Harbour Freight Class Action Suit

I am not suing them, some other people sued them, and got a settlement. As for the spelling, you are correct in that the company is registered as Harbor Freight. I am just use to using the harbour variant of the word and type without paying attention.

-our, -or
Most words ending in an unstressed -our in British English (e.g., colour, flavour, behaviour, harbour, honour, humour, labour, neighbour, rumour, splendour) end in -or in American English (color, flavor, behavior, harbor, honor, humor, labor, neighbor, rumor, splendor). Wherever the vowel is unreduced in pronunciation, e.g., contour, velour, paramour and troubadour the spelling is the same everywhere.

Most words of this kind came from Latin, where the ending was spelled -or. They were first adopted into English from early Old French, and the ending was spelled -or or -ur.[9] After the Norman conquest of England, the ending became -our to match the Old French spelling.[10] The -our ending was not only used in new English borrowings, but was also applied to the earlier borrowings that had used -or.[9] However, -or was still sometimes found,[11] and the first three folios of Shakespeare's plays used both spellings before they were standardised to -our in the Fourth Folio of 1685.[4] After the Renaissance, new borrowings from Latin were taken up with their original -or ending and many words once ending in -our (for example, chancellour and governour) went back to -or. Many words of the -our/or group do not have a Latin counterpart; for example, armo(u)r, behavio(u)r, harbo(u)r, neighbo(u)r; also arbo(u)r, meaning "shelter", though senses "tree" and "tool" are always arbor, a false cognate of the other word. Some 16th- and early 17th-century British scholars indeed insisted that -or be used for words from Latin (e.g., color)[11] and -our for French loans; but in many cases the etymology was not clear, and therefore some scholars advocated -or only and others -our only.[12]

 

Oh oh!

Oh wait...not a problem for some!

 

This was just a "For Your Information" post. There is nothing wrong with any member here entering into the settlement class. Some of the comments almost imply that if a FHC member joins the class that they are somehow doing something wrong or they are in some way trying to cheat. They aren't.

 

I didn't read any responses that way. Many said they wouldn't participate, some said (basically) buyer beware anywhere they buy from, some said that lawyers make the most money off these types of things, and some were trying to be entertaining.

Is it too early in the day to introduce

 

You forgot one!

Don't forget the course in remedial english....british english...that was put forth to all us uneducated uncouth crude uniformed and unaware hoarders!

 

<RANT>When I shop at HF I know what I am buying. I do not buy anything there that my livelihood depends on. I do not buy anything there that my life, or anybody's life, could hinge on. I buy incidentals, disposables, or one-time use tools for a specific job. T-3 bulbs since the guys are always breaking them. Duct tape that gets used for temporary jobs by the ton. A generator for a job that was supposed to be hooked up to the grid but wasn't yet...

I spend enough there but know what I am buying and what I am willing to pay. If I need real tools I go to proper sources. HF ads and comparative pricing does not affect my decisions. I buy junk there and pay junk prices.

That said, there are many lawyers that survive on class-actions. They hunt for them, file them, and abandon many before they hit a winner. If you read the settlements the lawyers get paid first. They submit their "billable hours" & expenses to the court and are compensated. Usually what is left is a small fraction of the settlement to be divided to the class group. The settlements, if they don't include injuries or deaths, are small enough that they are considered, by the business, a part of the cost of doing business. We all pay in prices that are a little higher than they should be so the business can build up reserves for legal expenses.

I spend a lot of time in France. There the standards of a "class-action" are much higher and difficult. The rules for payouts are also more in favor of the actual complainants. In turn, when people buy something they know that they will get what they pay for. Calling the company to complain and getting a free replacement , upgrade, or coupons for discounts on future purchases is non-existent. Basically "after sale" customer service for most products does not exist. Companies survive on their product's reputation as they should.

In France most people snicker about our litigious society and what it ends up costing everyone here. </RANT>

KaptJaq

 

Does anyone else notice that funky smell inside HF stores?
Toxic chinese rubber (rubbour? ) gives off some fumes.

 

Yes, and everything you buy there smells the same. An oily/rubbery/chemical smell.

 

very good point!!!

 

Haven't bought anything from them even after the times I have been in them.

But, guys I know have had satisfaction and good results.

 

I've bought some stuff there...if I need to make a custom wrench or socket I will use something from HF, no need to cut n weld on my Snap On stuff! 90% of the stuff I've gotten there has served well. I did have 1 wrench out of a 20+ piece combination wrench set that literally exploded the first time I tried to use the closed end...barely had any pressure on it...blew all over the shop like I had a 3' cheater bar on it!
At least when I go to HF I know what I'm getting, unlike Craftsman these days...they claim to have quality tools still...not so much. I think some of the HF stuff holds up better than Crapsman!

 

Now what is he laughing at???

Oops! should read "in there"


oooppsss

 

True that! Too many willing to lie in courts for personal gains!

Reminds me of an item in the news years ago.

A city bus was involved in an accident after dropping off its last passengers for the night. The accident occurred with no one on the bus except the driver. It was reported on the news, and by the end of the next day, 17 passengers had filed claims for their injuries while seated on that very same bus!!!