Dpms gas key staking

[shootstraight57]

Well I purchased a new DPMS complete AR upper receiver from my lgs on 07/15.
I read the posts about breaking in a new barrel so I figured "ok why not".
I proceeded to shoot, clean, shoot and clean according to the post from our knowledgeable community. I had no failure to feed problems nor failure to eject.I am feeling very good about this build.
On 10/25 I am on my range and shooting very good groups. I shot a few more rounds and every one had fte and ftf, so at that point I went into the house and disassembled the rifle. During my inspection of the rifle I found that the gas key loosened up on the bolt carrier. The 2 screws were not properly staked. They appeared to have been lightly staked.
I called DPMS and waited on hold for approx. 3 minutes and when the women answered she started by saying " Bushmaster how may I help You". I told her I called DPMS so she transferred my call to them. After about another 3 minute wait time a rep finally answered. I told him my story but all he gave me was a scripted answer of "return the complete upper for repair or replacement". I told him there was no damage anywhere on the upper receiver and that the gas key screws need to be replaced and properly staked. His reply was the same scripted answer, so I said I would like to speak to the person who sent me the e-mail from the original contact.
After a long wait on hold a rep answers and says "Hello this is Remington Arms how may I help you"! and says the same scripted reply...
I realize that they are just saying what has to be done but I guess I have to vent!! I already know what I am going to do and have the parts on order..
Just wanted to let the community know of their customer service..

 

[AlexanderA]

It's a simple job to tighten the screws and restake them yourself. You can either use a special tool and do a professional job, staking from the sides, or else use a simple center punch. This is not rocket science. I wouldn't return the bolt carrier to the manufacturer for this reason.

 

[col.lemat]

Spent more time and money with the phone calls then it would have taken to tighten and stake with a center punch and hammer.

 

[Theohazard]

Yeah, all the various Remington Arms companies seem to fall under the same customer service umbrella, and it can be a pain to deal with them. I recently dealt with AAC on a few separate issues and it was a royal pain in the you-know-what. I'm with the others: Just re-torque it and stake it youself. If you're not sure how to do it, there are tons of good YouTube videos showing how.

On a side note, there's absolutely no evidence that "breaking in" a barrel does anything but waste ammo and cleaning supplies. It's kind of like avoiding stepping on sidewall cracks: It doesn't hurt anything, but it's completely pointless.

 

[shootstraight57]

Like I said at the end of my post that this is just a venting post and I know what I am going to do. I admit I didn't say what I was going to do which is replace the 2 screws on the gas key, torque them and stake it myself.
I am just upset over the way customer service is going with all companies in general.