Moog Music Forum

Hello:
Has anyone some new about Mike bucki ? Any new email & phone ?
I am still waiting to get my moog modular filter and moog mod manual.
Any comments will be apreciated.
Regards Jan

I was holding out hope probably moreso than anyone else (as a potential customer, not as someone who has stuff they are indefinately waiting for him to fix/build/return) but even I sold my 921a driver a month or so ago BECAUSE I WILL NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH HIM AGAIN DUE TO THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS LODGED AGAINST HIM AND HIS FAILURE TO RECTIFY ANY OF THEM.

Mike will have to overcome some MAJOR hurdles if he ever wants to do legitimate business again.

He has lost literally thousands of dollars in business.

mike finally called me last month to tell me that my taurus pedals were almost done and wanted me to send him the balance on the bill. i sent him a huge payment a year and a half ago thinking he was ready to send them back then. that's when he disappeared. i ask him if he could send them cod but he told me he "couldn't do a cod". i don't know what to do now. he refuses to send them back until receives "payment in full" and i'm afraid to send him any more money. i thought the cod thing was a good idea. oh well.
i can't believe after all he's put me through over the last two years, he wouldn't just send them back if they are indeed finished.
any ideas or suggestions?

he has a right to charge you for services rendered so politely send him payment via certified check using certified mail. retain all records of this. in the event he stalls on delivery - just call your lawyer and hang this guy.

I would have used that time on the phone to give him a good talking to for sure. I talked to him at length last december, but in my email I had stated that I was going to order 17 modules. Thats probably why I got an appointment to talk to him. He talked to me about a lot of very fascinating things but didn't indicate to me that he didn't have any plans to build modules for the next months or years.

Heres what happened. I ordered my 921a and paid with a debit card. WHen I placed the order I got the same exact feeling that I got when I activated my musicians friend card....you know, the whole dark cloud rolled in and I asked myself "What did I just do". What gave me that feeling was that he didn't seem eager to get the cash. "Ill do it on Monday" he said. I found that a bit strange because in all my years of buying things, they always seem eager to finalize the transaction, provide me with an invoice, etc.

To make a long story short I ordered it in March and got it in September. He told me it would ship in 2 weeks. There was a time I told him to wait to ship because I was going to order the 921b, but I eventually told him to go ahead and ship it. I was thinking that I got screwed out of 400 bucks and I was considering every option in the book.

My mother had told me, as she works for a bank, then as the manager of the collections/ Bank Card department, that when you do a credit card order (I don't know if the laws vary from state to state on this or not) they can't charge your card without telling you specific things like when the unit will ship and how much it costs, and if they do charge your card, they will be violating a huge FTC law (I think thats Federal Law). If I was going to pay him some money I would do so with a debit or credit card, that way you can work with the bank to reclaim your money and it would give you a little more legal muscle.

He does have the right to charge you for the work that he has done but jeebus, he needs to rectify his own mismanagement.


I will say though that during that time I was beginning to feel that I had gotten screwed and I was beginning to get impatient. I left him some messages where the tone of voice showed a mixture of concern and irritation, but the one thing that kept me so eager to return to him for business is because he never lost his cool, he never seemed irritated or agitated and I thought that was very professional though I would NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH HIM AGAIN DUE TO THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS LODGED AGAINST HIM AND HIS FAILURE TO RECTIFY ANY OF THEM.

guess i'll go ahead and pay him the balance and keep my fingers crossed. he won't take a credit card. the only payment he will accespt is a postal money order. i'll give an update later.

Not taking credit cards? Thats messed up right there.

He has had your unit for how long? 3 years? Something like that?

Man I really hope you get your stuff. Id be hesitant to send him any payment without some legal oversight in my corner. Notarized letter demanding something in writing or something along those lines. I couldn't just "pay him and cross my fingers".

E

has Bucki issued you any receipts/invoices?

