Masterchiefs

[rhino]

I placed an order at the end of March for a shotshell sling from Masterchiefs

LINK Now i've tried E-mailing them to find out where my sling was (i mean, 14 quid posted! Bargain!!!) but have no joy. It's the same when i try to phone them, where i get greeted by the same bored woman-answering machine "Please leave a message"

Has anybody else ordered items from them and had the same problem or is it just me?

[Intimidator]

Bring a civil suit against them after 3 months...I am not a lawyer but in the US you have 6 months... Ask to speak to the head honcho in order of PR and tell him you are prepared to take them to court.

 

REMEMBER I know a good bit about US law but squat about UK law.

 

You dont even have to bring them to court just say you will. If they say "OK." Go ahead and get a lawyer to send them a lawyerish threatening letter.

[screamin_weasel]

what, over 14 quid ?

 

do they have a shop front rhino ?

 

you could go there, but again, for the sake of 14 quid? especially if its on the other side of the country.

[HaVoC]

Mastercheif's are supposed to be a very good company, and this is odd.

 

I'd give it a bit more time, as you need to remember that they do import all of their stuff, and most of the BHI gear at the moment is going to soldiers. The little that MCs can get hold of will probably be snapped up by law enforcement pretty quickly, too.

 

Odd about the lack of contact, but I'd give 'em until the end of the month first.

[Intimidator]

Is my idea even possible in britain?

[rhino]

@Havoc, i'd seen them advertising back in about 2000 or 2001 in GunMart and sent off for their Blackhawk catalogue, (which i recently found in the attic). I'd had a look for the shotgun slings with the shell loops but the most i could find was an 8 looper from airsoft scotland at 20 quid. Masterchiefs have the 15 loop version, so i thought i'd E-mail them. They replied promptly so i sent payment for 14.15 (inc P&P) Since then i have tried to phone them, sent them E-mails... The only thing i'm short of doing is catching the train and going to find the address (which i don't want to do as knowing my temper, i'll do something "Regretful" and i want to avoid that) they said that they'd recieved my payment but after that... nothing.

 

@Screamin Weasel, they're based in Lancs which is a 30 min train ride or so.

 

@Intimidator, i don't know much about law and i'd rather settle this without having to use solicitors or any form of intimidation, but at the moment my hands are tied and it's bloody frustrating.

[Chris P]

Go lay the smackdown on them rhino!

[doc_newstead]

I know the law is pretty clear on this: if you take payment from somebody's credit card, then you have to ensure that the item is received within 30 days. So they've either taken your money and don't have the item, in which case you can take it up with your credit card company, or they've not taken the money yet, in which case you can try and cancel the order.

 

Either way, I think you have to wait 28 days before you can complain fully. It doesn't look like you've waited that long though rhino. I could mention AD taking 7 months to get my mate's gun, but, apparently, I just made that story up...

[rhino]

Update: I FINALLY managed to get a reply back from the guy who runs Masterchiefs and was told that it is at Heathrow airport and awaiting to be sent to them.

 

That wouldn't be so bad apart from the fact that that was a FORTNIGHT ago!!! I will definitely NOT be going there again!

[rhino]

Update: Well, it's almost 2 months now since i put the order in for this sling and in all that time i have only received one reply. I have now requested that he refund the amount i paid inc P&P before i take legal action.

 

DO NOT use Masterchiefs! They are untrustworthy and will therefore not be receiving any more business from me!

[xRAZERx]

By the way mate AA had some DPM ones for about £9.99 but I didn't take a long look at them.

 

[rhino]

It's amazing what results you can get when you threaten to ask for a refund and legal action. Apparently, the sling has miraculously arrived at their depot and is now winging it's way to me! Now we shall wait and see.

[Tommygunn]

I heard from a good and reliable source that Masterchiefs suck because they get their blackhawk gear, not direct from the States, but through Edgar Bros who are the official importers. This way of obtaining Blackhawk gear is notoriously slow. 2 months + easy.

Don't bother.

[rhino]

Well i'll be fair and give him 48 hours. If the item still hasn't arrived by that time then i'm gettin' my money back.

[Arnie]

Rhino - Masterchiefs contacted me via email to complain about this thread and your commentary. Specifically they draw objection to the timeline you detail.

 

Can you confirm that you have the goods, and possibly if you know them add here details of what communications you successfully received from MC (just date/time/order-status).

