Lee Customer Service

[sundog]

I recently bought a set of dies from one of our favorite mail order houses. I used the FLS and seater dies on my R/C to work up a few loads to start. Then, I was going to set up a new 3-hole turret for use on the that press. Low and behold, wrong powder thru die.

I emailed Lee and got an immediate response with instructions to return the wrong die, and they would replace it. I fully expect that this will happen in a timely manner. Just thought you would all like to know.

I think is the first time in many years that I have had a problem with a Lee product, and of course, that could happen with any company. It's the customer service that makes it right.

[richbug]

The last time a returned a destroyed handful of the little primer sliders for my Loadmaster, the sent me back 3 times as many as I sent them.

[jcwit]

Have used Lee customer service 2 times and both times service was fantastic. No way could it have been better.

[bfox]

I sent a primer punch pin that the tip broke and a few prmer sliders that got smashed .
I got the new ones no charge in less than a week .

Bill

[sturf]

Called lee the other day with a question. Young lady that answered the phone took the question instead of sending me to someone else. Gave me the correct answer and I was back in business. Great customer service. :-D

[400cor-bon]

I like Lee stuff. Not too pricey but works AOK.
Their customer service helped me out a time or two also.

[wheelgunner]

I managed to wear out one of my pro 1000's (over 100,000 rounds thru it) and broke the casting where the pivot pin goes through it. I had gotten every cent due me out of that press. Sent it back to Lee hoping to MAYBE get a new base out of it. Low and behold, a week or so later, a brand spankin new pro-100 comes in the mail, no charge! What more could you ask for?

[NVcurmudgeon]

I believe that the "No BS" warranty has been almost universal in the reloading industry for quite a while. Dillon, Lee, Lyman*, and RCBS* have been very good to me. The star indicates the companies that have replaced major pieces of equipment for me, no charge, no argument. Just like on this board, it is a pleasure to deal with gun folks.

[jlchucker]

Just recently, I called Lee about a problem encountered with an expanding die in my 38-55 die set. I had bought the set 4 or 5 years ago, but never used it. The expander plug was manufactured incorrectly. When I spoke to the lady, she completely understood the problem, and told me a new expander plug would be in the mail. She sounded technically competent, and completely understood the product and the problem. I didn't have to be referred to anyone else. Lee makes good stuff at a reasonable price. Some of their designs are better than the competition, and although this was the only time I had occasion to call them, their customer service seems great.

[mtgrs737]

+ 1 on Lee Customer Service! I sent a set of Lee Collet dies in to be modified to load "Fat" 6.5mm cast boolits in my Swede rifle and they turned them around in two weeks for a total fee of $10 and that included shipping.

[carolinashooter]

+1 on Lee's customer service. I have tried to buy parts that I broke. They sent them to me free of charge. That is why my bench has 4 Lee presses and countless die sets. Great service. More than I expected!

[TAWILDCATT]

thank heavens,positive remarks in stead of "oh its junk get a D R or H" I like Lee I could not afford the others and the moulds are great.as I have been collecting for over 60 yrs I have ended up with most types.of the progresseves I like the RCBS Green Machine.but its one caliber only.

[Junior1942]

Thirty or more years ago I called Lee with a technical question. The girl who answered said, "Just a second."

Then a male voice said, "This is Dick Lee. How can I help you?"

Same thing happened at Hodgdon. The male voice said, "This is Bruce Hodgdon. How can I help you?"

[TexasJeff]

Generally the same people who complain about Lee being "junk" are the same people who can tear up a crowbar.

I've got every color in the reloading rainbow represented on my reloading bench. Haven't had major problems with any of them. For the money, you can't beat a lot of Lee's stuff.

Jeff

[richbug]

Generally the same people who complain about Lee being "junk" are the same people who can tear up a crowbar.




I have ruined many a Crowbar, even a few Spud bars.


I did however run 1300 rounds of 223's through my Lee Load-master yesterday without any messed up primers.

[timkelley]

I can tear up a crow bar, having said that, I really like Lee products!

[sundog]

Well, I'm sitting here eating lunch, and the boss' secretary comes through with today's mail. Along with the usual daily business stuff is a padded envelope from Lee. In it is the replacement die. It's is correctly marked, so I'm sure it is the right one. I find out this evening.

Thanks, LEE!

[EMC45]

Gotta love LEE!!!!!!

