Festool Guarantee

[quiltedkoa]

Newbie to FOG.  After much going back and forth, I decided to get the TS 55.  I'm happy with the saw and decided to get another 55" track to cut 8' ply.  I have to say I'm not all that pleased with how straight the two joined tracks are--I used a good straightedge and I just think it's better for me to get the 8' rail.  Which brings me to my question.  I was under the impression that Festool has a 30 Guarantee.  Part of the reason why I decided to plop the money for another Festool was I figured I had 30 days to decide if the tool meets my satisfaction.  Per Festool's site, I took the extra track to my dealer and explained that I wasn't happy with the 4' track and would like to return it in exchange for the more expensive 8' track.  They told me since it the item was used (and they couldn't resell it), they would not honor the guarantee and I should contact the manufacturer. 

So I contacted Festool's customer support by phone and explained the situation and they basically said it's up to each dealer whether to accept returns and there was nothing else they could do.  I told the support person that part of the reason why I was willing to spend so much on Festool was that they (at least I thought) stood by their tools with their 30 day guarantee.  I never thought I'd want to return an item (in this case, I was willing to pay more for a more expensive track), and I'm a bit surprised that this is their unofficial policy.

Per FestoolUSA's website: 

"Buy with confidence. If you are not completely satisfied, return your tool to the selling dealer within 30 days and you will receive a refund of either your purchase price or the lowest retail price at which the same item has been offered since your date of purchase. Freight charges are not refundable."

I'm ok with not getting a refund/exchange, but I had to vent that this seemed a bit dishonest.  If the refund policy stated, "....return your UNUSED/UNOPENED RESELLABLE tool to the selling dealer..." I would have been ok with the whole thing.  But as it stands, I'm just a bit surprised that a first rate company would not stand by their tools and their own guarantee policy. 

I have no beef with the tools themselves--I like the tools I own.  I just am wondering is that the experience other people have had with Festool's return policy?

 

[AlexThePalex]

I've understood that the 30 day guarantee is only meant for the powertools. The extra rail you bought is considered an accessory and not covered by the 30 day return guarantee.

Too bad the TS 55 is not offered without rail in the States like it is in Europe. Or else I'd say return the TS55 + rail, then buy the TS 55 without rail and a separate 8' rail.

Personally, I think Festool's 30 day money back guarantee is very generous. I also think they should make it more clear on their website what falls under the guarantee and what not.    

If they don't want to take your 55'' rail back, sell it on eBay, you'll find you can get a very good price for it so you won't lose out too much.

 

[mouppe]

Newbie to FOG.  After much going back and forth, I decided to get the TS 55.  I'm happy with the saw and decided to get another 55" track to cut 8' ply.  I have to say I'm not all that pleased with how straight the two joined tracks are--I used a good straightedge and I just think it's better for me to get the 8' rail.  Which brings me to my question.  I was under the impression that Festool has a 30 Guarantee.  Part of the reason why I decided to plop the money for another Festool was I figured I had 30 days to decide if the tool meets my satisfaction.  Per Festool's site, I took the extra track to my dealer and explained that I wasn't happy with the 4' track and would like to return it in exchange for the more expensive 8' track.  They told me since it the item was used (and they couldn't resell it), they would not honor the guarantee and I should contact the manufacturer. 

So I contacted Festool's customer support by phone and explained the situation and they basically said it's up to each dealer whether to accept returns and there was nothing else they could do.  I told the support person that part of the reason why I was willing to spend so much on Festool was that they (at least I thought) stood by their tools with their 30 day guarantee.  I never thought I'd want to return an item (in this case, I was willing to pay more for a more expensive track), and I'm a bit surprised that this is their unofficial policy.

Per FestoolUSA's website: 

"Buy with confidence. If you are not completely satisfied, return your tool to the selling dealer within 30 days and you will receive a refund of either your purchase price or the lowest retail price at which the same item has been offered since your date of purchase. Freight charges are not refundable."

I'm ok with not getting a refund/exchange, but I had to vent that this seemed a bit dishonest.  If the refund policy stated, "....return your UNUSED/UNOPENED RESELLABLE tool to the selling dealer..." I would have been ok with the whole thing.  But as it stands, I'm just a bit surprised that a first rate company would not stand by their tools and their own guarantee policy. 

