Shimano Charter Special 1000LD Problem

[futurenets]

my son bought me a Shimano Charter Special 1000LD for my birthday on Amazon. Out of the box I'm unable to move the lever from Strike to Free Spool position. See red arrow - a steel prong is permanently down?

Is this a defective product or do I need to do something?

[eccles]

I have a TLD15 which is not disimilar and if I screw the drag adjusting knob down tight I also cannot easily move the drag lever very easily. This is the large black knurled knob right on the end of the reel on the right hand side. If you have a similar knob on your reel maybe it needs to be unscrewed a little.