Thread: Hare and Forbes Asbestos warning

Is that before or after you get your chest xray for future possable litigation.

Originally Posted by pipeclay

Is that before or after you get your chest xray for future possable litigation.

Just seems very strange that I am the only one so far that has recieved this letter.
It is amazing to me that Hare and Forbes found the time and energy to contact me about this but never found the time and energy to respond to my warranty claims on the lathe . They did assist me on the mill but have forgoten the lathe.
I might apply for legal aid as a war veteran and see if I can sue them for replacment of the lathe and some damages as I have not turned my lathe on since getting this letter. Everytime I remove the end cover to make a gear change I will be thinking of asbestos contamination. Not the enjoyment of using the lathe.
It does not matter if that is wrong or right . it is how I will feel now that I have been told my lathe could be contaminated.

Edited Post: Removed last line

Retromilling,
I received the same letter, my lathe AL1000D was purchased in 2007, I also agree with you it is a bit late now to notify and offer nothing more than a warning sticker, I cannot see how this solves the problem or relieves Hare & Forbes of their responsibilities.
Bob

I got my letter and "FREE" Sticker today...
Now what to do.???

I just got my free sticker, WOOHOO.
Has anyone contacted Consumer Affairs yet ?

Originally Posted by matthew_g

I got my letter and "FREE" Sticker today...
Now what to do.???

best spot for the sticker is the back window of your car

I agree with the fact that its probably of very low actual risk to the consumer. How many mechanics do you know with asbestos poisoning for instance? The older fellas would have been exposed to 10 times the amount of asbestos dust every time they did a shoe change on a drum brake setup. Plus isnt the real dangerous asbestos the fibrous stuff found in insulation, not the dust that would have been produced by brakes?

However, if its illegal to sell asbestos products in Oz, and it appears that it is....I find it unfathomable that H and F are able to clean their slate by offering a mere warning label to the consumer. I would love to know what consumer affairs have to say about this.

As of 1987 it was illegal to have a house constructed in NSW using asbestos and industrial equipment soon followed.

If I understand correctly the blue asbestos fibres are the dangerous ones and approximately 5% of white asbestos is blue asbestos fibres. So even if the pads are white asbestos you are still potentially exposed to "Hi risk" material. Further to this it is my understanding that, regardless of exposure time, once an individual is exposed, the individual will risk developing mesothelioma.

Regardless of what the small minded managers at H&F think, H&F have a duty of care to replace any defective parts which endanger the well being of anyone during the operation of the equipment that they have supplied. A STICKER DOES NOT CUT IT!

I have had unwilling exposure in the past as part of my job, and I am very angy that I was exposed! As far as I am concerned, NO-ONE should have asbestos exposure in 2010! If you know "it" is there get rid of it.

I cannot believe that H&F have not already replaced the pads!

Nuff said, spleen vented.

A link that reflects there attitude.
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f43/wh...nature-102169/
An earlier post about working for H&F
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f65/coming-clean-109452/

Dave

That guy is full of it. He will do exactly what his boss tells him to do.
Company policy is the problem not the solution.
Bad attitudes at the top mean bad attitudes at the coal face.

Hi Retromilling,
I think the sticker should have been posted out to put on the lathe (until) a service guy came and fitted a new non asbestos set of brake pads, cleaned the area down with a damp rag and then removed the sticker on completion.
Or another option could have been, if you live in a remote area or would like to replace them yourself, send you the brake pads, detailed instructions and a $50-$100 voucher to spend at the shop.
To send a service guy from say Sydney to Newcastle, would cost them a lot more than that.

The above is not going to happen, but I hope a few of you guys get together and contact consumer affairs about it. Car manufactures recall cars all the time and pay for their mistakes, no reason a big machinery dealer shouldn't.


Dave

Interesting to see how this one pans out. Such a huge scare about asbestos and all. If people only realised how much of this stuff they have been around/exposed to over their lifetimes then well..... Next it will be fibreglass. Guess I'd better keep an eye out for lathes that are going cheap cause of the concern with the brake. My workshop sure could do with one.

Hi All,
Dave, I knew that any previous post I made before I stated I work for Hare and Forbes would be pulled up one day to throw #### in mine and the companies face, so no hard feelings.
I know and understand why some would think anything I ever said afterwards would be looked at as biased and as you say "this guy will say and do whatever management says" I expect many a person to read whatever else I have to say from this point or any time in the last 6-8 months on and disregard it completely.
If you dont want to read my post, dont bother reading on, its your call.

Can I say, and I have helped a couple of forum members who asked for it, that I personally do try my absolute best to provide a level of service to all customers that should be expected. I cannot speak for and act on behalf on anybody else within Hare and Forbes. I apologise to those who have received poor service from our company, I cannot act on the behalf of the individuals who have acted in this way however offer my apologies for any shortcomings that may have occured. Too Little too late for some.

