Warranties. Where do I stand

[Bohsfc]

Looking for some help and info here.

I bought a Parkside cordless drill from Lidl 2 months ago. There stuff is generally OK for the price and DIY level of use it would get.

Anyway, the battery appears to be faulty as after a full charge it lasts less than 5 minutes of drilling. So I contacted Kompernass who are the supplier.
They have got back to me to say that the battery is not covered under the warranty and that I can purchase a new battery from them for €20.

This to me sounds very strange and a total cop out by the company but does anyone know if I am entitled to a replacement under warranty.

I don't know how I stand with LIDL given that the drill has been used. They will usually only issue a refund if within 28 days and unused.

Any help appreciated.

 

[JJH]

there might be a cop out clause with the battery. The way I see it is that you bought the drill off Lidl with a guarentee. I would bring it back to them as they are responsible under the sale of goods act. I find Lidl ok to deal with but I have stoped buying tools from them due to the poor quality. Another person might disagree with me but that is my experience. You should not have to go to a third party. Remember a guarentee is in addition to your staturaty rights under the sale of goods act. On the other hand the drill is designed for light work. Is there any chance that you overloaded it? If every thing else is ok with the drill and you are happy with it it might be handier to just buy the battery. Another thing to check is that the charger is chargeing properly. Hope this helps. JJH

 

[Bohsfc]

there might be a cop out clause with the battery. The way I see it is that you bought the drill off Lidl with a guarentee. I would bring it back to them as they are responsible under the sale of goods act. I find Lidl ok to deal with but I have stoped buying tools from them due to the poor quality. Another person might disagree with me but that is my experience. You should not have to go to a third party. Remember a guarentee is in addition to your staturaty rights under the sale of goods act. On the other hand the drill is designed for light work. Is there any chance that you overloaded it? If every thing else is ok with the drill and you are happy with it it might be handier to just buy the battery. Another thing to check is that the charger is chargeing properly. Hope this helps. JJH

Thanks, JJH. YEs drill seems fine other than the battery dying after a few minutes. The green light on the charger comes on after a few hours of charging so presume all is well there. No overloading of it. Have only used it for a total of 20 max masonory holes which at 24v hammer, it is well capable of.
I think I will drop into the suppliers in Finglas tomorrow to try and get a battery but I wont be paying for it and if no joy there I will pop into LIDL to see what they have to say.
Thanks for help.

 

[JJH]

dont forget the suppliers dont have to give you a battery. Your contract is with Lidl.JJH

 

[Bohsfc]

dont forget the suppliers dont have to give you a battery. Your contract is with Lidl.JJH

 

[Damien]

If you are going to drop into Lidl, go when it is busy, and ask to speak to the manager while standing beside the tills.
Chances are, he will replace it or give you a refund to avoid "a scene"

 

[Bohsfc]

If you are going to drop into Lidl, go when it is busy, and ask to speak to the manager while standing beside the tills.
Chances are, he will replace it or give you a refund to avoid "a scene"

Sounds like your speaking from experience Damien.

 

[GerryC]

Bought a cordless drill in Woodies about 15 months ago & bought a spare battery shortly after that. One of the batteries suddenly refused to take any charge recently (the other is still going strong - both lightly used as it's a second cordless & the batteries alternate - so no great work or abuse; honest officer).
Anyhow back to Woodies I go. Wee girl at till pages supervisor - youthful supervisor arrives & announces a 12 month warranty & tough shit customer (well words to that effect).
This customer not pleases & pushes case - supervisor shrugs & says batteries made in China & what do I expect. I start to talk a (good) bit louder; "my money was not Chineese & was taken for what I had hoped would be fit for purpose etc etc.
Many other customers now turning heads.
Youthful supervisor says he will check with his manager & disappears through door. Emerges 30 seconds later - his boss feeling generous i.e. new battery.
I got the feeling he checked with no one but I got a battery.

 

[Bohsfc]

Bought a cordless drill in Woodies about 15 months ago & bought a spare battery shortly after that. One of the batteries suddenly refused to take any charge recently (the other is still going strong - both lightly used as it's a second cordless & the batteries alternate - so no great work or abuse; honest officer).
Anyhow back to Woodies I go. Wee girl at till pages supervisor - youthful supervisor arrives & announces a 12 month warranty & tough shit customer (well words to that effect).
This customer not pleases & pushes case - supervisor shrugs & says batteries made in China & what do I expect. I start to talk a (good) bit louder; "my money was not Chineese & was taken for what I had hoped would be fit for purpose etc etc.
Many other customers now turning heads.
Youthful supervisor says he will check with his manager & disappears through door. Emerges 30 seconds later - his boss feeling generous i.e. new battery.
I got the feeling he checked with no one but I got a battery.

Excellent result and tactics taken on board.

 

[Corporal Punishment]

If you dont want to be dealing with this sort of shyte, buy good quality tools from reputable sellers. I've always thought that buying cheapo tools is false economy anyway. Having said that - cough cough - I bought a cordless screwdriver from Aldi. It only worked in one direction,,,reverse. Brought it back and was told in a hush hush sort of way by the assistant, that the whole batch was faullty and they were under instructions to replace with another ( faulty ) driver untill people got fed up with bringing them back. They were only a tenner anyway. I got my money back.

 

[Bohsfc]

If you dont want to be dealing with this sort of shyte, buy good quality tools from reputable sellers. I've always thought that buying cheapo tools is false economy anyway. Having said that - cough cough - I bought a cordless screwdriver from Aldi. It only worked in one direction,,,reverse. Brought it back and was told in a hush hush sort of way by the assistant, that the whole batch was faullty and they were under instructions to replace with another ( faulty ) driver untill people got fed up with bringing them back. They were only a tenner anyway. I got my money back.

If both money and amount of use allowed, then I would buy better quality stuff but for the amount of use it would get there is no need for me to spend 100's on tools.
Anyway, I went into LIDL this morning and without question I got a full refund so happy days.

 

[Myke Rocks]

Before you go back

The battery is almost cetainly nickel cadmium, which develop a "Memory" of the last charge point, and, if not fully flattened before charging, soon get to the point you describe.
Get a tywrap, tywrap it round the trigger. Leave the drill till it stops, & leave it for another 2 days. Take off the tywrap, unplug the battery & charge normally.

It will almost certainly be ok afterwards.

Myke.

 

[Bohsfc]

The battery is almost cetainly nickel cadmium, which develop a "Memory" of the last charge point, and, if not fully flattened before charging, soon get to the point you describe.
Get a tywrap, tywrap it round the trigger. Leave the drill till it stops, & leave it for another 2 days. Take off the tywrap, unplug the battery & charge normally.

It will almost certainly be ok afterwards.

Myke.

Thanks for that advice, Myke. Will have to do that with the next one as I brought the drill back to LIDL today and got a refund.