[jcwit]

Man am I glad to see all the postive posts regarding Lee Products. I get really tired of some complaining or stating how cheap they are IMHO I think they offer great value for $ spent. I even think their Perfect Powder Measure is great at any rate it works with all the powders I use. And BTY no I do not sell Lee or have any, or have had any relationship with them, I'm just an old Faxx thats retired that likes stuff that work without breaking the bank.

[michiganflyer]

I had a lee 38 bullet mold that a handle broke on.
I emailed lee, they gave me the address, and I shipped it back, and in a few days a new one came to my door.
They have great customer service.

[joejr]

i got a lee classic cast press a couple of years ago,i think it will outlast me.i like the lee dies cause you can't break the decapping pins.good stuff
joejr

[jcwit]

Do you have a problem talking to ladies.

[jcwit]

Just wondered?? Ha Ha Seriously I've had excellant results with Lee and never paid the 1/2 retail price. Just packed the broken part in a box and returned same with a note and rturn address. No call no hassle, just new stuff.

[DLCTEX]

You threw it out? The lever is only $2, Throw it to me! That's another great thing about Lee, they don't gouge you on parts. DALE

[jdhenry]

I just got off the phone with Pat at LEE. I did a GB on the 358-180g 6 cavity moulds and mine was missing the male alignment pin for the front. I asked if he could just mail it to me instead of me shipping my mould in. He said no problem and he would have it in the mail today:) No complaints here. Good service!!!!!!

[unclebill]

i broke something once and i kept telling the "lee lady"that it was MY FAULT .
she insisted that i get a free replacement in the mail with no shipping charges.
another time i LOST the decapping pin to my 45colt die.
you guessed it.
free with no shipping charges.
i was dumbfounded.
stuff like that makes for loyal customers.

[BeeMan]

Guess I'll be ornery and complain before giving credit where due.

My last Lee purchase was a set of 45 Colt dies. I had to seriously polish the expander to remove maching marks and achieve neck tension that would hold a boolit. It was like they stopped after a roughing cut. Works fine now.

The shellholder was a poor fit with Starline brass; bad enough to damage the rim. I called about it being a different number than listed and they told me you it was 1 of 2 different shell holder numbers that 'fit' the 45 Colt brass. Either one might be included with 45 Colt dies depending on which was on hand. I asked if they would replace it with the proper number and they said send it in for exchange. It was cheaper and faster to buy an RCBS shellholder. So much for the 'value' of the included shellholder.

Credit where due - I really like the neck size collet die even though I had to clean and polish all of mine to get decent function. The case trimmer, primer tools, and bottom pour pot are simple and effective. I've decided that if I don't mind finishing the manufacturing job or need a simple solution, Lee can be a good value. If I want better, its available at a price.

BeeMan

[bfox]

Do you have a problem talking to ladies.

No.

Dick

Does kinda sound like you got a problem .

[WyrTwister]

I recently bought a set of dies from one of our favorite mail order houses. I used the FLS and seater dies on my R/C to work up a few loads to start. Then, I was going to set up a new 3-hole turret for use on the that press. Low and behold, wrong powder thru die.

I emailed Lee and got an immediate response with instructions to return the wrong die, and they would replace it. I fully expect that this will happen in a timely manner. Just thought you would all like to know.

I think is the first time in many years that I have had a problem with a Lee product, and of course, that could happen with any company. It's the customer service that makes it right.


I bought a set of Lee dies , several years ago . They come with shell holders , but I received the wrong one . They sent the correct one and told me to keep the other one .

A few months ago , the base of my Lee turret press cracked . I emailed them to ask how much a replacement was . They sed send the old one & they would replace it free .

They did . Promptly .

God bless
Wyr

[georgeld]

maybe ten yrs ago I got fed up with not being able to outsmart the Loadmaster and wrote a letter about it. Asking if they'd swap ,or refund. I got a nice letter from Joe Shono to gather up every part I had that I wanted to send back, make an inventory and they'd refund the total purchase price if I could provide the ticket. OR they'd refund full current list price.

I made a big list of Lee products I'd like to have, until I was sure I'd owe them. In a couple weeks I got two big boxes of goodies and no paperwork. Dies, pins/cutters, measures, bunch of molds & handles etc. Next day a letter came from them I was afraid to open it and see the bill. I was shocked to find a check for over $300.

