. We are in possession of products that we are unable to use due to the risk of personal injury. Our community is discussing this issue on a daily basis. The fact that you have so far ignored reports of this dangerous flaw in your products has caused concern... and now outrage.

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As a community, we are reaching out to Umarex with our concerns. If your company does not respond with a suitable response to this issue, you will find our community being more vocal via online platforms and eventually via the industry regulators and the media.

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Within our community we have forums and YouTubers who are highly respected by thousands of followers. If these group members start warning people not to purchase your products until this design flaw has been rectified - you should consider the damage this would cause to your brand. If customers lose trust in your brand, your sales will plummet AND your competitors will capitalize on your failures.

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Our community would like to see options for resolving this issue.

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1) for customers who have the technical ability to replace this part - we would like to receive a revised valve. We will install it ourselves.

2) for customers who are not capable of making this repair - Umarex should invite customers to send their products direct to you, and your engineers will replace the faulty components, and return the product to the customer.

3) for customers who have lost trust in your products - you should allow them to return the product and you should refund the customer the full cost.

 

As an Umarex customer, I expect a response to this issue without delay.