Rant #2

UK warranties for foreign products are my next candidate for room 101.

I bought a maglite from Ebay some time ago as I wanted a durable torch which would last a lifetime, a fantastic torch it is too.

Unfortunately due to limited use I have left the current batteries in too long and they have leaked. As a reult of this I have found out that prior to leaking batteries expand and now I hav ethree batteries stuck in my torch which I can't remove. I tried taking it apart but you need a special tool for the switch mechanism.

I read the Maglite site and found to my delight that while Maglite obviously can't cover battery leakage in their warranty they have an agreement with three battery manufacturers which means the torch can be replaved for free. Now I don't have those batteries in it but it shouldn't be a problem as they have covered that. The only downside is that I don't loive in the US. If i did I could take, or send, the torch along to a Maglite Warranty Centre and for $12 they would replace the torch for me. Unfortunately there are no straightforward instructions for getting th esame service in the UK. We have 1 warranty Centre based in England but there is no UK price for this service, indeed it's not even displayed as an option. I am hopeful that Maglite will do the same thing but to find out I am going to have to enter into a dialogue with Maglite and their Warranty Centre. f they do offer the same service then all well and good, but since it's not mentioned I'm really not confident. Why can't they just make it clear what the process is on their website, or have a website for the UK warranty Centre detailing policy for things like this.

They seem to provide a great service for customers in the States, why can't things be as smooth here?