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.

Originally Posted by quilter in the making

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.

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.

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