futurlec.com pcb manufacturer screwed me over.

A while ago, i bought some pcbs from futurlec.com, they manufactured them for me from an eagle file. This is a remake of an existing design that i have had manufactured in the past by them.

They were incorrectly manufactured due to over-doing the thru hole plating process hence the component holes were all too small for the components; boards made by them in the past were fine, this new batch was faulty.

According to their website:

Guarantee

All our parts are covered by a 90 day warranty, that the product is free from defects in materials and workmanship. If defects arise during this period, we will at our option, repair or replace the goods purchased or refund your money. Our liability under this warranty is subject to us being satisfied that the material is faulty due to poor materials or workmanship. We will not be responsible for any damage caused by incorrectly connecting or improper use of the material. Furthermore, we will not be liable for any damage to third party or attached equipment to which these products are used.


My boards were faulty workmanship, and acording to the above, they should have refunded them as i reported it within 90 days, however, all i get is ignored; no replies to my emails.

The order amount was $66.08 USD.

My bank account was also charged TWICE for this order, totalling $132.16 USD for a product that was not manufactured correctly.

So please all those people here, yes they are cheep, but if it goes wrong, and it has a few times now! WATCH OUT, they will steal your money, and screw you over.


As im in the UK, and they are in australia, im pretty much screwed.

My advise, DO NOT USE THESE CON ARTISTS - anyone else had this?

i was just about to order from them

I sucks when things go south. I could put up with a lost or ruined order but the double billing would get my goat.

This is how I rationalize buying from them.

The parts I buy from them are about 1/3 the price I would normally pay.
I think of it as gambling.
I do not risk more then I can afford to loose. <$100
I only order parts that I am stocking up on so the shipping time does not matter.

I save enough money that if I loose a few parts or an entire order I am still ahead. So far I have not had a problem.

My main source is Mouser. I check their price prior to ordering from Futurlec.

Just got an Email the other day, my most recent Futurlec order has been shipped. Figuring toward the end of next week. I've been ordering parts from them for years, without issue. I'm okay with the long wait. I haven't used the PCB service, so can't say how that goes. Never been billed twice, or any quality issues. My worst experience was some back ordered sensors, they kept me updated throughout the 3 months it took to ship my order.
They are slow, but be patient and persistent, and I'm sure they'll make things right, eventually... They have too consistent with my orders, for me to believe they are out to rip anybody off. Perhaps they are waiting for me to place a really big order, instead of my usual $100-$200...

I have been ordering from Futurelec for some time, and have had no bad experiences. I did receive a defective matrix keyboard once, but they immediately credited my bank card with no questions asked.

Like Harvey, I don't place big, big orders I am in a hurry for. Still, I have no complaints.

g'luck

I've used Futurlec several times for PCB's.... They have always been good quality and reasonably fast. Apart from one time when I was at fault for sending the wrong gerber file!!!

I'll add my voice to the "Used them without any problem" list. That is except for the long delivery time.

Mike.
P.S. I'm sure I posted to this thread yesterday but my post seems to have disappeared.

Just got my most recent order. Have to check the dates, but pretty sure this is a new record, about 2 weeks. Everything in good order. Got some MOSFETs, these were in regular plastic, but don't think there as sensitive to static as I was once led to believe. Time to start building.

I had some counterfeit mosfets from them. Beware the cheap prices, you get what you pay for.