Am I being unreasonable?

[Slim]

Hi everyone,

I am having a bit of wrangle with Record customer services.

I bought a new CL3 lathe a couple of weeks ago. I made a 6 hour round trip to MacGreggors in Inverness to pick it up as it was quite urgent (for making Christmas presents) and they were the closest place with one in stock. After I set it up and ran it in, I noticed a large vibration. I spoke to MacGreggors, who put me onto Record. We decided that it needed a replacement spindle and bronze bearing and this would be sent out ASAP for me to fit (this was last Monday). Wednesday afternoon and nothing had arrived, so I queried if it had been sent. "It has been sent today" they said. By Friday it still hadn't arrived so I queried again this morning. Record rang me back to say that the spindle was out of stock until January. "No good" i said. "I need this lathe up and running to make Christmas presents. Can't you take one out of another lathe?". "No sir, that would spoil another lathe". After further arguing he said he would speak to his manager and ring me back. Which he hasn't, yet. Why could they not have told me it was out of stock when I spoke to them last Monday? Why did they say it had been sent when it hadn't?

Please tell me if I am being unreasonable. I don't think I am, but I may be blinded by the red mist.

 

[BMac]

Instead of them spoiling another lathe...why don't you suggest they just give you another lathe and take your useless one back.

That would seem reasonable to me.

Brendan

 

[wizer]

Yep, if they won't take the part off another lathe then they are obliged to replace it or refund you. In fact I strongly suggest you get back on the phone to the retailer and ask them to come and pick it up for a refund. If Record won't help you then all you can do it aim it back at them and get a proper lathe from a decent company. Or buy something known to be good second hand.

 

[NikNak]

Instead of them spoiling another lathe...why don't you suggest they just give you another lathe and take your useless one back.

That would seem reasonable to me.

Brendan

Absolutely ditto..... get a courier to collect defective goods and replace....



Nick

 

[matt]

You're not covered under distance selling protection so you may be on sticky ground with regard to getting it collected.

Imagine if anyone who ever bought something in person had grounds to have it collected (or claim costs in time and petrol returning it) if it turned out to be faulty.

The law tends to allow for the fact that products will be faulty on occasion and tends not to burden retailers with unreasonable expectaions borne out of a purist view of what's fair and principled.

It tends to be rather practical so I suggest, given your position, you use a hearts and minds approach. Establish whether you can get what you NEED before Xmas (i.e. a working lathe) and, if not, put it down to experience and wait for the parts to turn up in January. Or, agree for how and when the faulty lathe will be returned and try to find an equivalent locally.

 

[wizer]

There he goes with that hearts and minds nonsense again :roll: :wink:

Sorry, I missed that it was bought it in person. In that case, I'd be banging on their door at opening time tomorrow morning. It's completely unsatisfactory to be sold something that is faulty. If you bought a TV and the aerial didn't work, you'd take it back and get a new one. A customer can not be expected to change parts himself. Again, you would not be expected to swap out the internals of a TV. It's between record and the retailer to sort out faulty stock, it should not be passed on to the customer. The customer has every right to return a product that does not work as intended. By taking it back you are forcing the retailer to either replace or refund. You put the ball back in their court. They can not shirk the blame and pass the problem on to the manufacturer.

 

[Slim]

Cheers for the replies fellas.

I didn't want to take it back as I thought replacing the parts was the quickest solution. Plus, I didn't want to have to drive to Inverness again. I doubt whether they will agree to collect it.

No-one rang me back today (surprise surprise). I have tried calling them but they must have knocked off a 4.

I'll let you know what happens in the morning.

 

[cornucopia]

I would return the lathe and request a full refund
once again Record power seem to be giving poor service

 

[wizer]

Their service gets mixed reviews, but we are seeing more and more faulty machinery from new.

It might be a long way to go but it might be in your best interests to get it back to them ASAP. Read thispage to find out about your rights.

 

[Bodrighy]

How much of their stuff is now sourced in Chaiwanese factories?I know the Nova is and that seems to have problems but I thought the rest original Record stuff was British made?

