Earlier this year I bought a sliding crosscut mitre saw from Lidl in San Gwann. I used it four or five times and in May the laser attachment ceased to function. I contacted Lidl by phone and asked if I could get a replacement part. I was asked for proof of purchase, which I did not have as I had mislaid the receipt, and was advised to refer the matter to the manufacturers.
I emailed Einhell Italia on 22 May and received a reply from a Ms Emma Rizzuti on 28 May informing me that Einhell would be sending me a new laser attachment within two weeks.
On 18 June I emailed Ms Rizzuti to inform her that I had not received the spare part. On 2 July I emailed her again, requesting a reply to my email of 18 June. On 6 July, Ms. Rizzuti wrote back apologising that the spare part had been lost in transit and that another one was on the way. On 22 July, I again emailed Ms Rizzuti, informing her that I still had not received the part. She copied me in an email sent to a Mr Alessandro Scollo at Lidl Italia the next day wherein she informed him that I had not received the part that she had sent to Lidl at their base in Anagni on 6 July to forward to me. After two or three days, Alessandro Scollo phoned me and asked me to provide him with details of the machine, and I sent him scans of the barcode and other details. He promised to send me the part within a few days. Three weeks passed, but no replacement part arrived.
There was a break in communication (i.e. no replies to my emails) in August due to the Ferragosto, and Ms Rizzuti contacted me on 10 September informing me that Lidl would be contacting me. Alessandro Scolo was copied in to the email. True to form, Lidl did not contact me
On 18 September I sent a reminder to Ms Rizzuti and Alessandro Scollo to which I did received neither an acknowledgement nor a reply. On 2 October I had reached the end of my tether. I wrote to Ms Rizzuti, Mr Scollo, Lidl Italia and Lidl Malta and informed them that if I did not receive the spare part by 16 October, I would publish my complaint in the local press.
Between 4 and 9 October I received a flurry of emails from all concerned requesting me to wait as the part was due to be sent. I waited and waited, but to date, six months and countless emails later, I have not received the part and cannot calibrate the machine.
Lidl should learn that its customers do not expect it to be perfect, but they do expect it to fix things when they go wrong.
John O’Dea
BIRGUMA, NAXXAR