N Gauge Forum

General Category => N Gauge Discussion => Topic started by: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 07:50:20 PM

Title: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 07:50:20 PM
Hi this is the event's that lead to my giving up N gauge and going back to OO i had collected around 250 locos around 100 farish and 150 Dapol upon completing an oval of track i decided to test run my locos. I had just received my new black mallard from modelbahn union so decided to test that first I eagerly put it on the track and slowly turned the controller dial upon the second rotation the piston assembly fell off where it was supposed to be glued to the body all that thrill of the new loco was totally dashed obviously i contacted DCC supplies to sort out getting the loco fixed under warranty they sent an e-mail out with all the relevant information to send back promptly and so i sent the loco back. After a couple of weeks of not hearing anything or any updates on the ticket page i called DCC supplies to find out what was happening. The assistant replied that it was on the test track so obviously i commented it has been repaired then and was told no it had been taken out of the box and was on the test track i then asked how was this possible as the piston assembly was hanging off he then passed me over to Fiona who said the engineer was off until the next day well obviously i was left in total bewilderment and felt totally mislead and lied to. I decided to leave it another week and give them chance to update the ticket or contact me, guess what nothing so again i rang this time i got a real arsey attitude as if i had no right to phone and ask about the loco that i had bought that was not fit for the purpose and no proper customer care in my opinion eventually i was told the loco was no good and that the whole batch was faulty and they were getting me a new loco ok i thought great. Well guess what not great i recieved the loco about two weeks later and again was really exited i opened the outer box to find some idiot at DCC supplies had wrapped there DCC supplies tape around the sleeve of the loco box so upon removing the tape it tore the sleeve and the end label even worse was to come i opened the box and upon taking the outer plastic off the loco the chimmney fell off upon looking at it closely it was evident that someone had tried to superglue it on as there was the evident white all round the body, at this point i had totally had enough so i rang Dapol and asked to speak to the owner i was put through to Joel and i explained everything to him and how bad i thought the quality and service was from Dapol and DCC supplies i got no sorry just send it back to us direct and i will give a full refund. To date i have never had a sorry or apology off either company i know and understand that mistakes can be made but i have written to DCC supplies several times and rang asking to speak to Andy with no response. Between sending the loco back i decided to test my other Dapol locos out of 150 only 27 where perfect as they should have been out of the box this in itself is a joke especially with the cost of them now the faults were various from bits not fitted to really bad running and in one case the whole piston assembly just not there. Anyway i have now sold all of my n gauge and gone to OO and have had only one problem with a Hornby loco they exchanged it no quibble and i got a full apology and a voucher now that is customer service
Basically my point here is Dapol and DCC are letting down the community when they could be the leaders the locos look great but the quality is awful can you really imagine a Dapol loco still running in 30 years like minitrix and even farish.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QAULITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: Bikeracer on November 26, 2013, 07:57:33 PM
It made my eyes hurt trying to read that post.

Allan
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: MikeDunn on November 26, 2013, 08:16:32 PM
Well,

Some things make me wonder a little ...  You've been in N for 16 years and seem to not know about Dapol's reputation ?  In those 16 years you collected 150 Dapol locos, and seem to never have taken them out of the box, let alone run them ?  And there's no indication you read the instructions & prepared them for running, but there is an implication (no more than that, it may just be how it reads) that you took these 150 locos & test-ran them straight out of the box ?

I am a bit surprised at your comments on DCC Supplies; that is certainly not my experience of them.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: joe cassidy on November 26, 2013, 08:23:58 PM
Quote from: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 07:50:20 PM
Hi this is the event's that lead to my giving up N gauge and going back to OO i had collected around 250 locos around 100 farish and 150 Dapol

Anyway i have now sold all of my n gauge and gone to OO

Watch out for 250 duff locos on ebay !