 

I've already directed them to contact you directly to resolve any outstanding issue (which they should have done in the first place rather than mailing me).

 

In my opinion a delay of some 7 weeks from recept of payment on April 4th , to shipment on May 20th is indeed very slow customer service.

 

MC detail that they dispute the timeline of events and have said that they advised you of order status throughout your order process. As a retailer has a right of reply to any complaint and rather than paraphrase their email to me, here is the communication received (reprinted as it was not marked confidential, or in confidence and is relevant to this thread with customer name left out):

 

Dear Arnie,

 

I wish to take issue with certain postings made on your forums by member number 37 aka Rhino (but better known to me as Mr I [#####]).  Between the dates of April 12 2005 and May 20 2005, he posted untrue facts about his dealings with Master Chiefs. I know these are untrue because I was the person who dealt with him.

 

Firstly, he claims to have placed the order at the end of March 2005, which is not true – we received an e-mail from Mr [#####] on March 12 2005 requesting prices for the item concerned which was passed to me to deal with. I sent a reply to this e-mail on March 17 quoting him a price of £ 14.15 including UK delivery and giving him th various options for placing an order with us.  On March 24 2005 I received an e-mail from Mr [#####] saying that he was interested in the item and that he would be sending the money along with the order in a fortnight from the preceding Wednesday (23/03/05) – by my reckoning April 6 2005.  In this e-mail he also asked for prices for another item, for which I also quoted him a price of £ 14.15 including UK delivery.

 

On April 4 2005, I received a phone call from Mr Sadler, who is the senior partner in Master Chief’s and who resides at our mailing address in Burton-in-Lonsdale to say that he had received postal orders in the amount of £14.20 from Mr [#####] in respect of an order for 1 x 43SS15BK (BlackHawk 15 shell Shotgun Sling).  Having received Mr [#####]’s money I proceeded to order the required item from our suppliers, Edgar Brothers. This order was placed on April 5 2005. On April 8 2005, I received another e-mail from Mr [#####], asking whether or not I had received his money – to which I replied on April 10 2005 stating that yes we had received his money and informing him that it was received on 04/04/05 and that the order had been placed on 05/04/05.  On the same day that this e-mail was sent to me, another was sent to Mr Sadler stating – “i ordered a 15 loop shotgun sling off you a week or so back and was just wondering if it has been despatched yet? My name is Ian [#####] and i paid Postal order for 14.15p.”. This was just 4 days after paying for the item and just 3 days after it was ordered from the suppliers.

 

On April 12 2005, Rhino made his first posting stating that the item had been ordered at the end of March and that he had been unable to contact us by either e-mail or phone.  As you can see, the many enquiries received from Mr [#####] were all dealt with in a forthright manner.  As to the fact that he was unable to contact us by phone, messages were left on our answer phone and these were forwarded to me by Mr Sadler.

 

On April 13 2005, the second posting from Rhino appears which not only contradicts his first posting but also contains an implied threat of physical violence towards Mr Sadler – “Masterchiefs have the 15 loop version, so i thought i'd E-mail them. They replied promptly so i sent payment for 14.15 (inc P&P) Since then i have tried to phone them, sent them E-mails... The only thing i'm short of doing is catching the train and going to find the address (which i don't want to do as knowing my temper, i'll do something "Regretful" and i want to avoid that) they said that they'd recieved my payment but after that... nothing.”

 

On April 18 2005, we received another e-mail from Mr [#####] stating that it had been a fortnight since he had ordered the item and had we heard anything from our suppliers, to which I contacted Edgar Brothers who stated that there was a parcel awaiting collection at Heathrow but they did not know what items were in it, owing to the fact that BlackHawk were prioritising orders from US servicemen in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.  I replied to Mr [#####] the same day and informed him of the above facts stating that I would ring Edgars the following day to find out if the package had been collected and if so, what the contents were.

 

On April 20 2005, I took a short break to attend the wedding of a close friend, which entailed being away from home for 5 or 6 days.  On my return, I found another e-mail from Mr [#####], stating that if he had not heard from us within a short space of time, he would be asking for a refund. In this e-mail he included his contact number and I duly rang him, explaining that as at April 20 2005, the package had not been collected, but that I would contact Edgars again and try to ascertain the status of his order.  I also informed him that where items are not in stock there can be a 3-4 week delay while the items are imported from the states.  I also informed Mr [#####] that we have Britsih servicemen and women who have been waiting up to 3 months for items of kit that are in demand by US troops.

