Bad Experience with Matco

[jdavis]

Nothing beats having your expensive USA ratcheting wrench warrantied out and getting basically a gearwrench Taiwanese clone. I don't trust Matco because they don't make any of their tools but are a "tool distribution franchise" much like Craftsman was and you are a slave to whatever supplier they are contracting out to.

Yeah, in general, if I want rebranded stuff, I'll buy something from Tekton. Their stuff is cheap, adequate, has a lifetime warranty, and their customer service is really good. I was gonna make an exception for Matco since their ratchets (at least the 2 I was buying) are made in the USA.

 

[plinker]

Nothing beats having your expensive USA ratcheting wrench warrantied out and getting basically a gearwrench Taiwanese clone. I don't trust Matco because they don't make any of their tools but are a "tool distribution franchise" much like Craftsman was and you are a slave to whatever supplier they are contracting out to.

I wouldnt really call a Kabo wrench a Gearwrench clone per say, They are very good wrenches. But, I get where you're coming from (Armstrong anyone?). I'd blame Apex/Bain (not that that will change anything).


Basically with Matco (and anyone else really) it pays to be an informed buyer. They do have stuff exclusive to them, a good bit of stuff would be best bought from the OEM for the most part. If the dealer I have wasnt the best I've dealt with I'd likely not buy a whole lot from Matco.

 

[Fluelikesymptoms]

$500 for two ratchets? They had better come with a trunk monkey to spin them.

My thoughts. Not just 500 for 2 ratchets. 500 for 2 Marco ratchets.

For 500 on ratchets I wouldve jumped right to SO in the first place never would I pay that much for matco ratchets

 

[davethorik]

Yeah, I have a weird obsession with ratchets. I didn't even need the 1/2" I was buying. It was just 6 inches longer than my snap on and had an ADORABLE green and black grip, so you know...I had no choice. lol

Did you buy the 30" locking flex?

I'm hesitant to buy Matco after reading the thread on here around the time Armstrong went under. I think there were some people waiting for close to 2 years on getting replacement ratchets.

 

[jdavis]

Did you buy the 30" locking flex?

I'm hesitant to buy Matco after reading the thread on here around the time Armstrong went under. I think there were some people waiting for close to 2 years on getting replacement ratchets.

Yep. That was one of them, and the second was the 18" locking flex head in 3/8".

And 2 years? That's next-level bad.

 

[dsimatt]

Did you buy the 30" locking flex?

I'm hesitant to buy Matco after reading the thread on here around the time Armstrong went under. I think there were some people waiting for close to 2 years on getting replacement ratchets.

My 3/8 stripped out, don't remember how long new parts took but it was months before my dealer got parts so ended up buying the equivalent from SO and will never buy another matco ratchet again.

On the flip side I had. SO impact that blew the fitting out of the handle just out of warranty so yeah no more SO impacts for me.

 

[jdavis]

My 3/8 stripped out, don't remember how long new parts took but it was months before my dealer got parts so ended up buying the equivalent from SO and will never buy another matco ratchet again.

On the flip side I had. SO impact that blew the fitting out of the handle just out of warranty so yeah no more SO impacts for me.

Yeah, I think Ingersoll runs the show with pneumatic tools. With that said, I've had to work with them in the past, and some of my contacts there (definitely not all), were assholes. I don't hold that against the company, but I can't stand the thought of having to see that logo in my happy place. lol. So my impact is an Astro Pneumatic.

 

[dsimatt]

Yeah, I think Ingersoll runs the show with pneumatic tools. With that said, I've had to work with them in the past, and some of my contacts there (definitely not all), were assholes. I don't hold that against the company, but I can't stand the thought of having to see that logo in my happy place. lol. So my impact is an Astro Pneumatic.

I love my IR impacts and will be staying with them but not impressed at all with the ratchet I have as it just slips like others do at work. If I was to buy a new air ratchet it would definitely be SO as they are highly praised.

