HERO RESTORATION - BOOKS NOT BEING RETURNED 20 20

[Dr. Balls]

On 6/21/2023 at 8:59 AM, DougC said:

HERE are the terms and conditions that were cut & pasted from somewhere else.

I would assume the specific if not poorly worded clause he is trying to hide behind is this:

I only have some limited paralegal experience in trademark work (this is not legal advice), but this type of language has previously been struck down and will not hold water if brought before a court. If anyone decides to pursue action on their own they should litigate not only HR but Mike individually as well through civil means.

Speaking for myself, the idea of taking a deposit AND an expensive book does not seem like good practice. The book is the collateral if the work is not paid for. Asking for both and then telling people 'sorry! No refunds!' when things go south seems like a lawyer would have a field day with that.

My offer still stands to chip in on the return of NP's AF15 - and @CAHokie has also asked if NP's book has been mailed.

[Dr. Balls]

On 6/21/2023 at 9:28 AM, CAHokie said:

So your telling me that as far as he is concerned he could keep the book for 15 years and if you ask for it back, you forfeit everything even if it sat in a box the whole time?

That's what it looks like.

[CAHokie]

On 6/21/2023 at 11:30 AM, Dr. Balls said:

Speaking for myself, the idea of taking a deposit AND an expensive book does not seem like good practice. The book is the collateral if the work is not paid for. Asking for both and then telling people 'sorry! No refunds!' when things go south seems like a lawyer would have a field day with that.

My offer still stands to chip in on the return of NP's AF15 - and @CAHokie has also asked if NP's book has been mailed.

Great point! No payment should have been required until work is done. It is unlikely the work would have cost more than the value of the book.

@NP_Gresham did he send you a tracking number yesterday? He was on the boards and viewing your page so fingers crossed.

[quicksilver]

How do you tell whose page someone was viewing ?

[Dr. Balls]

On 6/21/2023 at 9:36 AM, quicksilver said:

How do you tell whose page someone was viewing ?

If you click on a username and go to their profile page, on the left side it says something like 'recent profile visits' and it shows who has looked at your profile. Yours, for instance, is turned off - but it sounds like NPs is on.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Dr. Balls

[thehumantorch]

On 6/21/2023 at 9:34 AM, CAHokie said:

Great point! No payment should have been required until work is done. It is unlikely the work would have cost more than the value of the book.

@NP_Gresham did he send you a tracking number yesterday? He was on the boards and viewing your page so fingers crossed.

Mike should not be accepting books for work and payment until there's a reasonable time frame to do the work.  Accepting books and then letting them sit in boxes for 3 or 4 years is crazy.  Customers should go on a wait list and Mike should contact them when he's ready to start work.  The only reason I can see for accepting books and payment years in advance is to generate revenue.  

[CAHokie]

On 6/21/2023 at 11:36 AM, quicksilver said:

How do you tell whose page someone was viewing ?

If you click on my page it will say last visited “x minutes ago” currently viewing “Hero Restoration.” I just happened to come to this thread and check at the right time out of curiosity.

[DeadOne]

On 6/21/2023 at 12:19 PM, thehumantorch said:

Mike should not be accepting books for work and payment until there's a reasonable time frame to do the work.

[KCOComics]

 

With every restoration job I've had done, I've paid after the work is complete. 

Honestly, I didn't even get an estimate until I sent the books in to have them looked at in person. 

As others have said, the books should be the collateral.  It is such a shame that people are paying for thousands of dollars worth of work and having to choose between waiting half a decade for that work to be done or losing all their money and getting the book returned. 

