Rutlands

[Random Orbital Bob]

I think you may have missed one crucial aspect of forum life Kieran.......the opportunity to rant at faceless humans with your own meaningless drivel

It has the great advantage of the person doing the ranting not being called out as might happen live in the pub so to speak. They can vent their spleen of all the ill winds that have blown around in there for decades....the wife who left them.....the promotion they were passed over for......the career opportunity they missed....the fact the neighbour has a better car than they etc etc. Trolls have found the perfect log to hide under while broadcasting their horse manure on internet fora.

This place is generally quite good but it has it's little collection. Don't worry about them, their opinions never counted in the real world which is generally why they attempt to force them down people's throats here.

I get it...you bought something, it wasn't right, the company put it right and you, being a reasonable and positive chap felt it was the decent thing to do to celebrate that good deed. Sir, I applaud your sentiment.

 

[John15]

Just what is this thread all about?. Is there any sense in it?

John

 

[Fidget]

I introduced myself on this forum recently thinking that I was going to join in and maybe participate in discussions and Q&A's about various workshop interests and maybe ask advice of the hive mind, but reading some of these threads, of this which this is just one, which quickly get quite personal, completely derailing the OP's post, makes me realise that maybe that wasn't such a good idea...

There are obviously some very wise and experienced people here, who's posts I will continue to value but they do tend to get drowned out in the general noise of personal point scoring.

It is very easy to read into a post that which isn't there, depending on your standpoint.

Carry on as you were

EDIT: Oh, and some people are just trolls! (Don't feed the trolls)

 

[Droogs]

Glad you are happy with the service you received from Rutlands Kieren and it is true as you say that for many low cost items it is cheaper to expect the odd return for whatever reason than to implement high QC. I can accept that for a certain level of item. But companies must be prepared to offer the highest levels of customer service in order to mitigate this and for many here Rutlands do not. It is good to hear from someone who has had a good experience from them as it could be an indicator that they have indeed realised this and are attempting to improve things and their reputation. People certainly should not be jumping down your throat just 'cause you have pointed this out.
i hope that you have many hours of use and enjoyment from the kit and are able to show us the results and a review of the kit in the near future. After all, we are here to learn from those who know mre than us and that includes peoples experience with the available suppliers. You could after all save me from wasting a lot of cash by going to the wrong place to buy something


cheers

 

[RobinBHM]

I introduced myself on this forum recently thinking that I was going to join in and maybe participate in discussions and Q&A's about various workshop interests and maybe ask advice of the hive mind, but reading some of these threads, of this which this is just one, which quickly get quite personal, completely derailing the OP's post, makes me realise that maybe that wasn't such a good idea...

There are obviously some very wise and experienced people here, who's posts I will continue to value but they do tend to get drowned out in the general noise of personal point scoring.

It is very easy to read into a post that which isn't there, depending on your standpoint.

Carry on as you were

EDIT: Oh, and some people are just trolls! (Don't feed the trolls)

Dont let that discourage you from participating, threads about projects, solutions to ways of doing things etc will nearly always generate lots of very helpful solutions. Anything you dont like, just gloss over.

 

[RobinBHM]

Evening,
To pay a third more for the Rutlands jig would still make it cheaper than the identical jig from Axi (http://www.axminster.co.uk/planer-blade ... jig-700360), however, do you really think either firm would would inspect every item for only £10?
You have labour costs, repackaging costs, recycling costs and setting a workshop aside for the inspections to take place.
The profit margins are going to be small on such items, and I fully understand why firms are willing to take the risk of the customer returning faulty goods.
The reason for my post was to point out how helpful an individual at Rutlands was, and the painless process it was to get things sorted out.
It seems to have spiraled out of all sense of reason, with some people becoming angry, about, for most of them is not an issue!
I bought the jig, I'm happy with how the situation was dealt with, I've set up my planer, I can now get on with some work!

Well Im not happy, how dare you come on this forum and just say you are happy with the service you received. Honestly it makes my blood boil

Now where was that sharpening thread.......

 

[RossJarvis]

There are very few reasons why I would buy anything from this particular company and on this occasion it was due to an issue with a product (Something missing from a product supplied, which is a manufacturer fault not the supplier).
.

