Complaint Review: Hobby Manufacturers Association HMA

This Ripoff Report is about a large toy industry association that brushes off and ignores a problem a father had brought to its attention regarding a child's birthday and Christmas being ruined. A big problem regarding one of its members. A problem where its member completely goes against the spirit of the association's business practices and good general customer service conduct.
This Ripoff Report is about a simple call for help to an association of toy manufacturers. An association of manufacturers that makes items to make children happy. An organization at the top of the pile, helping their member manufacturers make each child's toy and present special. An organization with major contacts with all its fee paying members.
This Ripoff Report is about a child that has a problem with a toy product. Shoddy products that didn't work, TWICE, and a manufacturer that seems to do everything against living up to its product description, its agreements and simple common sense, even through the BBB, and by ignoring the Ripoff Report.
This Ripoff Report is about taking the child's problem to the right place. A place that should react to this problem with their own member that works in ways opposite to the spirit of the association. A association that can easily check its member directory and talk to the company. It's about an organization that should provide help and should want to help to ensure the quality of its membership is high and the organization of members is well regarded. It's not really about being a "Good Samaritan" as such, as the organization should act based on requiring good business practice from members and simple common sense.

It is a huge Ripoff that this association has not contacted Megatech International regarding this child's problem, letting them know they are flagrantly acting in dishonest ways that the HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association and the association members should not approve of.

If it is this easy for the staff of a toy association to brush off and ignore a child's problem like this, I hate to think what this toy association is assisting these manufactures towards on other important matters.

This association of manufacturers needs to understand that I took this problem directly to the MANUFACTURER. I didn't take it to the retailer. I took the problem to Megatech International, your member, the MANUFACTURER, for what anyone would expect to be apologetic, swift resolution that excels, to show the customer it cares deeply about the customer experience. That it cares about the products it provides its retailers. That it cares about the reputation it generates for a retailer and the reputation it generates at your association level and the toy industry in general.


The details of the terrible problem going on with Megatech International, an RC toy model manufacturer is listed here.
See Ripoff Report: #345723 at this link:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/345/RipOff0345723.htm

I had failed to solve the problem with Megatech themselves and failed even worse with the BBB (useless!), so I'm now using Ripoff Report. I decided to contact HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association, an association of toy manufacturers. I was sure they would solve the problem very quickly, especially when they have Megatech International as a fee paying member and their phone number close at hand. I was sure they would not want to see a child go through the anniversary of their birthday and remain without the prior year's birthday present all because of their member's extremely bad business practices. I was sure HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association would not want this manufacturer bringing their association of many other members and the entire toy industry into disrepute.

I contacted the HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association (see the letter I list after my complaint to HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association).
They did not reply.
I contacted them a total of 6 times increasing the number of HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association staff I sent the letter to. Nancy Dann, Pat Koziol, Jodi Araujo and others.
Nobody from the HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association has replied at all.
I have been completely ignored.

Before I sent the letter to the HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association I had already wondered what their response might be like considering, according to Hobby Merchandiser 2002, "Megatech President Peter Winston is running for a seat on the RCHTA board of directors.". I have no idea if he was elected, but as the RCHTA Radio Control Hobby Trade Association (and Ihobby Expo or Ihobbyexpo, Ihobbyexpo.com) merged into the HMA, the collective organization should know of Mr. Peter Winston of Megatech International their member on their member web page:
http://www.hmahobby.org/dorel/searchdetail.php?cid=164

To me, this makes it even more interesting that the HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association has absolutely and completely ignored my letters.


Megatech is a HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association member. Here are their details:

Megatech International Incorporated
8300 Tonnelle Ave
North Bergen, New Jersey, 07047
U.S.A.
Contacts: Owner President Peter Winston, VP. David Deans, Jon Lodato / John Lodato, Tony Williams



Although HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association isn't going above and beyond to help the situation, the fact that the HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association should strive for reputable members happens to conflict with its lack of action. The HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association should not be promoting manufacturer members that do not work to good business practices, conduct and honesty.

To the HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association my issue is just another simple bad product issue from a HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association promoted member using extremely bad business practices, and the issue I brought to HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association is not worth their time.

HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association likely values the effect a Product Safety issue can have on a child, but is not interested in the effect a bad product and bad company practices can have on a child. A child with a birthday present that didn't work, its replacement failed on Christmas day (both duds right out of the box), a 90 day warranty eaten up when the child never even had a working product, compensation promised and then denied and compensation issued again but removed when the child goes through what was expected to be trustworthy mediation via the BBB (but wasn't) and totally ignored when taken for real mediation at Ripoff Report. A young child without a birthday present for 1 full year. Countless hours and thousands of dollars worth of administration to try make the problem right. HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association is not interested in how this, done by their member, affects a child.

Ignoring a customer that showed you a bad product isn't doing anything to increase product safety. Ignoring a customer that showed you very bad business practices and a very bad product by one of your members, Megatech International, isn't doing the industry any good, yourselves any good. It shows that HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association is not really interested in its members good businesses practices and the use of them in the industry.

If fact it would be grossly unfair to other fee paying members that work in honest ways for this member to take advantage of the member associate benefits while working in less than honest ways to gain an advantage.

HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association, this is very poor. I would hope you are supposed to be an organization representing member manufacturers. I would hope the collective manufacturers would all generate "GOOD" in the industry. By ignoring us and brushing off the problem thereby defending Megatech International, your member, you bring down the value of your organization and the value of the other member manufacturers in it. By defending your member Megatech International by doing nothing for our dire situation, you are saying their bad ways are acceptable for members of your association of toy manufacturers. This removes any aura of trust in the HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association and this in turn lowers our trust in other manufacturer associates of your toy manufacturer organization. I find it startling the HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association chooses to ignore the situation my young child is in.

