Maplin's Deceiving People

K

kerrywez

Regular Member
My Satellite Setup
Dreambox 7025, Dreambox 500s, Technomate 6900 Super, Foxsat HD Freesat, 90Cm and 1.2 CM
My Location
Co. Kerry, Ireland
Hi all,
I recently bought an 18 Inch actuator from Maplin, when it arrived it was not the Super Jack that they have a picture of in their description of the item, it was a cheap copy made in China. The unit I received did not even work and as if that is not bad enough they do not even have a reed sensor for it, nor do they intend to stock any spares for the actuator. Below is a copy of the latest mail I got from them, so you can all see what their attitude is regarding this item. As mast of you will know it is common enough for an actuator to need to have a reed sensor replaced, well that seems to have escaped Maplin's or they just do not care.

Latest mail from them >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hello,

Thank you for contacting Maplin Technical Support,

I agree that the item is faulty, And for this as it is within it 12month guarantee and warranty you are entitled to a full refund or exchange.

This is the first time I have heard of the problem myself and to date we have sold approximately 20 across the country within that month and this is the first reported problem today. Looking at the returns figures out of the 100+ we have sold for the year we have had 2 retuned as faulty and refunded/exchanged. As I'm sure you will agree these are low figures.

With regards to our reed switches in my experience feeding anything greater than 12V DC into them can cause them to weld them selves shut, which will not help matters any further, hence the reason I have stated that none of ours are suitable. Also according to my training, the actuators run on 36V DC at a fairly high current, which all of our reed switches would not be able to tolerate. Our reed switches are rated at a maximum of 0.5A (500mA) and I was lead to believe that the actuators can pull up to 4A out of the system.

I agree that we are unable to give spares for this particular item, but they are so specific to them that there would little point stocking them for the 2 or 3% that are faulty or develop faults.

I would advise you to contact our customer services on 0844 557 6000 to arrange a refund / exchange on the item and they will be more than happy to oblige.

I apologise for any inconvenience caused in this matter.


Kind Regards
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
If any of you would like to see their description of this item, with the pic of a Super Jack, here is the link _http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=100901

Hope this saves some of you the trouble I have had with them.

Best regards Wez )(-red
 
No one I know ever shops at Maplin these days - I know they've had to diversify to compete and to survive, but they were much better in the early days flogging electronic components and not a great deal else.

Back then, having your own up to date Maplin catalogue was a badge of honour!
 
At least Maplins have offered you a refund so all is not lost and i suppose they are just about staying within UK laws :D

With regards to putting as picture up of a superjack motor then supplying a cheap chinese copy this is against trading standard laws within the UK as it is misinterpretation of the actual item being sold. I think they call it misselling :eek:

I'm sure that the people that have the interlectual copyright on the Superjack brand would also be interested to find out that Maplins have also been using a picture of their superjack to sell a cheap inferior chinese copy :eek:

Bit like the Dreambox 500s fiasco this one :-lmao
 
What jack arrived out of interest - 'SuperPowerjack' ?
 
Wez, Maplin's letter seems to imply that the reed has fused because 36V has been connected across it. Was that the case, i.e. had you wired up the actuator incorrectly? Or was the actuator wired wrongly internally when you received it?

Llew
 
I think Maplin are showing that they don't really know the product and assume that because the jack arm is powered by 36v, then that is what is passed through the reed switch.:)
 
If you can take a picture of the stuff in the gearbox, I would probably find a suitable reed switch here.
 
Llew said:
Wez, Maplin's letter seems to imply that the reed has fused because 36V has been connected across it. Was that the case, i.e. had you wired up the actuator incorrectly? Or was the actuator wired wrongly internally when you received it?

Llew
Click to expand...

Hi mate no it was not, I did not wire the 36V DC to the sensor, it was connected to the motor, at the top of the block. The actuator that I got only has 4 single block connectors, rather than the 5 block which is in the Super Jack. I am running my old Super Jack on the dish now. I think I will get a new Super Jack from some of the reputable dealers.

Thanks for your post best regards Wez
 
nanochickin said:
At least Maplins have offered you a refund so all is not lost and i suppose they are just about staying within UK laws :D

With regards to putting as picture up of a superjack motor then supplying a cheap chinese copy this is against trading standard laws within the UK as it is misinterpretation of the actual item being sold. I think they call it misselling :eek:

I'm sure that the people that have the interlectual copyright on the Superjack brand would also be interested to find out that Maplins have also been using a picture of their superjack to sell a cheap inferior chinese copy :eek:

Bit like the Dreambox 500s fiasco this one :-lmao
Click to expand...

Hi Nano,
The only difference here is that you and me are in full agreement on this one, unlike the debacle over Gemini and the 500s.

Seriously though, they are getting away with this scam, what else are they getting away with? I have written the customer support a mail, including all the mails I have had from and sent to their Tech Support and said that I thought they were dishonest and disingenuous and that I thought trading standards might like to have a word with them or words to that effect. I started the mail with a without prejudice and said that I wanted to be refunded in full and that I would like them to advise me on a method whereby I could sent the item back to them, at no cost or inconvenience to me. I am sure they will come round to my way of thinking, my threats are only just about concealed after all.

Good to hear from you mate very best regards Wez
 
Channel Hopper said:
If you can take a picture of the stuff in the gearbox, I would probably find a suitable reed switch here.
Click to expand...

Thanks hopper, the switch is just like the one which would go in the Super Jack, but it has no legs and is soldered to the backplate, for lack of a better word.

Thanks for your very kind offer, but I have asked for a full refund, including the cost of carriage. I did get the same switch from them a few years ago, they said it would do the Super Jack, but was useless, they are about somewhere, but I could not be bothered looking for them, as the actuator is not that good anyway.

Very best regards Wez
 
Typical of Maplin,

Their idea of how a STAB 90 motor should be photographed:-

_http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=47176

and what they think is a Prime focus LNB:-

_http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=97081
 
:-rofl2

Search "satellite antenna motor" (A16FB)

and "Prime focus single lnb" (A03FL)
 
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