Best regards,

Joe
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: MikeDunn on November 26, 2013, 08:30:32 PM
Quote from: joe cassidy on November 26, 2013, 08:23:58 PM
Quote from: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 07:50:20 PM
Anyway i have now sold all of my n gauge and gone to OO

Watch out for 250 duff locos on ebay !
Hmmm, bit late for the warning  ::)
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 08:31:30 PM
Hi i have only been in N for 5 years and OO gauge since 1978 due to personal issues with loss i never had the time to build a layout or test until this year upon opening each loco i placed them onto a rolling road with the full intention of running them in as per the instructions unfortunatly this was not possible with a fair few due to faults. I in no way put full blame  on DCC supplies as my experiences before this was allways good i feel they have bitten off more than they can chew as whatever they admit  the fact is that Dapol quality is way below what it should be and they are swamped with warranty repairs as one of there engineers even told me i give Dapol at most 5 years before going bump if they don't radically improve there locos it's such a shame as there coaches and wagons are some of the best out there but my main reason for this post was the lack of any apology from either company that is my main issue.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 08:33:55 PM
LOL as a fully qualified electrical engineer i bought and repaired any faulty loco and installed the proper brushes as the ones fitted are way to hard causing the armature to overheat i had pos feedback on every loco i sold
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: MikeDunn on November 26, 2013, 08:48:11 PM
Quote from: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 08:31:30 PM
Hi i have only been in N for 5 years and OO gauge since 1978
Really ?

That's not what you said when you joined ...
Quote from: MATRIXAD on April 28, 2013, 01:34:36 PM
Hello all new member Ive been modeling since 88 and n gauge since 97
Now ... I don't make any claims of knowing what the date is on a regular basis, but even to my mind 5 years ago is 2008, and hence my reference to 16 years; and you seem to have a 10-year difference in OO as well ...

Quote
but my main reason for this post was the lack of any apology from either company that is my main issue.
Can't really say I'm surprised about no apology from Dapol ...

Overall, I think your post would have been better had you included information that you now have (such as intending to prep and run in on a rolling road) originally ...
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: GWR-Kris on November 26, 2013, 08:49:19 PM
tbh the stuff about Dapol does not surprise me in slightest, but DCC Supplies it does, I have never had any issues with them what so ever.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: d-a-n on November 26, 2013, 08:53:03 PM
You have 250 locomotives which you've not even played with?! My conservative estimate is that you've invested £15000 in locomotives alone... They're probably sad about never being run and also by your lack of paragraphs so aren't playing ball.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 08:58:52 PM
Why has someone allways got to try and take the subject off topic by commenting on grammer it has nothing to do with the price of fish so give it a rest please it's the content that is important and as long as it is understandable. To be honest i was suprised by DCC supplies but as i said previously i feel they have made a fatal mistake getting in bed with Dapol due to there lack of quality.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: Flakmunky on November 26, 2013, 09:05:28 PM
Sorry but I just don't believe this. Sounds to me like someone is stretching the truth.  :hmmm:

Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: Flakmunky on November 26, 2013, 09:07:00 PM
 :photospleasesign:
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 09:10:11 PM
Hi if you are going to comment please be more specific what part do you not believe i have all the emails to prove what i am saying i have all the sales reciepts to show i had and sold the locos so please enlighten me as to what part you do not believe that way i can back up what i am saying. Exactly what photos are you asking for.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: joe cassidy on November 26, 2013, 09:12:48 PM
Quote from: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 08:58:52 PM
To be honest i was suprised by DCC supplies but as i said previously i feel they have made a fatal mistake getting in bed with Dapol due to there lack of quality.

What about your "100 Farish locos" - were they OK ?

Best regards,

Joe
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: Geoff on November 26, 2013, 09:24:25 PM
First of all sorry for your problems with DCC Supplies and Dapol, but that was your business with them and it all seems to be resolved but through many weeks of trying.

Not sure what your motive is in the post, is it to slag off these companys and warn folks from using them.

I for one have never had a problem with DCC Supplies.

One thing I do know your post will not put me off Dapol products or using DCC Supplies again.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: portland-docks on November 26, 2013, 09:25:48 PM
So why didnt you sell any to forum members? And if your problem was with dapol why did you throw a hissy fit and sell the farish aswell?

Farish in general are a much better runner than dapol, iv hd numerous problems with dapol a4s and a3s but never threw a rantrum as you did.

If im all honest you seem to have acted totally childish and threw your toys out the pram.

What happens when you get a bad run in OO? You going to throw a tantrum and go to O gauge?

