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Falcon Brassworks - a warning!


cctransuk
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Unfortunately, I have to sound a note of extreme caution concerning ordering on-line from Falcon Brassworks. Having been a staunch supporter of Samantha, who owns the company, it is with considerable regret that I have to advise members NOT to order on-line from the Falcon Brassworks website.

 

Well before Christmas, I placed an order with Samantha which was partially fulfilled within a reasonable period, accompanied by an apology and a promise of delivery of the other half of the order within a month.

 

However, when something was eventually despatched, it proved to be a duplicate of the first item received; this I returned at my own expense with a request for the correct item to be despatched. Despite repeated reminders, and finally a request for a refund, nothing was forthcoming by way of a reply.

 

I have been forced, therefore, to register a dispute via Paypal, and they have found in my favour and made a full refund. Whilst I do sympathise with Samantha's trying family circumstances, if she is genuinely too busy to respond to e-mail correspondence then she needs to close down Falcon Brassworks.

 

It is with genuine regret that I must advise members to regard Falcon Brassworks with the same degree of scepticism as Coopercraft, and certainly NOT to pay them money via the internet.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

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Unfortunately, I have to sound a note of extreme caution concerning ordering on-line from Falcon Brassworks. Having been a staunch supporter of Samantha, who owns the company, it is with considerable regret that I have to advise members NOT to order on-line from the Falcon Brassworks website.

 

 

I won't make a comment on the company as I would not order from it,  but Falcon is owned by members of the same family that own Dart/MJT and nowhere is 'Samantha' listed as an owner, it's quite possible that she was nominated to manage it, although given the personal circumstance and pressures I have always found that very odd.

 

Re- Coopercraft comment, this isn't the first time that lack of supply/contact has been mentioned in regard to Falcon and I wonder what the actual criteria for putting them all in the same basket is.

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Unfortunately, I have to sound a note of extreme caution concerning ordering on-line from Falcon Brassworks. Having been a staunch supporter of Samantha, who owns the company, it is with considerable regret that I have to advise members NOT to order on-line from the Falcon Brassworks website.

 

Well before Christmas, I placed an order with Samantha which was partially fulfilled within a reasonable period, accompanied by an apology and a promise of delivery of the other half of the order within a month.

 

However, when something was eventually despatched, it proved to be a duplicate of the first item received; this I returned at my own expense with a request for the correct item to be despatched. Despite repeated reminders, and finally a request for a refund, nothing was forthcoming by way of a reply.

 

I have been forced, therefore, to register a dispute via Paypal, and they have found in my favour and made a full refund. Whilst I do sympathise with Samantha's trying family circumstances, if she is genuinely too busy to respond to e-mail correspondence then she needs to close down Falcon Brassworks.

 

It is with genuine regret that I must advise members to regard Falcon Brassworks with the same degree of scepticism as Coopercraft, and certainly NOT to pay them money via the internet.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Which is much the same as many RMwebbers have been saying all along.
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I won't make a comment on the company as I would not order from it,  but Falcon is owned by members of the same family that own Dart/MJT and nowhere is 'Samantha' listed as an owner, it's quite possible that she was nominated to manage it, although given the personal circumstance and pressures I have always found that very odd.

 

Re- Coopercraft comment, this isn't the first time that lack of supply/contact has been mentioned in regard to Falcon and I wonder what the actual criteria for putting them all in the same basket is.

 

I'm sure that it has been posted here that Samantha is listed in company information as the sole owner of Falcon Brassworks, and that the management of Dart / MJT have no business interest in FB, regardless of family connections.

 

I certainly haven't posted my warning lightly; initially I seemed to have a good rapport with Samantha as I was defending her here against what I felt was unreasonable criticism. Unfortunately, my own experience in ordering a couple of kits - purely to support FB - has caused me to reconsider my position, and I would strongly advise against placing orders with payment, despite my continuing sympathy for Samantha's family challenges.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Which is much the same as many RMwebbers have been saying all along.

 

Agreed.

 

John Isherwood.

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In his quiz programme of yonks ago Humphrey Lyttleton used to have a fictitious assistant called Samantha

 

Ohh - the gorgeous Samantha; she of the many unfortunate innuendoes !!

 

You couldn't broadcast those anymore - who says we live in a more liberal society ?

 

Thanks for the memories.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

Edited by cctransuk
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Coopercraft mention is perhaps irrelevant. This thread doesn't need to become yet another slagging match, either please.

