Vinoo Matthew
Member
- Joined
- May 29, 2018
- Messages
- 18
- Reaction score
- 29
I sincerely apologise for my second post here being a rant, but I need advice from people here - people who make, play, own and sell guitars. Here goes:
About 7 months ago, I commissioned Halo Guitars of Cupertino, CA, US to make a guitar for me. The only real customization I asked for were that they use pickups from a maker who was not on their list. The costs they quoted for them seemed odd. When I asked them, they said they added an upcharge of $40 on each pickup not on their list. I decided to ignore the fact they hadn’t been upfront about this. They also said they couldn’t guarantee an exact delivery date, but they estimated a wait of 150 days. I asked them how much it would cost to ship the guitar to the UAE (shipping and customs duties to India where I live would’ve amounted to the price of the guitar itself), since I was considering various options. They added another $400 to the cost and Invoiced me for 50% of the total. I paid them. Then I discovered that they had added estimated shipping charges to the cost. They agreed to return the excess, but I decided against that.
Up until we froze the specs and I paid the advance, their replies were extremely prompt. After that, there was complete silence from them. After 6 months I wrote to them asking for a status report. They replied that the guitar was about 2 weeks from completion and sent me a final invoice. The Invoice was wrong and for a much higher amount from what I would owe them once the guitar was finished. They then sent me a revised Invoice. I pointed out to them that final payment could not be due until the instrument was fully done and ready to ship. A day later, they said the neck had the wrong specs and that they would need around 2 months more for a new neck.
At this point, I decided I’d had enough and asked them to return my money. The reasons:
"Upcharge of $40 on each pickup, which was not mentioned until I asked for an explanation on cost of pickups.
No update on status even after the estimated/approximate 150 days had passed, until I asked
No periodic status updates or pics to let me know how the instrument is turning out
Hurry to bill me the remaining amount even though the guitar is not finished yet and is still (approximately, only approximately, again) another 2 weeks or more from completion
Mistakes in Invoicing
No estimate of time needed to replace the neck until I asked”
They refused to return my money. Things went back and forth and my final mail to them said, “Everything seems to revolve around a few words that were in the agreement, and which you now interpret, solely to your convenience, as infinitely stretchable in time. Human interactions are based on mutual trust, honour and respect. I see no sign of any of that here; and I know the same failings will infect what is now going to be my guitar, whether I like it or not. It doesn't seem to occur to you mere fairness would require that if changes on my part carry a cost, then changes on your part should carry a cost to you, too. It is ridiculous to say ‘I'm sorry I've made mistakes but the costs are entirely yours’. You run a one-way business.”
Their reply, “Thank you for understanding how we operate our custom shop”
I don’t think I have a legal case here – the letter of the agreement is probably against me. Since they have my money, including $200 in excess, there isn’t much I can do. My biggest concern is that if this is completed, I will be in possession of a guitar that is truly infected with their lack of concern for detail, their indifference to their customer, their lack of transparency and the bad feeling this interaction has brought about. So much that I’m seriously considering walking away from this and forgetting about the $775 advance I’ve paid (assuming they return the excess that I’ve asked for). That’s a painful lot of money for me, though. All advice, suggestions, opinions are welcome. Thank you
About 7 months ago, I commissioned Halo Guitars of Cupertino, CA, US to make a guitar for me. The only real customization I asked for were that they use pickups from a maker who was not on their list. The costs they quoted for them seemed odd. When I asked them, they said they added an upcharge of $40 on each pickup not on their list. I decided to ignore the fact they hadn’t been upfront about this. They also said they couldn’t guarantee an exact delivery date, but they estimated a wait of 150 days. I asked them how much it would cost to ship the guitar to the UAE (shipping and customs duties to India where I live would’ve amounted to the price of the guitar itself), since I was considering various options. They added another $400 to the cost and Invoiced me for 50% of the total. I paid them. Then I discovered that they had added estimated shipping charges to the cost. They agreed to return the excess, but I decided against that.
Up until we froze the specs and I paid the advance, their replies were extremely prompt. After that, there was complete silence from them. After 6 months I wrote to them asking for a status report. They replied that the guitar was about 2 weeks from completion and sent me a final invoice. The Invoice was wrong and for a much higher amount from what I would owe them once the guitar was finished. They then sent me a revised Invoice. I pointed out to them that final payment could not be due until the instrument was fully done and ready to ship. A day later, they said the neck had the wrong specs and that they would need around 2 months more for a new neck.
At this point, I decided I’d had enough and asked them to return my money. The reasons:
"Upcharge of $40 on each pickup, which was not mentioned until I asked for an explanation on cost of pickups.
No update on status even after the estimated/approximate 150 days had passed, until I asked
No periodic status updates or pics to let me know how the instrument is turning out
Hurry to bill me the remaining amount even though the guitar is not finished yet and is still (approximately, only approximately, again) another 2 weeks or more from completion
Mistakes in Invoicing
No estimate of time needed to replace the neck until I asked”
They refused to return my money. Things went back and forth and my final mail to them said, “Everything seems to revolve around a few words that were in the agreement, and which you now interpret, solely to your convenience, as infinitely stretchable in time. Human interactions are based on mutual trust, honour and respect. I see no sign of any of that here; and I know the same failings will infect what is now going to be my guitar, whether I like it or not. It doesn't seem to occur to you mere fairness would require that if changes on my part carry a cost, then changes on your part should carry a cost to you, too. It is ridiculous to say ‘I'm sorry I've made mistakes but the costs are entirely yours’. You run a one-way business.”
Their reply, “Thank you for understanding how we operate our custom shop”
I don’t think I have a legal case here – the letter of the agreement is probably against me. Since they have my money, including $200 in excess, there isn’t much I can do. My biggest concern is that if this is completed, I will be in possession of a guitar that is truly infected with their lack of concern for detail, their indifference to their customer, their lack of transparency and the bad feeling this interaction has brought about. So much that I’m seriously considering walking away from this and forgetting about the $775 advance I’ve paid (assuming they return the excess that I’ve asked for). That’s a painful lot of money for me, though. All advice, suggestions, opinions are welcome. Thank you
