Had to lodge a complaint with the BBB on Powermatic

[Arlin Eastman]

The only way I was able to get them to reply a little while back was to contact the retailer I had bought from (fortunately a small outfit with exceptional customer support) and have them contact their sales rep at powermatic.  

Seems like the private equity group that bought JPW might be trying to kill the brand.

If everyone remembers several guys here donated money for me to buy the lathe at Tools Plus and some of the employees helped me also since I got the bed extension also.

[FrankAtl]

Arlin,
I have access to a VFD that may be a direct replacement for the obsoleted Delta that came on your lathe. This VFD is made by Delta but was private labelled by another company so it's a different color but it's 2HP, 230VAC single phase input and should work. If you'll measure the dimensions for the mounting holes I'll check to see if it is compatible. I'm very experienced with VFD's and can set it up for you as long as it will mount on your lathe. It's brand new and yours, free of charge, and I'll even cover shipping.

Frank

[iclark]

Frank: that is an awesome offer.

Arlin: I had been trying to remember the Tools Plus company name since I first saw your post. The Tools Plus lady who used to post their sale announcements has not done that in a while. Do you know if they are still in business? As someone posted above, the retailer that you got hardware from is often a better source of getting warranty repair done than is the manufacturer.

As an example, I had a problem with a new Uvex faceshield not long after Honeywell bought the company. There were 2 right hinges in the box and no left hinge. Honeywell/Uvex refused to talk to me unless I was a distributor. At that point, I gave up on Honeywell and called the people that I bought it from. What a world of difference. It was Lee Valley. LV was out of the faceshields in their warehouse, but they checked store inventory, found one, and shipped it to me. The replacement came with the return shipping label. LV customer service going above and beyond expectations is a big part of why I check them and local sources first.

[Wipedout]

Thanks buddy.  I will try that after if the BBB does not work.  The best thing is send the part since it was still under warranty but now it is not.

That's your biggest poiny for a complaint to the state. Failure to honor warranty before it expired.

[Arlin Eastman]

Thanks guys

Frank I will be sending a PM to you

[Arlin Eastman]

Frank: that is an awesome offer.

Arlin: I had been trying to remember the Tools Plus company name since I first saw your post. The Tools Plus lady who used to post their sale announcements has not done that in a while. Do you know if they are still in business? As someone posted above, the retailer that you got hardware from is often a better source of getting warranty repair done than is the manufacturer.

As an example, I had a problem with a new Uvex faceshield not long after Honeywell bought the company. There were 2 right hinges in the box and no left hinge. Honeywell/Uvex refused to talk to me unless I was a distributor. At that point, I gave up on Honeywell and called the people that I bought it from. What a world of difference. It was Lee Valley. LV was out of the faceshields in their warehouse, but they checked store inventory, found one, and shipped it to me. The replacement came with the return shipping label. LV customer service going above and beyond expectations is a big part of why I check them and local sources first.

Ivan

I do not know.  I went there and had an account and my account is no longer with them either.   They had a good company and people there to.

[Cabinet Monkey]

Thanks buddy.  I will try that after if the BBB does not work.  The best thing is send the part
since it was still under warranty but now it is not.

Arlin - not to put too fine a tack on it but, forget the BBB.  They’re not going to get bupkus for you.  

Even if they contact WMH, I’d be extremely surprised if WMH feels any pressure from them at all. BBB has no teeth, none.   And their audience / customers have been dwindling to practically nothing in the last decade - meaning the consequences of drawing their ire or getting on their naughty list is basically a big yawn.   

Please do as wipedout suggests and contact the TN Attny. General’s office.  It has TEETH, nice sized ones too.

[cams2705]

Arlin - not to put too fine a tack on it but, forget the BBB.  They’re not going to get bupkus for you.  

Even if they contact WMH, I’d be extremely surprised if WMH feels any pressure from them at all. BBB has no teeth, none.   And their audience / customers have been dwindling to practically nothing in the last decade - meaning the consequences of drawing their ire or getting on their naughty list is basically a big yawn.   

Please do as wipedout suggests and contact the TN Attny. General’s office.  It has TEETH, nice sized ones too.

THIS!

Powermatic strung you along from a period of when your lathe was still in its warranty period to after it expired.  I'm not a lawyer, but I do believe this violates warranty laws under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) and the Tennessee AG is the right point of contact to direct this valid complaint.

[briman87]

Jet who is owned by the same company as Powermatic. I have had very good customer service with them. My spindle on my lathe was bad when I took got the unit. I called and told them about it and had the part in hand by the end of the week. I know Woodmsith shop used to be partnered with powermatic as they had a Powermatic bandsaw and table saw on their set and stated that the beginning of their shows now it is Rikon sponsored.

I also saw that the wood whisper lost Powermatic as a sponsor for his channel.

[Wipedout]

You may also want to reach out to your local tv news. They love stories like this