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I am sorry you are having all this trouble. There is a quilt store in Montoursville called Our Gathering Place that will lead you to a reputable repair person. Hoover's Bernina in Mifflinburg is a good place to get machines repaired and they are very fair. I wish you the best of luck getting your machine back and not paying them a cent. I also wish you the best finding a place to repair sewing machines.

I vote for your local news tv affiliate. Even if they don't show a consumer advocate program they may be able to help you. Even your local newspaper might have an advocacy section. At least write a letter of complaint to them. Getting as much publicity as possible is all to the good for your side.

Quote:

Originally Posted by maryb119

I had a bad experince with serger repair. I called Babylock and explaimed it to them. THEY called the repairman and threatened to pull their authorization from him so that he could not repair Babylock machines. My serger was repaired very quickly after that. I never took it there again.

I am sorry you're having this much trouble. I think others have given you some great tips and I hope you get this resolved very quickly.

I was also glad to read the above quote because I'm having trouble with my local Babylock dealer getting a repair completed on my machine. Took the machine in once and when I went to pick it up he tried to give me someone else's machine and when I pointed out it was the wrong machine, he hadn't even touched mine. Then told me the part that needed to be replaced was on backorder and he would call me at the end of November when it was in and have me bring the machine back in. I still haven't heard from him that the part was in and now my warranty has expired. It was still in warranty when I originally took it in for repair. I am heading back in tomorrow and am going to call Babylock if I don't get satisfaction tomorrow.

Quote:

Originally Posted by quilter in the making

Quote:

Originally Posted by maryb119

Call Babylock anyway. mYou might not be his only customer with this complaint. I hope they honor the warranty since you tried to have it repaired before the warranty expired. Am very lucky with my local sewing shop. Never had a problem with them or their repair service. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by oatw13

I am so sorry for your horrible experience. It is a shame that there are people out there like that who will take advantage of people. Unfortunately, it is a civil situation and there isn't really anything the police can do to help.

Do you have a local TV network with a consumer advocate? Our local networks have them and they will help people with problems like this for no cost. They usually get good results because they publish the stories.

I hope you get this resolved quickly.

I totally agree...If you have a consumer advocate TV station they are able to work wonders in these cases and love to put these unscrupless people on the Evening New and embarass these people...They have a lot of viewers and that will hurt their business most...

If I were you, instead of getting a costly lawyer involved, I would notify my local newspaper and see if they would put the story in the paper. Most newspapers have special writers for just these kinds of things.

What a story!!! Only a quilter could fully appreciate how critical it is to be without your machines! I'm truly sorry this happened to you, especially at Christmas. Hardly the Christmas spirit, is it! I hope you will report this to the Better Business Bureau to hopefully save others from being taken in. I hope you will be able to get your machine back as well as your money!

Sounds like the only recourse you have is revenge and word of mouth. So sorry you have to go through this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by danade

Speaking as a lawyer, the sad thing about trying to enlist the help of a lawyer is that it's unlikely that one would be interested in helping you, unless there's some lawyers' association that has a small one-time consultation fee and could write a letter for you. There's no money in your dispute and though there of course would be sympathy for your situation I don't think you'll find much help there.

Likewise, going to small-claims court doesn't guarantee that you'll ever see any compensation or your machine back, either. You can probably get a judgment against the shop owner but then collecting on the judgment is a very time-consuming project and sometimes impossible to do. Small-claims court is a civil court that has limited powers--you'll get a money judgment that is then up to you to collect on. I'd check on the procedure for your small-claims court re how long you have to wait for your case to come to court, how much the court fees are for you, and what the procedure is for your collection efforts. Sad to say, oftentimes it's just not worth it. Likewise the Better Business Bureau won't be able to help you with the specifics of your problem either, in all likelihood.

I'd agree that seeking help from your consumer protection agencies offers the best chance you have of getting any satisfaction from the owner of this business. Without a receipt or even with one, it's unlikely that you'll be able to get them involved either. TV stations and newspapers are also usually reluctant to get involved with disputes like yours due to slander/libel repercussions.

Sad story. To everyone: keep your receipts and go only to service people that you trust from recommendations if possible. And you can check with the Better Business Bureau in the area to see if there have been complaints about this business beforehand, also.

Dana

This is really a sad situation. It seems that everyone has thrown up their hands in surrender. The bottom line is this -- HOW can she get her machine back? Forget about the injustices of the fraudulant charges of having cleaned the first machine and the rudeness of the employee, the fact that the second machine was not on the premices. She wants her machine back! IMHO, that is the first priority. Get the machine back to it's owner and then, and only then, worry about the rest. These people are crooks, there is no denying it. No telling what they will or already have done to that second machine. I pray that justice will be done.

TV investigators do get results. I like all these suggestions, but the best way to be effective is to spread the word of his bad behavior toward a senior citizen. What a putz! You need to help put him out of business. A policeman escort to pick up your machine is a good idea. Use them to your advantage. Big men with you are also nice, but not as effective. Next time when the hair raises on the back of your neck, run, don't walk to the nearest exit and find someone else to service your machine.