PSA won’t honor their warranty head up guys

AR/M4 AR General Discussion
1

A guy on our Facebook page found out some problems with his upper when installing MLOK rail. He emailed PSA about it to send it in and their replay was they will not honor the warranty because it was taken apart.

“Palmetto. Should i call or email them? Threads are machined so far off to the left, a rail with anti rotation tabs won’t fit
this receiver.”

People who want to verify what I posted group is almost 30k members ,
I can’t be the only one. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1094075807340062?view=permalink&id=1552036988210606

Front take down pin hole

Rear take down pin

Emails that were sent and received.
Their first reply
"Hello,

To resolve the issue with your order, we would like to set up a return to have the item serviced and/or repaired"

Second email from them

Now it looks like Palmetto isn’t accepting the upper back.

"​Hello,

We cannot accept your stripped upper receiver. If you have removed your barrel nut or gas block, you have voided your PSA warranty.

Have you disassembled this device?

Thank you for choosing Palmetto State Armory.

Best Regards,"

His reply:

Probably a waste of time…
My response:

“Yes, I did remove the barrel nut to install a free float mlok rail, which is a normal upgrade many AR15 owners do. This is when I noticed the many machining mistakes. The barrel nut threads are machined way off center. The rear takedown pin hole measures .275” which is .025" too large. It looks as if the piece was fixtured off center prior to being machined. These are clear manufacturing defects, which are unrelated to me installing a free float hand guard. I can provide photos of all of this. Palmetto really will not stand behind their product?"

2

I know it’s cliché, but you get what you pay for.

3

That is why I don’t own a PSA or Anderson, not my build. I been working on my Colt trooper will post that later tonight

4

Just for curiousity’s sake - how long had he had the upper? had he shot it on a lower? any problems noted then?

I agree that it is machined improperly. Has your friend sent them an email with the pictures? I’d call this number 803-724-6950 and ask to speak to a supervisor.

Here is their warrant: http://palmettostatearmory.com/psa_warranty/

[i]Palmetto State Armory firearms are warranted to be free from defects in materials and craftsmanship to the initial retail purchaser for the lifetime of the firearm. Palmetto State Armory will remedy any such defect of which Palmetto State Armory is given written notice. The liability of Palmetto State Armory under this warranty shall be limited solely to the obligation to repair or replace the firearm or defect at its discretion, and to pay transportation and insurance charges for return of the firearm to owner for a rightful warranty claim. This warranty is not transferable. Modification of firearm will void this warranty. The warranty card must be legibly completed and mailed to Palmetto State Armory. This warranty does not cover normal wear or any damage resulting from careless handling, neglect, repairs and adjustments, corrosion, improper, substandard or defective ammunition. Completely fill out warranty card at time of purchase and mail it to Palmetto State Armory 2121 Old Dunbar Rd., West Columbia, SC 29172.

To initiate a Warranty claim, call Palmetto State Armory Customer Service at 803-724-6950, Monday through Friday, 9am - 6pm EST. Warranty claims need to state (in writing) the model and serial number of the firearm concerned, a description of the difficulty experienced, and include the original receipt with date of purchase. The firearm concerned should be shipped (transportation charges prepaid), to the Warranty Department, Palmetto State Armory, 2121 Old Dunbar Rd., West Columbia, SC 29172. The owner should insure firearm shipment. Palmetto State Armory will not be responsible for loss or damage in transit. Palmetto State Armory will pay shipping and insurance charges for the return of a firearm to its owner if the related claim is a proper claim for warranty work.

Under no circumstances shall Palmetto State Armory be responsible for incidental or consequential damages with respect to economic loss or injury to property, whether as a result of express or implied warranty, negligence or otherwise. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you. Palmetto State Armory will not be responsible for the results of careless handling, unauthorized adjustments, defective, low-quality, reloaded, or improper ammunition, corrosion, neglect, ordinary wear and tear, or unreasonable use.[/i]

I’m think the functionary your were talking to took this a little too literally: ]Modification of firearm will void this warranty. The warranty card must be legibly completed and mailed to Palmetto State Armory. Disassembly is not a modification, there is literally no way your friend could have damaged the receiver and moved the threads off-center like that. Your friend needs to talk to an Eagle, someone who can make decisions.

I hope this works out.

5

All I know is he was in the process of changing out the stock hand guards on a new rifle kit he had ordered and when he emailed them he wasn’t helped at all. Was told to basically pound sand and yes they were sent the photos with copy of the invoice.

6

Is disassembly considered modification? Evidently.