For what its worth, I first came across this forum when searching for feedback on Hare and Forbes, and I do visit regularly (time permitting with kids and football training etc) to see what the public opinion is of the company I work for is.

Bad service=bad feedback=bad consumer opinion=bad word of mouth=bad for business=job cuts=unemployment.

I like to have a job, I like to be able to feed my kids and wife and put a roof over their heads. Beleive it or not, machinery salesmen are humans with families, not evil little hobbits who try to screw everybody out of their money for the sake of a dollar. I personally will not sell a machine to somebody that I know will not do the job they want it to do. I have lost sales in the past as I have told a customer what they want to buy will not do what they want, and they should look at something else more suitable. Customer has disagreed with me, not purchased from me, left the store and bought elsewhere. Of course I have no feedback on this, as I would not sell something that will not do the job that the customer has in mind for the machine.
I have downsized machines to a unit of lesser value when a customer wants to buy something that is massively over sized and much more expesive than what they actually need. Same deal, other way, I have upsized machines when expectation exceeds limits of machine.
I am not in the business of ripping people off, its bad for me and its bad for the company. I do not like somebody telling me that I have knowingly done the wrong thing to them, this is not what I am out to achieve.
Quality is largely fitness for purpose, if you buy a corolla and want to compete with a top fuel drag car, and nobody tells you it cant, and you go to the track and get blown away, you will say the corolla is a heap of #### as it wont keep up with a top fuel car. Other way, ypu buy a corolla, you only need a second hand french 3 wheel rickshaw with a stuffed 2 stroke motor, you think the brand new corolla is an awesome car.

With regard to the brakes, call your local branch, state you received the letter, ask for replacement asbestos free brakes.
If you would like them to be replaced by us rather than do so yourself, ask us.
I cannot and will not speak on behalf of each branch service manager, he is the man who will schedule replacements to be done.
I work in sales, I am of the understanding that there is a 1300 number listed in the letter to contact us, please, if you are concerned call it. This is the best number to call as you should be connected to the right person from the start. If you do not want to call the 1300 number, or dont feel comfortable calling it, ring the branch and speak to somebody there who you have had dealings with in the past. If you are not comfortable with this, call the branch and request to speak to the sales manager or the branch manager.
As stated above, i expect whatever I say to be taken as "puppet speak where the manager pulls the string", but if you are concerned and there is completely understandable reasons to be, then contact us and have something done about fixing the problem.
Let us help you fix the problem. Help us to help you.

My last comment is, we at Hare and Forbes notified anybody who may have this problem, who else, in this country, who sells machine tools of this kind, sourced from the countries of origin being China and Taiwan, has done so.We advised of the issue, we knew there would be concern, we knew there would be backlash, who wouldnt expect it, we are willing to resolve it, if we were not we would not have made it public knowledge that there is asbestos in some brake pads on some machines we have sold in the past.

To all, make of this post, my credibilty, Hare and Forbes credibilty, what you will. I had not commented on this thread earlier as I did not feel the need to. Daves almost personal attack (again, I dont mind, I knew something from a long time ago would bite me on a public forum) prompted me to speak largely for myself, partially for the brake problem.
All I can say is before you line up both barrells of CA at Hare and Forbes, call us and see what we can do to rectify the problem that, until very recently, we didnt know we had.

Dave, I owe you a small apology. Some of my reference in previous post should have been directed atr retromilling when he said I am full of it. Plese, accept my apology, should have concentrated more on the previous posts.

I resent the comment I am full of myself and stand by the fact there are things I can do and say without consultation with management, there are things I cannot. Any business where you value your job is the same, if you dont own it or direct it you dont say or do things that might cost you your job.
If you worked at a servo would you just decide off the cuff to start filling up peoples car for nothing just because somebody says why dont you do it?
I resent that it is implied I have a bad attitude towards customers.
If I were truly ignorant to consumer feedback would I have bothered, all those months ago, to look for a website, in my time, after work, when I should be with my family, where a customer had indicated he had been to seek guidance?

I rely on service and sales, If I am bad at it, I do not have a job. No job means no food for my wife and kids.
The retail industry soon tells you if you are bad, you get no feedback if its all good and everybody is happy. Put a foot wrong and you know about it, ie, the brakes........
On a personal level, if you are difficult to deal with, new or existing customers will not want to deal with you. This results in poor sales figure which = no job.

Call it self indulgent, call me a wanker, call me a dick, call me what you will. I do not and will not knowingly cause a customer further issue where a product or service I have provided does not meet customer expectation.
I personally try my hardest to make sure on a profeesional level that I meet or exceed each and every customers expectation.
If I have failed to do this, shame on me and I will eat my words.
I am but a single person in a large company with multiple branches across the country, each with their own staff, each staff member with their own attiudes.
Again, I resent being told I am full of it, I offered an open line of communication through the forum, only 2 or 3 people took it up, I tried my best to help them, if I failed, then burn me all you like.