Jump to content

Longthorne Guns - Faults and Terrible Customer Service


Duffryn
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi,

I've had a bit of a saga with a pair of Longthorne Guns four faults in the first year, for end moving away from the barrels and becoming lose ( not covered under the warranty because wood is a natural material). I'm in the process of producing a video detailing all the issues I've had and the response form Longthorne so other people considering purchasing a gun do so with open eyes. I just wondered has anyone on here had a similar experience with Longthorne ?  

Edited by Duffryn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 223
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

Posted Images

John from "The Gunshop Botley" thinks they are the doggies danglers. The issue of a fore-end that has been cut from seasoned wood coming lose not being covered by warranty is IMHO absolute nonsense unless you kept the gun in a very hot centrally heated room or a very damp outside garden shed.

In my near fifty years of this game I have had numerous guns restocked, cast, extended, or new for-ends fitted. In no particular order these have had both new stock and new fore-end wood my father's Henry Clarke boxlock, a Webley 700 boxlock, a Powell boxlock, a Powell sidelock, and a Boss sidelock. I am due to collect from "in the trade" on Monday next week two cast and stocks then extended boxlocks.

Simply put properly seasoned walnut that is fit for purpose does not shrink, warp, twist or move unless (as stated) the gun it has been fitted to has been kept in very extreme conditions of storage or you've used it as a boat oar. Surely there is some mistake in what the maker's have replied to you?

Edited by enfieldspares
Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, enfieldspares said:

John from "The Gunshop Botley" thinks they are the doggies danglers. The issue of a fore-end that has been cut from seasoned wood comLonthorne warranty.pdfing lose not being covered by warranty is IMHO absolute nonsense unless you kept the gun in a very hot centrally heated room or a very damp outside garden shed.

In my near fifty years of this game I have had numerous guns restocked, cast, extended, or new for-ends fitted. In no particular order these have had both new stock and new fore-end wood my father's Henry Clarke boxlock, a Webley 700 boxlock, a Powell boxlock, a Powell sidelock, and a Boss sidelock. I am due to collect from "in the trade" on Monday next week two cast and stocks then extended boxlocks.

Simply put properly seasoned walnut that is fit for purpose does not shrink, warp, twist or move unless (as stated) the gun it has been fitted to has been kept in very extreme conditions of storage or you've used it as a boat oar. Surely there is some mistake in what the maker's have replied to you?

The gun has always been kept in gun safe in the house at around 18 degrees.  It's identical pair has no issues neither do the other 8 guns in the cabinet. 

I quote an email from Longthorne - "I have attached a copy of your warranty document, with wood being a natural product it is excluded from the warranty". To be fair it does state this in their warranty document but you would have thought after spending £50K with them on a pair of guns that they would correct the issue when the fault was just over a year after purchase. My other issues ( cartridges not ejecting, cartridges not firing, second barrel not firing were not faults but "adjustments" so their return to base warranty did not apply !!!   Copy of their warranty attached showing that the wood is not covered. Buyer beware !! 

Edited by Duffryn
Link to comment
Share on other sites

IF the vendor did not make available the warranty conditions before you bought the gun I would question if they could rely on them after the event. Or, is it acceptable that the warranty can try to deny you any rights you may have under the Sale of Goods act etc. Also, could the term of the warranty be an unreasonable condition. Perhaps a trip to Citizens Advice to see if  a free 30 mins with a solicitor is available. Just a thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The forend issue and the four faults were three years ago, forend issue reported at the time and an immediate response back from Longthorne that it was not covered (circa 13 months after purchase. I parked the issue whilst dealing with a relationship breakup and then my business growing at a rapid rate. Leaving this for so long is my fault and has affected my ability to take legal action.  I'll get the guns serviced and repaired elsewhere now. I just want to warn those considering purchasing a Longthorne of my experience so that they enLonthorne warranty.pdfter into a purchase with open eyes. I've attached a copy of the warranty to this message so you can see that wood is clearly excluded from day 1 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

John from TGS no doubt got a heavily discounted gun, if not gratis, so large pinch of salt regarding that one. 
Very disappointing to hear the way they aren’t handling this issue as they were genuinely on my radar for my next gun. 
Let’s hope they read these threads, I would certainly be taking to their social media and letting them know your disappointment especially considering the premium you just paid. Keep it civil until it has to go legal. Stand your ground and don’t accept anything other than an apology and correction of the issue. Genuinely despicable service if you ask me. 
 

please keep us all Updated 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, TK421 said:

John from TGS no doubt got a heavily discounted gun, if not gratis, so large pinch of salt regarding that one. 
Very disappointing to hear the way they aren’t handling this issue as they were genuinely on my radar for my next gun. 
Let’s hope they read these threads, I would certainly be taking to their social media and letting them know your disappointment especially considering the premium you just paid. Keep it civil until it has to go legal. Stand your ground and don’t accept anything other than an apology and correction of the issue. Genuinely despicable service if you ask me. 
 

please keep us all Updated 

 

Will do . My shooting Youtube Chanel "The Four Ashes" has a decent following with 2.5million views to date  and so I'll be filming a video about my saga and posting on the channel along with setting up a Longthorne Facebook complaints page. Hopefully this will shame Longthorne into including a wood guarantee to past and future customers and changing their attitude to people spending £25 or  £50K with them 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Duffryn said:

