Complaint Review: Casemachine - Sunny Isle Beach Florida

• Ultra slim profile
• Light weight at only 12 grams
• Alcantara backplate included
• CNC machined aircraft grade aluminum side protection plates
• Soft touch sleep awake logo button
• Large open ports for third party docking and headphone compatibility
• Ergonomic grip
• Injection molded high impact poly carbonate frame
• Custom interchangeable frame and bezels with optional dimensional backplates available on the Casemachine website.

Of course, when I ordered, there was no mention of an "Alcantara" suede "backplate," (I use the term "backplate" loosely since a stick-on piece of suede can't really be called a "protective" plate; it's more a flimy piece of material that will offer little to no impact protection & is likely to be gouged if not punctured entirely by sharp objecback leaving the back of the phone vulnerable). They actually promoted an honest-to-God carbon fiber backplate. There is also no "Injection Molded high impact polycarbonate frame but rather a flimsy very thin piece of rubber that actully makes up the whole of the "case."

To make matters worse, these "CNC machined, aircraft grade aluminum side 'protection' plates don't necessarily exist as advertised. In fact, they're so thin that I could likely puncture one with light pressure from an awl. Only one of these so-called "protection plates" actually covers the side & (barely) corners of the iPhone. The other one, on the side where the volume controls are, only goes from the bottom corner to maybe half way up the phone's side, where're the rest of the entire thing is comprised instead of this flimsy rubber (it really is very pliable & offers little protection, so to describe it as "injection molded polycarbonate" is a gross exaggeration if not an outright lie).

To make matters worse, the "bottom" of this "case" is actually two extremely thin (I really wish I could include the pictures I've taken of the thing--you all would laugh at it when comparing it to the description & looking at the illustrated versions they show on their website). These thin strips of rubber are apparently meant to go along the edges, leaving the speaker/microphone/headphone jack exposed. The arrived so badly bent that they are impossible to fit to the phone at all. They don't go along the edges as they're designed to (certainly nothing like advertised at the time I placed my order--they only had a "Slimline 5" whereas now they offer a "Slimline 5 Pro" model, which seems to have only some of the features originally offered on the Slimline 5 that was the only Slimline offering until they recently added the "Pro" model).

If all this isn't bad enough, when I went to try it on my phone, thinking it must be meant to stretch around the phone, which I had hoped would straighten out the bent bottom strings, the whole thing actually slipped over the entire perimeter of the phone, literally slipped! It didn't fit snugly at all. The "fit," if I can use that word at all, was worse than it looked. It actually didn't touch the sides of the phone all the way around. It could be made to touch maybe two sides at once if they were held in place manually, but the fit is far from "snug," much less "protective" in any sense of the word as one might expect it to be defined (kind of like I expected an "injection molded polycarbonate" with "CNC machined aircraft aluminum side plates" to make up something that actually would protect my phone from impact or other disturbance).

Having seen all of this, as a birthday present from my wife, no less, which she expected to be the pièce de resistance of my birthday presents, both of us concluded within 30 seconds that we needed to contact them to receive instructions on how to return the item for a refund, $60 after tax & shipping. We have since made numerous attempts to contact them via email at [email protected] and by phone at their non-toll-free number, 786-245-4466, we have been greeted with complete radio silence. Unlike other customers who have apparently had the same or worse problems than I have, I'm afraid that I cannot comment on the nature of their customer service since to us it is absolutely non-existent, unless you consider an outgoing answering machine message to be customer service. After several email attempts by both my wife & me, as well as several messages left on their "support" telephone number that haven't received response. We actually make it a point to call during their listed "business hours," but they always seem to be "on the line helping other customers."

To anyone looking for an actual CNC machined aluminum case or a real injection molded hard plastic case, one that has a proprietary TPU rubber-type coating INSIDE the aluminum or plastic frame, please forget casemachine.com & go to http://www.elementcase.com instead. Element case has been around for a while & has been reviewed favorably by reputable electronics publications. An Element Case will cost you twice or more what Casemachine charges (unless you go with their molded plastic case, which does retail for $49.99 as do alone or two other non-case options), but it will be worth the price you pay.

Element Case actually says when they use Alcantara Suede, which they do on one or two models at most, & when they offer other options, including carbon fiber & other hard materials. Each if their cases is ACTUALLY covered INSIDE by their TPU rubber-type lining to prevent the metal from coming into contact with the metal of the phone (unlike Casemachine, where the very thin, easily bendable & likely punctureable "machined aluminum side plate" has absolutely no rubber between it & the phone on the short side, the side that has the volume controls on the iPhone).

I honestly don't know where this will end with Casemachine. At this point, I have contacted both the Florida State Attorney General's Office as well as the Miami-Dade County Consumer Protection division to file complaints for consumer fraud & to have Casemachine investigated. Considering that this is interstate commerce, I'm also considering filing a Federal suit for fraud against Casemachine, especially if I can actually name the owners personally (as well as any employees whose names & employment I can confirm so that the suit names individuals personally as well as the company as its own entity since its likely an LLC if not a corporation, making it a person in the eyes of the law).

If you really want a fantastic, lightweight aluminum case for your iPhone, absolutely go to http://www.elementcase.com & spend the money to protect your investment, even if their most expensive product costs the same as an iPhone (there's only one of those) & their midline products cost around $100-$140. It's worth the price to get something made right & made to honestly protect your iPhone from significant impact or drops & actually has real TPU material molded to the inside of the aluminum to both protect against impacts as well as isolate the phone's metal sides to preserve (or in some cases improve) cellular reception. If you take anything from this, please learn from my experience: stay far, far away from Casemachine & go with Element Case despite the cost. The old saying definitely applies here: you get what you pay for, absolutely.

Whether or not I actually ever hear from Casemachine's "support" & actually get a refund without having to file expensive lawsuits, I am very likely to buy a case from Element (http://www.elementcase.com), regardless of the fact that I'll be out my $60 until I can either win a substantial suit or get my proper refund actually from Casemachine, which I'm beginning to doubt will ever happen. Save yourself & go to Element Case right from the start. From what I've seen of ACTUAL pictures of their products on their website as well as reputable reviews from honest industry publications, the case is better than anything else made & will be well worth the money--and don't be frightened by the fact that the Element Case "hinges" around the phone & requires (supplied with purchase) tools & recessed screws to install it. It looks very simple to do & will protect your phone far longer than you're likely to have it. Let's just hope that when Apple comes out with the 5s or the iPhone 6, whichever way they go, it will have the same dimensions as the iPhone 5, meaning that your investment in the Element Case will pay for itself a couple times over.