Doctor Drivel wrote:
"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...

On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 15:26:47 +0100, "JoeJoe" wrote:


I bought a PPro drill from them 3 years ago.

Despite using it only on the very rare occasion, one battery is now
completely dead (wouldn't charge), and the other discharges after about

10

minute work.

Also, the drill bits seem to slip quite often as the locking mechanism is

on

its last leg.

I just checked the receipt, and unfortunately it was 2 months out of the
warranty period. Speaking to the shop they washed their hands off it and
claimed that as it was more than 3 years it was tough luck on my part.

I am not particularly please to say the least. It was £90 - hardly a

cheap

and nasty one I would have thought, and I believe that I have the right

to

expect it to work beyond 3 years.

Is there anything I can do about it?

As a worse case scenario I was thinking about forcing them to fix it as I
believe they are obliged to do - I bet they don't have any spare parts

for

it....

Cheers,

J.

PS: Probably worth mentioning that it wasn't abused, and the batteries

were

charged according to their instruction.


I think that you are being unrealistic. £90 is not anywhere close to
top end for a drill-driver. Prices range from £30 to over £300.


£30??? Woolies have an 18v for £5


The battery is dead because this class of drill uses cheap batteries
to minimise the cost - it's the most expensive part.

The mechanics are the next most expensive part and up for cost saving
where possible and it is not surprising that the parts have failed.

The reason why there is a three year warranty is threefold:

- It appears to be an attractive deal to the customer, who then gains
the impression that the product is decent and that the supplier is
standing behind it. Nothing is further from the truth.

- B&Q is a volume box mover and has supplier contracts which will
undoubtedly factor in a certain return/throw-away rate. THe supplier
may have to replace up to a certain percentage or it is factored into
the margins.

- There is no spares or repair backup. Faulty ones go in the skip.


Nonsense. You can buy spare batteries form B&Q or they will give you a
number to order one from.


There is a statute of limitations of 6 years which means that you have
the opportunity to make a legal claim against the retailer for up to
that time. The warranty is a convenience only.

Had you bought a top end drill like a Panasonic or Makita at around
£300, it would be reasonable to expect a long lifetime from it, and
indeed you would probably get one.


£300. You can get 60 Woolies drills for that.


There would be spares and service
backup if it failed.


With the Woolies drills, you just pick another up until the 60 all runs out.
Which will be longer than the life of a Makita. 60 of them?

£90 for a drill and only one of the batteries is duff? How much for a new
battery? Probably still a lot cheaper than buying a Makita for similar
performance.




Problem is £5 drills will probably have a fairly long charge time. So to
do a days work you need say 5 batteries ... all charged up?

A tad inconvenient eh?

Alex