I do break the primer pin now and then. I like to have extra's on hand. So when I have 3-4 broken one's I just mail them all at once. I'd sent either 3 or 4 this one time a few yrs ago. In the return was a note: Boss wants to know what you're using these pins for"
Being a smart mouth SOB I sent a note back on the other side of it: "as center punch's, what else they made for????" End of comments, haha.

I bought a set of collet dies from another guy with a broken primer pin. Sent it back asking about a .17 cal collet. E'mail from Pat. I thought it was a note from my G/f Pat.
Listed parts I needed: die body, pin, bushing, collet, other stuff totalled $21. Caught me when I wasn't thinking and didn't remember what was needed. Pat explained they were replacing the broken pin, the one for $4 was the .17 cal pin needed. Also, since I wanted it to size these little tiny 5.7 cases necked down to .17x28mms. I'd need to buy special tooling for a special sized collet, plus they had to have fireformed brass, bullets, etc first and would be late summer/early fall before they could get around to it.

I decided to pass on the whole thing as it's not worth the wait, nor $50 for tooling charges for a die.
Shucks, I've turned bushing that fit inside their die bodies to neck brass down already. I use one of those to neck size fired case's to hold the bullets. But, need a mid sized reamer of .1945" which is not standard size. .191" is too tight, .196" is too large to hold the bullets tight. I can push them in by finger pressure.

Anyway, I'm 98% happy with Lee. Although they don't pay much attention to suggestions for/about products. They've missed sales for 8 four cavity ingot molds from me alone just because they refuse to make the four 1lb cavity molds. Saeco, RCBS, & Lyman do, I've got several of each and one Lee with 1/2 pound cav. Nearly all my melting is production runs of large qty's of lead melt down of scrap.

They also need to make a handle for the stud on those case trimming pin sets. I chuck the pin/cutter in a drill press. and have made a small steel handle with the stud tack welded in a hole. Works slick as H for mass production runs of trimming and chamfering cases. I have/can run over 400 per hour of each step in large qty batches. I'm happy with the handle I made, but, damn it, they could sell a bunch of 'em and make a few bucks each.

I even wrote Dillon's blue press a few yrs ago about Lee being a good honest company with good quality products and great cust/ser. They printed it as written too. I sent that because of reading several letters about "Lee Loadmaster press's are only good for sorry boat anchors, then further the company down. I thought that was over done, so defended Lee as they should be. I also sent Lee a copy of my letter so they could watch for it in BP.

I'm done.

[Sundogg1911]

I've never had any dealings with Lee's customer service. I've been very fortunate with my Lee tools. I've had a few dealing with Dillon, and I have to say that my experience with them was great as well. I even lost the pins that hold the tool head in on of my 550's while moving to a new house and called them to order new ones. Had a few set a few days later. I think a company is only as good as it's service department, and Dillon has been great for me. Im really happy to hear that if I need service from Lee that things should go smoothly as well.

[flutedchamber]

I had a few bad experiences with the Lee customer service. First was with a 45acp carbide sizing die. It came with my pro-1000 and worked fine for some brass, but most brass it didn't size the brass small enough to hold the bullet in place with tension. I called Lee and was told that I needed an "undersized sizing die." I asked them why my RCBS die sized all of my 45 acp brass correctly and was told that the Lee die "was within tolerances." I measured my Lee die and RCBS die. The Lee was .0013 larger than the RCBS.

Because this was not defective, I had to buy a undersize die from Lee for list price ($23), which is more than I paid for the whole set of other Lee carbide dies thru distributers.

My second complaint was with a Lee 44 mag die. I used the die for about 2 months when the sizing ring of carbide fell out. Well, it didn't exactly fall out, it stayed on a case that was being resized. Called Lee, told them what happened. They said sent the defective die back and they will replace it. I asked them if they would refund the shipping cost since the die was defective and was told no. I told Lee what I thought of their dies and customer service. I sold my Lee press and bought a Dillon. Their dies size the cases correctly without falling apart. You only get what you pay for....sometimes.

[Maven]

They've always done right by me with surprisingly little turn around time and expense. In short, they're good to deal with!

[jcwit]

Dawned on my while reading this thread, especially the negative ones. Not defending Lee or anyone else just my 2 cents. Imangine the amount occomplaints a company gets from people who want something for nothing or everthing that goes wrong is someones else's fault. Not meaning that is the case with any of these, but it must be staggering & I would guess at times the person at the company has just about had it. Here in No. In. we have the RV ind. & a number of years ago a customer tried to sue one of the Mfg's because the AUTOMATIC PILOT did not work, I believe he had a wreck. Anyway the AUTO-PILOT was what we now call Cruise Control. All I'm saying is maybe the call before was some charactor wanted a new whatever after his house burned down from smoking in bed & he had no insurance.

