Starting to think I just lost two grand..

T

twirl

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So I had looked for a blade maker to make 100 blades for a project I had started last year, and after contacting Robert Hankins, he agreed to make them for me.

He asked for $2000 as a deposit and I had sent it via paypal on September 06.

After not receiving useable prototypes by March 07, I had told Robert that if he did not have the time for this project, then I need my money back.

3/13/07 Robert said that he was sending out a check at the end of the week, and that it was a mistake for him to take on that project with all the things he had going on.

4/7/07 Robert said that he was waiting on paypal to snail mail him a new password since it did not recognize his ip address, and that I'd get my money back then.

4/30/07 I had told Robert that customer service had given him the wrong information and that ip address has nothing to do with passwords, so I requested a check instead. Robert said a check would be mailed by wed(5/2/07)

5/10/07 I called Robert's cell phone and he said that no check was mailed out. That the check was going to be mailed on Tuesday 5/15/07 or before.

I mean, I know that R. Hankins is a well respected knife maker and the last thing that I would think is that he is trying to scam me. I know that he has a ton of things going on, and I expressed my understanding by being more than patient and waiting months in between blade samples and months to get my deposit back.

Unfortunately at this point I dont have a reason to believe that it is coming in anytime soon. All I have received are broken promises and expectations of getting my money back which were not met. I had continued to fund my project with the money I was told was sent out long ago, so you can imagine what kind of position this puts me in.

I have been told by several people to contact small claims but because of my trust for knifemakers in general, I have continued to believe that my deposit would be returned.

Many of you know Robert personally, and can vouch for his credibility. It takes all of 5 minutes to write a check and mail it out, so if anyone close to him speaks to him, please tell him to send back my deposit. Thanks for reading.

**UPDATE**
5/15/07 - Robert has returned my call to let me know that the deposit went out today. Will update again when it is deposited and hopefully this whole thing will blow over.
 
twirl said:
So I had looked for a blade maker to make 100 blades for a project I had started last year, and after contacting Robert Hankins, he agreed to make them for me.

He asked for $2000 as a deposit and I had sent it via paypal on September 06.

After not receiving useable prototypes by March 07, I had told Robert that if he did not have the time for this project, then I need my money back.

3/13/07 Robert said that he was sending out a check at the end of the week, and that it was a mistake for him to take on that project with all the things he had going on.

4/7/07 Robert said that he was waiting on paypal to snail mail him a new password since it did not recognize his ip address, and that I'd get my money back then.

4/30/07 I had told Robert that customer service had given him the wrong information and that ip address has nothing to do with passwords, so I requested a check instead. Robert said a check would be mailed by wed(5/2/07)

5/10/07 I called Robert's cell phone and he said that no check was mailed out. That the check was going to be mailed on Tuesday 5/15/07 or before.

I mean, I know that R. Hankins is a well respected knife maker and the last thing that I would think is that he is trying to scam me. I know that he has a ton of things going on, and I expressed my understanding by being more than patient and waiting months in between blade samples and months to get my deposit back.

Unfortunately at this point I dont have a reason to believe that it is coming in anytime soon. All I have received are broken promises and expectations of getting my money back which were not met. I had continued to fund my project with the money I was told was sent out long ago, so you can imagine what kind of position this puts me in.

I have been told by several people to contact small claims but because of my trust for knifemakers in general, I have continued to believe that my deposit would be returned.

Many of you know Robert personally, and can vouch for his credibility. It takes all of 5 minutes to write a check and mail it out, so if anyone close to him speaks to him, please tell him to send back my deposit. Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...

Hi

I don't know Mr Hankins.

But you are anonymous here at this time- no company name, knifemaker name or website to identify you.

Perhaps, if would be fair for you to post your full name here?

Neil
 
Neil Ostroff said:
Hi

I don't know Mr Hankins.

But you are anonymous here at this time- no company name, knifemaker name or website to identify you.

Perhaps, if would be fair for you to post your full name here?

Neil
Click to expand...
The guy's been here for 5 years already. Is it now a requirement to post your full name when you want to make a post in TGBU?
 
I had to wait over a month to access my paypal account. It wouldn't let me log on from home, so there is definitely some sort of problem with pp in that regard. I found a hell of a lot of complaints about the service when trying to find out what happened. CS didn't offer to mail me a new pw, they didn't do much of anything til the third call. About a week later, voila I can spend the paypal funds again.

hopefully everything gets worked out, but I at least know that the paypal problem could very well be genuine.
 
TorzJohnson said:
The guy's been here for 5 years already. Is it now a requirement to post your full name when you want to make a post or request information in TGBU?
Click to expand...

No- it is not a requirement as far as I know. Nor should it be.

It is just a comment by me that if this person is going to (in his first post on the subject) publicize the name of somebody who has supposedly wronged him, that, in my personal opinion, it would be fair and courteous to state ones name.

This is not a matter to re-write the rules- just a comment, which I still stand by.

Neil Ostroff
 
I continue to try to trust Robert and do agree, that paypal customer service may have gave him the wrong information. Which is the reason I requested a check.

My name is Jerry Hom. I am a mechanical engineer taking a stab at designing knives and would prefer to be called a "knife designer", but of course that was not available in the options when upgrading accounts.

