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Anyone else had bad experience with LEE Precision Products & custo


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Not sure if anyone else has had bad experience with this lot, but my mine has been terrible and I would not encourage anyone to waste their money on LEE products…….

Purchased a brand new LEE loadmaster (circa £295) – received it open box with parts missing. Was sent a replacement – it arrived with 2004 date on box and 2004 catalogue inside. Needless to say I sent back the 10 year old stock. Then purchased from another LEE distributor CDSG Ltd (would advise to avoid – guy has no manners and poor service) was sent a brand new LEE Loadmaster with a defect on frame. Only became apparent 4 weeks later after I set it up and started to calibrate it. Basically was a tit on the indexer which was destroying the flippers. LEE Precisions solution was for me to file this down and touch it up with paint. Can you believe it – a brand new item that cost £290 and their solution is to file the frame down and paint it? ***! Emailed the distributor CDSG who refused to replace it and accused me of breaking the press (even though it was working but had a defect), he accused me of been a liar and threatened me with his company lawyers. Common law won and he had to refund my money under sales of goods act. Recently had another defect on their reloading stand, was not holding the press down on the z brackets on the intermediate shelf, no matter how tight turned the bolts. Also a steel base block I purchased one of the 3 bolts that hold the press to the plate snapped like butter. LEE guarantee should replace parts (bolts) they refused and asked me to post them back to the US for replacement.... Moral of the story – If you want to avoid a whole lot of pain with a poor quality product, avoid buying LEE products…… Rather stick to reputable brands and distributors such as Hornady, RCBS, Dillon is what I have learnt from this experience

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What a way to introduce yourself to a forum

 

No hello I'm Fred 26 years old from Dundee and I like shooting pigeons

 

Let's go straight for the jugular

 

I will say lee products have all been fine for me for the last 30 years but then I am a fully qualified engineer who understands how things work not a four fingered cabbage cultivator .

 

I had problems with a lee progressive shotshell reloader that was 12 years old purchased from a sale, contacted lee direct asked to purchase the replacement parts and they sent then free of charge .

 

All my dies .308 - 25-06 - .223 - 9 mm-.357 - .44 mag -.45 ACP -.300 WSM have been fine as have the 2 lee presses I have one which has loaded over 35000 rounds the lee hand primers are just about the best on the market .

 

Deershooter

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I've used Lee products of all varieties from shotshell load alls to lead pots, bullet moulds and presses for over 30 years on and off. For the price, their kit is remarkable value. I use other kit, from RCBS, Lyman, Hornady etc. It might be more "prestigious" and costlier, but it doesn't load better ammo.

 

Welcome to the forum, but grinding your Axe before saying hello isn't very endearing.

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thanks for the reminder for intro, being member for a couple of months reading posts but never posting..... So allow me to introduce - Im 38, shoot target, clays and a mixture of disciplines, from South Africa been in UK 13 years. Engineer by studies (electronic), Manager by profession....so yes, I do understand how things work. Just had a very bad experience with LEE products and thier post-sales support - so apologies for the rant.

 

In reply to seeker, issue with both the LEE importer and distributor CDSG Ltd and LEE customer support direct....they both suck.

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Who on earth sold you a press from 2004?. For Lee gear in the UK (as far as I am aware) there isn't a single distributor, Hannam and Henry Kranks both import and sell directly (and to trade) and both have pretty good after-sales.

 

I usually buy my Lee stuff from one of their master distributors in the US (Titan Reloading) and have always had excellent service on the very rare occasion I've needed it.

 

The Loadmaster isn't the easiest of presses to set up correctly, my first almost went in the bin but after looking at a few YouTube setup videos it's working nicely as is the second one I bought.

 

How did you manage to snap a steel bolt?, these are 1/4" thick and only require a moderate amount of tightening to hold the press securely.

I have 4 presses mounted using the steel base blocks and have never managed to even strip a thread never mind shear a bolt, how much force did you use to tighten them down?.

