Complaint Review: Alpha Kinetix

 The ripoff report against Alpha Kinetix is inaccurate and malicious. The reputation of this service center remains at the highest standards for over 35 years in operation. The musicians and engineers in the south Florida area, and the touring groups and artists we provide special services too are the best indicators of our ongoing quality standards. Just ask any professional musician who's been around , you'll always hear we are recommended for best service in entertainer support.

I brought my 1970 Marshall amplifier in for repairs in May of 2005, and over the years I paid him a total of $1500 deposits (I have all the checks from the bank if you require them) because he said he did not have the resources to procure parts needed. He tried to justify his charges and time delay in the repair by saying that the OEM parts for such and old vintage amp were expensive and very hard to get. he also said at various points of contact by phone, that my output and choke
transformers were bad, and that my Power Transformer needed to be replaced.       

By July 2010 I was sick of getting the runaround and told him to have my amp  ready because I was going to come with the Sheriff. I picked up the amp in July and brought it back to Melbourne where I had moved , and the amp blew up! I took the amp to another repairman who later stated under oath in Broward County Civil Court, that the only thing he could tell had been done to my amp in 5 years was the changing of $80 worth of tubes, and the replacement of the ohm selector switch with something one would buy at Radio Shack!        

The technician did acknowledge the replacement of my original transformer, and noted the sloppy and haphazard method in which it was done. The amplifier was not biased correctly if at all, and jury rigged to run on an improper replacement transformer. He reiterated that all the other parts that I had been told needed to be and were supposedly
replaced by Gary Phillips, were items that were installed at the Marshall facility at the time of the units manufacture, and had NEVER been removed or replaced! The original filter capacitors were still installed after Gary Phillips repair job that took over 5 years, and that is the first thing a qualified and competent technician would have replaced, as stated by the technician as well as the Marshall service manual for the amplifier!         


So in other words, my vintage Marshall Drake Transformer had also been swapped out rather shoddily with an inferior Laney 50W model that he might have cannibalized from somewhere, I don't know as I assume the worst from this whole episode. The power transformer he claims that was 'rewound to spec'  as Gary Phillips claimed on his invoice was never opened up, and when asked to produce the invoice for the rewinding service he claimed some little old man in (from somewhere) he uses had submitted to him for the work, he could not produce the document in court!  I had that particular item  sent to be checked and inspected at Mercury Magnetics in Hawthorne, California.  They reported and documented that the transformer had never been opened, let alone rewound as claimed by Gary Phillips.         

The whereabouts of the original Drake transformer that was outfitted with my vintage Marshall amp (I have owned the amp since it was new) is unknown, but I suspect it something nebulous has happened to it!  I have no proof, just a suspicion.  

I brought Gary Phillips and his Alpha Kinetic, Inc. organization to Small claims court in Broward County, Fl. and was awarded a judgment of $480 plus court costs with 6% interest, because the judge seemed rather numb in technical matters, and the court actually lost my case for months due to clerical errors, so who knows if she even remembered anything about the
 the veracity of the repair charges endemic to the case. She probably just looked at some figures (basically what the TRUE technician charged me to REALLY fix the amp) and signed off on it on July 25th, 2011.

The Case # is : COCE-10-017223 presided over by Judge  Lisa Von Tefs 54 The ordered and signed date was 07/25/2011.  I am sick and tired of this whole affair, and I am getting more and more aggravated by the day. Mr. Phillips believes he can ignore all my efforts to bring him to account, and that I will relent at some point. I can assure him I will not.

Further delay of paying the paltry sum ordered by the impotent court system on his part will only make my demand for monetary restitution increase. I have already filed various judgment liens totaling $40, and I will also be filing liens in every county which Mr. Phillips owns real property, including out of state assets (my demands will total an additional $500-$1000 after I take into account all the research, traveling, and fees I will have incurred in doing such).            

The Broward County Better Business Bureau has also received a full report of this incident, and a link to this report shall be available on every online musicians community bulletin board that I can find on the internet.           

