EB Acoustics - to Richard Allen

[steve_1979]

He takes payment for the speakers and promises a delivery but when they don't appear the customer tries to get a refund which also doesn't appear. Richard Allen then ignores all attempts by the customer to contact him. This has happened too many times to count now and it's been happening continuously for several years.

EDITED BY MODS

And why doesn't WHF remove the EB Acoustics reviews from their website?

 

[Vladimir]

http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?s=d575707f424893ccfa69bdc5d69df821&t=168228&page=9

I see there is a 'lets beat up Richard' talk on PFM. Will that be consolation enough?

 

[iQ Speakers]

I run a speaker company on a very small budget. I certainly would not take money knowing I could not deliver, if events overtook me and I could not, I would refund. It's as simple as that, no excuse. If you can not run a business legitimate then it's not a business. Let's hope there is a plausible explanation.

 

[luckylion100]

The bottom line is that people's hard earned is being taken under false pretenses. EDITED BY MODS. Those that care to disagree would perhaps view this differently if it was their money!

What Hifi are partially responsible if they continue to publish the reviews of these products without any word of caution to potential buyers. How hard is it to amend a review?

If the one man band that is EB Acoustics is having such a difficult time, be it depression, general illness or financial issues there is help at hand, advice to be sought and followed. It's not rocket science to stop taking orders. As for Paypal why are they still processing payments for this company after a seemingly endless stream of dissatisfied customers and failed promises?

I sincerely hope that Mr Allen is able to rectify this sad situation and finds a speedy solution to whatever issues he is fancing in either his private or professional life. Likewise I wish the OP and others like him a prompt return of their funds.

 

[steve_1979]

http://www.pinkfishmedia.net/forum/showthread.php?s=d575707f424893ccfa69bdc5d69df821&t=168228&page=9

I see there is a 'lets beat up Richard' talk on PFM. Will that be consolation enough?

Yeah, some of the comments in that thread were a bit OTT.

EDIT - Rereading that thread I see that some of the OTT posts have now been removed (and rightly so too). There's also some sensible advice and potentially helpful posts in that thread for anyone who has paid EB Acoustics money and are unable to get a reply from Richard.

 

[Al ears]

Now my real question is who in his right mind ordered EB speaker from abroad after so many raging threads how delivery is delayed or nonexistent? Blame it on WHF? Really, all the warning signs are there, just do a simple google search.

Nah. Blame it on Vladimir! *diablo*

If you want OK then.

However I don't think you can blame it on WHFSAV who simply reviewed an item as sent. Ultimately WHF is a printed magazine and it would be extremely difficult to pull or alter a review in these circumstances and surely anyone who actually reads it online will be well aware of the situation and wouldn't have ordered these speakers in the first place.

There really is only one person to blame here and that is the purchaser. Buying direct on spec from a little known company was always going to a potential problem but one that people entered into willingly it would seem, but hey ho! that's life.

PS Just like to add that I was one of those adventurous types but lucky enough to get in early on in the proceedings.

To expand a little it was obvious from the outset that Richard (and I think he'd admit it) was no businessman, he is a designer. Failure to either take on sufficient staff to cope with demand and failure to stop taking orders and taking down the website though are pretty inexcusable.

 

[Gazzip]

However I don't think you can blame it on WHFSAV who simply reviewed an item as sent. Ultimately WHF is a printed magazine and it would be extremely difficult to pull or alter a review in these circumstances and surely anyone who actually reads it online will be well aware of the situation and wouldn't have ordered these speakers in the first place.

Although difficult to alter the review it would be very, very easy to just take it off the website. You suggest that people who read the review online will be well aware of the situation? Clearly they are not!

Failure to either take on sufficient staff to cope with demand and failure to stop taking orders and taking down the website though are pretty inexcusable.

EDITED BY MODS

 

[Al ears]

However I don't think you can blame it on WHFSAV who simply reviewed an item as sent. Ultimately WHF is a printed magazine and it would be extremely difficult to pull or alter a review in these circumstances and surely anyone who actually reads it online will be well aware of the situation and wouldn't have ordered these speakers in the first place.

