About Allen Triplett

[eupher61]

Fortunately, I haven't tried to buy anything from him. But, there is absolutely no excuse for not communicating. None.Even just to say "bear with me, I'm working on getting things right for you." And, repeating that every couple of months. I can understand having business problems, I can't understand screwing your customers over.

[Alex C]

I have been in this situation and can tell you, things are not going to go well for the people who have paid for instruments. All of the signs point to a situation that has gotten out of control of the person in charge.

From my experience, there are two options.

1) If a credit card was used, you should immediately get in touch with the credit card company and tell them what has happened. Ask for a refund, chances for recovery of your money is good with a credit card. A debit card carries a little less weight but you should still try.

2) If you paid by check, your only recourse is through an attorney. I am sorry to say that the chances of recovering any money is poor. A civil complaint could be filed but a criminal complaint would get his attention quicker. The local District Attorney in the town where Big Bottom Music is located is the person to contact for a criminal complaint.

Some brave soul might want to track down the physical location of the owner and try a personal appeal. You might at least get a few leftover instruments out of the deal.

It' a sad situation and I'm sure the owner feels terrible but has no clue how to recover. He should take down the website.

I had to file a lawsuit and I spent a ton of money but got my money back. It was a reputable dealer, too, so it can happen to anybody.

[Wyvern]

Back in June, Al did sent me a substantial list of all the outstanding orders, asking what Wessex Tubas could deliver. Since then he has paid us for a couple of orders (I have been in contact with those customers direct) and said he was going to order the rest direct from the factories. I have no idea if that has happened, or is happening, but even if it is(???), from order to delivery is usually about 4 months, so some wait yet.

I agree it is unforgivable to not reply to customers to update them on the situation.

I would add that I have nothing to do with this apart from trying to help people out for the sake of good-will.

[sousaphone68]

Bloke I am unable to work out how your comment is relevant to the situation that fellow board members find themselves in.
And it does not warrant a HaHaHa either.
How about deleting it?

[The Big Ben]

bloke has a big stick leaning against the wall in his shop. It has "Big Stirring Stick" written on it. Keep that in mind.

[sousaphone68]

We all enjoy bloke's stirring stick from time to time but on this occasion this was not the thread to stir in.
I can assume that most of the people left with no tuba and no refund travelled the same tortuous route to buying a tuba that I did.
Most of us buy our tubas after a period of saving,looking and negotiating with our families.
To have got to the point of buying and paying for a tuba and then to not get it is a nightmare not an opportunity to stir.

[PMeuph]

'might be worth considering....

http://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/resou ... o_jury.scc" target="_blank

[sousaphone68]

bloke I dont think I was preaching or being holier than thou.
I was merely reminding you that there are on the forum people like me that do not regard their tuba as a commodity or a tool.
Your last post was a more honest and straight forward post.

[sousaphone68]

Bloke I am unable to work out how your comment is relevant to the situation that fellow board members find themselves in.
And it does not warrant a HaHaHa either.
How about deleting it?

You could not be more incorrect, sir. I think you completely missed Joe's point. And this situation is shameful. This guy is a scumbag and a criminal who is quickly earning the jail time he might see from this.

This entire topic reeks. Joe is 100% correct. You are not.

blokes post was not clear at all as to who the Paf comment was aimed at and did not help any one.
The delete suggestion was not to help Al but in deference to those that are still waiting.

[Dan Schultz]

This forum makes for a great education! You guys keep making me run for the 'urban dictionary'. Never head of 'FAP' before.

[Wyvern]

This forum makes for a great education! You guys keep making me run for the 'urban dictionary'. Never head of 'FAP' before.

Made me look too - and I still do not understand the relevance

[PMeuph]

This forum makes for a great education! You guys keep making me run for the 'urban dictionary'. Never head of 'FAP' before.

Made me look too - and I still do not understand the relevance

Look at definition #4....

[Wyvern]

Look at definition #4....

I don't know what dictionary you are using? The only meaning I can find is for something I would not repeat on a public forum that children may be reading

[Dan Schultz]

Look at definition #4....

I don't know what dictionary you are using? The only meaning I can find is for something I would not repeat on a public forum that children may be reading

Savvy youngsters are waaaay ahead of you, Jonathan! They help create new additions to the 'urban dictionary' on a daily basis!

[ScottM]

This topic continues to surface. If this seller has taken money and not delivered product, they are committing a fraud across state lines using the US mail. If they took payment via credit card I believe that is wire fraud, also a federal offence. They are committing a Federal crime and one of the victims needs to report it to the proper law enforcement people to make this stop.
Make the report to the authorities.
Once you do, ask for a PM from the others who have had a similar circumstance so they can be added to the complaint as victims.
If an atty on the board could give some guidance to the victims as to where to make the report, it would be appreciated I am sure.
ScottM

[MartyNeilan]

- The guy knows he owes the dough.
- He isn't refunding it. Either he can't (on which I'd wager, but whatever...) or he won't.