I have no beef with the tools themselves--I like the tools I own.  I just am wondering is that the experience other people have had with Festool's return policy?

It's confusing but I think rails are considered to be accessories, not tools and are not subject to the 30-day return policy. This is a sore subject which has cropped up before on the FOG. Perhaps the policy wording needs to be clearer?

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Welcome to the forum, I wish it was under better circumstances.

The policy you quoted states that it applies to tools. A guide rail is not a tool and thus the 30-day return policy is not applicable. So, the information you were provided by my colleague was correct. Likewise, it's the dealer's discretion to accept back the used rail, which can't be sold as new.

If the rail is defective, then your dealer should be willing to replace it. If not, contact me and I will assist with getting it replaced with another identical item.

Be sure you're leaving a slight gap between the rails, 1/32" give or take, and then use your straight edge for alignment.

Alex, in the U.S., a customer can "upgrade" to another length of rail when they buy the saw at participating dealers and just pay the difference in price. So, you can get a TS 55 with a longer rail than the standard 55" (1400mm).

Feel free to contact me if I can be of any further assistance.

Shane Holland
Festool USA
sho@festoolusa.com

Per FestoolUSA's website: 

"Buy with confidence. If you are not completely satisfied, return your tool to the selling dealer within 30 days and you will receive a refund of either your purchase price or the lowest retail price at which the same item has been offered since your date of purchase. Freight charges are not refundable."

 

[Bob Marino]

Ok, I'll jump in here - where a dealer shouldn't and against my better judgement, but the 30 day warranty clearly states it pertains to their tools -not to accessories or consumables. That's on the dealer whether he wants to pony up for an accessory that was used. It would be a different story if the rail was defective. Nothing dishonest, or even  nebulous about Festool's response, nor terribly unfair on that particular dealer's response. Many dealers, myself included, handle those situations on a case to case basis.

BTW, regarding the rails alignment, or lack thereof, try leaving a paper's width of space, while lining up against a straightedge and then tighten the set screws. That should do the trick.

  Bob

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

And...

Any recommendations to changes in the language for the policy are welcome. I'd be happy to compile a list of recommendations and submit them for consideration.

 

[Brian Livingstone]

I buy my Festool products at Lee Valley here in Canada (just bought a RTS400 this afternoon).  If I bought a guide rail, and wanted to return it because I was not satisfied with it, I guarantee you, Lee Valley would accept a return, no questions asked.  Again, 100 % guarantee they woud accept a return, whether it was a "tool" or an "accessory".

For Festool, a premium tool manufacturer, to not consider a guide rail a tool, is a weak, weak argument, and inconsistent with what a premium tool manufacturer should stand for.  

By this same argument, would one not consider a hammer a tool ?  I don't think so.  

Trust me, Lee Valley is a quality retailer, selling quality tools (including Festool), they would not all of a sudden cop out on a technicality in an ambiguous guarantee.  

I am actually very surprised to hear this, and am confident Festool will change its policy on returns of "accessories", with enough feedback from Festool users.

Brian Livingstone, Nova Scotia, Canada.

 

[panelchat]

sounds disappointing...
the guide rail connectors have to be one of the weakest products in the festool line. they could use a design update.

but i did eventually find that they can be made to work decently- i found they MUST NOT quite touch end to end, and you have to have a long straight edge (36" or 48" level, or a third rail, or something like this) as a reference to set the two rails up, but then the setup is still a little fussy and time consuming. then i had to handle the assembly with a lot of care and not knock it into anything while moving it around. then, i had to double check it occasionally... but it did work in the end.

i find it good for occasional use but not for everyday-paying the rent- use. i just keep the connectors around as an option for a very portable long rail.

 

[semenza]

Hi quiltedkoa,

Welcome to the FOG

    Going with the one piece rail to cut 8' is the way to go. The zero clearance and one piece rail is what attracted me to Festool year ago.  The 106" ( 2700) or the 118" (3000). Reselling the 55" shouldn't be too hard, either in the FOG classifieds or on Ebay. Or hang on to it in case you need to go with two pieces for transport.

Seth

 

[ajones]

I think that the 30 day return policyis a very good one .

where the problems start is what is considered a tool, or part of a tool and what is not.. this could be made a lot clearer.