 

3 days after this conversation, I was phoned by Mr [#####] asking where his gear was, to which I replied that I was away from by computer but would contact Edgars asap to find out. (Mr [#####] has a habit of phoning or e-mailing after 5pm on a Friday, which means that nothing can be done until 9am Monday)

 

On May 18 2005, the Third posting from Rhino states that we have just told him that the stuff is at Heathrow, this is exactly one month after he was informed of these facts – why the delay? Also on May 18, Mr [#####] sent an e-mail to Mr Sadler stating that he had had enough of waiting, and could he have a refund please?  This message was forwarded to me and I received it on 19/05/2005. I immediately contacted Edgar Brothers to find out where Mr [#####]’s goods were, and forwarding a copy of the original, e-mailed order.  I was then informed that the item in question had arrived but had been mistakenly placed in stock, rather than sent out. I contacted Mr [#####] and informed him that the item was in stock but that if he still wanted a refund we would be happy to arrange it, as per his instructions – postal orders, made out to Mr [#####] and uncrossed – at which point Mr [#####] decided that he still wanted the item after all.  I contacted  Edgars and the item was shipped to Mr [#####] on May 20 2005.

 

On May 19 2005, Rhino’s fourth posting states – “Update: Well, it's almost 2 months now since i put the order in for this sling and in all that time i have only received one reply. I have now requested that he refund the amount i paid inc P&P before i take legal action.  DO NOT use Masterchiefs!  They are untrustworthy and will therefore not be receiving any more business from me!”.  Given that P&P was included in the quoted price of £ 14.15 and that this was the day after he e-mailed and requested a full refund I don’t know what he’s talking about.

 

On May 20 2005, fifth posting from Rhino – “It's amazing what results you can get when you threaten to ask for a refund and legal action. Apparentlyly, the sling has miraculously arrived at their depot and is now winging it's way to me! Now we shall wait and see.”

 

And, same day – “Well i'll be fair and give him 48 hours. If the item still hasn't arrived by that time then i'm gettin' my money back.”

 

Since then, neither Mr Sadler or I have heard anything from Mr [#####], so I guess he received the goods and is happy with them. We however, are not happy about his libellous  assertions that we could not be contacted or that we did not do everything possible to obtain his goods in a forthright manner.  If anything it should be us seeking legal opinions as to whether we can proceed against Mr [#####] on the grounds of libel.  Additionally, member number 578 – Tommygunn has been misinformed by his “good and reliable source” because BlackHawk will only export to BlackHawk Authorised Dealers and there is only one of those in the UK – Edgar Brothers. We have never claimed to be an importer of BlackHawk Goods only a retailer and as such we have to purchase them from Edgars. 

 

All of the above dates have been checked against our phone and e-mail logs and I will be happy to forward all correspondence from Mr [#####] if it will help.  We would like these untruths to be corrected and the members of your forum informed of the above.  We appreciate that Mr [#####] had to wait longer than advised for his goods but he was informed at all stages of the process.  He then chose to misrepresent his dealing with us through your pages.

 

Many thanks in anticipation of your swift response,

 

Richard Eastell

Order Administrator

Master Chiefs

 

Member Name: rifleman

[NBK2K]

^Is it me or does that email reply from them sound like brown nosing?

[rhino]

Yes, i received the item EVENTUALLY. I had contacted them by phone and E-mail and in all that time from the end of March to me actually getting the Sling i only received a few E-mails. I don't have the ones that he sent me as i was furious at him and deleted the FEW that i receieved.

 

Here is a list of the E-mails i sent him.

 

Hi there,

Message 1 dated Sat, 12 Mar 2005 10:59:43 +0000 (GMT

 

i've been trying to get ahold of a shotgun sling for

my SPAS 12 folding shotgun (airsoft Tokyo Marui

version) and i was told that you might be able to help

me. I'm looking for a particular sling that can hold

the marui shotgun shells. If you can help me with

this, can you give me some prices, P&P, availability

etc. You can contact me at

 

Message 2 dated Thu, 24 Mar 2005 10:15:30 +0000 (GMT

 

yes i'm definately interested in the shotgun shell sling. I will be placing the order a fortnight this Wednesday just gone. Just out of curiosity do you stock the Pro Shooters forearm shot-shell holder? If so how much inc P&P as if you do have one i'll probably get it along with the sling. I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Regards

 

Message 3 dated Fri, 1 Apr 2005 08:09:05 +0100

 

Hi,

 

just notifying you that i will be placing an order for just the shotgun sling (discussed below) and will send a postal order for 14 pounds 20pence (inc P&P) made payable to Master Chiefs.

