Complaint Review: Vintage Radio Chuck Groome Owner

On the 15th of October 2003 I won an auction on EBay for a linear amplifier for my ham radio station.The amp was described in the auction description as,"It works perfect.Has full output.This is the nicest NCL-2000 i have ever seen."

On October 29th I sent a postal money order for $610 via Fed Ex overnight.As per arrangements I had made with Chuck Groome I drove to Texas from Tennessee to pick up the amp.At the time I was impressed by Chuck's collection and his apparent knowledge of vintage gear.

I wasn't able to immediately fire up the amp when I returned home because I didn't have the necessary 220 volt line ran to my radio room.Approximately 2 weeks later I had it done.In the interim I noticed that some screws were missing from the cabinet.I also noted at this time that there was evidence of arcing and that the filter capacitors were leaking. I was concerned about the condition of the caps,before I had bid,so I asked Chuck about changing them.He told me that they were in good shape and not to concern myself about them.

I hooked up the amp turned it on and nothing.I looked through the vent holes at the inside of the amp and saw that a part of the safety switch,a 6 in. 1/4" dia. dowel rod,was missing. I called Chuck and he said he had found it after I left but I could make up one myself. I went and bought a 1/4" dowel rod at the hardware store cut it to length and put it in.I turned on the power and waited for a couple of second and them boom it started smoking heavily.I called Chuck. He stated at this time he had lent out this amp to a friend and had just gotten it back a few days prior to him putting it up for auction.And he said his friend must have broken it.He also said he would fix it and pay for the return costs.A few days later I had it boxed and shipped to Chuck.

A few weeks pass and now it's the middle of December and still no amp back from Chuck. I called him and he stated he had missed a lot of work because of the flu. I gave him the benefit of the doubt because of the high number of flu cases that were being reported during this period.He said then he would be "getting to it" in the next few days.

I called,again,on December 30th 2003 and he stated it was shipped via Overnite Express on the 29th.I asked him for a tracking number and he said he'd get it to me "tomorrow".It never came and neither did the amp. At this time I was staring to get a bad feeling about Chuck.

I called again on Jan.6 2004,my birthday, and asked Chuck where was my amp he then said he shipped it,via Overnite Express "yesterday",Jan 5. So when did he ship it,Dec 29 or Jan 5?I called Overnite Express and asked if they had a shipment coming from Vintage Radio in Paris TX to me and the answer was no!A couple days later I called to confront him about the problem. He had an employee answer the phone. She said he wasn't there and she knew the amp was shipped. All the time I could hear a male voice,who I assumed was Chuck,coaching her on what to say.

One more call two days later.I didn't mention the fact I heard the coaching.This time he said when he arrived at work that morning the amp was sitting there destroyed by Overnite Express.He said he'd reimburse me.

I haven't received any reimbursement. He won't answer any e mails or phone calls.IMHO this man is a thief a liar and should be arrested for fraudulent business practices.

I'm curious to see what his rebuttal will be if in fact he does.

William
Chattanooga, Tennessee
U.S.A.