Dismal Service
Well I am NOT impressed... Requested my local retailer/stockist to obtain spares informed me that they were not available through the UK trade channel and suggested I approach the manufacturer direct. Two Emails via a UK website to a manufacturer requesting details of how to order spare parts for a European model...first Email ignored so resent a week later with a reply advising me to contact a model shop in Nottingham for the spares I required. Model shop said they would do their best but hadn't the required spares in stock so would have to order them, which they say they did. Six weeks later a reply from the hobby shop saying they couldn't get the parts from the European distributor and suggested I contacted them directly -'phone continually engaged, so resorted to writing letters - twice- neither of which was answered. In the meantime the German subsidiary updated their website which included an Email address for spare parts service, so I have now sent FIVE Emails requesting te spare part, none of which I have received a response to...and this for a brand new model appearing in the current catalogue, and freely available. And who is this manufacturer? Scroll down the page for a surprise... (Or maybe not!) Hornby International/Lima

Mr. Mattock, One wonders if the manner of your approach towards Hornby may be a contributing factor in your obvious issues with the company? I received excellent rapid service from the company which I was pleased to report on another thread however I asked in a friendly and helpful manner which produced a most positive response, after all, respect is a two way street. Tim :D

Then there is the story of a person who phoned Hornby with a query, was transfered to several people and after explaining in detail his problem was put through to Simon Kohler who took all the details and got the problem solved. They seem pretty good to me. Bernard

I wonder whether the divergence in opinion is attributable to a significant difference in quality to what Hornby provides for the UK (and on which I have not felt myself qualified to comment on since the last time I bought OO - ie 30 odd years ago) and the service they are providig for their European subsidiaries (ie Lima, Rivarossi, Jouef and Arnold) and more specifically to this forum, their German prorotypes? Apart from myself has anyone else had an experience, good or bad, of trying to obtain spares for current production Lima, Rivarossi, Jouef or Arnold? For the record I have no axe to grind about Hornby per se; but I DO against poor service.

Well there’s certainly lots of inconsistency here; personally I have had excellent service from BraWa, obtaining spare parts and replacements through my retailer – even to the extent of a series of Emails direct between myself and one of the management staff, as I wrote the English version of the instructions for fitting the Loksound decoder in the S2/6 (The original version was completely misleading and ambiguous) Lenz I have had no problems with, I paid postage one way and they paid the return… not too unreasonable. Liliput spares, are, I believe, despatched from the UK. Two or three times I’ve asked for spares for Liliput items from Coalville and have had nothing but the best service- instant replies on availability and cost, and despatched efficiently. Piko themselves I have had no problems with, but the apology for a UK importer behaved despicably when an item despatched from Piko was sent to them for onward despatch to me. Roco I have never had a problem with when ordering through a retailer, but I guess it might depend on which one you use.

I feel I should clarify - I had NO association with anyone in BraWa until I had a service problem with a Loksound retrofit kit for the S2/6. It was the service problem I had that gave me the contact in BraWa, not vice-versa.