 

[KEH]

I have Matco 88 tooth ratchet, bought from a truck, and love it. Never have dealt with them by mail.

KEH

 

[jdavis]

Update (June 25th): While on the phone with their rep this afternoon, they were trying to refund me for the second tool Instead of a refund, there is now a hold on my account for another $224. Supposedly, they haven't drafted my account, but we'll see.

 

[Doc995]

Never ever, EVER use a debit card. Ever. If you have one destroy it. You have exactly "0" rights with a debit card and guess what? The party on the receiving end of it, if they mis place decimal point, (say 1000.00 debit vs 100.00 debit) that money will be yanked from your account and it's up to YOU to get it back. NEVER use a debit card!

 

[Lassen Forge]

This reminds me of an issue I had with Sirius years ago, they kept having every reason to keep my account open months after I cancelled them because "every time you call it reactivates your account"... I DID cancel my credit card over that one; they got the point when they called for a "valid credit card" because the old one no longer worked.

I would have cancelled my card and redid my autopays long before going through this level of frustrating BS.

 

[joey1320]

Good Lord, I don't think I've spent over $500 over my career for ratchets.

I currently have 7 ratchets at my job and a quick guesstimate tells me I they come to $200ish. Have had 4 of them for over 14 years, 2 about 5 years and the last one about 6 months. Made plenty of money with them cheap ratchets...

$250+ on one ratchet seems... ummm... interesting...

 

[seber]

This reminds me of an issue I had with Sirius years ago, they kept having every reason to keep my account open months after I cancelled them because "every time you call it reactivates your account"... I DID cancel my credit card over that one; they got the point when they called for a "valid credit card" because the old one no longer worked.

I would have cancelled my card and redid my autopays long before going through this level of frustrating BS.

They would have gotten the point if you simply disputed the charge. Credit card companies are very good to their card holders. They will always make the charging company prove the charge is good.

 

[Wrench97]

I have Matco 88 tooth ratchet, bought from a truck, and love it. Never have dealt with them by mail.

KEH

Next time you see that Matco truck post a picture there rarer then available blonds on a Saturday night around here...........................

 

[jdavis]

This reminds me of an issue I had with Sirius years ago, they kept having every reason to keep my account open months after I cancelled them because "every time you call it reactivates your account"... I DID cancel my credit card over that one; they got the point when they called for a "valid credit card" because the old one no longer worked.

I would have cancelled my card and redid my autopays long before going through this level of frustrating BS.

Yeah, I was hoping to avoid it, but I canceled it today. It's worth the peace of mind.

 

[jdavis]

I currently have 7 ratchets at my job and a quick guesstimate tells me I they come to $200ish. Have had 4 of them for over 14 years, 2 about 5 years and the last one about 6 months. Made plenty of money with them cheap ratchets...

$250+ on one ratchet seems... ummm... interesting...

I just really like ratchets, man. I know it's weird, but it's true. At least it's not toasters or something. Lol

 

[jdavis]

They would have gotten the point if you simply disputed the charge. Credit card companies are very good to their card holders. They will always make the charging company prove the charge is good.

The problem is that I used a debit card. I tried to dispute it. I even tried to flag the third hold they've put on my account as fraudulent, since it wasn't authorized, and they haven't sent anything, but I wasn't even able to do that. With a debit card, someone could draft up to $1500 per day, every day, until you cancel the card or run out of money. Each draft would require 30 days before you could dispute it. I'll be using a credit card in the future.

 

[davethorik]

Pricey ratchets, indeed. Try craftsman instead, I have found it to be almost as good and much less expensive .

I call b.s. on this one. Show me craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex.

 

[jsmeece]

I call b.s. on this one. Show me craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex.

This part of the problem on GJ, READING comprehension? No where in Hymie's post did he mention anything about a "craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex."

 

[scubadoober]

Pricey ratchets, indeed. Try craftsman instead, I have found it to be almost as good and much less expensive .

