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I'm a little dissapointed...


Seanem44

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Not withstanding the comments already made, perhaps next time, consider sending it to Bob Russell @ BR Lines who is I believe an approved Farish repair specialist (no connection other than satisfied customer etc)

 

http://www.brlines.com

 

You will be charged of course for the repairs...but it may turn out cheaper than Bachmann itself?

 

 

 

 

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I agree that a one-year manufacturer's warranty is just that: for one year, full stop. It's unfortunate for the OP in this instance, but a year is fair.

 

That said, I have to laugh when I read things from posters in the UK that say things like (and I'm paraphrasing here), "your contract is with the seller and therefore the shop from which the item was purchased must be contacted first." I've no doubt this is the case and the proper procedure in the UK but over here in the US where both the OP and myself live a shop has no obligation at all to correct a problem and the seller is free to wash his hands of you the second you walk out his door. If you have a problem with your purchase you have to deal with the manufacturer as they are the warrantor, not the seller. "Caveat emptor" is the general rule over here.

 

In the name of good customer service a US brick-and-mortar shop certainly can voluntarily elect to exchange a dodgy item. Certainly US mail order sellers will if the item is returned to them promptly; I believe they are obligated to by law as the buyer is unable to inspect the goods prior to purchase. But after a year has gone by? Indeed, after a just a few weeks? Any seller in the United States would laugh at you for being completely naive if you went to them to address a fault more than a few weeks after puchase - after telling you, of course, that you need to contact the manufacturer! While I'm sure the OP appreciates the education he has now received on UK consumer law, I think it is a little harsh to berate the OP for not contacting the UK seller first when it seems to me he behaved exactly as any US consumer in similar circumstances would by contacting the manufacturer.

 

Bachmann used to have a life-time warranty on its items sold in the US. This was at least into the 1990s - I haven't bought a Bachmann product in the US since then so I don't know if they still offer this. But the funny about that is that the quality of Bachmann's US products back then was so dreadful that they had to offer such a warranty just to induce buyers.

 

Matt

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Guest dilbert

You have a years warranty which is valid whether you choose to run it 24 hours a days for 7 days a week over 52 weeks a year or merely have it sitting untouched on your shelf. Doesnt matter whether it is your fridge, car or a model the same restrictions apply.

 

Regarding white goods, PCs, sound & image systems etc..., it is amazing how many people will take out extended manufacturer warranty insurance when this may not be necessary... check out the T&Cs of your purchasing plastic card... my card has an automatic two year extension to a manufacturer warranty in this instance, a minimum value of €75... puts a few more cents into the hobby pot... dilbert

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  • 4 weeks later...

whilst i can see both points of view,i think beast 66606 is being a little harsh and naive. With the limited production runs we have,its a case of buy now or else. I haven't the time to start my n guage layout and with young children around i don't want to anyway. So stuff gets bought tested and then put away. I guess Im not the only one in such a position.

 

I too have things magically break in the box. I've had a disappointing run of faulty on arrival stuff too where faults are all too apparent.

 

Maybe some goodwill was in order.we had an expensive silver cross pram bought 4 years ago for first born. We only used it for about 7 months as it was easier to use a smaller pram. Baby 2 turned up 4 years later,and after a month of using the silver cross the handle snapped whilst lifting to get up a kerb. We rang silver cross,explained wed only had a few months actual use,and they offered a goodwill repair for 20 quid for carriage. Pram was collected and returned by courtier in three days,mended,with new wheels and cleaned. Result-one very happy customer who has let others know how good they are.

 

I've read of Hornby going beyond their obligations here too. So not unheard of,cut the OP some slack.

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whilst i can see both points of view,i think beast 66606 is being a little harsh and naive.

 

 

Quoting trading standards is neither naive or harsh - but I do wonder on your motivations for this comment, after all the thread has been dormant for almost a month, and others share my opinion and yet you choose to name me - hmmm

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I've read of Hornby going beyond their obligations here too. So not unheard of,cut the OP some slack.

 

I have seen how good Hornby can be. My dad has fairly recently returned stuff to them that they made in the 80s before now and they fixed them for him free of charge. Amazing really.

 

Dapol's Joel has also been very good when I have had some issues with their items in the past and Bachmann recently sent me a buffer free of charge that I was missing on an N gauge DMU.

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Well, I got my B1 back about two weeks ago. I didn’t post, because I too thought the issue was dead. They tweaked the valve gear and oiled it. Whether that was a 14 GBP job (6 subtracted for shipping), you can be the judge.

I would have loved to have taken it to a hobby shop nearby, however here in the states, a lot of the shops are run by people who seem not to care at all about their consumers, or at least people my age (30) that they just dismiss upon entry.

I have learned many things from this experience. I got a crash course in GB consumer law... which differs greatly from US consumer law. If any of you all wind up over here for a period of time, good luck returning an item to the store you purchased it from a year, a month or even a few weeks after purchase. Unless of course it’s Wal-Mart, in which case they take anything back.

