Very disappointed with Lee Customer Service and Quality Control

[Casting_40S&W]

Straight from the horses mouth.

http://leeprecision.com/satisfaction-guaranteed.html

[LuckyDog]

Lesson here. If you get a new product and you think something might be wrong with it, do not try to fix it yourself before calling the manufacturer!

I agree with this. ^^^^^

But I too am a Mr. FixIt guy.

[Silverboolit]

On ANY new mold that I get, I pull the sprue plate and hone the bottom on my diamond file block. All my molds showed some problems and that takes care of it before the first pour. I don't mind the extra work and the results are more than worth the time spent.

[ShooterAZ]

It looks like I am one of the few who has had bad customer service from Lee. The problem was finally resolved, but not without some aggravation. This is one of the reasons I buy a lot of stuff from Midway. If you have problems with something, you can send it back with no questions asked. Lyman has worse customer service than Lee though in my opinion.

[rototerrier]

I agree. Hornady and rcbs also, IMO, have great cs.

[Tackleberry41]

No your not the only one who has gotten such an answer from Lee. Usually they do have really good service, dies. But molds they tend to say its operator error. Its not them constantly cutting corners to keep the same price when everything else is rising, it has to be you. You will find those who like Lee so tend to jump in to defend, and those who don't like Lee just don't say anything anymore.

Lee did seem to work decent for me for a while, but after buying other brands, they tend to be considerably more frustrating to use. Or you notice how frustrating they can be to use.

I will say it again, Lee needs to charge a little more so they can produce better molds. Drop the built in handles that take up so much space on the shelf and put that money into the materials and machining. I know they think they will lose some sales, but actually might boost them since those of us who quit buying them might again if they were better.

[Buckshot Bill]

Lesson here. If you get a new product and you think something might be wrong with it, do not try to fix it yourself before calling the manufacturer!

X2 and don't buy anything from amazon...............

[rototerrier]

Why? Amazon would have taken it back and paid the shipping. Would have cost me nothing.

But, I have to kindly disagree. All Lee molds need attention. Ive had to smooth every sprue plate and debur every cavity of all the Lee molds I own. 6 as of now. If I followed this advise I'd not have any. They'd all have to go back. Then the ones they send back would have to go back.

I'd certainly never do this with my mihec molds, nor would I ever expect to. Lee is Lee and that's just how it is. Gotta work on em to make em perfect. But I can't fix pitting and I didn't catch it until after I smoothed it. Casts great boolits though with a good sprue plate.

[dragon813gt]

X2 and don't buy anything from amazon...............

Why? I buy a lot of reloading item from Amazon. I have not had any problems from them. But I've had plenty of problems w/ other items. Amazon is always quick and easy to deal w/. If you have a smartphone it's even easier because you start the claim on the app and then they call you immediately. It couldn't be be any easier.

[dikman]

Shooter, you're not the only one who has had **** service from Lee. I (still) have an out-of-round mold from Lee. I took photos of the castings, with a micrometer around various parts to prove my point. Eventually, they said if I send it back (at my expense - and this is for a manufacturing fault, so I didn't see why I should pay) they would send me a new one. I pointed out I was overseas and it would cost more to send it back than the mold is worth. Didn't matter, they weren't really interested in the fact that they had sold me a faulty bit of gear. I pointed out that another customer here in Australia had their faulty gear replaced at no cost, so why not me? No answer.

So I wrote a letter to Mr. Lee, never did get an answer.

Maybe you can guess what I think about Lee Customer Service..........

[freebullet]

I like lee molds. Not perfect but, they're always there when I've needed them. No one touches their price on molds that I'm aware.

The first mold I bought was a lee it has over 20k poured through it. Aside from a new sprue plate & set screws added it's dropping as it came.

[imashooter2]

The first rep misinterpreted the picture and thought the metal was raised, not recessed. Such a defect would be unlikely to have occurred from the factory. As soon as that misinterpretation was cleared up they sent a replacement part. I'm not seeing the issue.

[leadman]

I have had problems with Lee molds, but also from some of the custom mold makers. Getting problems resolved with Lee is much easier than the others.
If you do not get a good response from one of the techs just call Lee (262-673-3075) and ask to speak to Andy Lee.

[Joe504]

The first rep misinterpreted the picture and thought the metal was raised, not recessed. Such a defect would be unlikely to have occurred from the factory. As soon as that misinterpretation was cleared up they sent a replacement part. I'm not seeing the issue.

This is my thought also

[rototerrier]

Got the replacement and it's pitted as well. Not as badly and it should work but definitely not what you want to see. Oh well. This definitely goes into the "get what you pay for" category. Not worth worrying over any longer.

[LAKEMASTER]

Every manufacturer produces lemons on occasion. QC does not catch 100% of problems some times. That is what cust svc is for. Just fix it and move on. They are sending you a new part for free, which is good.

I have many dozens of 2 and 6 cav Lee molds and have never had any problems with them right out of the boxes. If any slight scraping occurs, I address it with a ultra-fine file or a stone. I have had those same problems on NOE and MiHec brass (expensive) molds also.

Nothing to be upset with at Lee.

Fine-Tuning up ANYBODY"S mold is just part of what we do.

bangerjim

Can you show us how you do this? I have a Lee mold and noe mold doing it. Bothers me a little

[mac266]

I have a few Lee moulds, and I've only had a problem once. I bought one through Midway, and when it arrived, I discovered the handles had been fastened to the mould blocks in a rather disturbing way. Someone had overtorqued the screw, and had put it in at a wonky angle. The screw was splitting out the side of the mould block.

I never touched it. I never removed the handles and I didn't do this myself. It came out of the box that way! What really chapped my hide was the inspection sticker, indicating someone had looked it over for quality, was stuck to the mould block right next to the split. Someone was asleep on the job!

I returned it to Midway and they replaced it, no questions asked. I left all the stickers on, including the one that wraps around the mould blocks, keeping them closed during shipping. So with that, I believe it's obvious I never mishandled it. Midway is good like that. They sent me a new one that worked fine.

But I also snapped some pictures of it and emailed them to Lee. The response I received was rather curt, implying that I had somehow damaged the mould myself, despite that wrap around sticker still being on. I really wish I had kept those pics, but I deleted them after I got my replacement mould.

[Tackleberry41]

I really doubt most companies do actual QC anymore. Theres no way some of the glaring problems that get boxed up and sent to the store were ever 'inspected'. Lee probably just has someone on the line putting those stickers on, their job is just put stickers on, don't hold up the line. Makes you wonder why they even bother. Of course in a logical world one would ask Lee, how exactly did I screw this mold up? Took it apart, without disturbing the factory stickers, messed up the screws for what reason? So I could return it for the exact same product? No it has to be something the user did, see we inspected it, guess we know why they bother with the stickers.