TLH Guitars
Complaint 123378 Details

  • Date Occurred: 06/07/2014
  • Reported Damages: $1,100.00

The complaint is against an online dating profile

The complaint is a listing fraud posted on public forums or sites against an anonymous entity

The complaint is mobile text spam or smishing related against an anonymous entity

The company or person contact no longer exists

International boundaries

I saw an ad on Ebay for a TLH D80 guitar, who's only defect, according to the accompanying text, was a crack on the back, which had been repaired. (I have a copy of that ad and text, and all the subsequent emails in the exchange). When the guitar didn't sell on Ebay, Terry Heilig, the owner/builder, offered it to me at a discount: $1100. Assured that the guitar was perfectly sound, built like a Martin D28 and worth $2500 new, I went ahead and bought it. However, when I received the instrument, on June 7, 2012, I noticed right away that it wouldn't play properly. Upon further examination, I soon discovered that the guitar was, in fact, an unfinished, seriously defective mess. The neck had been reset badly, throwing off the neck angle - the single WORST defect a guitar can have, outside of a total collapse. Much of the finish work had not been done: the fret ends were sticking out, the neck hadn't been properly radiased to fit the fretboard, the soundhole hadn't been rounded and the bridge was coming off the top! All of these defects were pointed out to me by a professional guitar repairman in New York City, who I took the guitar to for a thorough examination and assessment. When I relayed that information to Mr. Heilig and demanded my money back, he denied anything was wrong, that the repairman's assessment wasn't "accurate," that he didn't use glue on the neck, and finally that he would only pay me $200 - for a neck reset! I refused, as the guitar was so vastly inferior to his description and the price I had been duped into paying that I no longer wanted to have anything to do with it. He steadfastly refuses to give me a full refund or admit how bad the guitar is. Is he guilty of fraud (deceit being one of the legal definitions)? He's certainly guilty of a "bad-faith negotiation." How can I get my money back? He lives in Truckee, CA and I'm in NY, NY. As this happened on the internet, there an internet equivalent of Small Claims Court I can take him to? Thanks.

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Comments

  • Daniel
  • Daniel SBID #54ce0bf3dd
  • Posted 05/16/2013
  • Ugh. I, too, had an experience similar to yours, though thankfully, my purchase was salvageable. I paid $1000 for a guitar that was in excellent condition, and upon opening the case, saw that the finish work was ridiculous... I could have done better blindfolded. The soundboard was too thick, and there were amateur mistakes in the build. I called Mr. Heiling and he was completely unwilling to discuss any return or exchange.. in short he was an A#$hole. A few months later, after determining I got screwed, I stumbled on a local luthier in Austin who was willing to take on the challenge of refinishing the guitar at a very fair price. Scott took the guitar for about 8 months, and when I got it back, it is more than beautiful. He sanded the soundboard considerably, did some magic on a few spots where the wood wasn't fit just right, and put a very nice finish on it... as well as addressed the sloppy fret installation. The guitar is now one of my favorites, and I do have a few very nice guitars. All that said, I was lucky and then blessed that the overall build wasn't as bad as yours. Mine is labeled "00/C number 0822 - Cocobolo/Carpathian.
    As for Terry Heilig, he is not a good person, and not a real guitar builder. Avoid him at all costs...
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Business Profile Summary

  • TLH Guitars logo

Company Statistics

  • Complaint Against TLH Guitars
  • Complaints Filed: 1
  • Reported Damages: $1,100.00
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