Plinth not detecting pieces and no replacement plinth offer

Hi, my plinth no longer detects the pieces when they are held to the side of the plinth (though it does detect them when they are sat on top of it). This makes the game totally unusable. I'm in the UK and I contacted the Beasts of Balance customer service to request a new plinth be posted out to me - I'm happy to pay. In February they said they couldn't post to the UK, but to contact them again in the summer when they would have a solution. I've now sent several emails but nobody is even bothering to reply to me. I'm really annoyed - this is a present for my children.

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting the faulty plinth to work? I've tried the 'smack and shake' technique suggested in another post, without success. 

Does anyone have any suggestions for getting help from the creators/manufacturers? I think it's really poor that they sell a technical toy but won't provide any spare parts or support when it breaks! Thanks.