Ah, happened to me with a similar Aldi drill. It's easily fixed. :-)
Inside the pulley box there is a middle pulley between the outer two. It _should_ rotate freely with the belt off. Mine siezed due to ingress of dirt and possibly the lateral tension it's under? After removal and cleaning and oiling the contacting surfaces all was back to normal!
Try the credit card company if cpc don't want to know. I just got a refund on a dishwasher I bought from empiredirect nearly 20 months ago.. Its bust but the extended warranty is useless now empire has gone. The CC company (GMcard) took three days to refund the purchase price.
Now I need to dismantle the dishwasher to see if I can fix it. Anyone taken an electrolux visi apart?
When I used to work for a large compressor manufacturer, the relevant directives said that all removeable covers should be interlocked - our compressors had dozens of bolted covers and were only used in fixed situations where trained maintenance staff and permits to work etc. were required (oil rigs, refineries and the like). We pointed out to Brussels that the compressor specific directive was not really applicable to our equipment, as it was written around portable units and finally received a letter officially stating that our 100 ton compressors with 8 MW motors "were not machines" !!!
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Adrian Brentnall saying something like:
A few years ago I had cause to complain to CPC about some loudspeakers, one of which went scritchy after about six months use. The woman on the other end of the phone immediately gave me a returns reference number and sent out a pre-paid mailing label for me to return it. No problem at all.
With the belt on and power off, how easy is it to turn the motor and drive? Can you turn both the motor and chuck by either turning any pulley or moving the belt by hand?
CPC eventually replied with the 'Only a 12 month guarantee' line - though they did ask for invoice / account nos so maybe they're looking into it.
Clarkes' technical bod came back with 'Motor start capacitor' - and has offered to send me one if I'm prepared to fit it (as a new motor costs more than the whole thing cost me- and that's before yuo add on the cost of shipping it to the Emerald Isle...)
So - hopefully a result - but no credit (so far) to CPC
Be careful with that. I had a Clarkes compressor and the reed valves cracked and needed replacing
I bought a new pair of reed valves from them which lasted a couple of weeks before they cracked up and fell in and destroyed piston and bore. They refused to compensate because it hadn't been repaired by one of their mechanics
I could have taken it further, but, especially in the winter, time is money and it was easier to buy another compressor from elsewhere
"Thank you for you recent correspondence which has been forwarded by one of my colleagues. I apologise that you have felt the need to express concern in relation the purchase of the above item. Please be assured that we do not intentionally despatch goods deemed to be unfit for purpose and should a fault occur within any warranty period we would endeavour to rectify this situation. Whilst I do appreciate that the goods may or not have been used intermittently an inherent fault would have been made noticeable from initial use and therefore cannot be returned as " unfit for purpose". Should you wish to make a claim against this legislation is is the customers responsibility to prove that the goods have been faulty from date of receipt.
I once again apologise for any inconvenience caused, should you wish to discuss the matter further please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours Sincerely"
Sounds to me like a semi-polite way of saying "f*** off" - luckily, as mentioned earlier, Clarkes do seem to have some sort of idea about how to look after their customers....
It might be worth reminding CPC that under EU law consumer purchases have a 24 month warranty period not
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that carefully and have a look at the 1999/44/EC EU Directive, it is a grey area.
CPC are correct here, "unfit for purpose" would have been evident from initial purchase. You would be better using "satisfactory quality" IMHO but IANAL. It is a quality issue with the motor being not being of high enough quality to last for an acceptable period of time.
My guess is CPC are fully aware of this and will only observe it if you sue them. Which quite honestly isn't worth the bother for such a low cost item.
Following up my own post.... Clarke's (bless 'em!) have kindly sent me a new motor start capacitor - which fits in a 'pod' on the outside of the motor. I't rated 6uF /
450vAC. The original has two black wires that disappear into the innards of the motor (don't want to go there ! ) - but the new one has a black wire and a grey wire. Am I right in guessing that this is likely an unpolarised capacitor, and can be connected in either way round ?
I was going to snip the original wires and butt-crimp the new connections...
Meanwhile - CPC who sold me the thing in the first place - have sent me a second email .... as follows -
"My position within CPC is to deal with any feedback that comes through, whether or not this be negative or positive. My role has been established in order to liaise with the General Manager, Contact Centre Manager and all other departments, passing information so that we can strive to improve our service at all levels. Whilst I do not wish to enter into any conflict our position remains the same. Your order was placed 8th April 2009 and therefore out of any warranty period for return. I am aware that a " hobby drill" is not to be used in an everyday situation and please be assured that I am not suggesting you have done so, however we are unable to prove how and in what application this has been used and with it being out of its warranty period we are unable to accept this back for replacement or credit. As previously stated an inherent fault under the " not fit for purpose" legislation would mean that the goods have been faulty since date of despatch and you would have not had any use from this equipment, there are no notes against this order to suggest otherwise. After the 1st 6 months from date of despatch it would be the customers responsibility to prove that the item in question was not fit for purpose. If you would like to return the part for inspection I am more than happy to do so but please note this is not a return for credit or replacement. I will request that our engineers take a look at the drill and ask their advise, once this has been processed I will of course update you as to their findings.
Should you wish to proceed with the above please feel free to contact me. "
Love the bit about 'strive to improve our service at all levels' - but, in essence, the message is the same as the last email - "f**k off"!
......nice !
So - top marks to Clarke's - CPC "nil point"
Shame that their delivery costs are so cheap - everything else about their service is pretty awful!
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