 

I look forward to dealing with you.

 

Message 4 dated Fri, 8 Apr 2005 18:20:01 +0100 (BST

 

Hi,

i was wondering if you'd recieved my postal order for the 15 loop shotgun shell sling priced at 14 pounds 25 pence?

 

Message 5 dated Wed, 13 Apr 2005 19:55:42 +0100 (BST

 

how did you get on with the suppliers concerning the 15 loop shotgun sling i ordered? You can contact me at XXXXXXXXXXXXand ask for XXX.

 

Many thanks for your patience.

 

Regards

 

Message 6 dated Mon, 18 Apr 2005 08:30:09 +0100 (BST

 

Could you please tell me whether you got in touch with your suppliers last week as it has been 2 weeks since you received the payment and I have not heard anything from you apart from this one email.

 

Thanks

 

Message 7 dated Wed, 20 Apr 2005 13:04:35 +0100 (BST)

 

My wife was leaving a message on your answer machine but she said the wrong item its the Blackhawk 15 Shotgun Shell Sling not the Forearm Shot shell Holder as she said on the message.

 

Is there any news from your supplier as yet?

 

Could you let me know

 

Message 8 dated Mon, 24 Apr 2005 00:37:49 +0100 (BST)

 

i would greatly appreciate it if you would reply to my enquiries into a 15 loop shotgun sling that i ordered from you at the beginning of this month. I have sent you countless E-mails and had replys promising to get back to me which have never appeared. I have also tried to contact you by phone but have had no luck with any responses there. I have already had to cancel one airsoft weekend due to me not having the capability to carry my extra shells into a game.

 

Same Message sent dated Mon, 25 Apr 2005 16:25:28 +0100 (BST

 

i would greatly appreciate it if you would reply to my enquiries into a 15 loop shotgun sling that i ordered from you at the beginning of this month. I have sent you countless E-mails and had replys promising to get back to me which have never appeared. I have also tried to contact you by phone but have had no luck with any responses there. I have already had to cancel one airsoft weekend due to me not having the capability to carry my extra shells into a game.

 

Message 10 dated Fri, 6 May 2005 17:55:14 +0100 (BST

 

was wondering if you've heard anything about the Shotgun Sling i ordered?

 

Cheers

 

Message 11 dated Fri, 20 May 2005 00:12:20 +0100 (BST)

 

i would like a refund on the shotgun sling that i paid for at the beginning of April. It has been too long now and i am losing deposits paid at airsoft games because i do not have the capacity to carry extra shotshells into a game. I am disatisfied with the way this whole affair has been dealt with and will source another sling elsewhere. I would appreciate it very much if you could send me a postal order refund for 14 pounds and 20 pence made payable to XXXXXX and left uncrossed. The address is:

 

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

XXXX

 

I am sorry it has come to this but i am not satisfied with the responses i am recieving (if any) and the amount of time i have had to wait.

 

I eagerly await your reply

 

If there is an implication that i was going to be violent towards them then i apologise if it seems like it came across that way. Understandable considering the amount of time i had to wait for the sling.

 

Any aggressive action towards Masterchiefs or it's staff would have been via legal action on non-refund of payment or item. I had phoned them countless times on the phone number on their site and had an automated reply EVERY time. When he FINALLY got in touch with me, i was given a mobile number to contact him which i did. He informed me THREE times (twice by mobile and once by E-mail) that the item was at Heathrow and that the sling MIGHT be there. If not it would have to be re-ordered in a week when they put another order in to their stockists. When i threatened to take proceedings to a further level with them, they turned around and said that the sling was there and that did i want it or a refund, to which i replied (and i stress, in a polite and courteous tone) that i would accept the Sling anyway (despite all the messing around i'd had with them)

The sling finally turned up 2 days later and seeing that they had neglected to keep me in the picture, i decided not to notify them of the slings arrival.

 

Edit: to be fair then i shall mark this matter resolved, but at the end of the day i have an entitlement to an opinion and so will not do business with them again.