I bought a domino with all the stops ect, but when the stop proved to be faulty Festool UK told me that it was only the tool itself that had a three year guarantee

and that the stops were only guaranteed for two months as they considered them to be accessories.

 

[j123j]

I think that the 30 day return policyis a very good one .

where the problems start is what is considered a tool, or part of a tool and what is not.. this could be made a lot clearer.

I bought a domino with all the stops ect, but when the stop proved to be faulty Festool UK told me that it was only the tool itself that had a three year guarantee

and that the stops were only guaranteed for two weeks as they considered them to be accessories.

Festool importing company, Tooltechnic, here in Finland tried the same trick with me. "Consumables" dont have warranty.

But what they fail to realize is that they are liable for faulty products even without any warranty, atleast in Finland.
I had to go all the way to the CEO for them to understand the law.

I had a faulty d36 hose that kept breaking between the rings, 150€ hose and they told me "consumables dont have any warranty, we wont exchange it"

In the end I got a new hose but I wasnt pleased with the crappy service.

 

[Peter-kenny]

Hi I had something like this problem 2 it was 1 of the joiner bars that was slightly off causing the rail to twist off..maybe take a look at the joining bars before you fork out for a new rail

 

[ajones]

Hi I had something like this problem 2 it was 1 of the joiner bars that was slightly off causing the rail to twist off..maybe take a look at the joining bars before you fork out for a new rail

I think that joining rails is something that is best avoided,much better to have the correct rail lenght for the job in hand

 

[fdengel]

I have two of the 55" rails and don't want the longer ones right now for storage space and portability reasons.

I've never had trouble with the guide rail connectors.

 

[GregBradley]

Where are you?

If you are in LA area, I could use another 55" rail and have an extra unopened 118" rail.

If the original purchase of the TS55 and rail is within 30 days, you could return that "tool" and keep the accessory. I would think the dealer would change their mind pretty quick on that deal. I have more than 5 dealers close by. I can only think of one that might not accomodate you on your return.

 

[ceddy]

One trick that seems to work for me is using the saw to keep the edges straight while tightening the screws for the rail connectors. Moving the saw back and forth along the rail connections. But either way you look at it, if you are going to use the rails connected all the time, just get a longer rail.

Good to know you can upgrade the length of a rail when you buy a saw.

I completely understand that accessories aren't covered under the 30 day return policy. Not to put oil on the fire but I found this text on festoolproducts.com's web site about granat abrasives (I've shortened it a bit keeping the essential parts) :

"The all-new Granat abrasive by Festool is a ceramic-grain coated abrasive ...Yes, they're a bit more costly than aluminum oxide abrasives... but you can believe us when we say... They're well worth it! Order yours today and prove it to yourself under our Risk-Free, 30-Day, Money-Back Guarantee! ..."

I find it hard to believe that abrasives are covered under the 30 day return policy. Or is this just a dealer policy?

 

[sancho57]

Just saw this thread. I was going to suggest that it might be the technique ou use to tighten the rails when connecting them.

If you do a search there are a few threads which go indebth  on how to connect the rails.

I used 2 rails connected to rip 4x 8 ply. I was able to be as close as 1-2 mm out over the 8 ft. That is phenomenal in my opinion.

So bottem line is it may not be the rail rather then user operator technique.

edited to correct the darn auto spell gggrrrrrrr

 

[kent B]

I just talked to CPO Tools and they honor 30 day return on accessories , plan to place my order with CPO Tools.

 

[jandreas]

in the U.S., a customer can "upgrade" to another length of rail when they buy the saw at participating dealers and just pay the difference in price. So, you can get a TS 55 with a longer rail than the standard 55" (1400mm).

This is an option that Festool and it's dealers REALLY need to advertise a little better.  Most of us only find out about this when its too late...  I would have never bought my TS75 with the 1900/2 rail if I had known!

 

[Bob Marino]

in the U.S., a customer can "upgrade" to another length of rail when they buy the saw at participating dealers and just pay the difference in price. So, you can get a TS 55 with a longer rail than the standard 55" (1400mm).

This is an option that Festool and it's dealers REALLY need to advertise a little better.  Most of us only find out about this when its too late...  I would have never bought my TS75 with the 1900/2 rail if I had known!

  Good point!

  Bob