Think you need to calm it down and if your having a problem with ONE company then dont use them! Dont punish them all and tarnish them with the same brush!

You kind of punished folk on here too by claiming to have had all these locos yet didnt offer any for sale to us. I dont believe you had that many to be honest with you.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: d-a-n on November 26, 2013, 09:26:32 PM
Quote from: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 08:58:52 PM
Why has someone allways got to try and take the subject off topic by commenting on grammer it has nothing to do with the price of fish so give it a rest please it's the content that is important and as long as it is understandable.

Because it's always a good idea to check your spelling and grammar, otherwise it may not be very easy to understand...
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: Adam1701D on November 26, 2013, 09:41:54 PM
I'm sorry but whatever point you are trying to make is totally lost in that vast mass of text.

My eyes are getting old and tired, especially after spending two hours re-drawing the artwork for an East Midlands Trains Class 222 DMU.

Please think of us bleary-eyed old duffers before posting. Some of never listened to what our mothers said would make us go blind.... :no:
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: Griffo on November 26, 2013, 09:58:41 PM
I'm sure anyone here would sympathise with any fellow modeller with a tale of woe.

However, your timeline of events appears to have more fractures than a bad Dr Who episode. You report that you started testing your collection about the time of the black Mallard release from Modellbahn Union which to my aging memory was in August yet earlier postings illustrate that you were running all your 9 Dapol A4s on Kato track in April.

Facts are relevant, toys out of pram just mean someone has to tidy up afterwards. Oh, and the price of fish is always important to a trencherman such as myself!
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: simong on November 26, 2013, 10:11:59 PM
Sadden by this thread.  We are supposed to be a supportive group of people sharing a hobby.

As for Dapol my experience has been 8 engines purchased in the last three years with no faults.  GF - 5 engines purchased with one fault.  The Dapol engines I have pruchased are diesels which may be the difference.  I have noticed a marked improvement since the Class 156 was brought out.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 11:03:20 PM
Yes except for the odd front wheel spacing on the front bogies all the farish locos were fine maybe this is just my unlucky experience with DCC supplies i think it probably is but with regards to Dapol after speaking and reading i fear this is far from an isolated incident. I am by no means unhappy about the fact that so many of the Dapol locos were faulty that is my own fault for not doing enough research my main reason for posting was the lack of any apology for the total mess with regards to the warranty procedure that went totally wrong due to first a badly manufactured loco and second a ticket system that wasn't implimented properly.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: NinOz on November 26, 2013, 11:12:22 PM
Quote from: portland-docks on November 26, 2013, 09:25:48 PM
So why didnt you sell any to forum members? And if your problem was with dapol why did you throw a hissy fit and sell the farish aswell?

Farish in general are a much better runner than dapol, iv hd numerous problems with dapol a4s and a3s but never threw a rantrum as you did.

If im all honest you seem to have acted totally childish and threw your toys out the pram.

What happens when you get a bad run in OO? You going to throw a tantrum and go to O gauge?

Think you need to calm it down and if your having a problem with ONE company then dont use them! Dont punish them all and tarnish them with the same brush!

You kind of punished folk on here too by claiming to have had all these locos yet didnt offer any for sale to us. I dont believe you had that many to be honest with you.

Geez, so you are miffed that you didn't get a chance to pick over the carcass and decided to give him a quick beating. :thumbsdown:
Nice bunch of guys. :no:
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: portland-docks on November 26, 2013, 11:16:05 PM
Quote from: NinOz on November 26, 2013, 11:12:22 PM
Quote from: portland-docks on November 26, 2013, 09:25:48 PM
So why didnt you sell any to forum members? And if your problem was with dapol why did you throw a hissy fit and sell the farish aswell?

Farish in general are a much better runner than dapol, iv hd numerous problems with dapol a4s and a3s but never threw a rantrum as you did.

If im all honest you seem to have acted totally childish and threw your toys out the pram.

What happens when you get a bad run in OO? You going to throw a tantrum and go to O gauge?

Think you need to calm it down and if your having a problem with ONE company then dont use them! Dont punish them all and tarnish them with the same brush!