Although difficult to alter the review it would be very, very easy to just take it off the website. You suggest that people who read the review online will be well aware of the situation? Clearly they are not!

Failure to either take on sufficient staff to cope with demand and failure to stop taking orders and taking down the website though are pretty inexcusable.

EDITED BY MODS

First point:- I am willing to bet most people who ordered this speaker did so on the review seen in the magazine itself (i.e. the hard copy).

Second point:- You have to be extremely careful using the word fraud, check it's definition.

 

[Gazzip]

However I don't think you can blame it on WHFSAV who simply reviewed an item as sent. Ultimately WHF is a printed magazine and it would be extremely difficult to pull or alter a review in these circumstances and surely anyone who actually reads it online will be well aware of the situation and wouldn't have ordered these speakers in the first place.

Although difficult to alter the review it would be very, very easy to just take it off the website. You suggest that people who read the review online will be well aware of the situation? Clearly they are not!

Failure to either take on sufficient staff to cope with demand and failure to stop taking orders and taking down the website though are pretty inexcusable.

EDITED BY MODS

First point:- I am willing to bet most people who ordered this speaker did so on the review seen in the magazine itself (i.e. the hard copy).

Second point:- You have to be extremely careful using the word fraud, check it's definition.

EDITED BY MODS FOR LEGAL REASONS. I have never accused the man of being anything other than a truly terrible customer servicer which he is.

 

[Gazzip]

On your first point I suspect that because the reviews are available on line many Hifi hobbiests have not purchased the physical WHFSAV magazine for many years.

 

[drummerman]

He may still get his speakers. Lead time has always been about 8 months

 

[jonathanRD]

The EB Accoustics website has been updated at some point in the past six months, as the EB1 & EB2 are now EB1S and EB2S and the prices have gone up too. But the review pages still link to the original WHFS&V reviews.

Outwardly at least, the website gives the impression that the products have been improved, further developments are imminent, and there is no sign of any issues.

 

[Vladimir]

Are there any publicised cases where someone didn't get his money back or a pair of EB speakers, regardless of amount of delay? I'm not implying anything, I'm simply asking since I'm only a year old member on this forum.

 

[Gazzip]

Are there any publicised cases where someone didn't get his money back or a pair of EB speakers, regardless of amount of delay? I'm not implying anything, I'm simply asking since I'm only a year old member on this forum.

When do you draw that line and say you didn't get your money back? A year? Two?

 

[Gazzip]

Are there any publicised cases where someone didn't get his money back or a pair of EB speakers, regardless of amount of delay? I'm not implying anything, I'm simply asking since I'm only a year old member on this forum.

When do you draw that line and say you didn't get your money back? A year? Two?

In 2012 I had my EB2's delivered (very late). They were great speakers but didn't suit my tastes. I sent them back and got a full refund within a week or so. That was then. This is now.

 

[Al ears]

However I don't think you can blame it on WHFSAV who simply reviewed an item as sent. Ultimately WHF is a printed magazine and it would be extremely difficult to pull or alter a review in these circumstances and surely anyone who actually reads it online will be well aware of the situation and wouldn't have ordered these speakers in the first place.

Although difficult to alter the review it would be very, very easy to just take it off the website. You suggest that people who read the review online will be well aware of the situation? Clearly they are not!

Failure to either take on sufficient staff to cope with demand and failure to stop taking orders and taking down the website though are pretty inexcusable.

This is why the word fraud is now being used on a regular basis.

First point:- I am willing to bet most people who ordered this speaker did so on the review seen in the magazine itself (i.e. the hard copy).

Second point:- You have to be extremely careful using the word fraud, check it's definition.

EDITED BY MODS. I have never accused the man of being anything other than a truly terrible customer servicer which he is.

Sorry if that came across as me having a go at you. It wasn't meant to read like that but more of a general observation on those forumees that throw 'fraud' around willy-nilly.

I wholeheartedly agree he is pretty useless when it comes to customer relations and should have realised that from the outset then employed someone to perform these function.