 

[Handyandy23]

This part of the problem on GJ, READING comprehension? No where in Hymie's post did he mention anything about a "craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex."

I think the point is that is the style ratchets that OPer ordered from Matco. If he was ordering a Matco 30" long 1/2 locking flex, why would a 12" non-flex head Craftsman ratchet be a suitable alternative?

 

[davethorik]

This part of the problem on GJ, READING comprehension? No where in Hymie's post did he mention anything about a "craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex."

You make a good point about poor reading comprehension. Did you read the whole thread or just my post before you spouted off?

 

[jsmeece]

You make a good point about poor reading comprehension. Did you read the whole thread or just my post before you spouted off?

I read the WHOLE post and you are the one spouting off. I stand by my original statement. Nowhere in Hymie's post did he mention anything about a "craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex." So yeah some people have READ COMPREHENSION ISSUES!

 

[jsmeece]

I think the point is that is the style ratchets that OPer ordered from Matco. If he was ordering a Matco 30" long 1/2 locking flex, why would a 12" non-flex head Craftsman ratchet be a suitable alternative?

AGAIN, Nowhere in Hymie's post did he mention anything about a "craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex."

AGAIN Nowhere in Hymie's post did he mention anything about a "craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex."

 

[davethorik]

AGAIN, Nowhere in Hymie's post did he mention anything about a "craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex."

AGAIN Nowhere in Hymie's post did he mention anything about a "craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex."

Ok real slow so you understand...op bought the Matco ratchets I mentioned above. Hymie recommended craftsman. Craftsman does not offer comparable ratchets to the Matco ratchets the OP bought. So I called b.s. simple as that.

 

[Handyandy23]

AGAIN, Nowhere in Hymie's post did he mention anything about a "craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex."

AGAIN Nowhere in Hymie's post did he mention anything about a "craftsman 30" long 1/2 locking flex and a 3/8" xl locking flex."

So is it Hymie that has poor reading comprehension then? Or just yourself?

 

[foley.shell2018@gmail]

I recently tried doing business with Matco. I wanted to share my experience, in case anyone is choosing between the premium tool brands.

On April 27th, I placed 2 orders for a total of 2 ratchets from Matco's website, for about $500. I didn't receive any confirmation emails. On the next business day, I received an email stating one of the items was on backorder. On May 1st I sent them an email asking if everything went through okay, and when they thought the other ratchet would ship. They responded, saying they needed my photo ID to continue with the order. I didn't mind the request for ID, but I found it irritating that it took 5 days to hear anything from them at all, and their response was just a request for ID. I told them no, that I'd just cancel the order, and I sent them screenshots of the substitute order from Snap-on, a company that's easy to work with.

I didn't hear anything more until May 15th, 18 days after the initial order, when they decided to go ahead and bill me and ship the ratchet. That same day, I emailed them about the issue, and demanded that they refund me once the ratchet was returned to them. They didn't respond until May 17th, when the ratchet was already on its way back to them. The response basically said that they'd refund me when they received the tool. They received the tool on May 20th. On May 22nd, I emailed them to figure out what the hold-up was on the refund. It still had not processed. They responded the next day by saying they had tried to refund me on May 17th (6 days prior to this moment), but that it was denied. They wanted me to call them to confirm the card number and expiration date. First, calling Matco means being on hold for a very long time (unless you select the "place an order" option in their phone jail...a little trick I've learned). Second, when I called my bank, they said the expiration date would not have been needed to do a refund, that a refund wouldn't get denied, and that no attempt had been made to refund me. Lastly, and most importantly, I wanted to know why they didn't bother to let me know that their "attempt" at a refund was denied. They responded the next day by saying the credit had been applied to my account (peculiar, since they previously couldn't figure out how to). So...I called my bank. They had not made an attempt to refund me at all. What they did do was attempt to draft my account for the second ratchet, and the attempt was denied, due to a bad expiration date (probably why they wanted me to call and clear that up). I responded, angrily, on May 24th, and resorted to insulting them, since relieving my frustration was the only thing I could hope to accomplish. They responded on May 28th and said, "You need to check with your bank once again. We forwarded the credited amount to your bank. It is now up to your bank for how long they take to apply this to your account.". In the email was a screenshot of their system where they had supposedly credited the money on May 24th. It was actually deposited the day of that email, on the 28th though. I don't know for certain if they were lying, but I have trouble believing the bank takes 4 days to even display a transaction as pending. With that said, at least I had my money back, 13 days after they billed me for an order in which they prompted a cancellation on, and without ever receiving my photo ID.