 

     The simple fact is I waited 5 and a half months for a Loco kit. I was sent a totally wrong one after 3 months, which was returned to them at my expense. The last Falcon thread on here then blew up ,and the Loco kits were withdrawn by Falcon at the same time.

     At that time, she was still promising delivery of all outstanding orders. After 5 months and all messages being  ignored , I luckily decided to make a Paypal claim against Falcon. I recieved back my initial payment within a couple of days of the 6 month cut off time limit, for return of Paypal payments. As a result of this saga I will only pay for items in the future via Credit card and/or PayPal ,as Banks would not been interested in providing any assistance with a refund.

 

I strongly suggest anyone who has outstanding Falcon kits to take the same action as myself. ASAP !!

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Ohh - the gorgeous Samantha; she of the many unfortunate innuendos !!

 

You couldn't broadcast those anymore - who says we live in a more liberal society ?

 

Thanks for the memories.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

 

Samantha is still the virtual assistant, and they do still broadcast the innuendoes!

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Unfortunately, I have to sound a note of extreme caution concerning ordering on-line from Falcon Brassworks. Having been a staunch supporter of Samantha, who owns the company, it is with considerable regret that I have to advise members NOT to order on-line from the Falcon Brassworks website.

 

Well before Christmas, I placed an order with Samantha which was partially fulfilled within a reasonable period, accompanied by an apology and a promise of delivery of the other half of the order within a month.

 

However, when something was eventually despatched, it proved to be a duplicate of the first item received; this I returned at my own expense with a request for the correct item to be despatched. Despite repeated reminders, and finally a request for a refund, nothing was forthcoming by way of a reply.

 

I have been forced, therefore, to register a dispute via Paypal, and they have found in my favour and made a full refund. Whilst I do sympathise with Samantha's trying family circumstances, if she is genuinely too busy to respond to e-mail correspondence then she needs to close down Falcon Brassworks.

 

It is with genuine regret that I must advise members to regard Falcon Brassworks with the same degree of scepticism as Coopercraft, and certainly NOT to pay them money via the internet.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

 

Thank you John

 

I ordered etches last November and have received nothing.

 

I have every sympathy with Sam's circumstances and tried to work around the problems by asking one of the guys on the Dart Castings stand to assist. That was over two weeks ago and I have heard nothing. It is now nearly 9 weeks since I last heard from Sam and I am getting nowhere.

 

Sadly, my patience is now at an end and I have raised a Paypal dispute to recover the monies.

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I note that, purely as a matter of public record at Companies House, Falcon Brassworks Limited shares the same registered address as Dart Castings Limited. The persons with significant control for both companies all share the same surname, "Hate".  The Hates of Falcon are not the same individuals as the Hates of Dart, however.  None is called "Samantha".  

 

I have always had good experiences with Dart, both online and at shows, where they have been very helpful and affable, and a pleasure to deal with. I am perplexed and dismayed to find that Dart is in some measure 'related' to a company that has caused several people significant difficulties. 

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I'm still waiting on a kit that I ordered and paid for back in November.

It was out of stock when I placed the order.

The rest of the stuff arrived safely but the missing kit has never been sent on despite assurances from Samantha back in Feb.

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I'm sure that it has been posted here that Samantha is listed in company information as the sole owner of Falcon Brassworks, and that the management of Dart / MJT have no business interest in FB, regardless of family connections.

 

 

 Just for info.

 

This lists the owners as 'Nigel, Jackie, Peter & Sam'

 

http://www.dartcastings.co.uk/falcon.htm

 

But companies house lists just 2 owners.

 

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07644987/officers

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From Company House, Falcon Brassworks was incorporated in 2011 by the Hates, and has been owned, without any changes, by the same two ever since.

 

To still be headlining their website 'Under new management' seven years later and with 'last updates' on pages dated 2013 and 2014 doesn't really inspire a lot of faith that they are keeping up to date with the site or with web orders.

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Whilst this has little bearing on getting the goods, in the other thread I thought Samantha said the company was owned by her husband and mother in law, as a business she could run from home.

 

I always though there may be problems, just as it would be difficult for a non enthusiast (modelling or full size) what parts go with which kits. But it shows how hard it is running a business when you cannot devote a lot of time to it.

 

A very sad situation all round for all including the owners

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 But companies house lists just 2 owners.

 

https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07644987/officers

 

Pedantically, that's just a list of the officers. You need to look at the incorporation document to see the list of owners (shareholders) https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/07644987/filing-history in this case it is indeed just the same two people and there are only two shares. No record of more shares being created so no one else can be an "owner".