You might consider an escrow service or both of you agreeing to use a trusted friend or other intermediary.
A lawyer isn't going to care much about something as inexpensive as service costs for some Taurus pedals.
His bill might equal or exceed it.
A lawyer or judge may not even care much about what the current value of the pedals are themselves.
Even small claims court claims start at about $500 of damages in many locales.

Additionally, many service centers will proclaim upfront on a sign or their invoice that they're not responsible for your gear.
If they're burglarized, suffer a fire or flood, usually it's the client that will bear the loss.
(One can always try suing their insurance company if they have one though.)

Credit cards are not that common for small businesses like his.
I've never had CC billing either, but accept payment via Paypal where a credit card can be used.
To a large extent, this is a trust business: You trust the tech with your gear, his abilities and safety with it, how he packs and ships it and all that.
You do your research as a client and pretty much gamble everything will work out ok.
But there was nothing previously negative going around about Bucki, so no reason not to trust him.
Now? I'm not so sure.

Personally I think Mike would do a great deal of damage control and good will if he was to make an appearance on the web and speak for himself, explain things, etc.
The lack of communication and fact that people are going by hearsay doesn't impart a sense of trust for current or future clients.
It doesn't say "I care about you and your gear" if you can't get a tech to communicate with you in many months.

thanks for all the suggestions. i really appreciate it. after reading them and talking with friends i've decided not to send any more money. it just seems too strange that, under the circumstances, mike won't offer an alternative way recieve the money that would protect both of us....... who in the world wouldn't accept a cod payment under these conditions..... and what happened to his paypal account? bottom line, i think he just needs some cash right now. i'm not going to seek any legal action.....he's just too far away and i'm not putting any more money in to this project. honestly, i'm tired of thinking about the whole mess. i'm realizing there's a big chance i won't see the pedals again. mike, if you happen to read this, please respond and give your side of the story. convince me it's safe to send you more money!

zoinks...

Mitchell Chastain wrote:mike, if you happen to read this, please respond and give your side of the story. convince me it's safe to send you more money!

Has it ever occurred to you that Bucki may be undergoing highly stressful personal situation - such as a nasty divorce or a serious illness - that he doesn't need to share with the world on a public forum?

MC, based on the conversations we have had over the last 2 years,(which has been a struggle)
I certainly did not get the impression and he said nothing to indicate such. I have been more than patient, he could have told me if there had been something else going on. I hope and believe I am right about this. Besides, he told me the pedals were finished and what in the world would a personal problem have to do with sending them back cod?

Mike Bucki is a crook who does not deserve anyone's business and your better off throwing your money in the trash as at least you will know where it went and have closure.

The whole divorce/ personal issue thing is complete and utter nonsense. He has people's money and/or equipment and refuses to acknowledge any of it by avoiding calls and emails.

Every few months a post appears that "Mike's back" or "I talked to him just the other day and all is good" which always turns out to be untrue. So to save us more frustration, if someone talks to him and he declares he's back then save the post until he contacts the people he has ripped off and gives them their money/equipment back.

I don't mean to be harsh but the bottom line is that he stole from us and it's not right regardless of any personal issues he may or may not have.

I last talked to him in December 09. I asked him "How is everything going" he answered in a tone of voice that exactly echoed his reply: "Not Good".

Its really a shame what has happened to everyone involved, but I tell you that I know the man IS going through some difficulties that really AREN'T everyones business to post on a forum. Regardless of that he still should contact everyone individually and explain his situation, and most importantly immediately rectify the situation.

And Mitchell, I would talk to him and mention something along the lines of "Look, Im willing to pay you, but I have reservations because...." that sort of thing. You definately WONT get your pedals if you don't pay but you might get them if you do. I would be wanting a cash for product hand to hand face to face thing if I ever did business with him again.

I WOULD NEVER DO BUSINESS WITH HIM AGAIN DUE TO THE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS LODGED AGAINST HIM AND HIS FAILURE TO RECTIFY ANY OF THEM.
Eric