Buckrub
08-06-2015, 02:53 PM
Ha. This is gonna be a Thump story. Not sure how else to explain it.
Last year I bought a product, based on the advice of an experienced boater and fisherman, called a Motormate. It is still made, I guess.........it's a unique transom saver for trailering your boat. When I got it, the package said "For 115 hp Mercury Motors, make SURE the ends of the device properly connect to the nuts on the motor", or some such. And it was a tight fit for my motor, and I made sure every time I used it that it was done perfectly.
Fast forward several months. Long story short, it constantly slipped off of the nuts it rested on, and ended up damaging the fiberglass cowling on both sides (it's two pieces) of the motor. It also cut the speedometer cable. I ended up having to spend almost $1,500 to fix it all. Needless to say, I quit using that thing and went back to the normal old regular boat-to-trailer transom savers that you can buy anywhere.
Well, I did take pictures, and I wrote a letter to the company. I looked up the company info, and it was listed as Epco Products in Indiana. I thought that was odd, since I bought the unit over the phone from the Motormate Company in North Carolina. But anyway, last May I got a call from a guy from Epco. Nice guy, asked me about it all, and said to send him pictures and an email. However, he did tell me that Epco had bought Motormate, and had changed the product somewhat, and mine was the 'old one'.
I did all that. Weeks went by and a few emails ensued. I finally asked if he was going to do anything about this or not. He said basically that he would send all this to the 'previous' owner of Motormate and see what they'd do about it, since Epco doesn't make that particular exact product/model anymore. I waited a few weeks, heard nothing, and wrote him basically saying "Look, when you buy a company, you buy their assets AND their liabilities, so where's my remuneration"?
Nothing.
I waited more weeks. I talked to my lawyer about it and she said she didn't need to get involved because for that amount, their lawyers would get involved, and all that would happen would be letters back and forth. She said to contact Atty General Consumer Protection. I did that, and filled out a Complaint Form online, last week. At that time, I wrote the guy from Epco one last email and told him I was disappointed in today's corporate environment and that since he wasn't going to respond, I'd have to file a complaint with the Atty General.........which I did.
Still nothing.
Today the phone rings, and it's the original owner of Motormate in North Carolina, calling me! He was nice, but basically said "Sorry but I sold the company to Epco and I'm out of it". He said this guy I was dealing with at Epco had called him to give him my info. He said all he knew to do was contact this guy back and see if he'd do anything.
I've kept the unit, and the torn up pieces off of my motor, just in case.......plus some pictures I have. Sadly, I can't find my original sales slip.........I ordered over the phone and used a credit card, but I can't even find history online at any credit card bank I have, where I ordered it!!! That's crazy, and I remember keeping the original sales slip, but it's gone now. Ticks me off, and that may be my ultimate downfall, having no proof.......but I honestly don't expect to ever get anything out of this anyway.
SO..........that's my story. Not sure what else to do.
Last year I bought a product, based on the advice of an experienced boater and fisherman, called a Motormate. It is still made, I guess.........it's a unique transom saver for trailering your boat. When I got it, the package said "For 115 hp Mercury Motors, make SURE the ends of the device properly connect to the nuts on the motor", or some such. And it was a tight fit for my motor, and I made sure every time I used it that it was done perfectly.
Fast forward several months. Long story short, it constantly slipped off of the nuts it rested on, and ended up damaging the fiberglass cowling on both sides (it's two pieces) of the motor. It also cut the speedometer cable. I ended up having to spend almost $1,500 to fix it all. Needless to say, I quit using that thing and went back to the normal old regular boat-to-trailer transom savers that you can buy anywhere.
Well, I did take pictures, and I wrote a letter to the company. I looked up the company info, and it was listed as Epco Products in Indiana. I thought that was odd, since I bought the unit over the phone from the Motormate Company in North Carolina. But anyway, last May I got a call from a guy from Epco. Nice guy, asked me about it all, and said to send him pictures and an email. However, he did tell me that Epco had bought Motormate, and had changed the product somewhat, and mine was the 'old one'.
I did all that. Weeks went by and a few emails ensued. I finally asked if he was going to do anything about this or not. He said basically that he would send all this to the 'previous' owner of Motormate and see what they'd do about it, since Epco doesn't make that particular exact product/model anymore. I waited a few weeks, heard nothing, and wrote him basically saying "Look, when you buy a company, you buy their assets AND their liabilities, so where's my remuneration"?
Nothing.
I waited more weeks. I talked to my lawyer about it and she said she didn't need to get involved because for that amount, their lawyers would get involved, and all that would happen would be letters back and forth. She said to contact Atty General Consumer Protection. I did that, and filled out a Complaint Form online, last week. At that time, I wrote the guy from Epco one last email and told him I was disappointed in today's corporate environment and that since he wasn't going to respond, I'd have to file a complaint with the Atty General.........which I did.
Still nothing.
Today the phone rings, and it's the original owner of Motormate in North Carolina, calling me! He was nice, but basically said "Sorry but I sold the company to Epco and I'm out of it". He said this guy I was dealing with at Epco had called him to give him my info. He said all he knew to do was contact this guy back and see if he'd do anything.
I've kept the unit, and the torn up pieces off of my motor, just in case.......plus some pictures I have. Sadly, I can't find my original sales slip.........I ordered over the phone and used a credit card, but I can't even find history online at any credit card bank I have, where I ordered it!!! That's crazy, and I remember keeping the original sales slip, but it's gone now. Ticks me off, and that may be my ultimate downfall, having no proof.......but I honestly don't expect to ever get anything out of this anyway.
SO..........that's my story. Not sure what else to do.