 

Lee would have asked for the bolt to be returned for examination as a sheared bolt is a very rare occurrence. If you need a bolt PM me with which length you need and I'll probably have a spare you can have.

Edited by phaedra1106
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It was also LEE attitude toward resolving the problem. Instead of sending a replacement press out, they recommended I file down the frame and touch it up with Mazda red paint. I mean really - they want me to file down a brand new frame on a £290 press and touch it up with paint....how would you feel if you just forked out £290 for one of their presses and their best response was some DIY to fix a factory defect...

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Not sure if anyone else has had bad experience with this lot, but my mine has been terrible and I would not encourage anyone to waste their money on LEE products…….

 

Purchased a brand new LEE loadmaster (circa £295) – received it open box with parts missing. Was sent a replacement – it arrived with 2004 date on box and 2004 catalogue inside. Needless to say I sent back the 10 year old stock. Then purchased from another LEE distributor CDSG Ltd (would advise to avoid – guy has no manners and poor service) was sent a brand new LEE Loadmaster with a defect on frame. Only became apparent 4 weeks later after I set it up and started to calibrate it. Basically was a tit on the indexer which was destroying the flippers. LEE Precisions solution was for me to file this down and touch it up with paint. Can you believe it – a brand new item that cost £290 and their solution is to file the frame down and paint it? ***! Emailed the distributor CDSG who refused to replace it and accused me of breaking the press (even though it was working but had a defect), he accused me of been a liar and threatened me with his company lawyers. Common law won and he had to refund my money under sales of goods act. Recently had another defect on their reloading stand, was not holding the press down on the z brackets on the intermediate shelf, no matter how tight turned the bolts. Also a steel base block I purchased one of the 3 bolts that hold the press to the plate snapped like butter. LEE guarantee should replace parts (bolts) they refused and asked me to post them back to the US for replacement.... Moral of the story – If you want to avoid a whole lot of pain with a poor quality product, avoid buying LEE products…… Rather stick to reputable brands and distributors such as Hornady, RCBS, Dillon is what I have learnt from this experience

 

 

Never lived in South Africa, though if you want to make things difficult with suppliers in most countries (certainly here and the States) I suspect you are going the right direction. There are lots of guys on here who rave about Lee products and there are likely suppliers and on your first and second post................ Not exactly strategic is it now

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LEE made changes to the LoadMaster press from 2012 onwards, according to thier website...

@ Kent - LEE is sold all over the world, even in South Africa. Usually suppliers will sell other reloading products like Hornady, RCBS, Dillon, not just LEE. And yes, I would never do business with CDSG ltd based on my experience with them, but there are other suppliers I would also buy from such as sportsman guncentre, opticwarehouse, Mcavoy who all sell a variety of reloading gear and offer good customer service.

Edited by spartan7510
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All suppliers have horror stories at times (try looking through here for posts about The Sportsmans!).

 

If you seriously want a progressive press and don't want a Lee then I'd suggest the Hornady LnL or Dillon 550 or 650 series BUT you better have really deep pockets!! :D

 

Both my Lee Loadmasters are set up differently to the usual way, I size, clean, trim/chamfer de-burr and prime my brass before putting it into the case hopper.

I've removed the on-press priming systems and only use 3 dies for the 44mag (powder drop/neck expansion, bullet seating & a factory crimp) and 4 for the .300aac Blackout (case mouth flare, powder drop, bullet seating & a factory crimp). They run very smoothly with just the odd bit of lube on the case feeding arm/runner assembly.

Edited by phaedra1106
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LEE made changes to the LoadMaster press from 2012 onwards, according to thier website...

@ Kent - LEE is sold all over the world, even in South Africa. Usually suppliers will sell other reloading products like Hornady, RCBS, Dillon, not just LEE. And yes, I would never do business with CDSG ltd based on my experience with them, but there are other suppliers I would also buy from such as sportsman guncentre, opticwarehouse, Mcavoy who all sell a variety of reloading gear and offer good customer service.

