Review Hifi Vintage Ltd. Avoid!!

[Deafdog68]

Hi

This is very simply relating my experience with HiFi Vintage Ltd.
I purchased a NAD 7140 receiver for £198 and the first time I unplugged the headphones the socket broke. What follows is their reply when I informed them of this. I am a tolerant person..except when people are rude and I find their response extremely rude and unhelpful. So beware this company.

" Hello, it looks like the socket was damaged while plugging in the headphones.

Before shipping, the amplifier was tested and there were no issues with it.

The equipment you purchased is from the late 1980s and requires some delicacy.

Unfortunately, mechanical damage is not covered by the warranty."

 

[Steve983]

I'm afraid this is the risk you take when buying old second had gear when no servicing has been carried out and no returns policy stated. These traders have acquired this unit likely from a house clearance or such like and are merely selling it on. When talking about 80's gear, even if the unit works ok, it will likely not sound that good if no servicing/cleaning work has been done. You need to find a repair service that is familiar with vintage gear who can service and repair it for you. Sorry if that is not what you wanted to hear.

 

[Deafdog68]

I'm afraid this is the risk you take when buying old second had gear when no servicing has been carried out and no returns policy stated. These traders have acquired this unit likely from a house clearance or such like and are merely selling it on. When talking about 80's gear, even if the unit works ok, it will likely not sound that good if no servicing/cleaning work has been done. You need to find a repair service that is familiar with vintage gear who can service and repair it for you. Sorry if that is not what you wanted to hear.

Hi Steve983, thanks for the comment but the company stated it was fully serviced and tested and they do have a reasonable sounding returns policy, check out their website. This is why I am rather angry that when I sent my email saying the headphone socket was broken they sent the surly reply quoted. They have now agreed to look at the item as I have requested a refund though whether they will agree to a refund is another matter. Had they replied as I would have expected e.g. "sorry to hear this please return the item and we will remedy the issue" I would have been perfectly happy even with return postage costs. But to imply a 40 year old amp was absolutely fine, tested, serviced etc up until the point I unplug the headphones once, just once, is in my mind unlikely. As they are now engaging with me I will hide this post (if possible)

 

[Steve983]

Hi Steve983, thanks for the comment but the company stated it was fully serviced and tested and they do have a reasonable sounding returns policy, check out their website. This is why I am rather angry that when I sent my email saying the headphone socket was broken they sent the surly reply quoted. They have now agreed to look at the item as I have requested a refund though whether they will agree to a refund is another matter. Had they replied as I would have expected e.g. "sorry to hear this please return the item and we will remedy the issue" I would have been perfectly happy even with return postage costs. But to imply a 40 year old amp was absolutely fine, tested, serviced etc up until the point I unplug the headphones once, just once, is in my mind unlikely. As they are now engaging with me I will hide this post (if possible)

Ah fair enough, if they've serviced it and then you find a fault - just plugging headphones in should not be a problem. Pleased that they are now responding to the issue, good luck with it.

 

[nopiano]

Ironically both of you are right, in a way. You are entitled to think that if it has been checked and serviced then it should be good for a while. They are are also correct that, even if they checked the headphone socket, they’ve no idea how carefully or clumsily you’ll use it. Everything that breaks was ok on the previous use, by definition! And forty year old plastics will be brittle and prone to breakage - no service can remedy that.

I hope you get it sorted.

 

[RoA]

Unless I get a complete report on what exactly was done during a 'service' I don't think it's worth the paper (not) written on but that's just me. Any reputable company will provide this. Loads of stuff on the bay apparently serviced ... .

Plugging something in and see if it powers on is not a service but it is a test.

However, even a complete service can not always foresee material failure which can occur over time.

If you are happy with the product and subsequent offer of refund why not ask if they can repair it for you?

 

[davidf]

There's a lot of used hi-fi sellers out there, many of which are just "working" from home and cashing in on the boom in used audio at the moment. There's another one that was mentioned on a Facebook group recently who is extremely rude and abusive to customers, before and after sales. They don't care about you, they probably don't care about audio, they just want your money.

 

[Deafdog68]

thanks all for your comments..I am just shocked by their attitude really..had they suggested any reasonable way of amicably resolving it i wouldn't be posting here...but to simply say "it's old and you broke it" is very poor...ok, now to try and hide this post until I hear back from them when they get the amp back to look at