Mamas & Papas Murano cot bed - £30 for four wee replacement screws!

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  • alexjonsson
    alexjonsson Posts: 158 Forumite
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    Thanks Ginger, although in retrospect I think my comment was a bit out of line. You have more than justified your reasons for posting (not that you should have to) the original post. In fact I do believe that Mamas and Papas should have a better spares policy. I think I just found it funny that you'd dedicated so much time to making two websites!

    ThumbRemote, my life is not quite as bad as you think, although yes it's a struggle at the moment. I wasn't actually presenting an argument, just offering to swap. Nevermind.
  • ginger_jesus
    ginger_jesus Posts: 23 Forumite
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    Well, they got back to my facebook thread today asking me to drop them an email with my contact details and they'd get in touch. This is what I sent them:

    "Dear M&Ps,

    I have recently been discussing the matter of over-priced spare parts on your Facebook page. You asked me to provide contact information for you to get in touch with me. Please do so - my number is xxxxxxxxxx.

    The outcomes I am looking for are simple:

    1. I would like M&Ps to reconsider your position with respect to the timescale for which spare parts are held to one that is more reasonable and in keeping with the lifespan of your products, even if they are discontinued.
    2. To reconsider your position with respect to selling individual spares as opposed to over-priced packs.
    3. To ensure that standard components are built into the design so that if needs be customers can pick up what they need from a decent hardware store.

    I look forward to hearing from you."

    I also alerted them to the fact I'd found a pile of their senior staff on LinkedIn and was ready to write to the MP for where their HQ is based. Will post here again with an update if and when they call me.

    Interestingly, the stats on my blog tell me it's being read as far afield as the US and the Philippines!
  • aldredd
    aldredd Posts: 925 Forumite
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    Not a fan of M&P either - had a similar experience getting replacement wheels for a pushchair (they wear *really* quickly!). When we purchased it, we were told it was about a fiver for a replacement set of rear wheels - but when we needed it doing, we were told they can now only replace them as part of an overall service of the PC - at about 30 quid from memory.
    No thanks
  • maninthestreet
    maninthestreet Posts: 16,127 Forumite
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    OP - are you sure the screws aren't available elsewhere at a much lower cost? Do you have a picture of the screws you can upload?
    "You were only supposed to blow the bl**dy doors off!!"
  • aldredd
    aldredd Posts: 925 Forumite
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    maninthestreet wrote: »
    OP - are you sure the screws aren't available elsewhere at a much lower cost? Do you have a picture of the screws you can upload?

    it's a long post - but eventually he does get to the point where he purchased them elsewhere and they fit fine.
  • ginger_jesus
    ginger_jesus Posts: 23 Forumite
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    maninthestreet wrote: »
    OP - are you sure the screws aren't available elsewhere at a much lower cost? Do you have a picture of the screws you can upload?

    I haven't taken a pic yet, but I will do. As I'm a new user this site won't let me post links to show you either otherwise I would have shown you from the assembly instructions. The difficulty was that there was no head on the screw at all. They are used to secure the sides, so have to fit flush with the edges of the panels. I had a good chat with our local hardware store owner and he reckoned they're be impossible to find other than from the original manufacturer. Hence my web research. If I'd lost the barrel nut that it fitted into on the other hand I would have been totally screwed, no pun intended.

    The screws I eventually bought were 8mm M6 allen head cap screws (whatever that means). It was only because the drill hole was slightly wider than the screw I though I might have gotten away with it. If I hadn't I would have had to drill out the hole to a bigger size, but that would have risked the structural integrity of the design and hence the safety of the cot.

    I have to say, I'm not a particularly handy or technical person, so this was all new for me.
  • alphabet_soup
    alphabet_soup Posts: 43 Forumite
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    I used to work for M&P and am painfully aware of how crap their customer service is.

    I had one of their car seats, but when I washed the covers one day, one of the pieces went missing. I called them up to ask about buying a replacement, and was told that they don't provide replacements for those parts, as removing them is a safety issue. When I queried this (i.e. why on earth are you firstly able to remove them, and secondly why don't they tell you not to in the instructions?) they hung up on me. Charming. I ended up buying a whole new 'used' car seat on eBay for a fiver, just so I could nick that one part.
  • Kingsd316
    Kingsd316 Posts: 1,394 Forumite
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    Which screws were they?


    http://www.mamasandpapas.com/downloads/product_manuals_pdf/Furniture/Murano/Murano%20Cot-Bed%20instructions.pdf
    :beer:
  • ginger_jesus
    ginger_jesus Posts: 23 Forumite
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    Well done sir. Page 2 item D - the screws that fit into the small barrel nuts.
  • Kingsd316
    Kingsd316 Posts: 1,394 Forumite
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    ginger_jesus wrote: »
    Well done sir. Page 2 item D - the screws that fit into the small barrel nuts.


    Wow £30 for that, what a RIP!
    :beer:
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