Black And Decker RIPOFF Makes Faulty Products And Expects Me To Waste My Time Fixing The Problem factory defect poor customer service Towson Maryland

For the past two years my lawn mower problem has been getting gradually worse. It is an electric lawn mower, CMM1000 19" cordless mulching rear bag mower. It will shut off after a bit of use. Initially I could mow a good half hour with the thing before it quit, and now it lasts 3 minutes, at which time I have to either plug it in for a second to reset it or let it sit for about 10 minutes until it resets itself. Then I can use it for another three minutes until I have to repeat the process.

I searched the internet and found the problem is due to a factory defect in (I think) a heat overload switch, if you bring it to a service center they will fix the unit. Of course this information was not (to the best of my knowledge, lord knows I looked) available on the actual black and decker web site, I found it on a user post on another web site.

So, here is where the aggrivation is.

The nearest service center is more than an hour away. I don't live in the boonies, I live smack between chicago and milwaukee. They are open Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm. The same hours I, and the rest of the world, work. So, in order for me to get my problem fixed I have to:

-Take a day off work
-borrow a truck
-drive an hour to the service center
-wait for them to fix my machine
-drive an hour back

This seems like an awful lot of work for a problem that is due to their faulty product. I called and expressed my concern, and was told that there was nothing they could do. I asked if they could send me the part so I could fix it myself, and they said no.

I e-mailed my concern to customer service. I didn't expect much more from them, but they didn't even bother to contact me, or answer me, or acknowledge that I even had a concern, though I sent them my e-mail address, phone number, and home address.

If this was a small company, I'm sure someone would be jumping at the opportunity to make things right. Black and decker just gives me the impression that they just don't care about customer service. Even if I don't get a compromise, at least they could give me a response.

Pamela
Winthrop Harbor, Illinois
U.S.A.