I contacted HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association to help assure my child wouldn't be without a birthday present for an entire year. HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association unfortunately did allow this to happen, making no effort to try to ensure Megatech did not allow this to happen.

I expect you to revisit my issue, and to do much better than you have done for this situation that we took precious time and effort to outline to you recently in the letter we sent. I expect you to address Megatech International's conduct in this issue. As the anniversary of the child's birthday has gone by, Christmas is the new target. HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association, you can help.



The original letter I sent to HMA Hobby Manufacturers Association:

November 5th, 2008


Hobby Manufacturers Association
P. O. Box 315
Butler, NJ 07405-0315

Dear Sir or Madam at HMA,

Please forward this to the person (immediately available) in your organization that is interested in the quality of the members (or potential members) and has the ability to discuss issues with the highest level staff at those companies.

I have had a problem with a Toy / Hobby manufacturer / retailer for close to a year and I hope you will assist me with the problem.

The company is:

President: Peter Winston.

Megatech International Incorporated
8300 Tonnelle Ave
North Bergen, New Jersey, 07047
U.S.A.
Phone: 888-634 2911
Fax: 201-662 1450

The problem is about a purchase of a helium fill Megatech radio controlled RC Airship 1 and Area 51 Blimp combo as the main birthday present for my child, and the horrific problems with taking the Megatech blimp problems to the manufacturer.

The product failed on my child's mid Nov 2007 birthday. Birthday ruined. Mr. Lodato and I resolved a problem but discovered another. Megatech's Mr. Lodato made an agreement to compensate us. Megatech stalled the replacement shipment process, but I was eventually able to return the product. The process seemed stalled again. When phoned Megatech said it was in service and was not being shipped. A few days later it arrived on Christmas eve. When opened, it didn't work (it had been sealed double verified as working), and what wasn't working was obvious that it couldn't have worked. In addition to that there was another major problem in it too. Christmas day ruined. To add even more, it wasn't a complete package, and in addition to that they hadn't sent the compensation. Megatech wouldn't reply to us, so I e-mailed again on January 8th 2008. A head repair person phoned us to say our links with Mr. Lodato were removed, the compensation agreement was being removed and I was to pay shipping myself to return the product. I suggested I would take the matter outside Megatech. The conversation then changed and he went to discuss it with Mr. Lodato. Mr. Lodato phoned later in the day, but announced it was a "recorded" conference with his team present. Mr. Lodato said the repair head's call was a mistake and Mr. Lodato in a lengthy call made increasing offers even though I had told him at the beginning of the call I didn't want to spend any time talking about it. The offers increased to an almost acceptable level, but the main thing was that I could not trust them. From then on I decided I could only make agreements with Megatech by working through an independent mediator. I took them to the Trenton, New Jersey BBB for mediation, but Megatech did not work with us the customers. They knew how the BBB worked and bullied their new lesser, un-agreed upon resolution on us. They knew that by simply doing that it would gain them automatic acceptable BBB status. The BBB has to provide it if the manufacturer does anything, even if it doesn't seem right to the BBB assistants.

At this point I had a birthday child that had been without a birthday present for about 1/3 of a year. The child's birthday ruined. The child's Christmas day ruined. I'd been through problems with Megatech. I'd processed all the information through the BBB. All of this, generating something very bad and misleading to other consumers, "a GOOD BBB record" for Megatech. I'd improved how they looked One additional good statistic for them!

Obviously I wasn't pleased. I could give up like many people do after being beaten down by businesses that are members of associations (or not), or I could continue on and right this the best way I could.

After a lot of preparation at the end of June I placed my problem with Megatech on the Ripoff Report at ripoffreport.com
Here's the link to it, or you can search for "Megatech" at the ripoffreport.com web site. It is Report: #345723

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/345/RipOff0345723.htm

This report is what you should read to understand the full details of the problem (what I'm writing to you is just a brief list, there is a lot more to it, warranty scam etc). I have tried to contact Megatech several times but they have totally ignored the Ripoff Report.

Ripoff Report is not a nice place to be. Companies should not strive to be there, but Megatech is taking the option to weather it out. To stay put and try to ignore its problems. The Ripoff Report staff warn companies to stay away from Ripoff Report and solve any problems properly and immediately. There will always be those that try to ignore the warnings, but Ripoff Report is the consumer problem reporting service with the biggest impact. Little escapes its wrath.

I understand that your association represents the toy / hobby industry. I expect you do all you can to help toy companies to achieve the best they can for their customers. Your association strives to represent an association with the good toy companies of America. Your association becomes tarnished whenever it becomes associated with the bad businesses in America, and that isn't good, even when bad businesses may be paying you fees.

In the next few weeks it will be the anniversary of my child being without a birthday present.
Whether or not you represent Megatech, you serve the industry they are in. I and my child are in a terrible position because of this company in your industry. It is madness for the company to try to ignore the problem, especially when I have asked for the same general resolution throughout (bar a 1 day attempt to try budge them), but their idiotic attempt to ignore the problem has really impacted myself and my child and has since cost us time and thousands of dollars in administration (working with Megatech, the BBB and the Ripoff Report, and now you).

Once you understand the Ripoff Report it is easy to see that this company is not acting in the best interests of the customer. Their contact information is listed above, and you likely have access to it yourselves including the President's name Mr. Peter Winston. I think it is important for your association to contact Megatech to discuss my problem with regard to their reputation in the industry and their association with yourselves.

I do not want my child to be without a birthday present for an entire year. I'd like your association to ensure Megatech does not allow this to happen. I'd like to see something drastically different from Megatech (but still observed by a mediator AND yourselves).

Please reply immediately to let me know who will be handling this.

Blimp flying models
Kansas City, Missouri
U.S.A.