Is the cup half empty in Under Armour athletic cup recall?

It's a mandatory piece of gear for boys and men who play hockey, lacrosse, baseball — athletic cups to protect their most prized possessions.

So when the American company Under Armour recently announced a recall of more than 8,000 of its protective cups due to the possibility they might break when hit, I wondered how easy it would to be for consumers to get a cash refund.

I've been through the recall process for a couple of my daughter's toys and it's been relatively painless. When her Thomas the Tank engine was recalled, the company told consumers to simply return the toy to the point-of-purchase store for an exchange or cash refund.  

In Canada, companies can decide how they want to conduct a recall, and how they wish to reimburse consumers.

I visited Under Armour's website to find out more about the cup recall. Customers are required to fill out an online form, send it to the company, Under Armour will then send the customer a label which they have to put on an envelope, and mail the cup to the company, which will then provide them with a code so they can spend $25 at its online store. No money back for the cup, which retails for about $18.

I called Under Armour's 1-800 phone number a few times but was told by all customer representatives that the money can't be returned due to an agreement made with the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, which oversees recalls in the United States.  

Rigamarole 'not too smart'

The representatives also said that Americans can get a cash rebate, but Canadians can only get a voucher.

Not only do Canadian consumers have to undergo a lengthy process to get a $25 voucher, but most online store items cost more than that. That hits Canadian consumers where it hurts — their wallets! 

Lindsay Meredith, a professor of marketing at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, believes the company could do better.

"When you have a faulty product, the consumer's entitled to get their money back," he says. "When you put them through this kind of rigamarole, all you're doing is making an enemy of a customer you worked like hell to get in the first place.  Not too smart."

In an email sent to Marketplace, Under Armour says it has worked closely with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to "implement a recall plan that both maximizes our consumers' value and quickly and efficiently removes the recalled product." 

The company also said any customer — whether in the U.S. or Canada — should be able to get cash back.

But you'd never know that by looking at Under Armour's website or by calling its 1-800 phone number.