7

Have him file a dispute with his credit card company. Do they sell rails too?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

8

Never take a “No” from somebody who doesn’t have the power to give you a “Yes.”

This is part of why I’d rather build than buy… I know exactly what parts are going in and exactly whose labor I’m betting my ass on.

9

In an industry where good and personalized customer service is the norm, PSA has always stood out as being at the bottom of that list. In this case, they are merely proving again that their reputation is deserved. I won’t even buy ammo from them any more…

10

I am not sure where he got the MLoK rail but I am sure they do. I told him he needs to call for a supervisor.

11

I wonder if that upper is within their specs.
I would not accept that. If it’s sold as “milspec” it isn’t, and he should dispute with CC company if they refuse to fix it.
At least send him a stripped upper.

12

Not speaking of PSA specifically, but I’ve always considered it a slippery slope to compete in prices, something has to give, and that something usually is the more expensive part of the operation. Good customer service has the outward appearance of being expensive, and indeed, it is costly, but that’s only the shortsighted point of view.

If a company doesn’t take care of its customers, one day there might not be any customers to take care of. Folks spend their hard earned money on a product, and place their trust in the company to stand behind it, that’s not unreasonable expectation. For a long time now, I’ve seen folks so appreciative and thankful for having been provided what we consider service they’re entitled to, it’s no shocking revelation many of us have been let down often enough, that we don’t expect much.

One time, a customer wanted to see what we would do about an LDFA. His brother had held down the forward assist’s plunger while firing a round (why would anyone do that didn’t need to be asked at that point lol), and sheared the pawl of the FA. We replaced it and sent a new one to him on our dime. I think we would have been justified in refusing to warranty it, it is a question of how much the replacement cost vs. a happy customer. We choose a happy customer, without exception.

Bean counters have problems seeing that good customer service pays in ways that don’t show up on their spread sheets.

13

So OP is reposting stuff from a Facebook page? That he was not directly involved in?

I’m no PSA lover, don’t have any of their gear. And I’d be pissed if I had that upper.

But I don’t, and neither does OP.

In fact, we don’t have any way to know who the mfg is, or what happened.

So despised or not, I personally don’t think hearsay calling out vendors based on pics posted in another site and no firsthand involvement is appropriate nor per site guidelines. Much less the subsequent pile on.

14

Yeah, struggling with this one.

It’d be really nice if the vendor helped out the owner of that gun, but by the language of the warranty posted he doesn’t appear to be entitled to anything. The thread title also seems factually incorrect. Disassembly of product to install an optional accessory is indeed modification.

A BCM blem upper at $59.95 would be a great solution to this problem.
https://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-Upper-Receiver-Assembly-M4-Flat-Top-demo-p/flat%20top%20-upper%20-m4%20demo.htm

15

This thread title is misleading, owner voided the warranty when he disassembled the upper. I agree that is a POS upper and should never have been used and will make a nice paperweight but even the good companies will void their warranties once you start wrenching on a factory assembled upper. Sometimes they will cover things for public relations purposes but to expect PSA to do so on what I suspect is a PTAC is IMO wildly optimistic.

16

OP’s buddy should just write off the cost of a new upper receiver as tuition in the school of life. I paid $35 “tuition” to fix my overgassed PSA/FN barrel, and I hope I learned my “never again” lesson.

Andy

17

I’ve never owned thier stuff but have used a lot of thier parts for cheap friends. I always give the caveat, I’ll put it together but you need to be aware that if something doesn’t work it’s betweeen you and them, I’m out. With that said I’ve had one problem out of maybe 10 or so, the old magazine not dropping and having to be man crushed to insert. I told him to buy a stripped lower and I’d do the work but he never did. For shooting rocks twice a year it works for him. It puzzles me that a person thinks they’re getting top of the line quality for an AR that’s the price of a Glock 19. In my world we call that a false economy.

18

What was amazing for me that changing a rail doesn’t change the fact the upper is so far out of wack, you would think they would make it right. I also think it is nuts they would consider changing the rail out as a void of warranty as if he was grinding on it.

They are a builders website, not like you buy a complete 2k rifle from them exactly ready to go. Everyone has said take it the next level up, the upper shouldn’t have ever been sold, no matter if he found it when he it took it apart. Product isn’t as advertised.

People can read it for themselves if they like.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1094075807340062?view=permalink&id=1552036988210606

19

I’d be really careful about how much of my time I spent trying to squeeze juice out of them for a $49 lower. Buy a quality lower from a reputable MFG and move on. Your time and frustration is worth something too.

20

I agree. And never go back