I thought my experience with Matco was over, but on June 17th, 2 months after this all started, I got an email stating that my order status had changed for the second ratchet. It said it was no longer backordered and that my order was processing. I emailed them within 30 minutes, saying, "DO NOT BILL ME, THIS ORDER IS CANCELED!!!". I fumed for about 5 minutes, knowing exactly what was coming. My only option was to cancel my card, which would create issues with automatic bill payments that I didn't care to reconcile. I responded again, hoping to send a loud message, so that maybe they wouldn't go through with it. I sent, "DELETE ME FROM YOUR *** **** SYSTEM!!! DO NOT BILL ME. DO NOT EMAIL ME. **** OFF!!!!!!!". Then, unsurprisingly, on June 20th, I received an email stating the order had been shipped. I sent them another email, demanding they give me my money back, and stating that I did not intend to wait around for them to receive their tool. They sent it in error, and they should have been willing to risk it. I got no response from them by the end of that day, so I called. I pretended to place an order by selecting "1" in the menu options. Unsurprisingly, I got someone on the phone quickly, who said I would have to wait until they received the tool to get the refund.

What if I didn't have enough money to pay bills, eat, or pay for medication? Is it okay for them to draft peoples' accounts so negligently, and then be unwilling to risk losing a ratchet? For the prices Matco charges, I would expect better customer service than that. I realize that many of their customers probably deal with the tool trucks, and never directly interact with Matco. With that said, the company behind those tools is the worst I've ever had to deal with. Snap-on's customer service was what you'd expect for $200+ for a ratchet.

Update (June 25th): While on the phone with their rep this afternoon, they were trying to refund me for the second tool Instead of a refund, there is now a hold on my account for another $224. Supposedly, they haven't drafted my account, but we'll see.

I've had a similar bad experience with Matco online. Ordered a special socket, my card was charged but was pending, I got an email the next day saying it was on backorder, so i cancelled the order. I found the same socket somewhere else in a set and ordered that with no problem. Then 2 weeks later I noticed another pending charge from matco tools so once again I made sure the order was canceled. The charge then disappeared. The original order/cancellation was 3/1/22. So now, here it is 5/18/22 and I notice another pending charge from matco on my account. I called and they tell me the order was shipped yesterday and they can do a refund once I receive the item then send it back. How hard is it really???

And sir, don't listen to these ppl on here. Let someone **** around with their money and see how they feel...yall should be ashamed of yourselves the cruel comments. All the man was doing was trying to keep you from having to go through the same bs!

 

[WWheeler]

And sir, don't listen to these ppl on here. Let someone **** around with their money and see how they feel...yall should be ashamed of yourselves the cruel comments. All the man was doing was trying to keep you from having to go through the same bs!

If you had seen his post beforehand would it have stopped you from ordering from them?

I don't know that it would me. Thankfully the one time I have ordered from them it went smoothly and if it hadn't I used a credit card that I know has my back for such matters. That's definitely a lesson to be learned from this thread.

It is ridiculous though they can't manage to cancel an order that was backordered and hasn't shipped yet, and that they can't manage a site that will let you know that before ordering. Matco can do better. And when they don't it should be made public.

 

[mepstein]

Credit card companies protect the consumer. One 5 minute call usually fixes it. It's the credit card's money that is at stake, not yours. Totally different experience than a debit card.

