UK suppliers of Cricut Expression

[Simon]

Hi,

I am at last able to buy an Expression. I have looked at the costs of getting one in from the USA and even with delivery & custom taxes I could save over £100! However I am concern about support for technical issues and repairs as Cricut tell me they will only support/repair machines purchased in the UK from one of their distributors. So a purchase from the UK is what I am going to do.

However even buying from a UK supplier seems to be a bit of a minefield. At a recent show I looked at the machines on a variety of stands (all about £329 or so) and on two of the stands, when I said I would have a wander and think, I was warned to take care that if I bought from another supplier to make sure that it was a UK supplied product otherwise the warranty would not be valid and that it also came the correct UK mains cable.

According to ProvoCraft/Cricut in the USA, they only have two official distributors to UK retailers, which are Bramwell and Kars and one of their names are shown on a label on the base of the machine by the serial number. Only products which have this will have a valid warranty for UK use. The trouble is only two of the six retailers at the show had Bramwell or Kars on the base, so according to ProvoCraft they would not have a warranty from the manufacturer and therefore not support or repair it within the warranty period!

The thing is that one of the retailers, at the show, that I have bought from in the past and who I was thinking of purchasing the Cricut Expression from, did not have the correct marking either. I asked them about this and the valid UK warranty and was told they were a distributor for Cricut in the UK as they buy direct from ProvoCraft and they do have a twelve month UK warranty. They obviously do sell a huge amount of Cricut stuff as they had loads of stock.

I spoke to ProvoCraft in the USA regarding this and the confirmed what they had told me before. Two UK distributors Bramwells and Kars and if it is not from one of them the UK warranty is not valid one with Cricut & Provo Craft. However they would not confirm if they supplied retailers directly in the UK but just continued to confirm that they only had two UK distributors!

I am really confused now as we really should not be required to open a box to check a label on the bottom of a unit to know that it comes with a valid UK warranty from the manufacturer. This seems crazy.

When I bought my baby Cricut back in 2006 I did not even think about it - although it did not have a distributor on the base it did have a warranty/support card that had Bramwells on it!

I would be grateful if any sponsors or Cricut users can shed any light on this rather 'grey' issue.

Have a great weekend to you all,

Simon

[gwyneth 123]

I'm not a retailer but did buy my Expression from a UK retailer. It never entered my head to be honest regarding the warranty and I have no idea who distributed my machine to the UK retailer I bought it from.

I did register my warranty with Provo Craft and it was accepted. The machine came with a UK lead on it already.

I don't think you have anything to worry about to be honest, as you would be covered by the Sale of Goods Act in this country, which is with the retailer and not the manufacturer, if anything went wrong with your machine. I would be very hesitant to buy from the USA because of this, and I know that you would have had to return it to the states, covering the postage and insurance at your own cost if anything did go wrong with it.

[Simon]

Thanks for that Gwyneth, however if the retailer went out of business within the period of the warranty then I would have no recourse. Also I would like to know who repairs the faulty machines that these 'grey' retailers may have back from their customers as they are certainly not trained Cricut repairers! It is a lot to fork out for when it is not clear what is going on.

Also the machines which are not Bramwells or Kars supplied are not really any keener in price £325 ish - so what is going on there? Are they making a lot more money then retailers who buy from the UK distributor? If so that is somewhat unfair. If however they where supplying at a substantial discount - well then you pay your money money and take the risk, just like ordering from the USA (which I have done with a Xyron design runner) - in the end it is your or my choice and risk.

The trouble is as a consumer we are not being told and I find this a concern.

By the way Gweneth did you not have a sticker on the base of yours saying Brawells or Kars?

Thanks for you comments,

Simon

[stillscrapping]

Perhaps you could ask the retailer who supplied their machines before you purchase. Then at least you know who to go to if the retailer goes out of business within the warranty period. All the machines supplied by Kars or Bramwells have their number recorded so they know which are theirs. Most of the retailers will have done this as well, I know I did, so you know you are only dealing with machines you have sold should any problems arise.

To be honest though they are very reliable machines and I know of very few which have gone wrong.

[gwyneth 123]

No I dodn't have a sticker Simon, I went and had a look after I read my post.
I also had a look at the box and there's no sticker on that either. Whether the code is in the serial no I don't know but I would think they have a list of them somewhere.