 

I wasn't referring to were Lee gear was sold, just the antagonistic nature of a customer can reap drawbacks- the person you will speak to on the phone is just like the stranger stood next to you he can be helpful with the correct approach OR................... One thing It certainly wont be company policy anyplace to antagonise customers "just for the crack" but then you reap what you sow at times

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@ Kent, you preaching to the converted mate. I work in services industry, so am totally adept at understanding the dynamics around customer services. There are circumtances where suppliers think they are doing you big favour and are above the law (such as the sales of goods act), when in fact it is you as a buyer that is providing them business. In this case with CDSG Ltd it was a balatant attack from the onset which "reaped" a response from a ****** of buyer... which supplier in thier right mind refuses to refund an item with a factory defect? Then makes accusations that the buyer broke the item (when it was clearly a factory defect backed up by photographs/videos), accuses the buyer of been a liar and threatens with company solicitor if the item is returned? Must be out of his mind becuase as I said the sales of goods act would have prevailed, so from his side it would be similar to farting against the wind... Its just the pain and stress of having to deal with such obnoxious suppliers - cowboy traders if you ask me.

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I really don't understand the comments directed at the OP for his first post being a complaint against a Manufacturer/Distributor.

There is no obligation to use the "Welcome" section, nor to launch into a personal introduction, unless it has some relevance to the contents of the post.

There are no Rules about a certain post count, before you can ask a question, or start a serious thread.

 

This may be stating the obvious to some members, but a good point for future reference for others.

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I really don't understand the comments directed at the OP for his first post being a complaint against a Manufacturer/Distributor.

There is no obligation to use the "Welcome" section, nor to launch into a personal introduction, unless it has some relevance to the contents of the post.

There are no Rules about a certain post count, before you can ask a question, or start a serious thread.

 

This may be stating the obvious to some members, but a good point for future reference for others.

It was not about asking a question it was a direct attack on lee products when you read all the comments about how goo lee products and services are let's agree he was very negative

 

Deershooter

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Exactly what do have I to be positive about when it comes to LEE - considering my experience, deershooter? I clearly listed the issues I had with the manufacturer as well as distributor and wanted to share them to see if anyone else had similar experience, hence the reason for the topic of the thread. "Anyone else had bad experience with LEE Precision Products"

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Well in all fairness you were warned about the dangers of jumping straight into reloading .223 on a progressive press (being a newbie reloader) on The Stalking Directory before you bought the first press.

 

http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/showthread.php/90820-Newbie-LEE-loadmaster

 

That of course doesn't excuse the experience you had with CDSG but over it all (by my count) you've now had 4 presses and still have problems. The first had missing bits, the replacement was from 2004 (you still haven't said where you got that one from) and the one from CDSG had a casting burr that needed filing off.

 

The one you have now, I take it is the one you got for £100 with bits missing, wrong shell plate etc.?, is that one working OK for for you?.

 

Not having a go but there's a lot being going on with this that's hard to fathom like how did you manage to snap a 1/4" steel bolt? never ever seen any report of that happening. No doubt Lee (as I said) would be very concerned at that and wanted it sending back for inspection.

 

My offer of a free bolt still stands, just let me know what length it is you need.

Edited by phaedra1106
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phaedra1106 - I posted that after I had purchased the LEE 223 and after I had issues with it (which was the reason for the post in the first place) so what point are you trying to make? The main problem I had was with the press construction – the defective frame and the issues with replacement, the attitude from the reseller and the manufacturer, not the use of the item...

 

Sorry but can you also enlighten me as to “My offer of a free bolt still stands, just let me know what length it is you need.” – a little confused as to where you get so much detail from and where this offer was originally made? I don’t see how you could know the length/type of the bolt unless you are affiliated with CDSG or LEE, because none of those details were disclosed on any of my posts. Can you kindly advise who you are and why you would be so interested in trying to correct this issue?

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