Pete

 

[greggy]

There he goes with that hearts and minds nonsense again :roll: :wink:

Sorry, I missed that it was bought it in person. In that case, I'd be banging on their door at opening time tomorrow morning. It's completely unsatisfactory to be sold something that is faulty. If you bought a TV and the aerial didn't work, you'd take it back and get a new one. A customer can not be expected to change parts himself. Again, you would not be expected to swap out the internals of a TV. It's between record and the retailer to sort out faulty stock, it should not be passed on to the customer. The customer has every right to return a product that does not work as intended. By taking it back you are forcing the retailer to either replace or refund. You put the ball back in their court. They can not shirk the blame and pass the problem on to the manufacturer.

tom is spot on here, you paid cash to the dealer,,, so your contract is with a the dealer and NOT record power FULL STOP. that is law and in statute.
what you must do is,, take it back to the dealer and give it them back. and demand your full money back, by law they must give it you.
then you go away and buy another lathe fro elsewhere.
i know its a pain in the neck, but you tell the dealer 2 things.
one,, you know your rights,and wont be fobbed off.
two,, their customer service is laughable to say the least.

 

[kasandrich]

The law on faulty goods says they should repair or replace it......it does not say when, and 28 days is considered a normal and acceptable delay, where no other time constraint is defined.

 

[Slim]

I know it's the responsibility of the dealer. I was only in contact with Record because they rang me.

I'll try again to get it sorted in the morning, otherwise is another long old drive up one of the most dangerous roads in the country... :x . It's not all bad. The winter scenery is stunning on the A9. Maybe that's why it's a dangerous road... :-k

Cheers for the replies guys.

 

[OldWood]

The only counter to your comment about the A9, etc, Slim, is that Endsleigh Insurance have just put up statistics which indicate that Scotland is one of the safest parts of the UK for driving - or making the least claims, which I suppose is the same thing. It just makes one worry, if using the A9 as a yardstick, as to what some of the driving in England must be like - and I'm going down there in two days to collect a bandsaw.

Rob

 

[paulm]

Don't forget to tell the dealer, and Record, that you have shared your experience with all of your several hundred/thousand forum buddies........

Cheers, Paul

 

[Russell]

I may be able to sort this for you I have a CL3 spindle kit in stock new spindle and phosphor bronze bearing you could have it Wednesday you need to speak to Record to get authorization for me to send it to you and for me to get a credit from them. you can PM or call me at the office in the morning.

 

[Slim]

Russell,

You're a star mate. I'll try and get Record to agree in the morning. One of the things I miss from Yorkshire is your shop. I can't find a decent place for turning supplies up here.

I'll be in touch

 

[Slim]

The only counter to your comment about the A9, etc, Slim, is that Endsleigh Insurance have just put up statistics which indicate that Scotland is one of the safest parts of the UK for driving - or making the least claims, which I suppose is the same thing. It just makes one worry, if using the A9 as a yardstick, as to what some of the driving in England must be like - and I'm going down there in two days to collect a bandsaw.

Rob

Well Rob, I have driven all over the country and the worst road I have come across is the A31 through the New Forrest. Quite similar to the A9. It's people turning right into the ouside lane of a 70mph road that scares me. I've nearly come a cropper a couple of times by suddenly finding a car doing 20mph in front of me. :shock:

Of course the A9 is so dangerous because it keeps switching between single and dual carriageway. Combine that with lots of tourists, some of whom forget it has changed back to single carriageway and you have a recipe for disaster.

 

[OldWood]

Hi Simon
Interesting your comment about lack of decent suppliers in Scotland. I'm pretty new to turning so haven't as yet run into a supply chain problem. I take it that Jean Burhouse in Dunkeld doesn't come up to scratch either then, and I think you are nearer them than I in Edinburgh.

Rob

 

[Slim]

Well I sent a rather scathing email to Record last night including a little point about letting my 3000 forum buddies know about how bad their customer service is.

Interestingly, they rang me at 9 o'clock this morning very apologetic, and offering to send me a complete new lathe overnight.

So Record customer services aren't all that bad. They just need a little poke!

Russell, I obviously wont be needing your help now, but thanks once again for your very kind offer. If only all shops were as helpful as you. I owe you a beer mate.