I don't have any issues with the retailer I bought it from though, they are sponsors on here and are very established.

As for the point of going out of business, that's a chance you take with anything you buy these days though isn't it ? Very very little of anything is manufactured in Britain these days and as I said in my previous post, the contract to buy and the guarantee is with the retailer. I've just bought a new monitor for my computer, yes, there is a three year guarantee with it and it's a german make but if anything went wrong with it I would return it to the shop where I bought it. It would them be up to the shop as to how they would put the matter right according to the Sale of Goods Act and Consumer Law of this country.

You'd be quite safe from any of our sponsors on here.

[lacemaker]

Have written in other thread about this. Got mine from Crafts you love. And the sticker is on the warranty statement.It has Kars phone numbers for Kars UK/Germany /France.

This is what was emailed me when asking about buying one.
All our Cricut machines are UK spec and are guaranteed for 12 months.
Daphne

[Simon]

Thanks for that Julie

Perhaps you could ask the retailer who supplied their machines before you purchase.

That, I certainly will be doing. However I don't think that as a consumer I should have to. On any other electrical product I buy I don't even think about. I just assume the manufacturer will repair/support the product even if the retailer is no longer around. So why should it be any different here! I feel it is very unfair not only to us consumer but also you retailers.

To be honest though they are very reliable machines and I know of very few which have gone wrong.

Absolutely, I have had no problems with my baby one. I am just concerned that crafting consumers are having the wool pulled over their eyes. At this craft show plenty of customers were being told that the products had a full 12 month UK warranty. Little do they know they are just relying on the retailer with no back up from Provo Craft!

Thanks for your comments Julie, I could not see the Expression on your web-site so let me know if you do it and I will keep you in mind when I come to purchase.

Simon

[gwyneth 123]

Having read Lacemakers post Simon, I've checked my Warranty booklet - YES I do have a sticker that's got Bramwells name and address on it.

[Lorraine]

We sell both cricut machines and they are UK machines.

Under british law/trading standards if you buy a machine from a british retailer then that is who your contract lies with. If that machine is a US machine then that is the retailers problem. Provocraft will not support any machine in the UK that has a US mark on it as we have to deal with either Bramwells or Kars. The serial numbers are different on the US and the UK machines.

There is very little that can go wrong with the machines but they are electrical and therefore can and will. I have only had one machine returned that had a power problem. Kars arranged to collect it and my customer had a brand new machine delivered. No hassle for me or the customer. Personally I wouldnt sell a machine that I couldnt give back up on nor be out of pocket on if there were an issue as being "the retailer" I would be obliged legally and morally.

[Simon]

Have written in other thread about this. Got mine from Crafts you love. And the sticker is on the warranty statement.It has Kars phone numbers for Kars UK/Germany /France.

Thanks for that Lacemaker, on my baby Cricut my label stating Bramwells is on the warranty statement as well. However Provo/Cricut told me once again that it should be on the base of the Expression unit by the serial. So I hope I have not started to worry people. If I have then sorry but please check your warranty statement as it is probably on there!

However I can confirm that two retailers at the show were not supply UK products sourced from Bramwells or Kars. One would not at first confirm their supply chain but then told me that they were supplied direct from Cricut The other I could find no reference on the unit or on paperwork.

I certainly will be buying from a UK Scrappers sponsor (one who was at the show) but this concerned me so I though some research was need. Plus I don't want others to get caught out without realising after all there was not much difference in the cost!

Best wishes,

Simon

[Simon]

Having read Lacemakers post Simon, I've checked my Warranty booklet - YES I do have a sticker that's got Bramwells name and address on it.

Great, as I said I hope I am not worrying people I was just reporting what I had seen/heard and what I had been told by ProvoCraft. As I think I have said I too have a label on my Warranty card for my bay Cricut.

What I am also really pleased to see, not that I would expect any different, that all UK scrappers sponsors that have contacted me ALL only supply proper UK warranty units. Which is great. That is why I have always felt so comfortable in ordering from any sponsor. Great service, great back up. So my Expression will certainly come from one of them, as it always was.

Simon

[Scrappy Duck]

Thank you Simon for bringing this to our attention. I will be buying a Expression very soon & this information will be very helpful.