Here is my project, that is the latest prototype of what I am making.

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=472020

I am very new to this industry as an actual maker or seller, but as for a member, yes I've been here for quite a while.

I too hope that this works out and blows over.
 
Neil Ostroff said:
It is just a comment by me that if this person is going to (in his first post on the subject) publicize the name of somebody who has supposedly wronged him, that, in my personal opinion, it would be fair and courteous to state ones name.

This is not a matter to re-write the rules- just a comment, which I still stand by.

Neil Ostroff
Click to expand...
This forum is full threads by people publicizing the names of people who supposedly wronged them. You've got a long haul ahead of you if you want to set them all straight.
 
Ok this is ridiculous.

The check came in today for the amount of $1000 with a note that says "Will send another check in a few weeks".

The check is written to show that the remainder will be paid on 6/24/07.

I dont want my money next month or next year or in ten years. I'm sick of having to remind him and spend this time and aggravation to get my money back.

I just tried calling his cell number and now it says "number or code you have dialed is incorrect".

Seriously, I'm getting ready to call the police and small claims.
 
I would assume that the reason that he only sent you $1000.00 was that is all he had. It sucks, but you can't get blood from a stone. It looks to me that your only choice is going to be to wait until next month for the other half of your money. If it's going to make you feel better then by all means give him a call and let him know that you are not impressed, but when all is said and done, next month is likely when you are going to get paid.
 
R.Hankins is one of my favorite knifemakers,one of his knives is on my never-sell list and it saddens me to read this.I hope he shows up and tell us his side of the story.
 
Keith Montgomery said:
I would assume that the reason that he only sent you $1000.00 was that is all he had. It sucks, but you can't get blood from a stone. It looks to me that your only choice is going to be to wait until next month for the other half of your money. If it's going to make you feel better then by all means give him a call and let him know that you are not impressed, but when all is said and done, next month is likely when you are going to get paid.
Click to expand...

If you accept a down payment of 2 grand and do not deliver you best be able to reimburse your customer upon demand. This is called honest business.

One should never spend what is not his, period..............
 
i agree wolfman but if ya got bills coming in and that $$'s available.........shit happens i suppose.

not that i think its right, but i can understand what happens.

imho a lot of these guys are just scraping by, hoping to hit it big, and letting themselves get behind and boom, before ya know it they are owing folks $$ they dont have.

but ya just cant take folks $$ and then not deliver the goods in a timely fashion, doing this virtually guarantees ya wont ever "make it big".

if they just wouldnt ask for deposits/payment up front and if customers just wouldnt give deposits/payment up front things would go a lot smoother imho.
 
I usually agree with you but this time......................................?

It is a good thing it was a deposit for knives and not for a house. Imagine if this were a house sale and your realtor spent your 5 grand deposit before the deal was completed and the sale did not go through and by no fault of your own. I know it would knock me out of house buying until said realtor paid me in full and to have to wait months for it????????

Oh well, Have a nice weekend my knifeknut friends!!
 
wolfmann601 said:
If you accept a down payment of 2 grand and do not deliver you best be able to reimburse your customer upon demand. This is called honest business.

One should never spend what is not his, period..............
Click to expand...

You are right, but what can be done to get the money sooner? Since Robert is making an effort to return the money, the courts would not likely rule that he would have to pay it any faster. This shouldn't have happened to twirl, but it could have been a lot worse. It still could be if he doesn't get the other $1000.00, but I don't see that happening. If Robert doesn't make that payment his reputation will take a much bigger hit than if he is slow in getting twirl his money back.
 
No the biggest thing is the lack of effort in getting my money back on his part.

I am left to always remind him and constantly call or PM or everything to make sure my money is being returned. If I didnt, days and days would go by without anything, and that's happened already.

And you know what? That causes me aggravation, and that causes me time. Moreso, the fact that I cant use it to pay for my knife that I plan to release within weeks, really makes this especially difficult.

I know that Robert is extremely busy but I've expressed my understanding by waiting so long already. And judging by the replies, I dont think anyone is blaming me for being pissed off from what has happened.
 
Sorry, but I have to put in my two cents. It doesn't matter if it's two million, two thousand or two dollars. It's not his money, and should be returned, with interest, immediately! This is common business sense. Bill
 
twirl, you have every right to be pissed, I sure would be. All I am saying is that it looks like the only option you have is to wait until June to get the rest of your money back. This sucks for you and isn't something that is good for Robert's reputation, but it appears that there is no money to send you right now.
 
Twirl, you have bent over backwards being patient and trying to be understanding of whatever that fellow's "problems" may be. If I were in your shoes I'd probably be a LOT madder about it than you are! I don't know of anything you can do about it that you aren't doing now, and that fool that still owes you a big chunk of money (well, it's a big chunk to me) should, if he has any sense at all, understand that what he has done to you and continues to do to you will damage any reputation he may have had beyond repair. Keep us informed if you don't mind. Nobody should get taken like this!!!
 
Twirl,

Sorry that you got screwed by him, hope he sends you YOUR money back, and you are able to move on real soon.

Thanks for the information on the situation. Definitely food for thought for any considering buying from this maker. Good luck to you.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson
 
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