I am after some advice before launching at this company - they seem to offer a good service but when pressed they turn rather vague and dis-interested.
The story / situation:
My uncle came across some lockhead 4 pots on a Ford Capri and we are going to fit them to the Mk1 Escort we are building. The pistons had seen better days so we decided to replace with stainless steel ones.
A scout around found Bigg Red Ltd as one of the only suppliers - so we duely ordered them at a hefty price of £100!!
On arrival we installed them in the calipers, we used the original seals as they were not very old, and had been checked by my uncle (a mechanic for some 30+ years). The pistons were very tight and my uncle was concerned they may bind in time.
I contacted Bigg Red who immediately said "they are supposed to be a tight fit, we sell a lot of these and have never had a problem". So i explained the situation and my uncles experience, to which the owner, John, then agreed to fit the pistons and check they were not too tight. We micrometer'd the pistons and they were approx 0.5mm larger than the originals.
I also asked that they be handle with care as they had already been powdercoated ready to fit. (this bit is where the issue arises)
Anyway I sent the calipers to him last week via DHL / Parcel2Go.com.
I had to chase him to see what was going on - then get a voicemail saying "your calipers are all done and ready to be collected, they are fine there is nothing wrong with the fit."
So i arrange for a DHL / Parcel2Go.co to collect them.
The calipers arrived at my work yesterday so I went down and checked them. When i opened the box, the calipers had been loosely wrapped in corregated card (I had sent them individually wrapped in bubblewarp and the box packed with shredded paper - from a minispares delivery i had). So firstly I was annoyed at the poor way they had been packaged.
Anyway I will let the following photos do the talking:
As you can see the coating has been damaged quite badly, and all over the calipers.
They have also fitted the outer seal and metal ring which cannot be fitted by hand, as Bigg Red are claiming.
I feel I have every right to continue to insist they put right the damage they have caused, as the photos suggest / prove they have used G clamps (or similar) to fit the outer seals and in doing so have ripped the powder coating off of the outer faces.
What are you suggestions guys and girls as the owner is refusing point blank they have done it and that when he packed the calipers up they were "in the same condition as they arrived, I did not check them in minute detail as I had no reason to" and basically telling me to do one.
I am offended at the guys arrogance and downright lack of customer service. I appreciate he fitted the pistons and seals FOC but he offered to do that based on his confidence in the pistons being correct.
Cheers
Wilson
Edited by Wilson1330, 09 November 2010 - 07:29 PM.
