Thread: Need some legal advice please!!

Haha I'm trying to avoid courts as much as I can. I've been told this guy has been doing this same to many people, so it's worth a shot emailing him asking for a refund or telling him I don't want the guitar anymore, one less customer angry at him. It's not just me angry at this guy for doing this. He can keep the $500, I just don't want to be responsible for the guitar anymore, especially since there's a huge possibility it's not what I wanted in the first place, and like you said, I shouldn't pay for a guitar that I don't like.

So here is an update. I thought I had it bad...one guy paid in full for a custom guitar from this guy and he hasn't seen his guitar in nearly 2 years and the custom guy has been dodging him the whole time. Its been 17 months for another guy, custom guy told him that he will ship his guitar 5 months ago, and now every time the customer tries emailing him he tells him to contact him the next week. This guy has so many angry customers, he should take anybody's requests for refunds. And he keeps taking new orders!

You and the others,get your paper work together and call the police in his town,The BBB in his town and the IRS.

Would you consider contacting Luca Brasi?

Luca Brasi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jerry

Pixel, I'll pitch that idea to them and see what they say. I'll be damned if I wait two years on pins and neeedles with the possibility that his guy can throw a guitar at me at any moment demanding the rest of his money.

Originally Posted by animalwithin

Haha I'm trying to avoid courts as much as I can. I've been told this guy has been doing this same to many people, so it's worth a shot emailing him asking for a refund or telling him I don't want the guitar anymore, one less customer angry at him. It's not just me angry at this guy for doing this. He can keep the $500, I just don't want to be responsible for the guitar anymore, especially since there's a huge possibility it's not what I wanted in the first place, and like you said, I shouldn't pay for a guitar that I don't like.

This sounds like it is going sideways because you are focusing on the possibility of something
going wrong and a long list of other unknowns.

If you are no longer interested let him know promptly and see what happens.
Give him an honest reason.... lack of response, delays, etc. whatever is true.

Much custom work begins with much larger deposits than you have
made..

We have seen hints here of issues over rare wood and ivory on this forum.
If you asked for ebony or one of the many now seriously limited woods
he might be struggling to deliver in a world of crazy entanglements.
Martin Guitar is in the news for this... almost all the tone-woods are
are badly entangled... there hints on how bad this issue is here.
Martin Guitar's Commitment to the Environment

Do keep copies and notes so you have a "I remember exactly so" file
that you should never need (or say you have).

Again if you are no longer interested let him know promptly and
see what unwinds.

You're right nifty, I"m going to shoot him an email telling him I no longer want the guitar, to cancel the build (whatever he has completed of it), and that I'm no longer interested in his services due to the many things he failed.

As for the guitar wood, its a really simple, basic guitar. An alder body, maple neck. Can't get more bare bones than that. No exotic woods or anything, no special finishes. I guarantee you its one of the simplest guitars he has ever built compared to what comes out of his shop: strange body shapes on exotic burl woods, ebony and flamed maple necks. He should have finished the guitar in no time.

So I sent the guy a long email and a message through his website listing the date I paid the deposit and then all the things that he promised/guaranteed me that he failed to do. I told him that his extreme lack of communication/feedback despite my many efforts to communicate with him, his complete disregard for a customer, and a string of failed promises/guarantees has led me to no longer want the guitar, cancel the order/build, and I'm no longer interested in his services.

He hasn't answerd, lots of people don't think he will. I've spoken to lots of the guitar guys online and they said there is no way he can hold me accountable for paying after what he has done to all of us. I hope this means this whole thing is over. Thanks for all the help/advice guys!

I'm also a guitar player (almost 40 years), it's stories like this that make me glad I "buy off the shelf", I wouldn't get a custom unless it was made locally or at least in driving range. And it also happens with the big makers, one of my studio customers ordered a Gibson "Les Paul custom" custom shop special build, and he canceled after almost 1 year of waiting after they told him 6 more months.

Originally Posted by animalwithin

So I sent the guy a long email and a message through his website listing the date I paid the deposit and then all the things that he promised/guaranteed me that he failed to do. I told him that his extreme lack of communication/feedback despite my many efforts to communicate with him, his complete disregard for a customer, and a string of failed promises/guarantees has led me to no longer want the guitar, cancel the order/build, and I'm no longer interested in his services.

He hasn't answerd, lots of people don't think he will. I've spoken to lots of the guitar guys online and they said there is no way he can hold me accountable for paying after what he has done to all of us. I hope this means this whole thing is over. Thanks for all the help/advice guys!

Keep in mind, that if the court gets involved at a later date, your emailing him and using the contact form on his website may count for nothing. If you want to cover your behind, do send a letter. I would think you can even have a shot at your deposit if you ask for it and he fails to deny your version of the agreement between you.