Wrong in so many ways.

Mike

I fail to follow your lack of logic here, you're obviously a ******* ****-end, whose fault's that?

 

[Superduner]

A bump for this thread.
I live in France, so for most stuff from the UK, shipping (and now, after Brexit, taxes and VAT) is too expensive.
Last October a friend visiting England brought me back a few items from Rutlands including a set of wire brushes to be mounted in a drill -nylon, brass and steel.
Well, the set was not used at all over the winter, until yesterday when I had to strip the paint over some screws to be removed. Put a brass brush in the drill, and it snapped immediately where the brush is crimped into the shaft.
So I contacted Rutlands and explained that this was the first use, blah, blah, blah. The reply was that it was out of the 30 day warranty, and tough luck. Wrote back to complain about their response and was grudgingly (I felt) offered a £5 discount on my next order.
I really would understand this attitude if I'd been working the brushes to death, but this was the first one out of the case and failed instantly.
I don't think I'll be using Rutlands again.

 

[Blackswanwood]

I’m not a fan of Rutlands as I feel they tend (in general) to peddle low quality over priced tat. That having been said I have mixed feelings on your issue.

I’d probably be a bit sceptical if I was a retailer and a product was brought back for a refund or replacement by someone who didn’t buy it several months later. However their warranty period is actually not relevant. The Sale of Goods Act makes it clear that goods have to be of merchantable quality and fit for the purpose intended. Clearly this wasn’t.

The contract though is between the person who bought them (your friend) and Rutlands. If you take a look at the Money Saving Expert Website it will tell you how your friend can word a claim to them.

 

[Superduner]

It was me that ordered them for delivery to where my mate was staying. I'll follow your good advice and follow up.

 

[Selwyn]

A bump for this thread.
I live in France, so for most stuff from the UK, shipping (and now, after Brexit, taxes and VAT) is too expensive.
Last October a friend visiting England brought me back a few items from Rutlands including a set of wire brushes to be mounted in a drill -nylon, brass and steel.
Well, the set was not used at all over the winter, until yesterday when I had to strip the paint over some screws to be removed. Put a brass brush in the drill, and it snapped immediately where the brush is crimped into the shaft.
So I contacted Rutlands and explained that this was the first use, blah, blah, blah. The reply was that it was out of the 30 day warranty, and tough luck. Wrote back to complain about their response and was grudgingly (I felt) offered a £5 discount on my next order.
I really would understand this attitude if I'd been working the brushes to death, but this was the first one out of the case and failed instantly.
I don't think I'll be using Rutlands again.

I don't blame them to be honest. You may have used it all winter for all they know

As for Rutlands some is tat, some is good quality chinese and some is v good quality imported Yank stuff. At the end of the day they are a retailer

 

[Superduner]

Bottom line is that they have given me a £5 discount on my next purchase (not a likely scenario at this point) for more than the 2 damaged brushes are worth, but it was more the complete non-caring attitude of the customer service guy that bugged me.
I was perfectly happy to send a picture of the unused set, but there was just no interest on their part.
Guess they must be used to it.
I've left a scathing review of the brushes on the website - it made me feel a little better.

 

[AJB Temple]

They will remove your review. They are totally used to it apparently.

 

[paul-c]

hi all
i have always thought that whatever you buy , service you receive etc at some point something will go wrong at some point.
it is how good the company then deals with your complaint that ,for me anyway ,decides if they are a good company to deal with.
the op has had this happen and had it dealt with in a good way and has let the rest of us know. i personally would prefer to have the confidence any company i have dealings with would resolve any problems
cheers paul

 

[Droogs]

Their business name basically tells you if you come into their shop /land your *** is theirs. They are the biggest bunch of cheesemetal mongers in the UK. I have never heard anyone give them a glowing appraisal for service or indeed the quality of their tat. They take good ideas and copy them shoddily and sell it on. Caveat Emptor has a one word explanation in my dictionary and it is Rutlands.