Will do . My shooting Youtube Chanel "The Four Ashes" has a decent following with 2.5million views to date  and so I'll be filming a video about my saga and posting on the channel along with setting up a Longthorne Facebook complaints page. Hopefully this will shame Longthorne into including a wood guarantee to past and future customers and changing their attitude to people spending £25 or  £50K with them 

I’m sure you already know, keep things civil with them up until you have to get down and dirty. You’re playing it right so far. Social media is a definite way to grab companies attention, hence why they used Johnny at TGS to promote their brand product. It’s a double edged sword mate. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quiet a eye opening thread 

iv been considering one of these guns for while ( pre lockdown) now I’m very unsure and very disappointed to see some of the comments 

hopefully the firm will resolve the customer service issues I shall be watching with interest at this moment in time it’s not looking like I will be shooting one of there guns next season 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

Quiet a eye opening thread 

iv been considering one of these guns for while ( pre lockdown) now I’m very unsure and very disappointed to see some of the comments 

hopefully the firm will resolve the customer service issues I shall be watching with interest at this moment in time it’s not looking like I will be shooting one of there guns next season 

Longthorne's are good guns when they work and my number 1 gun has been largely faultless after the first years saga (apart from the ongoing issue very lose fore end). The lack of recoil is noticeable and I can shoot 36g 4's all day long without any side effects.  It's just a shame that their customer service and attitude lets them down so badly, especially given the price tag and the "brand".   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Duffryn said:

Longthorne's are good guns when they work and my number 1 gun has been largely faultless after the first years saga (apart from the ongoing issue very lose fore end). The lack of recoil is noticeable and I can shoot 36g 4's all day long without any side effects.  It's just a shame that their customer service and attitude lets them down so badly, especially given the price tag and the "brand".   

Thank you for your reply 

I fully understand that any new gun can have issues and require adjustments 

I personally don’t need the hassle of having bad customer service 

I shall keep watching how they progress in this area 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Duffryn 

I had put two and two together and linked you and your YouTube channel. With that following you have the perfect platform to voice your discontent.

Had those problems happened to me I am quite sure I would have had satisfaction from the Gunmaker.

Edited by JDog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's fair to say they are quite standard warranty conditions. I know many people with cracked browning/miroku stocks and the number of beretta silver pigeons with double discharge and failure to fire issues is quite high and all have had to be sorted at owners expense. The difference here is you are buying a product in a different league and you should rightly expect to be treated right by the company when you are paying that premium. 

I love the idea of a longthorne, although it's unlikely to be feasible for me. They do however need to stand by their product. I'm happy to pay a premium for made on these shores, but being made in England means nothing if you are not willing to stand by the quality of the product.

BTW love your youtube channel! Let us know how quickly they change their tune after you post the video.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Duffryn said:

Will do . My shooting Youtube Chanel "The Four Ashes" has a decent following with 2.5million views to date  and so I'll be filming a video about my saga and posting on the channel along with setting up a Longthorne Facebook complaints page. Hopefully this will shame Longthorne into including a wood guarantee to past and future customers and changing their attitude to people spending £25 or  £50K with them 

I’d be interested in hearing your total experience from walking in the door and your initial meeting to confirm your order right through to your total disappointment on the day when your gun failed 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Old farrier said:

I’d be interested in hearing your total experience from walking in the door and your initial meeting to confirm your order right through to your total disappointment on the day when your gun failed 

Will do . The video covers the reason for buying, the buying experience the good and the bad, the repeated faults and some rather crazy positions they have taken with me . I pride myself on fairness and I've sent the script to Longthorne and given them 7 days to check it for factual accuracy, it will be shot , edited and posted shortly after that. It should be a real eye opener !! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Duffryn said:

Will do . The video covers the reason for buying, the buying experience the good and the bad, the repeated faults and some rather crazy positions they have taken with me . I pride myself on fairness and I've sent the script to Longthorne and given them 7 days to check it for factual accuracy, it will be shot , edited and posted shortly after that. It should be a real eye opener !! 

I’ll be interested in viewing it if possible could you please post a link when it’s available without compromise to the outcome of your problem 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Duffryn said:

Will do . The video covers the reason for buying, the buying experience the good and the bad, the repeated faults and some rather crazy positions they have taken with me . I pride myself on fairness and I've sent the script to Longthorne and given them 7 days to check it for factual accuracy, it will be shot , edited and posted shortly after that. It should be a real eye opener !! 

This is an exceptionally noble thing to do in my opinion. The ball is in their court now...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I like the look and the manufacture of longthorne guns but this customer service is shocking. 

 I just can’t see how they or others can charge so much for cnc machined guns. very few moving parts and tubes. 
 

hope you get a result 

Edited by figgy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As an update I've just got back from an independent gunsmith  who inspected both guns. He pointed out that they are not an identical pair in that one has an inertia trigger, the other a mechanical one, the ejectors on one gun have a 12 on them the other doesn't and also pointed out a significant hairline crack on the pistol grip of number 1 gun, that appears to have started from a knot in the wood, suggesting perhaps poor wood selection at Longthorne. He didn't know anyone with Longthornes that had not had issues with them. I will keep you posted 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

×
×
  • Create New...