[MtGun44]

No offense, but the RV story is an internet myth.

Bill

[jcwit]

No Offence intended. It happened long before the intenet existed (even before we knew of Al Gore, the inventer of the internet LOL). Happened one or two months after I left the company.

[mtgrs737]

I have had nothing but good dealings with Lee in the past. However, in order for Lee to sell at the price that they do, they are going to be pushing production to the max. I can buy a set of carbide reloading dies for $25 and the shop rate is $40 an hour (this is actually low) then in order to manufacture the die set and sell it at whoesale you had better not have more than 8 to 10 minutes of factory machine/touch labor in the whole set, then there is material costs to deal with. When you add it all up it is hard to squeeze out a profit, and yes there is sometimes a quality problem that you have to deal with. I commend Lee for holding the price down on not just their products but in helping to keep their competitors from running away with prices on all reloading equipment. Remember that no company or person is perfect all the time so mistakes can happen, but If brought to their attention I am sure that Lee will make it right with you.

Thank You Lee!

[DanM]

Lee customer service has been tops in my experience. They have replaced dozens of worn out or misused parts for me with no questions asked. Fast response time too. If I send the part to them on a Monday, I usually have the replacement by Friday. Nobody pays return shipping, even with a new defective part.

[mold maker]

In over 40 yr. reloading, I've used equipment from, Ideal, lyman, RCBS, Redding, MEC, Dillon, C&H, Lee, Texan, and many more I can't remember. Every problem I have had with any of the reloading manufacturers, has been dealt with in a very timely and responsible manner.(mostly no charge) It is one of the only industries that still thinks more of it's customers than profit.
No,,,,,, you don't, ALWAYS, get what you pay for. You most often pay for what you get. In this hobby you, DO, get more of what you pay for than in any other that I know of.

[jcwit]

I would imagine the customer's attitude has a lot to do with the companies attitude toward the costomer.

[bruce drake]

I've never had a problem with LEE products. In fact, I know I've broken parts due to my own fault and have had them replaced for no cost by the company when I called them. I'll suck up the cost of mailing the item to them for replacement. I consider it my own penance for having broken it.

I have no problem wearing my LEE Precision ballcap at my Highpower Rifle Matches.

Bruce

[Chiefs50]

I have nothing but good to say about LEE customer service. One of the best in my experience.

[windrider919]

Last year I called Lee to ask about custom making me a 'hand loader' in a discontinued cartridge so I could reload while traveling. I explained to the lady who answered that i wanted a discontinued item and asked what would it take to get it custem made. The next thing i knew I was talking to Mr. Lee and he was very nice to me, he heard me out and quoted me a price that was just barely above the regular price and guarentied delivery to meet my departure time. In fact, I had it with-in a week. The machining, fit and finish was 1st class.

Before that the only contact I had with Lee was a mould that galled under the spru plate. My fault and I was trying to order a replacement. They had me ship them the dammaged mould and within days I got back a new mould, no charge. They even included a check for my shipping costs. Outstanding and why I check with Lee first when I go to buy.

[docone31]

All I have is Lee components. I started with Lee, and I still like them.
I have lately been corresponding with Pat. I have a collet die for my .303 British. It doesn't squeeze the neck. I had thought, the die was a little off spec, however I am now inclined to believe the shell holder is too tall. I have to put the base of the cartridge on top of the shell holder to engage the collet.
We went the usual trouble shooting, did I read the instructions, do I understand how a collet works. Diagnosis from a distance.
In the end, Pat offered to check the die. I am pretty sure I would have gotten a new one faster than complaining. I had gotten a die for 30-06 and the first case, snapped the pin. I called on the phone, and three days later, they sent me a fresh die set!
Lee has worked for me. Even the conversations were purely trouble shooting to find if there existed an actual situation. I feel they are a company that stands behind their products.

[1hole]

I must smile when I read all this. For years I've read posters tout the customer service of RCBS and Dillion, and I've found them to be good too. Thing they seem to miss is so are the other makers, at least for anything that's reasonable!

I just keep wondering how so many people could even NEED replacement parts for the two big boys gear if it was truly all that great. Other brands do well for me but so does Lee.

Of course there are those who are hazardous to the lives of crow bars! :D