 

[gatewaysysop]

And sir, don't listen to these ppl on here. Let someone **** around with their money and see how they feel...yall should be ashamed of yourselves the cruel comments. All the man was doing was trying to keep you from having to go through the same bs!

People trying to share unfortunate truths about sacred cows usually get the bum's rush from the fanbois and brand zealots.

If you had seen his post beforehand would it have stopped you from ordering from them?

Yes it would, and now it has. To each his own, but I value my time too much for that kind of ********.

 

[sk farmer]

and once again, people are getting all high and mighty without noticing this is a nearly 3 year old thread bump.

oh yea, and by a someone who has exactly how many........yup one post.

 

[WWheeler]

Oh I definitely noticed. And it's still a thread that should get bumped or even necrobumped each and every time Matco fails to be able to cancel an order that they didn't let the person who ordered it know would be backordered until after the fact. Hence the last sentences of my post.

It deserves to be said again...

It is ridiculous though they can't manage to cancel an order that was backordered and hasn't shipped yet, and that they can't manage a site that will let you know that before ordering. Matco can do better. And when they don't it should be made public.

 

[Texag0842]

They have really let me down as well. I asked them for a timeframe to ship some of the XL box spline wrenchs in February. Told me they would ship them 3.22.22 that day came and went and the new ETA continued to push back. What actually is disappointing is that they randomly cancelled my order last Friday. Said the issue was my card yet the order was already paid for. Long story short I called and they realized I was correct. I assumed since they canceled the order they had at least come in but now now the ETA is November so they sold my set to someone else.

After this I'll just buy from Snap On

 

[Ton ton]

Thank you for the necrobump.

 

[Iridium rand]

Seriously can’t stand when simple orders like this turn into a debacle, only had it happen once with a clothing company for some boots that were sold out everywhere else but took a full month of them asking for all Different forms of ID for god knows what reason for a card I’ve literally used there before without issue, only to get all the info and say “actually Nah we’re suspicious of your credit card we won’t let you order it” and only after all that and more do they tell me here use this link and you can go through paypal which isn’t normally on the site

Should have and could have everything resolved in a single email but instead they jerk you around and waste both your time

 

[Wrench97]

They have really let me down as well. I asked them for a timeframe to ship some of the XL box spline wrenchs in February. Told me they would ship them 3.22.22 that day came and went and the new ETA continued to push back. What actually is disappointing is that they randomly cancelled my order last Friday. Said the issue was my card yet the order was already paid for. Long story short I called and they realized I was correct. I assumed since they canceled the order they had at least come in but now now the ETA is November so they sold my set to someone else.

After this I'll just buy from Snap On

I doubt they sold them to someone else, the dealers still can't get them.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Many of these episodes can be summed into the cost of education. If anything is learned; a diploma is earned.

 

[Kuma601]

Glad this came up and noted about Matco online.
Covid brought much refinement to doing business online for consumers. A company like Matco should not be like this.

 

[neophyte]

I've had a similar bad experience with Matco online. Ordered a special socket, my card was charged but was pending, I got an email the next day saying it was on backorder, so i cancelled the order. I found the same socket somewhere else in a set and ordered that with no problem. Then 2 weeks later I noticed another pending charge from matco tools so once again I made sure the order was canceled. The charge then disappeared. The original order/cancellation was 3/1/22. So now, here it is 5/18/22 and I notice another pending charge from matco on my account. I called and they tell me the order was shipped yesterday and they can do a refund once I receive the item then send it back. How hard is it really???

And sir, don't listen to these ppl on here. Let someone **** around with their money and see how they feel...yall should be ashamed of yourselves the cruel comments. All the man was doing was trying to keep you from having to go through the same bs!

Legally, you are allowed to keep unsolicited items sent to you, at least thru regular mail.
If they keep sending you items on orders that you have cancelled, then file a fraudulent charge with you credit card, and keep the item, unless your credit card says to send the item back, at least if you have a paper trail for the cancellations.
The only reason not to do this is if you want to keep doing business with Matco.