SamAsh.com

SamAsh.com

SamAsh.com Tampa, FL

Here's what happened;

In January I became interested in purchasing an amp. I shopped around and looked at a lot of amps. I finally settled on a Marshall MG250 DFX and went online to SamAsh.com and found that they had excellent financing with the SamAsh card so I applied and was issued a card and I purchased the Marshall MG250 DFX. When it arrived I was pleased with my purchase and had every intention on keeping this amp, however after about three weeks of playing, in which the amp never left the spot I set it in after opening the box, a loud buzz, much like that of a radial saw, developed and would not go away. I tried different guitars and even moved it to another spot but it would not go away. So I called to see about exchanging it for another.

When I called I immediately became discouraged when, in spite of the Sam Ash Satisfaction Guarantee, I was told to take it to a Marshall service center. After 10 minutes of arguing my guarantee I was told a return FedEx sticker would be sent in the mail. This was on 3/1. I packed the amp. On 3/5 I called to check on the sticker and was told it “had been mailed and would be here on Monday”. Monday came still no sticker. So I called again, 3/8, spoke to Rick who said “I’ll send it out”. On 3/12 I spoke with Rachel who said I’ll send it out. On 3/17 it arrived. I pre ordered the replacement amp, another Marshall MG250 DFX, as I had no amp and if I were to wait for the whole return, exchange process it would be several weeks before I had one. That amp arrived and everything seemed fine. After a week or so that amp developed a noise to which I traced to the cooling fan. Also on two occasions the volume would just drop out and fade back in.

Well I had it with Marshalls so I called and talked to Jeff in Tampa. I explained what the amp was doing and about the first one and after discussing the situation he told me to go to the local Sam Ash store and see if there was another amp I liked, return the Marshall and give him a call. I did all of this and gave Jeff a call however Jeff was unavailable so I placed my order with a gentleman named Felix. I ordered a Peavey TransTube model. What I ordered was a Special 212 but what I meant to order was a 212EFX. Realizing this I called the very next morning and changed the order. This was no problem I was told, as my return had never shown up so it was on hold anyway. I keep checking day after day for when my Peavey was to ship but it never did. So I called and the return still had not been checked in. I was then told it had never been received by the shipping department but when I looked it up on FedEx.com it was showing as delivered and signed for.

So I called and talked to Anna, explained the situation and she said she would check into it and call me in the morning. She did as she said and called me and said the receiving department had misplaced it but after looking they found it. After a couple of days I went back to try and track it but it would never showed up. So I called again and spoke to Felix and as he was reading back the order he named the wrong amp. Somehow the amp that was supposed to be cancelled had not only been shipped but billed to my card. I was told to return it when it arrived. That amp never made it off of the Fed Ex truck as I refused the shipment. So I finally got them to send the correct amp and awaited it’s arrival. However, I received a call from Jeff apologizing but it seems the amp was suddenly out of stock. Jeff said he would order one from Peavey and get it to me.

He called me back and confirmed it. After a week passed I called Jeff and he said he had received the amp from Peavey and it had been shipped out to me. I never received the amp. Jeff called and again apologized but it seems the amp was sent to someone else with my name on it. That person was sending it back and Jeff said he would send it to me as soon as it arrived. After all of this I was without an amp for over a month, exhausted and tired of waiting. I told Jeff to cancel the amp and I went elsewhere. In the end I had no amp and my Sam Ash card still had a $978.49 balance. After all this I went to the local Sam Ash store to purchase the Peavey amp. I called and they said they only had one left but they would hold it for me. I got there the next day to pick it up and I found out it was the floor model. I asked if I was getting some sort of discount as it was opened, no box and abused by every one trying out the guitars and I was told no, reluctantly I purchased it anyway. When I got it home it didn't sound good so I returned it the next day. So on May the 26th I open my mail to find a letter from Paul J. Ash President of Sam Ash Music Corporation and Affiliates. The following is the letter verbatim. Dear Mr. M*** I notice that you bought four guitar amps and returned each one. It indicates to me that you may be taking them out to use on gigs rather then being serious about choosing one to buy. This is unfair to our company and the commisioned sales people who could be using their time more productively. As you know, we provide very liberal return and exchange privileges as part of the Sam Ash Satisfaction Guarantee so that our customers can buy from us in absolute confidence. Our policy is intended to assure that customers are satisfied with their purchases, but it is not intended to provide customers with free rental of products. Your history shows that you have abused this privilege. Please test the equipment carefully in the store because from now on we will impose a restocking/rental charge of 20% on items you return. Sincerly, Paul J. Ash President Never once while I was without an amp and still making my payments did Mr. Ash call or write me a letter asking if there was anything wrong or if there was a way he could help. He basically sees a P&E statement and some other reports and I guess my name pops up on one of these. If he would look beyond the numbers, maybe call some of your employees that were involved in these transactions and, God forbid, maybe call the customer to find out what's really going on, then maybe he could refrain from accusing his customers of cheating him and actually make good on the following. Jack Click this link to e-mail the message author: Email User