Had any reverse vends recently?

[radical.richard]

I tried the 5p method a couple of times and just found the back plate snapped.

Guess you tightened the screws too much. As I said it just quick field fix, best option is to replace the mech.

[PGBrew]

5p seems a bit hard. I've been using beer mats. Just cut to size, insert and replace. When buying a Clenport round check the condition of the machines. Some of these machines are nearly 20 years old. All machines were Clenports till about 2006. After 2006 most machines being sold were and still are Chinese made.

Pete

[Style]

5p seems a bit hard. I've been using beer mats. Just cut to size, insert and replace. When buying a Clenport round check the condition of the machines. Some of these machines are nearly 20 years old. All machines were Clenports till about 2006. After 2006 most machines being sold were and still are Chinese made.

Pete

I tried cutting up a sweet pot and using small sheets of plastic, (probably similar to beer mats) I found it too soft and the pawl was not moving backwards and forwards as it should. The pawl stayed in but jammed open, more free vends.
And give me a 20 year old Clenport over a 5 year old chinese any day.

[Quinch]

Hi,
Yes, every now and then we seem to have a batch of clenports with mech failure, so we aim to always have a couple of machines with new mechs and replace tower with machine change. Expensive? Last year was expensive with several hundred coin mech changes, so not in the market to replace all clenports mechs. But we do make sure when one gives out freebies, only replaced with a new type mech and not clenports. The mechs cost £25, that is a lot less than the loss incurred if it gives out freebies. I have had 108’s do that a couple of times.
I tried the 5p, did not work. Will start repairing failed clenports mechs in the summer and ensuring that they have the metal spring plate that is used to retain the metal ‘critter’in place, you know the piece that falls out, lost for words at the minute. However, warning, even that does not guarantee to stop mech failing as has been the case with several of mine.
Don’t you just want to put a sticker on the machine ‘if you feel the need to steal’, call me and I will give you £1 for not doing so!

Thanks for that Pablo, I have come across the metal spring plate across the top of the right-side pawl several times on Clenports I bought since 2015 and actually wondered what it was there for - thought it was maybe just a spare for the same part on the coin 'depth-checking' pawl on the left hand side of the mech but it totally makes sense that it is to stop reverse vends.

[radical.richard]

Went to a kid friendly pub today saw the Clenport tower was empty, my initial excitement was quickly tempered by the realisation it had reverse vended, it did at least have £18 in it which covered less than half of the stock lost. Would have thought parents would have questioned their kids as to where they got so many sweets from. Sad view on todays society especially as its a charity tower. Anyhow, tower refilled, replaced with Chinese mech, life goes on.

[Quinch]

Went to a kid friendly pub today saw the Clenport tower was empty, my initial excitement was quickly tempered by the realisation it had reverse vended, it did at least have £18 in it which covered less than half of the stock lost. Would have thought parents would have questioned their kids as to where they got so many sweets from. Sad view on todays society especially as its a charity tower. Anyhow, tower refilled, replaced with Chinese mech, life goes on.

I've got a charity site in a really posh area that is exclusively used by kids who all go to private school and their parents are loaded, it got reverse vended and I lost 20 pots. I thought I had fixed it and put the mech back in, same thing happened and I lost another 32, I then replaced the mech and no problems since.

I think people/kids who would never normally steal/shoplift or commit crime don't see vending machine theft in the same way and have no qualms about trying to get free sweets, as if it's a victimless crime. It's maybe because it's just a machine and for some reason they don't make the connection between it and a person trying to make a living.

It's similar to when I go into a site and people say stuff like "oh are you giving out free sweets!" or "got any freebies mate?", after resisting the urge to say "no but you can have a free punch in the face" or "are you giving out free money?" I then do a fake smile as if they're joking (when I know they're not) and explain I can't do that. It's kind of depressing but a lot of people just don't relate to it as a proper job and think you're machines are fair game to try and steal from, it's a very sad view on todays society