 

[wombat]

On 6/21/2023 at 10:59 AM, DougC said:

25. Payment for pressing and restoration:

Payment is not due until after Hero Restoration LLC receives the collectables, and sends the invoice by email and SMS messaging to the client. Once received, the submission cannot be changed, and the invoiced amount becomes due by the due date. This is regardless if work has begun or not (processing and administrations occur immediately). It is the responsibility of the client to at minimum observe the price, approximate length of wait time, and any other special conditions on the website, and the submission form. To not do so indicates a waiver to any dissatisfaction of choices of options. If a turnaround time is shown, or discussed, it is only a rough guess estimate without consideration of outside factors. Submissions that take longer than the client planned, understood, or was under the impression of, are not considered a guarantee, a promise, or provide an alternative course of action ending the contract. Both Hero Restoration and the client’s agreement is the work to be completed in the length of time that is at the best of Hero Restoration LLC’s ability, without sacrifice to the process or results. Hero Restoration LLC reserves the right to terminate the contract for any reason deemed important enough to do so. Under those circumstances the client will receive a refund, minus cost incurred during the time the submission is in Hero Restorations possession. If the client wishes to breach the contract by canceling the work, the property will be returned to the client as requested. In no circumstance if client chooses to terminate the contract, will there be any liability in part to Hero Restoration LLC, or any of its affiliates, or any of its respective employees, officers, directors or agents, be liable to client or any other party to refund part or all of payment made on the contract the client is canceling, and is considered in default, forfeiting the funds paid.

This thing is just bonkers. So they can take as long as they want and just say this was the best we can do. If these rules would hold up he can literally just keep your books forever and hope you cancel at some point and then just keep your money. The really awesome part is he can cancel the contract at any point in time and be able to deduct costs incurred. I'm sure someone can point out this is all just legal talk, but I can't see it as anything but unethical. 

[buttock]

On 6/21/2023 at 9:24 AM, HighRadArt said:

Wow.  2K for doing nothing?  Glad you got your book back but that would p!$$ me off.  I hope everyone gets their books back and what a disappointment.

I too, have started a restoration service with the same terms.  Everyone feel free to send me books and money.  I promise to send you plenty of emails letting you know that the work will be done soon. 

[jimjum12]

On 6/21/2023 at 3:25 PM, buttock said:

I too, have started a restoration service with the same terms.  Everyone feel free to send me books and money.  I promise to send you plenty of emails letting you know that the work will be done soon. 

You forgot, books with FMV of less than 10K NEED NOT APPLY. Don't waste our time. I'll be your shipping department... I can catch up on some sleep. GOD BLESS .... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[thehumantorch]

On 6/21/2023 at 1:25 PM, buttock said:

I too, have started a restoration service with the same terms.  Everyone feel free to send me books and money.  I promise to send you plenty of emails letting you know that the work will be done soon. 

At least you'd be keeping your customers updated.  I guess you could create a group email and keep sending the same message.  'Work will start any decade"

[jimjum12]

On 6/21/2023 at 3:52 PM, thehumantorch said:

At least you'd be keeping your customers updated.  I guess you could create a group email and keep sending the same message.  'Work will start any decade"

...and at the bottom, in fine print, "The center of the universe is everywhere, it's circumference is nowhere". GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

.... truthfully, before this thread, I had still thought that Mike was held in high regard. I was hearing a lot of good things about him a decade ago. 

[buttock]

On 6/21/2023 at 1:46 PM, jimjum12 said:

You forgot, books with FMV of less than 10K NEED NOT APPLY. Don't waste our time. I'll be your shipping department... I can catch up on some sleep. GOD BLESS .... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

Deal.  You're also in charge of customer complaints.  

[jimjum12]

On 6/21/2023 at 4:19 PM, buttock said:

Deal.  You're also in charge of customer complaints.  

and in true "Soup Nazi" fashion, complaints will be rewarded with the back of the line, ad infinitum .... GOD BLESS ... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[Black_Adam]

It amazes me how far his reputation in this comic community has fallen in just a few years. Hopefully any new collectors considering Hero Restoration's services will find this thread and not this previous one from 2020:

https://boards.cgccomics.com/topic/464870-hero-restoration-pressing-service/

[onlyweaknesskryptonite]

[Buzzetta]

On 6/21/2023 at 10:43 AM, Cat said:

I wonder how well his Terms Of Agreement would hold up in Small Claims? 

I wonder how the terms of agreement would have held up twenty years ago before everyone had a ring doorbell and a camera phone. 

Best advice I was given eight years ago was not to send anything to him. 

[HighRadArt]

In before the lock...