FineDesignRC
 

Hi guys, I ordered some bits from Chris at FineDesign,

I know they are a competitor to RCM, so if by me posting this isn't allowed feel free to delete, however...

I'm really worried, I bought a motor from him (Bearing in mind I'm in England and he is in the USA).

He replied the next day saying he had posted it, I then replied a day after asking for tracking information, to which he said, I should of received it by USPS... so 24hours for an international delivery?

It's been 7 days now since that last e-mail, I've tried e-mailing him several times but he still hasn't replied and I have got no tracking number!

After a quick google there is loads of horror stories on him! :( I paid by bank debit, so I don't know how to recover the funds.

I'm just wondering if anyone would be kind enough to call him onbehalf of me in America? Or if anyone else has had similar experiences?

I really don't know what to do, it's $400 almost down the drain.

Thanks,
Nick.

Hmm, this surely doesn't sound like Chris Fine...


Sorry bro, I'm sure you'll get you motor, eventually. He is just one guy I will NEVER do business with!!

Good Luck with that,

Get ahold of your bank afyer some time has passed, they might be able to help. Being out of country they may be limited ?
I sincerely hope you get your mechandise or money back.

I paid by debit so money goes straight out my bank.

I just tried calling but it's 5:30pm I think there so probably a bit too late, I'll try him tomorrow.

We'll you cant do much until time has passed and you feel you may not receive your merchandise unless you cancel/stop payment but that'll will cost you also. I guess a bank charge is better than possibly losing several hundred ?
Call first, see what the theif has to say. I'm sure he'll blow some smoke up your @ss.

If he used regular USPS 1st class international then ~14 days is how long it'll take the parts to hit customs in the UK, then another 2-3 days to get their ransom note asking for import fees & VAT etc to be paid before they'll release your package. If he used the EMS option, then make that 5-7 days to reach UK customs.

Saddly though, 99% of people who have dealt with ChrisFine have nothing nice to say about him or his business ( which is pretty much on the verge of bankruptcy last we heard... ). :(

I'll keep calling him tomorrow until I get an answer. I certainly won't be letting him get away with my money. I could just be paranoid after reading all the horror stories but the lack of communication is poor to begin with.

I did upgrade the postage, so 2-3 days maybe possible.

His number is:
(845) 342-5102

So I guess I dial it as:
001 845 342 5102


Cheers guys. If all fails I have a friend in NY who could drop by.

That would probably be best actually. From my understanding, he actually a stand up guy face to face, but sucks doing online business(an product engineering).

Tell me you didn't buy a Lehner from him! You would have been better off getting one from Germany

I may be one of the few that have had good dealings with Fine. I got one of his 8XL motors which died after less than an hour total run time, he sent out a new one no questions asked. I also had a Lehner I bought here at RCM (when Mike still sold them), a year or two later it died and needed repair. Mike no longer dealt with lehner, so I contacted Fine. He said he could take care of getting it repaired for me so I sent it in to him. It took a looooong time, but I got a new Lehner at no charge.

I think you will get what you ordered, but it may take a while.

Honestly, I would have ordered direct from Lehner if I was in the UK.

Best of luck, hope it all works out.

I had the same problem with Finedesign, when I bought my Aftershock conversion long time ago. Money was drown from my account almost before I hit the botton, but then it took quite some time without any contact. After calling Chris several times I finally got a trackingnumber that worked, and about 2 months after placing the order I got my stuff (I live in Denmark, and I usually have stuff from Mike within a week).

Mount for the esc was missing in the package fra FD, so I called Chris again, and I had the mount 1 week after, so it was ok.

But apart from the slow service, the conversion was actually pretty good by that time, and I have never beaten a truck as much as I did this, and everything held fine.

I have heard a lot of bad things about fine design, I really hope you get what you paid for.

Thomas G

Shipping
 

Shipping anything USPS surface mail may take anywhere from 5 to 30 days before it can be deemed as lost. Normally shipping USPS from the USA to the UK should only take about 10 to 14 days. I would not get too upset until you hit 15 days from the stated shipping date. Then I would hit the roof with some serious profanity about doing business with anyone who lets things get to that point. Especially when there are several hundreds of $$$ involved. I wish you the best of luck with your purchase.

I have no opinion one way or the other about FineDesign, but anyone running a business these days should know without good customer service bankruptcy is just around the corner. Communication is the top factor for any companies reputation, which leads either to success or failure depending how you handle things.

Thanks guys, well that's a little reassuring. I'll see what happens today.

I bought a Neu, RCM doesn't have the correct configuration and Neu can take 6-8 weeks to build them, as FD had one in stock, it seemed like a good idea.

Try offshoreelectronics next time if Mike can't get you it...