I do find it surprising, the lack of any empathy from some. This brings up an important point. Model Railroading is somewhat of a niche hobby. I will not say it is a dying hobby; however facts have shown that it is endangered. Fewer are taking up the hobby. Hobbies like this are dying out to things like video games, which seem to captivate young kids much easier than trains. I am considered young as a model railroader. However, my dealings with local hobby shops, and even in forums, have made me understand further why some are not willing to get into the hobby, or care about it at all.

If you disagree with me, that’s fine. However, a Holier than thou attitude is really unnecessary. Especially since I know nothing about GB consumer laws and am dealing with things over seas.

Happy modeling.

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However, a Holier than thou attitude is really unnecessary. Especially since I know nothing about GB consumer laws and am dealing with things over seas.

 

Not holier than thou, in my case I wouldn't expect a manufacturer to fix the item

 

1 because it's not their responsibility (which can easily be found by the use of google - something you could have done before you posted)

2 because I would consider its my hard luck if I couldn't be bothered to test things within the year (I have quite a lot of items which are far older than that which are still mint and boxed, I have no doubt some will have faults and I will not expect anyone to fix them except me, or I will pay whatever the going rate is for repair, I most certainly won't be contacting the manufacturer asking them to waive all costs.)

 

Sorry for not empathising with you, that's life - blame me for the downturn in the hobby if you like.

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Quoting trading standards is neither naive or harsh - but I do wonder on your motivations for this comment, after all the thread has been dormant for almost a month, and others share my opinion and yet you choose to name me - hmmm

 

Well, not wishing to start a slanging match on here (honestly) for some reason this got dredged up on my mobile version of the site......no idea why. It might have been a fat finger not pressing the right thread. However the topic struck a chord with me (as explained in my post) and your response seemed very curt and harsh. I wanted to show sympathy with the poster and understanding of the OPs point and felt a response was in order.

 

Have you never had any problems like this then ? Or experienced customer service that went beyond the requirements of consumer protection law ?

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I don't wish to prolong any differences but 'we' can only state facts as to what the obligations of a retailer or manufacturer actually are. Empathising to the degree of giving an impression that the retailer or manufacturer ought to do more than their obligations wouldn't be fair on you or the other party.

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Fair enough Andy.

 

I have tried to keep a civil tone for my part, which seems hard enough for some to do, even when regarding a hobby that should provide enjoyment.

 

I don't believe I was singling anyone out. And no one has to empathize if they don't want. Quite honestly I'm not going to lose sleep if some guy 3500 miles away disagrees with me.

 

And by all means, if everyone is fine with shoddy manufacturing, and are willing to shell out hard earned money to fix problems that shouldn't surface (even after a year of sitting in a package) on 100 GBP+ engines, thats your perogative. If people fail to demand perfection, it will never be achieved.

 

I will say this though, I have Atlas, Athearn and Kato engines that have sat dormant for years and work fine. They don't need to be babied and I have never had an issue out of any of them. And at the rate of incident that the Farish and Dapol engines are having problems just by a quick browse of this forum, it is more than enough to warrant scrutiny.

 

So in the end, if you are fine with less out of your manufacturer, and believe hard luck is an excuse for poor quality, then so be it.

 

As for myself, my patience with hard luck only lasts so long, as a consumer, I have the option to not purchase at all.

 

This matter is over as far as I am concerned.

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Have you never had any problems like this then ? Or experienced customer service that went beyond the requirements of consumer protection law ?

 

No, not like this, I've had (plenty of) problems with services and goods but in this case it would be of my own making - see #2 above.

I've experienced lots of excellent service - but I never asked for it.

 

--

 

It should be remembered that I offered the OP the citizens advice quotes to assist him (my own answer wasn't enough and that's fair enough), no thanks were given, even grudgingly, for clarifying things, just because the answer given is not to his liking doesn't make the answer wrong and it certainly didn't merit any sly digs at me although that appears to be trending (to quote twitter) at the moment but next week it will be someone else's turn and at least someone who might genuinely be scared off by the lectures from the righteous isn't on the receiving end.

 

---

 

 

Edit - as I type this I see another response that fails to grasp the point, moaning about manufacturers is irrelevant when the legal redress is with the supplier and, in my opinion, shows that the original posting was little more than a soap box - another one who thinks he is innocent of all blame, at least I know I can be a knob at times.

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moaning about manufacturers is irrelevant when the legal redress is with the supplier .

 

It still makes me laugh to read this again. You folks in the UK have it so soft. The instant you walk out of a shop with your purchase in the USA your legal redress is with the manufacturer, not the shop. Given the snarky attitudes of the staff at most USA model railroad shops these days, this is actually a good thing.

 

I agree with the OPs observation that, in general, those attitudes do not encourage newcomers to the hobby. It seems that in the USA now most model railroaders are crotchety old men who talk to empty chairs. This was actually one reason why I started modeling British outline.

 

Matt

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