 

[Peterm1000]

Their business name basically tells you if you come into their shop /land your *** is theirs. They are the biggest bunch of cheesemetal mongers in the UK. I have never heard anyone give them a glowing appraisal for service or indeed the quality of their tat. They take good ideas and copy them shoddily and sell it on. Caveat Emptor has a one word explanation in my dictionary and it is Rutlands.

I don't use Rutlands often, but I have bought a few things from them - in the full knowledge that some of the reviews look very dubious and you should never buy anything full price. I bought one of their extractors (the metal tin, deafeningly loud type that everyone seems to sell). It arrived and the drum had obviously been dropped. It was dented and the plastic fittings broken. 1 phone call and 48 hours later, a replacement drum had arrived. The quality was what I expected for the £80 or so that I paid.

Complaining about the quality is like buying the Tesco value range and saying it's not as nice as M&S. You know that when you go in...

 

[Blackswanwood]

I need to correct my earlier post. It is no longer the Sale of Goods Act that applies as it was superseded by the Consumer Rights Act in 2015. This made clearer and strengthened the position for consumers when they are sold faulty goods.

 

[akirk]

I have never heard anyone give them a glowing appraisal for service or indeed the quality of their tat.

Everything I have bought from them works exactly as expected - no issues, and good value for money - esp. if you wait for it to hit one of their 12 hour price drops etc. They also have availability when others don't - I ordered an air filter from another supplier who said it was in stock - clearly wasn't, took several days to tell me they didn't know when it would come in... Rutlands, supplied theirs next day delivery - their website is very good, works well, and their delivery is fast and their stock levels are accurate...

I think that puts them in about the top 5% of suppliers in this industry their 'tat' as you describe it all seems to work well and is often the identical product to other companies but in a smart black colour - not sure how that makes their products any more or less tat than anyone else... I would prefer to buy utilitatian items from a company that runs well commercially, than ordering and having no idea where my order is / why my money has been taken / when I am going to get the item - as happens elsewhere... and as others mention, my purchases are supported by the CRA 2015 - so pretty risk free...

not sure what constitutes a 'glowing appraisal' as I doubt I give that to anyone - but of all the suppliers I have dealt with they have been one of the best...

 

[danst96]

I don't use Rutlands often, but I have bought a few things from them - in the full knowledge that some of the reviews look very dubious and you should never buy anything full price. I bought one of their extractors (the metal tin, deafeningly loud type that everyone seems to sell). It arrived and the drum had obviously been dropped. It was dented and the plastic fittings broken. 1 phone call and 48 hours later, a replacement drum had arrived. The quality was what I expected for the £80 or so that I paid.

Complaining about the quality is like buying the Tesco value range and saying it's not as nice as M&S. You know that when you go in...

Totally agree with this however I also agree with not paying for most things from Rutlands full price. A lot of the gear they sell you can find on ebay for about half the cost from Chinese sellers, the main draw back is you need to be willing to wait a good 2-3 months for it to come on the Evergiven. My point is they do put a massive markup on generic tools where you are probably better off spending 30-50% more on a different companies own brand stuff which is made to a better standard.

I have bought a fair amount of stuff from Rutlands in getting started and what I have got has been ok:

Squares - seems unique design to them and are good and accurate
Parallel Clamps - Considering the cost, they are very good
63mm extraction pipe system - only worth it on discount, got it for half price and its the exact same stuff that Charnwood sell and is cheaper.
Premium Tablesaw fence system - a bit overpriced considering you can get the same thing half price on ebay but the long lead time mentioned above.
Small router - the quality i expected for the price (cheap) and has done some fairly heavy jobs so been pleasantly surprised however the guide had a ton of corrosion on when i got it. They gave me a 10% discount for that when i complained although were a bit narky saying it doesnt affect the performance which i found odd, like duh yeh of course it doesnt but it was new so i expect it to look new?

But all in all i have a largely positive experience with Rutlands thus far. As the above, dont expect champagne for lemonade prices.

 

[recipio]

They seem to focus on low end American style goods. I bought two sets of Dakota clamps which are still hanging on my wall . They simply don't work as the slider bar won't hold. After that, I now put in a lot of research before parting with the hard earned.