skankin'dan

I couldn't live that long without my trumpet...

omelet

I am a little confused about this. Are they doing any repairs at all? And if not, I'm not sure what the scam is. It is not like people will just forget about their horn which they aimed to fix. Did you have to pay some sort of deposit? Maybe they're just looking for a free loan...

Bill McCloskey

I'm sorry but you sent them your horn after looking at THAT web site? Yikes!


I'm surprised you wouldn't have done some research and asked around on various forums for recommendations. While I hate to see anyone get ripped off, to me you share some of the blame for not doing some research before sending off a Martin Committee.

bigtiny

Gee....that's a helpful post.....

bigtiny

Bill McCloskey

"Gee....that's a helpful post....."

Well, if someone does some research instead of blindly sending off a valuable horn, perhaps it will be.

Listen, I'm not trying to blame the victim, but I do think we have to exercise some personal responsibility. The poster apparently did not ask before hand how long the repairs would take (the first question I ask when taking a horn in for repairs), did not seem to look for independent references and did not inquire on this or the other boards about recommended repair professionals. To me, those seem like natural, common sense steps to take. I'm very sorry that he had to learn the hard way, but my sympathy is tempered when someone does not take basic steps to protect themselves.

Uniquetrumpet

Gary, I really hope that Mrs. Kaye gave you a tracking number for your UPS delivery.

They just sent out an email to their customers that they are suddenly out of town........the unexpected illness and surprise passing of Mr. Kayes dad. Mr. Kaye is about 80 years old himself.....so his Dad has surprisingly passed at the age of about 95-100. True? These guys are professionals in the art of BS.....they will say anything.

Bill McCloskey

This is a very common scam. This happened to a number of folks in the Dobro space a few years ago; person ripped a number of people off always claiming a death in the family and illness of a child. This is complete garbage. I'd get in my car and get my horn, if you can, but I fear that may never see your horn again. My guess is that it has already been sold on ebay. I certainly hope I'm wrong about that. Good luck.

FourthPlayer

Request to get the horn back right away...

Bill McCloskey

" They just sent out an email to their customers that they are suddenly out of town"

If their "turnaround time" is 9 months, there is no need to send out an email that they are gone for a few days. My scam alert is at Red.This seems timed to give the time to get out of town following the police visit.

I wouldn't request anything: If you can get there, get there and get your horn.

edited: I see you are in San Jose. Can I ask why you wouldn't have sent it to someone in LA rather than across the country?

Time to file a police report. Also, you probably want to reach out to other people who most likely have gotten ripped off. I'd get the police out there now and tell them you suspect they are about to take off.

With the dobro community scam, enough people were able to get together to make the amount worth pursuing. They eventually caught the guy (after a year) and he served about 9 months. No one got their guitars or money back.

Gary Garcia

Goodmorning, I did ask what the turnaround time and cost and was told 6-8 weeks.They have a lot of recommendations on their website and it looked like a very professional company.With "experienced technicians(plural).They talked a good game and asked for a deposit,which I gave.The sheriff called me last night and told me that they have so many comlaints about them that they have to go out to their home with its 12x12 shed with instruments in them on a weekly basis.Their website said that Mr.Kay was in high school in the 70's, so he's not that old.I think everything they say are lies or half truths.The sheriff told me that when he goes out there all he gets are excuses.Anyone that looks at their website would think they are very religious and truthful because of all the religious comments and art on their website.It is my personal opinion that they scam people to get money. The average income in Byrdstown, Tn. is only about $18,000.00 check it out.musical-instrument-repair-shop.com
-----------------Gar