Airfix want the customer to pay for their poor quality control

[S M 1962]

I have just had an un-necessary exchange of E-mails with the Spares Team. I bought a kit. Two parts were missing. Easily happen in the factory that has machines packing hundreds of small lightweight plastic parts every few minutes. The vary rare bad one gets through. I asked for the two parts. One part is not essential so I was willing to let that go, but the other is a needed. Cost to me is £3. I have already paid for the full product. I do not need to pay more for Airfix bad quality control. The retailer is not at fault, they paid for a sealed Airfix product. I am not at fault, I paid for a sealed Airfix product. Any other company, in any sector, takes responsibility for their mistakes. Not Airfix. Part missing? The buyer's bad luck!

[Ratch]

You should read up Consumer Law. The Retailer (or person who sold the item) is liable. If you cannot provide proof of purchase, Airfix are entitled to charge.

[dogsbody]

The world, especially western society, is going to hankey!

Chris

[S M 1962]

You should read up Consumer Law. The Retailer (or person who sold the item) is liable. If you cannot provide proof of purchase, Airfix are entitled to charge.

The contents were sealed. It was sealed inside an Airfix factory. No dodgy sellotape or glue marks. The product left the Airfix Factory sealed. The manufacture is at fault, not some poor fool for trusting them.

[peebeep]

You have a contract with the vendor who sold you the product. If it is demonstrably defective or faulty, then in law the vendor is obliged to either replace the goods or offer a full refund in return for the faulty item. Airfix operate the spares service as a matter of goodwill, I've had no issue getting missing parts replaced using the unique ID that's on the kit and a proof of purchase, free of charge.

[S M 1962]

Dear Mr.Airfix, please delete this thread. I am willing and happy to pay for two replacement canopies for kits that I recently messed up, but this is not MY error nor the retailer. Unfortunately I have 13 other Airfix Harriers stashed away to make in the years to come, and NO receipts for any of them. I did not have this ridiculous denial of corporate responsibility from Revell. A few years ago when I needed a missing part. It came within two weeks and it made this customer happy to buy their product. Airfix obviously do not care.

[S M 1962]

well we all can make up our minds who was in the wrong now!

Who keeps receipts for everything they buy? Who keeps a database of every shop and what was bought! I asked for the missing part and have been told by the moderator it is my fault. I don't like to argue; points for and a aginst were made by both sides, so now I want this ended.

 

 

[Pretty Mediocre Modeller]

You said you messed the parts and they were not missing, so you then claimed they were missing and you were not to blame in any way. Either the parts were really missing or you messed them up in putting kit together. You were relying on the goodwill of the company to compensate. If the parts were missing then I Amon your side however if you ruined them and wanted them replaced then I am on the company’s side. I have had missing parts and reported them as such and had them replaced at no charge, if that has changed then it is down to people like you who have destroyed that goodwill by falsely reporting missing parts. Airfix have been the best of all companies I personally have had to get parts from.

Misunderstanding I think. What Stephen was saying was when he messed the kit parts up himself he was happy to pay to replace them, but now another kit is missing parts, and he does not want to have to pay for them, as it is not his or the retailers fault. Unfortunately consumer law is not on his side.

I think I side with Stephen on this one.

 

 

[Ratch]

Your experience with Revell was different to mine. They (and Italeri) insist(ed) upon proof of purchase before they'd even consider replacing parts. Like you, I don't keep receipts (maybe I should start).

[S M 1962]

He says he has a number of kits of the same plane, maybe some parts can be used from them to complete his current projects. I often do this and make various versions of same plane sharing parts between boxes. Some go into my spares box. I have done that for a current project. Anyway think I have said more than enough on subject.

Rod

Thank you for the idea but unfortunately the missing part is the "under wing part" quite literally the underneath of one side of the wing. So I am unable to take unused parts from elsewhere.

[S M 1962]

Your experience with Revell was different to mine. They (and Italeri) insist(ed) upon proof of purchase before they'd even consider replacing parts. Like you, I don't keep receipts (maybe I should start).

Okay mayhaps I was lucky. I do not know about Italeri but the experience with Revell was nice. It was about two years ago when a 1/72 F-16 MLU Tiger Meet kit (I did not use their decals but had my own already) was missing a tail part, left or right I forget. I sent off an email and heard nothing of it and to my surprise about two weeks later the part turned up. So for Revell the score is 0/10 for communication but 10/10 for customer care.

[S M 1962]

Your experience with Revell was different to mine. They (and Italeri) insist(ed) upon proof of purchase before they'd even consider replacing parts. Like you, I don't keep receipts (maybe I should start).