You kind of punished folk on here too by claiming to have had all these locos yet didnt offer any for sale to us. I dont believe you had that many to be honest with you.

Geez, so you are miffed that you didn't get a chance to pick over the carcass and decided to give him a quick beating. :thumbsdown:
Nice bunch of guys. :no:

Course not, just dont see the point in rantin away and braggin about havin so many locos and sellin them all and not govin the chance to other members, i just think the truths been stretched abit
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: Pengi on November 26, 2013, 11:20:27 PM
I am also saddened by this thread and am thinking about drawing it to a close. Portland, the trains could not be advertised on our forum as Matrixad did not have the required number of posts at the time.

Matrixad, whilst you are correct that it is content that is important, your first post was 701 words which is far too long for this forum and the lack of paragraphs made it a slog to read :goggleeyes: As Mods, we do pay attention to the number of words in a post and will advise any member accordingly.

You certainly have had a real tale of woe and I can only imagine how disappointing it must be for you particularly after taking such a leap of faith by buying so many locos. I know I would be furious if I'd experienced the same level of service that you have described. Credit Dapol with giving a refund though - some of our members are still trying to get refunds out of some suppliers that have sold poor quality goods :(

It is a shame that you have left N gauge and I wish you well with OO.

Dan, good spelling and grammar does make posts easier to read. Be aware, though, that some of us are dyslexic and whilst we strive to do things right sometimes it doesn't quite come out that way  :(

Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: NinOz on November 26, 2013, 11:24:03 PM
Quote from: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 11:03:20 PM
...maybe this is just my unlucky experience with DCC supplies i think it probably is but with regards to Dapol after speaking and reading i fear this is far from an isolated incident.
The DCC Supplies scenario is what I have experienced from many service places over the years.  Doesn't matter when you ring the article in question is just being looked at at that very moment, the service centre's "your check is in the mail" response to get rid of customers when you are snowed under, too lazy or couldn't care.
Haven't used their service centre but have purchased from them and they seem ok.

Good luck in your new venture in the world of model railways.

Colin
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: scotsoft on November 26, 2013, 11:25:52 PM
I agree that this thread should be locked as it is going nowhere productive.

Nothing will improve with any company being criticised on any forum, the criticism should be directed at the company involved.

Need less to say this thread will now be very closely watched.

John.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: MATRIXAD on November 26, 2013, 11:26:30 PM
It is so unfortunate that the sadness of modern day society has entered the modeling hobby. First if any of the flamers here had bothered to read properly instead of checking for spelli ng and grammer mistakes they would have noticed i wasn't having a childish fit but was making the point that due to the badly built loco that i had bought i experienced a very bad experience of customer support with no apology. The reason for then selling all of my collection is on checking and repearing any Dapol locos that were not running properly i noticed how badly built they was and knew with regular use there was no way they would last very long. You can argue to the cow's come home the fact is your locos you are so quick to defend will be on eBay for spares or repairs within 5 years at most i could name plenty of well known engineers modelers that would back that statement up but i am not in the buisness of that as usual as seems so common now people are stuck in there bubble and have lost the ability to use logic and commen sense. Oh just one more thing my grammer isn't the best but i don't need that to see the light.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: OwL on November 26, 2013, 11:27:06 PM
so, just to understand your situation........
You waited 5 years after collecting 250+ models to then find a stack load of faults with some Dapol locos after testing some recently on a rolling road?.........  :hmmm:

Let me guess, Elvis now works for Dapol and caused all these problems with your locos suddenly :smackedface:

MODERATORS: pleased sort this thread out :doh:

Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: portland-docks on November 26, 2013, 11:27:52 PM
Quote from: Pengi on November 26, 2013, 11:20:27 PM
the trains could not be advertised on our forum as Matrixad did not have the required number of posts at the time.


Thats fair enough and i apologise
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: scotsoft on November 26, 2013, 11:31:50 PM
I do feel this has gone far enough now and I will be locking this thread.

Thanks to everyone for their contributions and apologies.

cheers John.
Title: Re: DAPOL and DCC SUPPLIES QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE TERRIBLE PLEASE READ ALL
Post by: scotsoft on November 26, 2013, 11:32:27 PM
 :locked: