With as many Mega sets as I own (at last count, somewhere around 200 COD, Halo, and Destiny sets including duplicates) I am more than familiar with missing, broken, malformed, or otherwise defective parts. I am also more than familiar with the stellar bend-over-backwards above and beyond level of customer care and support for Mega products. However, one thing I have noticed is that most (but not all) sets have several parts where the part codes are invalid.
Case in point: I need to request replacement parts for both figures in the NMPD Hornet set. All four shoulder pads are broken and one of the figures has a warped hand with a stress line running down the middle. I can get past the page where you have to put in the model number and manufacture code, but I can't get the two figure codes (FIG9742901 and FIG9742902) to work. I put in the code and list the quantity as "1," but all I get in return is a "Please, put a valid part number and valid Qty." Most of the time, I end up having to email Mega/Mattel a direct parts request instead of using the form when this happens. I also, to see if it would work, put in one of the brick codes and and it worked immediately. Too bad that none of the bricks are broken or missing.
My question is, why? Not every part is invalid, but around half of all of the sets I have had to request parts for (the age doesn't matter either, but it's actually more common with newer sets) list the figure codes and some of the brick codes as "Please, put a valid part number and valid Qty" whenever I attempt to request parts. On the other hand, other sets like the NMPD cop car set let me put in the figure code directly when I needed parts to replace the defective Brute Chieftain (the figure broke in half when I removed it from the bag). So again, does anyone know why this error happens and how to fix it/prevent it from happening?
