The Steel Guitar Forum

I hate to only post here when I'm looking for him, but he is one hard dude to get in touch with. He's had a build of mine for over two years and I'm not getting any responses to email, phone calls, nuttin'.

I see he still sells on eBay. Is he in Witness Protection er what?

Ryan, please get in touch with me.

Brian

(406) 396-1938

Try phoning him at various times of the day and night.

I have---repeatedly. Left messages with contact info. Sent emails, tried contacting him via his auctions on ebay.

Ryan, was it something I said?

Small claims court is next. Try having your lawyer get in contact with him. He'll be returning your call in no time flat.

Is there a reason he is not contacting you?

I've only had one dealing with Ryan on a custom lap steel build but he always responded to my calls and emails. It sure didn't take two years to build.

I have no idea.
He's done one build for me (Binga Monster) and it was awesome. Not sure what the deal is with this one.

Small claims court is next. Try having your lawyer get in contact with him. He'll be returning your call in no time flat.

Not likely. Small claims court usually has to be filed in the town where the person you are suing lives. The cost of collecting, assuming you could, would be far greater than what you can collect. And lawyers generally don't get involved in this type of thing, unless you relish paying a lawyer a tidy sum for his time writing a letter.

Hmmm. Good point. How about hiring a collection agency? Or contacting the Better Business Bureau?

Probably what's best is to find an intermediary, find out if Ryan is okay first, and take it off the forum.

Yes upon further reflection I would have to agree that is the best idea. All this conjecture here isn't really going to get you anywhere.

I just want my lap steel.
He's still selling on eBay and his phone number is still active. I hope he's well and I wish him the best, but this is no way to run a business.

I had no choice but to send him a Demand Letter, which is accordance with Montana law. If he fails to respond to that, I don't have to go to Small Claims court, but I will engage the Montana State Attorney General's Office. Once they get involved and if they can't get it resolved, they're liable to pull his business license.

Dang, I hate to see it come to this since I love the Binga Monster he made for me. And if it turns out this is all a miscommunication, I will be the first one to jump on the website and let everyone know, but I've spent way too much time, money and aggravation just to walk away from this.

Ryan, get in touch.

Brian,
I sincerely want you to get this issue resolved, too.
I understand completely how you feel.
Mostly, though, I just hope Ryan is okay.
Ryan,
if you're out there, please get in touch with someone here, me, or anyone, and let us know what's going on.

Well, it's now three years and nothing. I paid over $600 for a piece of New Zealand Swamp Kauri to be made into a lap steel. He's sent me pictures of it, said he would send it and still nothing.

He's logging onto his Facebook page and has active auctions on eBay.

I sent a Demand letter to the last address I had for him and it was returned as undeliverable.

Caveat Emptor.

I did a little business with him last year (brass bridges) and was very happy. I hope he's still going to be doing business (need two more soon!) and you guys work stuff out. Doesn't sound very promising though.

If the dispute is only over $600 there is no lawyer that would take the case. The only way to litigate such a case economically is to file an action in small claims court. And in every jurisdiction I have had contact with or heard about, lawyers are not allowed to make appearances for clients in small claims courts. So forget about hiring a lawyer.

You mentioned Montana; I assume that is where he does business. Assuming that is correct, you could file a small claims suit in Montana. Of course, that is highly impractical if you are still in Hawaii.

However, you might be able to file in your home state of Hawaii, assuming that is where you lived when you entered into this deal. If he entered into the transaction knowing that you did not live in Montana, then it can be argued that he has subjected himself to the court system in your state.

However, business frequently try to avoid being dragged into distant courts by including language in their contracts that establishes the jurisdiction for litigation of disputes. So check your contract carefully.

Additionally, you mentioned something about "it's now three years and nothing." You MAY have a statute of limitation problem. Depending on the laws of whatever state the matter might be litigated in, any suit you file could end up being throw out of court because too much time has passed. The law disfavors litigation of stale complaints. In most circumstances, only the filing of a law suit stops the running of the statute of limitations.

Assuming you win the case in small claims court; what you walk away with is a JUDGMENT. (Well actually you, as the prevailing party, would have the burden of preparing the Judgment and submitting it to the court for the Judge's signature.) The court is not going to force him is pull out his wallet and hand over the money right then and there.

Trying to collect on a Judgment is an additional process that is frequently a royal pain, and unproductive when dealing with such small sums.

Finally, a collection agency can't do anything until they have proof of an enforceable debt. In your situation that would mean a certified copy of the Judgment. Collection agencies usually work for a percentage of whatever they can collect. So your $600 judgment might mean a few hundred dollars in your pocket, at best.

Sorry to be so pessimistic but you need to be realistic. The legal system is simply not well designed to handle disputes for such small sums.

If you are still inclined to try to use the court system in whatever state, take action IMMEDIATELY (file your suit) as the clock is ticking. If the relevant statute of limitation has not already run, it is likely to run soon. Most courts, at least in California, have a small claims advisor, &/or various pamphlets about the process. They won't give you detailed legal advice, but they should give you some indication regarding the statute of limitations. You can also probably find the relevant codes on line, but it is often hard to understand the legalese.

Good luck, and don't lose any sleep over this. It's just a little money.

The Power of Positive Thinking....

I got a notice last night from USPS that the guitar will be shipped on 11/28.

This one will be going to an auction to support the Wounded Warriors Defense Vision Center of Excellence. All musical instruments will be given to those who lost their sight in combat operations.



Ryan, if you're reading this, I still love your guitars.

Brian Hoskins wrote:I got a notice last night from USPS that the guitar will be shipped on 11/28.

what year?......

Howard, you crack me up!