Okay mayhaps I was lucky. I do not know about Italeri but the experience with Revell was nice. It was about two years ago when a 1/72 F-16 MLU Tiger Meet kit (I did not use their decals but had my own already) was missing a tail part, left or right I forget. I sent off an email and heard nothing of it and to my surprise about two weeks later the part turned up. So for Revell the score is 0/10 for communication but 10/10 for customer care.

I just remembered, a little further back I was making a Revell 1/144 Hawker Hunter (a present from my sister, so bought months earlier and no receipt) but the decals were not printed properly. They were missing the black ink! Again it was an email to Revell and a while later they came in a little envelope with a compliment slip - brilliant for me and good wishes for Revell. And this is how it ought to be with Airfix, our childhood friend from the 1970s who now is a grumpy old man.

 

 

[S M 1962]

Hi Stephan

You said the missing part was the under wing? So it attaches to the upper wing. Could you not get some polystyrene sheet of approximate thickness and use the same part from one of your other boxes to act as a guide to scratch build missing part. Get location holes etc from other part. Not much is left to show once pylons and the like are added to it. If you have Scribner’s then panelling can be be done as well. I wouldn’t bother as I have no Scribner’s. Any difference in thickness if too thick can be sanded down. Think there is a gauge of plastic sheet that any model shop or hobby craft store would have. Even Hannants sell it. Should make a reasonable approximation to missing part from there.

well good luck

Rod

Thank you for the idea, I am now thinking that too. It can sort of be cobbled as I have the other kits to copy from. But really, would it hurt a company simply to be nice. This un-necessary arguing with them for what I have paid for is leaving a bad taste. I just wish now I had not said anything, but I am not a wealthy man.

 

 

[Tristan-350311]

I agree, I had the same problem. My 1:72 scale skyhawk didn't come with a canopy, yet I had to pay 5 pounds to get a new one. I ended up just making look like the pilot was ejecting because I didn't want to pay.

[Russ1707821018]

This is all very strange. I just received a Vintage Classics SM.79 that was missing the clear parts. The bag for the clear parts was there but was slit down the side and was empty. I contacted Airfix spares support and they sent the missing parts free of charge within 48 hours. And I’m in the US.

[Russ1707821018]

This is all very strange. I just received a Vintage Classics SM.79 that was missing the clear parts. The bag for the clear parts was there but was slit down the side and was empty. I contacted Airfix spares support and they sent the missing parts free of charge within 48 hours. And I’m in the US.

I think it pays to have bought the kits directly from this website as that gives proof of purchase. I appreciate not always possible or advantageous but the few occasions I have required replacements this has always helped. I have never had to pay for replacement parts even when kit purchased elsewhere. If buying to go into my stash for future projects I tend to buy two kits with the thought that if any parts are missing then I have a supply of parts. Usually I then have two kits to make as missing parts to date have not been encountered.

Rod

 

 

Perhaps, but my kit was purchased from Amazon.

[Ratch]

I think it pays to have bought the kits directly from this website as that gives proof of purchase.

Not so. My Victor (bought direct) was packed incorrectly. I had two G runners but no F runner. It cost me £7.00 because it was Out of warranty.

[S M 1962]

I have just started the 1/48 Vampire that I bought a week or three ago from an well known online retailer. Soon after starting it this afternoon I found that two large parts that make up the booms are not fully moulded. Part 3 has a chunk missing, while part 4 has a huge gap separating the boom into two with 1cm of air. I have of course just now contacted Airfix "Customer" Services for a replacement. We shall see what happens. I really do hope that I will not be throwing away £30.95p.

[Sailorman]

Stephen, You uploaded the same picture with no text .... I assumed that was a mistake - so I didn't approve it. There seemed to be no point in repeating the picture.

Incidentally Airfix are usually very good with helping out. Let us know how things go.

[Murray-1243411]

I have to say I have had no problem when I emailed them about parts that werent formed correctly on sprue.

3 new parts sent out FOC.

[ian_rutland]

I have had a few times that I needed to contact Airfix regarding spares. I simply outline the issue and ask if replacements are available. When they are, they usually arrive in a couple of days. In one instance, less than 24 hours. If I make a mess of a model part and can't find a replacement part in my spares box, I explain this and offer to pay for a replacement. This has also been successful.

[S M 1962]

The two replacements for the badly manufactured parts for the 1/48 Vampire arrived this afternoon.  No request for extra money. They arrived in only a week. This is customer CARE.  All that Customer Care Pain when I asked for a missing 1/72 Harrier part to be told I had to pay for it was un-necessary. Life is a bit rubbish at the moment so this nice thing helps. Thank you and good bye.