 

[Al ears]

On your first point I suspect that because the reviews are available on line many Hifi hobbiests have not purchased the physical WHFSAV magazine for many years.

This may or may not be so unfortunately it wasn't just WHFSAV that gave the a glowing review making it somewhat tricky to get everone to add an addendum to them.

At the end of the day it must be up to the potential customer to make an decision as to whether or not he / she is prepared to buy a pair of speakers utilising the 'order now sight unseen / get sometime in the future' scenario.

 

[Gazzip]

On your first point I suspect that because the reviews are available on line many Hifi hobbiests have not purchased the physical WHFSAV magazine for many years.

This may or may not be so unfortunately it wasn't just WHFSAV that gave the a glowing review making it somewhat tricky to get everone to add an addendum to them.

Good point. You are also right about the word fraud being a very dangerous one to throw around on the interweb at the moment. FWIW I think he is just really rubbish at running the business side of his operation which unfortunately in sales reads as the customer side.

PayPal disputes are really easy to open within the 180 day time limit. If PP have the same difficulty in contacting Richard as the OP was having then they will automatically rule in the buyers' favour and refund the money within a few weeks. The lesson here is to log that dispute BEFORE the 180 days has expired.

To the OP have you tried telephoning EB Acoustics? When I ordered mine email was a non-starter for communicating with Richard but I spoke to him a few times on the telephone.

 

[steve_1979]

There really is only one person to blame here and that is the purchaser. Buying direct on spec from a little known company...

So you think it's ok for Richard to act this way just because EB Acoustics is a small company? Rubbish.

Just because EB Acoustics is a small business that is not an excuse to take peoples money without giving them the product they have purchased. It not an excuse to continuously lie about delivery dates. It is not an excuse to refuse to give a refund when the agreed delivery has passed. And it is not an excuse to refuse all attempts of contact by a customer whose money he has taken under false pretenses.

 

[luckylion100]

if the 'F' word is incorrect and potentially libeous?

I've experienced a similar (but on a much smaller scale and fortunately quickly resolved by Paypal) situation with Turntables Pro online. Check their now defunct Ebay feedback page out for the way customers viewed their shopping experience there. The 'F' word appears frequently as does the word 'th*ft'. You can't blame the customers to the extent that the retailer can continue operating in this manner simply because they're unaware of the previous issues, the blame lies with the retailer. I still feel What Hifi have a moral duty though to which they are turning a blind eye to. Even if an ammended online review stops just one more potential customer feeling ripped off it can't be a bad thing! As I mentioned earlier why do Paypal continue to offer their services to this business as surely it's now well and truly flagged up?!

If EB Acoustics want to pursue legal action against anyone posting on here, surely they've more time on their hands than people are giving them credit for and their priorities are seriously mixed up...

 

[Al ears]

There really is only one person to blame here and that is the purchaser. Buying direct on spec from a little known company...

So you think it's ok for Richard to act this way just because EB Acoustics is a small company? Rubbish.

Just because EB Acoustics is a small business that is not an excuse to take peoples money without giving them the product they have purchased. It not an excuse to continuously lie about delivery dates. It is not an excuse to refuse to give a refund when the agreed delivery has passed. And it is not an excuse to refuse all attempts of contact by a customer whose money he has taken under false pretenses.

This thread seems to be getting slightly out of hand. Perhaps we should re-appraise what the OP said and stick to actual facts.

 

[steve_1979]

He may still get his speakers. Lead time has always been about 8 months

So why then doesn't Richard just be honest from the outset and tell people that there will be an 8 month wait for delivery instead of saying that "they'll be there next week" then ignoring all attempts of contact by the customer for 8 months?

 

[Vladimir]

When do you draw that line and say you didn't get your money back? A year? Two?

Me, 179 days.

 

[luckylion100]

That takes the customer prepared to wait Drummermans '8 months' into risky territory re a Paypal refund.

 

[luckylion100]

That takes the customer prepared to wait Drummermans '8 months' into risky territory re a Paypal refund.

In reply to Vlads, 179 days comment.