Excellent service

I am extremely disappointed with the level of customer service I received from both Angling Direct and Shimano UK following the purchase of two Shimano Baitrunner 10000 reels, costing £160 in total. I purchased the reels in store in good faith, expecting the quality and aftersales support that both companies promote. However, when spooling brand-new line onto the reels, it became immediately apparent that there was a fault: the line was loading excessively at the top of the spool, clearly indicating an issue with the reel’s setup or internal components. Rather than acknowledging a likely manufacturing fault, the response from both Angling Direct and Shimano was extremely disappointing. I was advised that the issue was most likely due to incorrect spooling technique, despite my many years of angling experience and ownership of numerous reels that spool perfectly using the same method. No meaningful investigation or accountability was offered. What I found particularly unacceptable was the suggestion that I could dismantle the reels myself to inspect internal washers. This is not something a customer should ever be advised to do with brand-new, supposedly high-end reels, and it completely undermines confidence in both the product quality and the warranty process. To resolve the matter, I was forced to drive back to the store — a 42-mile round trip — in order to obtain a full refund. While the refund itself was processed, no goodwill, compensation, or store credit was offered to cover: • The cost of the brand-new reel line that was wasted identifying the fault • The time and inconvenience involved • The travel costs and time spent simply to resolve an issue that should never have occurred Despite multiple follow-up emails requesting a modest store credit as a gesture of goodwill, both Angling Direct and Shimano have ignored these requests entirely. This lack of response has only reinforced the impression that once a problem arises, customer loyalty and inconvenience are of little concern. I will be returning to using my older, trusted Shimano reels, which ironically perform far better than these newer models. Unfortunately, this experience has significantly damaged my confidence in Shimano’s current quality control and Angling Direct’s aftersales support. Based on this experience, I cannot recommend either company where customer service, accountability, or support is concerned.