No, in this case, a combined 9 months of waiting, for an order, never to arrive from MaelstromGames, and then never to be honoured by the new company set up from the ashes of the old; Maunsfeld Gaming...
... and then trying to explain the whole farce to my bank; ANZ, and VISA...
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| ANZ bank |
...about a whole pile of Flames of War goodies that never materialized...
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| Flames of War |
...even after getting a nudge from Ian at the Blog with No Name, who called at the store, on my behalf to see what was going on... only to be 'fobbed off' ? Thanks again to Ian for his help.
But in one form, my persistence paid off ... I at least got my money back from VISA today... NZ$216 back in my account today! :-)
Now, what to spend it on! ;-)
Seriously though, some interesting lessons were learned, and cautions raised about ordering goods online, even from companies that you had dealt with successfully over a long period of time...
I am just grateful ANZ/VISA came through...
Still, I will also most certainly be intrigued to hear what eventually happens to the chap behind Maelstrom/Maunsfeld that allowed all the shenanigans to happen...
The good thing for me now is, the items I had been waiting for, and delayed buying in the meantime, in case they turned up after all, I can now confidently get on with sourcing... the 88's were the first of these...
Sounds like a very suckful experience. A lesson for you and for all of us. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletecheers
Thanks, no worries...
DeleteI was burnt too by them, but not quite the same amount. I wasn't able to get it back through paypal (cause if the time delay), so just wrote it off. I am inclined now to go down to the local gaming store (Hobby Stop in Kilbirnie) so I can actually touch the stuff I am buying to know it exists!
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that kept me in with a shot at a refund, was the fact I notified Visa of my concerns, that the order may not be honoured (due to rumours on the web at the time), within a month of the goods being purchased. Had I let that go more than a month, I'd have been stuffed!
DeleteHowever, had it not been for the rumor mill, I wouldn't have been in with a chance as I have had stuff take longer than a month to arrive in the past, yet still come through... usually I have placed my order online, that company then has to order in the goods then ship to me here, often quite a long wait...
I must check out that store you mention, I wasn't aware a hobby store still existed in our region after Wargames Supply in Wello closed down...
Hi Scott. The store is called the hobby stop. Richard the owner is a nice friendly chap and they carry flames of war. Pop in and say hi. :-)
DeleteThanks Mark, I'll check them out when I am next passing.
DeleteGlad you finally got your money back.
ReplyDeleteI actually got sent most of the order I placed in their final sale- but they ignored all my attempts to find out what was going on. Paypal covered the missing items within a couple weeks though.
But now you have 'free money' for a spending spree ;)
Thanks Ferret! Yes, even my wife gave me the green light to spend up, which I was rather surprised at! ;-)
DeleteGlad you got your money back. I'd had bad experiences with Maelstrom Games well before all of this kicked off so I wasn't surprised that it all went wrong.
ReplyDeleteAs you say it does show the dangers of online stores and why once you have found a good one stick with them.
Ben
Those bricks hurt don't they!
ReplyDeleteLuckily I didn't get burnt by the Maelstrom fiasco although I know a few that did. I also know a few people that are good mates with the key people involved and it's become one of those things that we just don't talk about even though it's very clear that laws were broken.
Good to hear that the big corporates have pulled it out of the fire for you, sometimes they're not the evil monsters that we all imagine them to be.
I'd happily shop in a bricks and mortar store if there was one local to me but the nearest is a good 2hr round trip. Unless I want to pay GW prices I shop online or trade through some of the forums although I won't use ebay, it just feels wrong.
Thank goodness for Visa, but not an enviable situation. Looking forward to the new purchases and as you've already spent the money once there is no guilt!
ReplyDeleteReally glad you got your money back after such a long time Scott, good news at least.
ReplyDeleteBricks- sounds like bad news. Money back- good news!
ReplyDeleteScott:
ReplyDeleteSo happy to hear you finally got your money back - after such a long wait at that. I was unaware of your troubles with the company(ies). I was actually there (Maunsfeld Games) in March for the WAB GT. The storefront downstairs from where we played looked out of sorts - the employee working the desk was nice enough, but I got the feeling that the place out ready to shut down or change hands or something. The upstairs was full of gaming tables and terrain - the club members must've been bummed too. Best, Dean
The terrain was actually owned by the store. You could go and play in the day any day and Tuesday and Thursday from 10am till 11PM if you wanted and free too boot.
DeleteAs such it used to be good, the staff were lied to at the time, they even thought a warehouse existed, only finding out the truth very late.
The local wargame clubs will have now had a boost of players for sure though, not that they need it, lots of local clubs as this area can be argued to be the centre of UK wargaming (even Flames of War UK is less than ten miles from me.
Ian
Hey Dean, yes I saw your blog post battle report from there .. it was in part seeing that , that showed the store/club still operating that kept a glimmer of hope alive that I might get my stuff... wasnt to be though!
DeleteGood to hear you got your pennies back! Now enjoy spending them a second tme
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got your money back. Isn't FOW readily available in NZ?
ReplyDeleteYes but everything hobbywise here is more expensive ... bizarrely its way cheaper (about 30-40%) to buy abroad and have it shipped here, if you can score a free shipping deal...
DeleteWell there is still Wayland Games.
DeleteYes I use them from time to time when they have a free shipping deal on. Thanks.
DeleteScott wrote: " ... some interesting lessons were learned, and cautions raised about ordering goods online, even from companies that you had dealt with successfully over a long period of time... "
ReplyDeleteThanks for this piece of advice. I have always been very trusty after the first successful transaction with an online store. Caution will be taken hereafter.
Glad to read that the wife gave green light on a spending spree. I suggest you spend it on the Perry Brothers online store or some over-priced Lord of the Rings-stuff ;D
LOL thanks Llama, ... I'll see what I find to tempt me! ;-)
DeleteReal glad you finally got your money back, not that the chap behind it all will have shelled it back out.
ReplyDeleteBy fobbed off, do you mean flat out lied too?
I popped by the building a couple of weeks ago but it is now fenced off. I assume it had visitors with a big van, as to who that was will be open to each person to come up with a theory but I am sure they knew exactly what to take.
I would be happy never to find out what happened to him IF that means he does not rise up again just to do more mischief. Though I would like to see him pay for what was certainly dishonest acts, I hope he defrauded the Revenue and all the pain that this will entail
Ian
Flat out lied - err yep that will just about do it! Thanks again for your efforts mate, it was indeed appreciated.
DeleteYes it will be an interesting story to follow...