[shivohum]

From http://www.audioasylum.com/audio/gen...es/194145.html :

"I sent A SHA-1 in for an "upgrade". When I received the unit back it was not functioning properly I had to pay for the mod and return shipping, After they received the unit back I was told it was a wire routing problem.(not shipping) UPS delevered the unit while I was at work and left it in the pouring rain for 10 hours. UPS settled for $1013.00. I have been give excuse after excuse as to why I have not been compensated. I sent a Fax to the local BBB. Now Will Guering says that is the reason I won't get my money. This has been going on since December. ..."

So apparently UPS compensated Melos but the customer was not given any money, nor was he returned the amp. Of course we don't have the Melos side of the story, but still, this is something to think about.

 

[darkclouds]

Why was Melos compensated for by UPS?

In anycase, this story is frightening; although my ups guy would neve leave any of my packages outside my doors. Now, the U.S. postal guy is a whole different story. That SOB wouldn't even bother knocking on my door sometimes. He'd just drop the package off right in front of my door.

Just finished reading the whole thread. Apparently UPS compensated Melos since Melos had insured the unit for shipping. But then the unit owner/buyer complaint to BBB pissed of Melos off. Hence Melos will not "forward" the UPS compensation to the unit owner/buyer. Talk about poor customer service.

 

[pigmode]

Well Melos hasn't responded yet, but even if you take into consideration that we only have one side of the story, this does not sound good for Melos Audio.

 

[dcg]

Are we talking about Melos or Melos Audio Restoration?

 

[MacDEF]

If I'm not mistaken, Melos doesn't exist anymore. MAR is a company that exists to mod/service Melos products.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong here

 

[dcg]

No, you're right, which is why I assume we're talking about MAR here. It's just that everyone's referring to Melos, not MAR.

 

[Possum]

Yeah, it must be MAR, since the guy being accused is Will Guering. This is the guy who answered my e-mail to MAR when inquiring about purchasing a schematic of the SHA-1. In his e-mail, he said he was a chief technician for Melos for 20+ years, and uses this experience with Melos equipment to do his work in MAR.

 

[DanG]

I've always been extremely skeptical about Melos/MAR if you look back at my posts... the guy quotes astronomical fees for very minor work and often doesn't respond to e-mails. Considering the very reason that Melos itself went out of business, I would certainly not be surprised to hear a story like this. It just says one thing to me -- stay away.

 

[markl]

All I can say is that I've owned not one but two SHA-Golds, one of which was upgraded to Maestro level by MAR. I never dealt with MAR as upgrade was done before I purchased unit. Both worked perfectly.

Both sound INCREDIBLE.

markl

 

[RickG]

Quote:

Originally posted by markl Both sound INCREDIBLE. markl

I've got the other one...and Mark's right!.........

 

[Budgie]

I'm in there with DanG. Beware, Beware! I had bad results when my Melos amp blew up and I called Melos for parts. They were very very, uuuuh...okay no polite word for how i was treated. I would not have anything to do with anyone who had anything to do with Melos.

 

[pigmode]

That's absolutely too outrageous that MAR would collect and keep an insurance claim under those circumstances. Does anyone else thing that the disgruntled customer is not telling the whole story?

Budgie, are you refering to MAR? Dang, I need to get my Melos fixed...

 

[kelly]

Will was polite when I'd emailed him a while back about some things out of curiosity but I too drew some skepticism since the upgrades were not very specificly defined. As a counter-example, look at how Dan Wright lists the upgrades he performs and his charges--or Steve McCormack. I reallize there are a few companies out there who want to protect their trade secrets, I just don't personally agree with the philosophy and would, given opportunity, always choose to deal with the company that is most upfront and honest about what is being done to my hardware.

I also agree with Pigmode, that regardless of how irrate a customer may haev been, forwarding the refund is in the least a legal responsibility. In fact, if MAR were guilty of these allogations (and I'm not saying they are), they'd be guilty of mail fraud, which is actually a felony offense. (This applies even though the carrier was not USPS. Interstate crime becomes Federal crime almost instantly.)

I'm also again very thankful to have Meier and HeadRoom around to answer questions honestly and completely. Integrity will ultimately pay off for these two companies if it hasn't already.

 

[WIJGALT]

Wow. Just got on to ask if anyone has had experience - of any kind - with MAR. And I came upon this thread. I was flirting with the notion of sending in my SHA-GOLD to repair the non-functional remote/balance. I called MAR twice & left messages & also sent two emails, all about a week ago. I've received no responses to anything. That alone has made me a mite queasy. It should not take a week (and counting) to get some kind of response from an alleged "business". Now after reading this....UGH! Given some of my recent experiences, I am predisposed to believing anything. Really want to get my Melos fixed, though. A couple of local techs looked at it & had no clue (costing me, BTW, $120 just for the looking). If not MAR, to whom am I supposed to turn? The unit, incidentally, works & sounds great aside from the inability to control/use the balance.

 

[pigmode]

...email MAR/ Will and ask them/ him to respond to this thread? I'd do it but...err...uhh...well, I'm a pig. I might unwittingly enflame the issue.