[Racer 6c]

I bought a couple of models from exoto earlier this year. I had bought from exoto before and never had any problem, unlike several members here that have had bad experiences. I can now add my name to the list of people that Tony K. from exoto is trying to screw out of their hard earned money.

I can't go into details at this time, but I will be sure to tell you guys all about it when this whole thing is finally settled and I get my money back.

If you buy from exoto and get what you paid for, consider yourself lucky. If there is a problem with your model, you may have to fight for months to get the problem resolved. In the end you might not have your models, and be fighting with exoto for months to get your money back.

Buyers definately beware! Tony K. said himself to me, "I have better things to do than mess with you." He then carried on to say he has customers all over the world and that he doesn't need my money. He must need it, because he certainly isn't giving it back without a fight.

ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU ARE COVERED BY SOME KIND OF BUYER PROTECTION WHEN PURCHASING FROM EXOTO. Always use PayPal, or a credit card, or some other protected method of payment. Be sure to always cover your interests when dealing with them. Document everything in emails, keep your shipping receipts, take pictures of anything that is wrong. You have to be able to prove, in a court of law, that exoto are not treating you fairly and holding up their end of a purchase agreement.

I am not being an unreasonable customer by demanding anything other than what I paid for, which were 2 band new models.

 

[ssiddi2]

sorry to hear this man! i just purchased the ecurie ecosse d-type from exoto in one of their recent mega sales and not only was the model shipped within two days, it arrived without any flaws. i consider myself to be the luckiest man on earth because i know how easily it could have gone the other way. i hope you at least get your money back.

 

[Josh]

I hope you put this guy under for good. I really do wish that Exoto would go out of business it would be so much better for us in the hobby if that shyster were shut down in a court of law.

How he continues to attract customers is one of life's greatest mysteries to me. I hope you learned never to trust him with your money again, and hopefully other members will learn the same.

You can still buy Exoto's you just need to do so second hand or from respectable dealers, but never buy direct from Exoto.

I hope you get your money back and I am sorry this happened to you, you are a great member here and thanks for sharing this.

 

[Uzair]

Sorry to hear that Racer. In my experience their packing can be a little better, especially considering how expensive their models are. I can understand that these are fragile models and can easily be damaged in transit, so by now Exoto should have learned to pack more securely. I wonder if the problems with your models are to do with intrinsic issues or something that happening during shipment.

 

[StratosWRC]

Yeah I use Paypal. Curious to hear what the problem was, as I'm currently paying for 4 models from them.

 

[Craig]

Whenever I've had from one of their ebay places their packing has always been very impressive.

As for waiting six months for things - they are having a laugh! I'd push forward for a refund.

 

[Racer 6c]

I have an update on my situation. I received a letter from my credit card company stating that they have refunded my full purchase amount, and that they now consider my case closed. Hopefully, I get to keep my money this time. It has been credited and debited to my account several times over the last few months while exoto and I go back and forth providing information why we both think we deserve the money.

This whole thing started when the 2 models I had purchased came to me with flaws. My R89C had a couple damaged and bent trim pieces, and the XJR-9's windshield didn't fit properly. We went back and forth a bit, and I decided to send them back to exoto to have them repaired instead of doing it myself. Fast forward a little while and they come back to me poorly repaired and now broken even further. They were totally unacceptable to me in that condition. After talking personally with Tony a couple of times about the issues, he said he would get me taken care of. Then I didn't hear anything, I couldn't get a reply or a straight answer out of anyone. I waited like 2 weeks not hearing anything before I called my credit card company for advice. After a couple more calls to exoto, my time was running out under the buyer protection through my credit card. I called them back with my credit card company, and that is when things got nasty.

 

[finalcut747]

Yeah-not the first time I've heard of nightmare stories from Exoto and company. They're located a block from my college, so if you need pitchforks let me know. ��

 

[Josh]

Classic Tony, He knows exactly how long he has to beat around the bush to get to keep that money.

 

[Racer 6c]

I just talked to my credit card company again. I get to keep my money this time. The dispute has went on for 90 days, and they will persue exoto without my assistance now. Whew! I am glad that is over and I was able to get 100% of my money back.

This is the most ridiculous situation I have ever had with a retailer. Tony yelled at me on a recorded line with my credit card company. He even "blew up"my phone calling me after he found out I was going to officially dispute the charges. All night he kept calling me and leaving me messages trying to get me to drop the dispute so he could end up screwing me. What a mess. It has seriously turned me off of buying expensive models.

IF ANYONE NEEDS TO PERSONALLY CONTACT TONY "KNEASSASSEN," I HAVE HIS CELL PHONE NUMBER FOR YOU.

 

[Racer 6c]

I am glad I took the models out of their boxes and cometely assembled them for a photo shoot with my other Group C racers. I took lots of great detailed pictures of the models before sending them back.

If my credit card Co. beats the money out of Tony, he may be the loser in this deal. According to the tracking info on the shipment he arranged to file a bogus shipping damage claim with UPS, the package was damaged during transit back to him from the UPS center. UPS may have denied his claim, then damaged the models shipping them back.

Hopefully, Tony gets to see what it's like to pay $650 for a couple of damaged and beat up models now.

 

[mairandeddy]

Looks like justice will be served Racer....

we're all rootin' for ya!

 

[ssiddi2]

i can't believe the owner of company that manufacturers diecasts goes to such lengths to dispute refunds for damaged items. I mean if you own the company, just get your people to fix it and re-sell the model. one would think that if you own the company, you have a lot more to deal with than the hassle of one customer's return. and then calling a customer to yell at him? seriously? that guy is clueless.

 

[StratosWRC]

They don't sell that many models. I made an order and three days later made another one. Based on the difference between invoice numbers, there were only 20 other transactions in those 3 days, which is pretty miniscule. I think he's just desperate to save as much money as he can, although I don't approve of his shady practices.

 

[technica]

Sounds like Mr K is a very insecure person. Could have been tricked all his life. Any trivial matter would trigger him to think someone is tricking him again.

 

[Racer 6c]

Exactly, technica! Maybe you are right about him being tricked all his life or something. He was really adamant that I was trying to get one over on him somehow. I was just trying to get 2 models in new condition without any major flaws or obvious damage. I feel that is a reasonable request of the manufacturer.

 

[technica]

Hard to understand why boss of a high-end model manufacturer act in such a manner. Do rectification or replacing a defective model really eats into his salary directly? Or maybe his heart ached so much he felt uncomfortable.

Always thought bosses of big companies are easy on these issues...

 

[finalcut747]

How glad am I that these jerks never contacted me back when I asked if they'd be interested in hiring me for photography work. They don't even deserve the sweat on my back!