Well put.
I choose to believe the former.
I charged 1750 I didn't have 1 1/2 years ago after much research, contemplation, and consultation with the woman I would later marry. I needed a ready to use horn for a reasonable price while I worked on my projects. I have received updates every month or two, and been earnestly promised either a horn or more recently a refund. I finally received a 500 refund about a month ago. That is less than one third of what I paid. I may eventually see more, but not for quite some time.
The man has been through hell and back and is doing everything he can to make the best of a bad situation. You can't get blood out of a stone. Although my life situation was different than his, I fully understand what he went through and he has my empathy.

[bort]

Cut the bullshit and declare bankruptcy. Al will lose a lot and move on. People will lose their money and have to deal with it and move on.

Its a damn shame, but it's been years. No money or no tuba, move on. Al gas no one to blame but himself, and his customers need to have some vindication, if nothing else, through his bankruptcy.

And remember, bankruptcy is not an ending, but a clean wiped slate, with consequences. I don't want anything bad personally for Al.

[tofu]

Cut the bullshit and declare bankruptcy. Al will lose a lot and move on. People will lose their money and have to deal with it and move on.

Well that is all fine and dandy for experienced adults, but in many cases here we are talking about students for whom this was and is a huge sum of money for them and/or their parents. They may not have any real understanding of the new/used tuba market other than the fact that even a "Chinese tuba" is a lot of money at this point in their lives.

Its a damn shame, but it's been years. No money or no tuba, move on. Al gas no one to blame but himself, and his customers need to have some vindication, if nothing else, through his bankruptcy.

Vindication??? What the heck does that mean? Like a stoning? I don't think anybody wishes Mr. Triplett harm - they just want their horn. If not their horn then their money and if not either of those then at least some communication of what has happened and is happening. That last one doesn't cost Mr. Triplett anything other than some time.

I don't know Mr. Triplett, nor what has happened to his business other than what hearsay has been offered up on the board here and am not in the market for one of his instruments.

What upsets me is that there were some who have posted here in response to folks thinking of calling their credit card companies and told them to give Al time - all would be well.
It appears all isn't well and there is a very narrow window with credit card companies to revoke a charge and that has probably passed for many of these folks. They had a chance to get out and instead were pulled under the water themselves because they listened to the counsel of "hang in there" posted by some here.

****buyers who can still revoke their credit card charges should do it now. You didn't create the problem and shouldn't be expected to hang in there - possibly losing some or all of your money**** If he declares bankruptcy you may not be able to revoke your charge even if you are still within the window to do so. Consult your lawyer

While I guess you could make the case that experience adult instrument buyers understood the risk - I don't think that is the case for young students. An expensive lesson for students to learn. Your airy "they should just deal with it" smacks of insensitivity to a kid who may have worked a lot of hours to buy that horn. Just because Al had bad luck, and/or was undercapitalized, and/or was not a good businessman and/or got in trouble and then ran a modified ponzi scheme - paying off in part or totally certain prized buyers - doesn't do anything for these victims. At this point unfortunately, pushing him into Ch. 7 or 11 isn't probably going to get anything for the victims other than legally letting him off the hook on making buyer partially or totally whole going forward. If he is indeed sincere about doing something for the victims then I think letting him try makes sense at this point in time, but I don't personally have a stake in this.

And remember, bankruptcy is not an ending, but a clean wiped slate, with consequences. I don't want anything bad personally for Al.

Gosh - you don't wish him anything bad "personally" - JUST BANKRUPTCY!

[Michael Bush]

Cut the bullshit and declare bankruptcy. Al will lose a lot and move on. People will lose their money and have to deal with it and move on.

Its a damn shame, but it's been years. No money or no tuba, move on. Al gas no one to blame but himself, and his customers need to have some vindication, if nothing else, through his bankruptcy.

And remember, bankruptcy is not an ending, but a clean wiped slate, with consequences. I don't want anything bad personally for Al.

Every time this comes up (which is far too often) you have some indignant thing to say about it, but as far as I recall you don't have any stake in it.

Vindication? Good grief. Are you kidding? No, we don't need any "vindication". We aren't grunting cavemen. And we don't need Al bankrupt or in jail. We need him working and continuing to make progress on this situation.

[bort]

And remember, bankruptcy is not an ending, but a clean wiped slate, with consequences. I don't want anything bad personally for Al.

Gosh - you don't wish him anything bad "personally" - JUST BANKRUPTCY!

Bankruptcy is never a good thing, but sometimes it is the best option. It exists for the benefit of the people who need it. In terms of not being "personal," no, it's not personal. I think the company, Big Bottom Brass, should declare bankruptcy. Whether or not Al has to do that personally is another story, and his personal business is none of mine.

I may have misspoken a bit as well, as there are several types of bankruptcy. Although shutting the doors and liquidating is one option, a Chapter 11 reorganization is another option if there is hope that the business could become profitable again (which sounds possible here). Some companies recover from Chapter 11 and become profitable again. My point was that if the company fell to Chapter 7, people could end up with no tubas and no refunds (which is right where they are right now).

I really want this to turn out well for everyone, but after a certain point, enough is enough, and it's just not going to get better on its own. People deserve instruments or refunds. And if they can't get either of those, they deserve closure.