As I have stated previously, Civil Action is not out of the question at this point. I believe I still have enough evidence and expert testimony still available, as well as all the notarized and necessary documents to pursue the matter until Mr. Gary Phillips is held to the degree of accountability which his actions or inaction have warranted.

I also understand that Alpha Kinetix is planning on suing me for slander and harassment. I have only reported what I believe to be a repair charge that was completely made under false pretenses. My state of mind is certainly affected by this whole episode, especially since discovering that I paid him $1500 for a terrible repair job and according to an expert would have only cost a $100 in parts (basically tubes), and he has not made one overture to close this matter for once and for all. Maybe I have made some assumptions that have been erroneous concerning his legal wranglings to avoid paying the judgment, but I do know for a fact that I was charged $1500 for his "work", and that he denied me my property for 5 years. That is enough to send anyone into reactionary reasoning.

I brought my 1970 Marshall amplifier in for repairs in May of 2005, and
over the years I paid him a total of $1500 deposits ( I have all the
checks from the bank if you require them)
because he said he did not have the resources to procure parts needed. He tried to justify his charges and time delay in the repair by saying that the OEM parts for such and old vintage amp were expensive and very hard to get. he also said at various points of contact by phone, that my output and choke transformers were bad, and that my Power Transformer needed to be replaced.
By July
2010 I was sick of getting the runaround and told him to have my amp
ready
because I was going to come with the Sheriff. I picked up the amp in
July and
brought it back to Melbourne , and the amp blew up. I took the amp to
another repairman and he stated under oath in Broward County Civil
Court, that the only thing he could tell had been done
to my amp in 5 years was the changing of $80 worth of tubes, and some rather shoddy repairs to a ohm selector switch. He did acknowledge the replacement of my original transformer, and noted the sloppy haphazard method in which it was done, but he iterated that all the other parts that I had been told needed to be replaced, were items that were installed at the marshall facility, and NEVER removed or replaced! The original filter caps were still installed after his repair, and that is the first thing an honest technician would have replaced. So in other words, my vintage Marshall Drake Transformer had also been swapped out rather shoddily with an inferior Laney 50W model that he cannibalized from somewhere, and I had that particular item sent to be checked and inspected at Mercury Magnetics in Hawthorne, California. They reported and documented that the transformer had never been opened, let alone rewound as claimed by Gary Phillips.
 I brought
him to
Small claims court and  was awarded a
judgment of $480 plus court costs with 6% interest, because the judge
was
rather dumb in technical matters, and actually lost my case for months
in
clerical errors, so who knows if she even remembered anything about the
fraudulent repair charges of the case, and just looked at some figures
(basically
what the other technician charged me to REALLY fix the amp)and signed
off on it
on July 25th, 2011. He has refused to pay the total amount of $705.18
judgment,
and he is now changing the name of his Fictitious Name registration at
Sunbiz.org to Gary Phillips, Inc., probably in an attempt to escape any
of his
liabilities to this case, and probably others I have heard of from
other
Amplifier Parts Suppliers around the nation.. He may also be
transferring
property into his wife's name that might be liable to forfeit. This is
of
course, illegal, and I may avail myself of further legal action in
Civil
Court should he not pay what the court has
ordered.

The Case # is : COCE-10-017223

the judge's name was Lisa Von Tefs 54

The ordered and signed date was 07/25/2011

I am sick and tired of this whole affair, and I am getting
more and more aggravated by the day. Mr. Phillips believes he can
ignore all my
efforts to bring him to account, and that I will relent at some point. I
can
assure him I will not. I will pursue this affair until he is held
accountable.
Further delay will only make the demand increase monetarily. I have
already
filed various judgment liens totaling $40, and I will also be filing
liens in
every county which Mr. Phillips owns real property, including out of
state
assets which will total an additional $500 after I take into account
all the research,
traveling, and fees I will incur in doing such.