Although this about a specific product, it's typical of the reaction I'm
getting from retailers. I appreciate that margins are slim, but some
lines need to be drawn in the sand

About 15 months ago my mother bought a floor lamp with two fittings,
and today I had the second run-in with the shop that sold it to her, but
got her a refund

The problem is that it's so flimsily made that IMHO it's not fit for its
intended purpose and could possibly be dangerous. Although there
are stickers inside that say 100W max bulb, even with a 60W bulb
the heat is too much. The plastic inside both fittings has become so
brittle that it falls apart when you try to remove the bulb

So she took it back today and I had a circular discussion with the
manager on the phone

She maintains that they aren't sub-standard, even though this is the
second visit back to the store. I say a light fitting should last longer
than 15 months with less-than-rated bulbs

She agrees that the screw metal (these are for ES bulbs) is too thin
and not held properly to the holder. My attempt to get a blown bulb
out ended up with what I thought was the socket going around and
around (as happened with the other fitting). And that's how I left it.
But she says the metal in the fitting and the metal of the bulb "weld"
together with the heat, and that it's the bulb glass going around and
around. She says she got the bulb out. Presumably in two pieces,
leaving the bulb's base behind in the socket

She says that they sell "a lot" at $50 and don't get any returns so
they must be OK. I say just because people don't return them is no
evidence that they're "OK". It's just as likely that they're cheap enough
to throw away. Which would explain why they sell "a lot"

Apparently Direct Lighting have a Compliance Officer. Who she
says is an ex-electrician that they hired. Hmmm. No conflict of
interest there eh ?

All in all, not a productive conversation, and they'll continue to sell
their cheap and dangerous tat. She's promised to put something
about the Compliance Officer's review of these lamps in the post,
so I'll see what that's all about. I'd like to take this further because
I think products and attitudes like this are a rip-off

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