CLEVELAND The Power Tool Institute (PTI) has issued a warning to power tool users not to be conned into buying cheap, counterfeit power tools that have made an appearance in the United States.
PTI members are aware of certain sales activities in which people claim to be sales representatives of major power tool manufacturers. These people often will say that they have just finished working at a trade show and want to go home without their tool samples. They typically sell power tools from the trunk of their rental car for what seems to be bargain basement prices. The unsuspecting buyer often learns these tools are counterfeit only after they open the boxes and begin using them.
PTI members also have found counterfeit tools being sold over Internet auction sites. When discovered, these sites often are reported and shut down.
Major manufacturers targeted include Bosch, Hilti, DeWalt, Makita and Milwaukee. These tools may be be dangerous, as well as of poor quality. The tools are not tested and approved by a respectable lab such as the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or Canadian Standards Association (CSA), although in some cases the tool might bear a UL or CSA sticker. The counterfeit tools sometimes are sold with stickers from large retail outlets on the cases as well.
Contact numbers for PTI member companies can be found in the "member profile" section of the PTI Web site at www.powertoolinstitute.com.
