Beware! Braun Electric Shavers

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fountainhall

Beware! Braun Electric Shavers

Post by fountainhall »

I have used electric shavers ever since I started shaving. Over the last 20 or so years I have used the Panasonic Wet/Dry shavers and have never had any problem with them.

In Singapore just over a year ago, I went to a retailer to purchase a new one. Since they did not have the Panasonic model I wanted, I decided to buy the latest Braun Series 7 shaver. This comes with a large automatic shaver head cleanser and recharge unit. At first I liked it. Then I was shocked. After just five months I felt the shaver scraping my skin. A substantial hole had appeared at the end of one foil. I have never before had any problem with foils on any shaver. The foils and shaver head on this model should last 18 months before replacement, according to the instructions.

Since the foils are not covered by the one-year warranty, I purchased a new, and expensive, head and foils. By the start of January - again a period of only 5 months - exactly the same type of hole developed in exactly the same place in one foil. This was an expensive shaver. So I took it to the Braun Service Centre. After two days I received an email which stated they had checked the shaver and the cleansing unit and found no problem. It added the holes seemed to have been caused by a build-up of shaved hair which put too much pressure on the foils. WTF! The job of the large cleansing unit is to thoroughly clean the head. Since this had clearly not done its job, I refused to return to collect the shaver until they offered two replacement foil heads. At first they offered none. Then they offered one. They continue to refuse to replace the second.

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Having now read quite a number of customer reviews of Braun shavers, this problem is not unusual. It seems Braun switched foil manufacturers 2 or 3 years ago and this problem has since become quite a major issue on the Series 7 and more recent Series 9 shavers. I have decided just to toss out this Braun and go back to my favourite Panasonic shaver.
Jun

Re: Beware! Braun Electric Shavers

Post by Jun »

One advantage of the internet is the ability to share information about shoddy mechandise and therefore make it more difficult for vendors to sell such products.

My experiences with Braun are not so bad. I had a Braun(Bosch) 330 series 1 for a very long time & still own it. I was impressed by the results and the way the rechargeable battery kept holding charge after many years of use. Eventually, the cutting efficiency reduced, so I bought a new head.
However, the construction of the cutters below the foil has changed from having many small thin blades facing the customer & embedded in plastic, to a U-shaped piece of steel, with slots in the U. Obviously the gaps in this construction are much smaller. The cutting efficiency seems to be not as good as the previous blades.
So I have purchased a Braun 3000,over a year ago. No foil failures so far.

I do see good reviews for Panasonic models on Amazon.

What I would like next is a small USB chargeable travel shaver, that works well and can use the same charger as my phone. Unfortunately, it seems there are only very low quality products meeting this specification.
gerefan
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Re: Beware! Braun Electric Shavers

Post by gerefan »

I have used Braun Razors for at least 30 years. They have been reasonable but always needed new heads after 4 or 5 months.

When I bought the same model as you (Braun Series 7) a year or two ago, I also saw in the instructions that the head only needed changing every 18 months. At the time I thought "bullshit". I was right.

I have changed the cutters every 5 months or so, same as you you.

I found a place on line that sold them slightly cheaper than Boots where I normally get mine from. (about £30 GBP). However those ones lasted even shorter. I wondered if they were cheap Chinese copies. So now I always buy at Boots (in UK).

If you are in Thailand, and bought the new cutters there, you may well have got hold of a cheap copy.

The other problem with my series 7 is that it takes 20-25 minutes to do a thorough job, because the cutter adjuster doesnt work properly...

Anyway after 30 odd years I'm not going to buy another one when it packs up.
fountainhall

Re: Beware! Braun Electric Shavers

Post by fountainhall »

Interesting! As I wrote I have never had any shaver which developed a foil fault. And I have rarely if ever replaced foils less than 18 months after starting to use them. The replacement head and foils for the Braun were purchased from the Sogo Department store in Hong Kong where I have purchased my last 3 or 4 Panasonic shavers. I very much doubt they would be dealing in cheap copies.

What I find particularly surprising with the faults I experienced is that both the holes are at the very end of a foil. If there was a weakness in manufacture, I would have expected some sort of tear in the middle. I certainly find it odd that both failed at exactly the same place. That to me indicates a fault in the original shaver or the cleansing unit. That being the case, Braun has to be responsible. And they more or less admitted that after having examined all the parts, yet they refuse to provide 2 replacements! I certainly have no intention of paying around £120 roughly every 20 months when I should only be paying £30!!
gerefan
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Re: Beware! Braun Electric Shavers

Post by gerefan »

Fountainhall...When my foils fail it is in the same place, or very nearly so.
Like peter, I never use the cleaning kit (too much bother) and just rinse it under the tap. I usually do it when I charge it which is about every week.
I replaced the foil before going to Thailand last November and its still OK. So the current one has lasted 6 months.
I'm beginning to wonder if they have upgraded them...
There are many similar complaints to yours on the Amazon website Review page.
Jun

Re: Beware! Braun Electric Shavers

Post by Jun »

gerefan wrote:There are many similar complaints to yours on the Amazon website Review page.
If there are common failures, then clearly any customer in a country with effective consumer protection legislation should go after Braun for a refund. For example, the UK 2015 consumer rights act requires products to have appropriate durability.
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Re: Beware! Braun Electric Shavers

Post by Gaybutton »

Jun wrote:UK 2015 consumer rights act requires products to have appropriate durability.
Who decides that and how is it decided?
Jun

Re: Beware! Braun Electric Shavers

Post by Jun »

Gaybutton wrote:
Jun wrote:UK 2015 consumer rights act requires products to have appropriate durability.
Who decides that and how is it decided?
Well, I think you can go to the small claims court, although it would be wise to check the history for similar claims. The threat should make most companies back down, particularly with the hassle & risk of adverse publicity.

For example, I understand that large ticket electrical items like TVs are expected to last at least 6 years.
If shaver foils have endemic failure within 7~12 months, I think the consumer would have a very good case, particularly as they're not exactly priced like a consumable.
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