Issues with a Banham lock-is this unusual?

[greyvix]

Well, our very expensive (£150ish) lock got stiff and clunky over the weekend. It is 18 months old. Banham suggested WD40, which we used; it worked like a dream for 5 minutes. It now won't open at all from the outside. Luckily, we have a back door we can use. Banham are going to charge a lot of money for a call out. Does anyone have any experience or ideas about what might be wrong? In my view, it ought to still be under guarantee but apparently not.

I'd mention the words "fit for purpose" and "sale of goods act". A Banham lock should work for decades. I'd say "come and check whether my DC have been squirting superglue into it, if they have, I'll pay, but if they haven't, and it's just knackered after 18 months then that's because it wasn't originally of merchantable quality and I expect a free repair"

What Carolyn said. FWIW it's worth, I'm very surprised Banham are behaving this way; they normally take a lot of pride in their products and their work. Theirs are the only locks we use.

You don't say where you are, but if you're in London and you get no joy, I'd go along to their shop in Ken High Street and make a public scene .

Thanks for the advice. The London branch was completely unhelpful, but DH dismantled it and took it to Guildford (closer) and the very nice man sorted it out FOC. Bizarrely, the inner screws were worn down, and the inside in a real state so he made good with old parts. Again, not what we expected with such a quality lock. I wonder if it was imperfect in the first place.

that's interesting

was it used with copy keys? Is it in an area with lots of gritty dust, such as builders dust? Ordinay oil or grease is not recommended for locks as it attracts dirt, I expect the meant the WD40 to wash it out.

I presume this is the one with a cylinder, not levers, and the cylinder is worn out?

I don't understand what you mean by inner screws.

If it's the lock I'm thinking of PigletJohn, the whole point is that you can't get copy keys from the high street, only from Banham themselves.

Glad you've got it sorted greyvix.

We've always had Banham Locks but recently the metal finish delaminated and sliced open my thumb when turning the key. Its out of warranty but I expect these locks to last 50 years not four! Banham not interested.

Just as an aside, WD40 is the worst thing you could spray into a lock ever.

It is fish oil; basically, glue.

Get some graphite if you want reliability. Oh, and not a Banham. Poor quality, and terrible value.

I too had a finger sliced open by the defective coating on a Banham's lock which was a couple of years old. The lock was sold to me as Polished Brass but I found out when it started deteriorating that it was in fact a fake brass coating. Banhams would not replace it. All three locks on my front door were worn after fifteen years and I have been told that they need to be replaced at a cost of around £1000. I must say with only two people using the night latch on average only twice a day, the top latch is used just when we are going away for any length of time (about ten times per year max) and the bottom used once at night and unlocked in the morning. I had expected locks of the supposed quality of Banhams to last longer. I have also used Bramah for another door and not only are the visible parts solid brass and more elegant than Banham but they were slightly less expensive. Bramah is another lock company of longer standing and I think superior quality but they have not got their act together in terms of marketing and are known to far fewer people.