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 am not an expert on batteries (or anything, really :-) but this might be the problem, if there hasn't been a steady charge/discharge cycle.
You could tell them that unless they repair/replace it you will sue them in the small claims court.
Take a small claims form with you (you can probably print them off from the court service website), ask to speak to the manager, and start filling out the form there and then.
No can do. Specific performance / Specific implement is only available as a remedy where damages (money) does not provide a remedy, and where specific implement is possible. In this case the damages would be the cost of the tool less the use you've had of it. Eg if the court thinks the tool should have lasted 5 years and you've had 3 years use, you'd get two-fifths of the purchase price as damages. IOW, notalot. And you'd have to take a day off work to go to court, for which you probably wouldn't get any compo.
I think consumer law says that it should be of 'merchantable quality' and 'fit for purpose'. These definitions are based on what a 'reasonable person' would expect - the man on the Clapham omnibus.
Would a 'reasonable person' expect a £90 little used drill driver to last more than 3 years? I think so. Look up the sale of goods act on the web, arm yourself with lots of important sounding phrases and threaten them with trading standards.
True, batterys need charging regulary and if the charger is not of the kind where it cuts out after a set charge then this will shorten the life of the battery.
Yes. I wouldn't expect a NiCd battery to last more than a year without occasional exercising. They don't like being kept in a discharged condition and they will discharge themselves after a month or two. I doubt that there is a court in the land that will accept a claim for a 3 year old NiCd battery. A new one sitting on the shelf would be toast after that period.
Hmmm. PPro isn't their budget brand, but I would struggle to call it midmarket. I'm no lawyer, but if I was in your position, I wouldn't think it worth pursuing after this time for the dodgy chuck, especially as these items are usually fairly easily and cheaply replacable.
Sorry, I was probably understating its use - I had a professional in mind when I typed it. The drill has been used at least once every, say, two week on average. I have done up three run-down flats over the last three years, however most of the joinery work was done by a professional, hence my reference to "rarely used". Probably a full battery use every week say.
3 years life out of a drill battery is pretty good going. The PP ones (in common with nearly all of the cheaper units) are also very prone to battery damage by even slight overcharging.
For a battery drill ?
Not a lot, you can try to persuade them differently but you are unlikely to get anywhere by any other means.
There is no such obligation. If it is not repairable and they are responsible the most they have to give you is the price you paid rebated by an amount to take into account the three years use you have had. For a battery drill that is likely to be a trivial amount.
The law sets no length of time for how long an item should last. The Sale of Goods Act does however say the goods should be of satisfactory (not "merchantable") quality taking into account, amongst other things, their price and also that they should be fit for their stated purpose. Three years out of a battery drill that, at its time of sale was at the cheap end of the market, is not unreasonable.
The expected service life of a NiCd battery is only 1-2 years you might find you have a problem persuading a reasonable man it should have lasted 3 years.
Such is the nature of cheap NiCd cells. They have probably run completely flat on occasion and been left that way for months. The original quality of the pack and charger at this price point is going to be suspect anyway.
If it were not for this, then your best bet would be to get the battery packs re-celled...
Depends a bit on what you got for your 90 quid... i.e. A 9V drill/driver with two batteries at that price would be comparable with a top end product. A 18V combi with 3 packs and bunch of other bits and screwdrivers etc would be firmly in the mid range.
Any claim based on your statuary rights will be based on reasonability, and whether the product in question performed to a level that could reasonably be expected given its price, and quality.
You could try complaining at B&Q that you don't think the tool was of merchantable quality - but you are going to be on shaky ground arguing that about a badge engineered tool, bought in bulk from the far east.
Fixing the batteries and perhaps getting a decent charger for them would sort the performance issues out, but if the mechanics of the tool are in doubt then I would not bother.
Personally I would write that one off to experience and start again. If you are going to be using it very infrequently, then you may be better off with a budget tool at 20 to 30 quid. Just expect to replace it every few years. Alternatively look at a pro level tool, and take a bit more care of the batteries, and expect 10 years or more good service form it.
It is almost certain they won't have spare parts for them.
Understanding a bit about how the economics and production of many own brand tools works will explain why:
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PS: Probably worth mentioning that it wasn't abused, and the batteries were
Alas the supplied charger was quite possibly abusing them from day one. Leaving them discharged for long periods is also not doing them any favours.
Discharging them completely in use can also be bad news (you should run the tool until the performance starts to show signs of decline and then recharge - not wait until the chuck will no longer rotate!) Judging this point on a top quality battery pack is quite easy - but not so easy on a mid range or budget one. Sadly it is the mid range and budget packs that are most likely to be damaged here since the cells in them will not be that well matched and there is a good likelihood that a few of the cells will go completely flat before the others.
In that context I would say you got a reasonable deal out of the batteries then. That is 150 charge cycles - which on a budget pack is not bad...
(the numbers game played by the likes of B&Q with these tools probably expects that they will spend the equivalent of eleven and a half months of the year sat on a shelf!)
In the sort of environment you describe, you would probably be better of with a pro level tool. The batteries would last better (although would still need replacement eventually), but perhaps more importantly in this case the tool itself would have better endurance, and spares should still be available after a few years if you need them.
My Bosch is at least 6 years old and still going strong. The battery, that is. The drill only works as a two speed now due to failure of the switch. I'm not taking it back, I think I've had my use out of it, and the battery is fine.
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