 

The company was almost struck off in 2015. Looks like the accounts were not filed on time.

 

The website does not conform to the legal requirements to show certain company details as required for Ltd companies, such as the company number.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Unfortunately, I have to sound a note of extreme caution concerning ordering on-line from Falcon Brassworks. Having been a staunch supporter of Samantha, who owns the company, it is with considerable regret that I have to advise members NOT to order on-line from the Falcon Brassworks website.

 

Well before Christmas, I placed an order with Samantha which was partially fulfilled within a reasonable period, accompanied by an apology and a promise of delivery of the other half of the order within a month.

 

However, when something was eventually despatched, it proved to be a duplicate of the first item received; this I returned at my own expense with a request for the correct item to be despatched. Despite repeated reminders, and finally a request for a refund, nothing was forthcoming by way of a reply.

 

I have been forced, therefore, to register a dispute via Paypal, and they have found in my favour and made a full refund. Whilst I do sympathise with Samantha's trying family circumstances, if she is genuinely too busy to respond to e-mail correspondence then she needs to close down Falcon Brassworks.

 

It is with genuine regret that I must advise members to regard Falcon Brassworks with the same degree of scepticism as Coopercraft, and certainly NOT to pay them money via the internet.

 

Regards,

John Isherwood.

 

This is all indeed very sad and one feels for Samantha and the issues affecting her family.  However, this does not help unsuspecting customers, like me, who placed an internet order (using Paypal, I'm pleased to say) in good faith, selecting products which were, allegedly, available.  The e-mail acknowledgement I received quoted a maximum delivery time of 12 weeks, not the 6 weeks, which I believe was intimated on the website at the time, but I was in no hurry.  Since then the website initially showed a reduction in available items (some of which were of possible interest to me), but it is now almost moribund, with no products available.  The 12 weeks elapse time is not up yet, but I wonder whether I should start the Paypal refund process now.

 

The Falcon website says " Falcon Brassworks now has new owners - Nigel, Jackie, Peter and Sam. Some of you will recognise Nigel as one of the owners of Dart Castings/MJT Scale Components. Falcon will continue to be operated as a separate company and will not be integrated into Dart Castings, but there will be a trading relationship. What this means to customers is that both companies will be sharing a stand at shows." I wonder whether anybody from Dart Castings reads postings on this forum.  If so, perhaps he/she/they could let us know why there has been no action, on their part to help the poor lady, who is clearly struggling, and clear up this mess - it doesn't reflect well on them that a company in which they have an acknowledged part ownership and with whom they have a trading relationship, has ended up taking orders which they are unable or unwilling to fulfil.  I've just ordered some stuff from Dart Castings, but will think long and hard before doing so again (much as I might need their products), if they continue to appear to stand by and not help to sort out Falcon's customers' problems.

 

A real shame that this has all transpired.

 

PS Sorry about the shading which seems to have invaded part of this posting, for reasons that are beyond my comprehension and which I can't seem to remove.

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Yes do a refund request via Paypal asap. I doubt if you will get a response from anyone at Falcon and she ignored Paypal messages too.

 

Thanks for the advice.  I'll start the process.  It's very sad that another supplier of interesting materials seems to have closed down and that the poor lady involved has ended up unable to cope.

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Anyone know anything about Model Railway Developments? I ordered  some buffers in April but heard nothing.

(Reminds me a bit of the silence after I ordered a couple of parts from Cooper Craft in 2014).

 

In the same week I ordered buffers from Accurascale and Dart Castings.  The Dart Castings arrived almost immediately, and after a month of no buffers had a reply to my Accurascale query with a promise to send them on the following Tuesday (June 5th). That was a week ago!

As for Hubert at MRD, zilch. Does anyone know if he is ill or if the company has ceased trading?

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I had an exchange with MRD in March - tried to buy some buffers but was told they were out of stock - so wait or refund? I opted for refund. I was quite happy with the way this was dealt with. So I would not rush to RMweb shame MRD just yet.

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I had an exchange with MRD in March - tried to buy some buffers but was told they were out of stock - so wait or refund? I opted for refund. I was quite happy with the way this was dealt with. So I would not rush to RMweb shame MRD just yet.

That's the point, you were told. I have had no response from e-mails and not even an acknowledgement of my order,  Since April 27th. And all three items were showing 'in stock' last time I looked.

Perhaps if people had 'rushed to shame' Cooper Craft less people would have been ....left without the goods they had paid for...?

Edited by Chuffed 1
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