TYA
Kai Lord
Posts: 48
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Post by TYA on Jun 2, 2013 0:28:58 GMT
Now, because i'm british and reserved and all that, i'm going to tut and umm and ahh and moan (quietly, and via letter pages) and then wait patiently. but i'm still very very miffed. LOL! I know the feeling. I know the feeling well. Can't disagree with any of that. An email every few weeks or even just a note in the forum once a month would go a long was to reassuring people. Unfortunately, as we all know well, it's something Mongoose has never been very good at. I don't really expect any change, but it would be nice. Hard not to take that any way other than a criticism to be honest, 'thanks'. :-| Sorry man, I didn't intend offence. I could probably have explained myself better. All I was trying to say is that what worked for you as an individual, might not be the best route for massed action. I see the situation not unlike the supposed shortages of something where people rush out and stockpile thus creating a shortage which was never there to begin with... Self fulfilling prophecy. I don't have a crystal ball, I don't know how things will pan out. At the end of the day you might be right in your predictions, but personally I'm remaining positive and hopeful that Mongoose will do right by us. Marjacklu: Thanks for the update. Good to hear you got your money back.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2013 13:10:36 GMT
Sorry man, I didn't intend offence. I could probably have explained myself better. All I was trying to say is that what worked for you as an individual, might not be the best route for massed action. I see the situation not unlike the supposed shortages of something where people rush out and stockpile thus creating a shortage which was never there to begin with... Self fulfilling prophecy. No worries, understand how meaning can be misinterpreted in posts. I think the massive difference in your analogy is that this is money owed to people whereas 'panic buying' is something different. Like I said previously, Mongoose should have taken a loan out to repay everyone ASAP. Or, you know, used money raised in their Rogue Trooper Kickstarter to pay the Lone Wolf Megadeal customers - which is really what they did with our money originally; spending it on other stuff.
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Post by beowuuf on Jun 2, 2013 19:06:37 GMT
Not sure they could secure a loan (their liabilities seem to be very high, not sure if that's normal in the publishing industry with the need to secure product ahead of time without orders to fulfil), and can they be sued for provably using money raised through kickstarter elsewhere?
If this week is anything like last week I won't be able to phone Mongoose, but I am on holiday the week after so should have some free time to speak to someone directly if no one else does first.
I really does come down to 'can Mongoose get money quickly'. If so, then action might be necessary, but if not, action would ensure no one ever sees any money and the company could go under. Who knows in this delicate economy!
At this point a very unfavorable timescale on refunds seems better than people fearing for no refunds at all. WE definitely deserve an answer to that question.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2013 17:24:28 GMT
... and can they be sued for provably using money raised through kickstarter elsewhere? ... Only if someone proves it's happened. They basically did the same with the Lone Wolf Megadeal and haven't been sued, so unlikely that that would happen now. ... action would ensure no one ever sees any money and the company could go under. At this point a very unfavorable timescale on refunds seems better than people fearing for no refunds at all. Assuming you buy into the "Mongoose will go under I they pay refunds out in any substantial way or timely manner".
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Post by ramthelinefeed on Jul 8, 2013 21:43:13 GMT
To be blunt, if they have the cash available to refund their customers, then they should refund them without delay even if it does mean their business goes under. Why should they be allowed to continue trading and paying themselves and their shareholders using someone elses money?
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Post by ramthelinefeed on Jul 8, 2013 21:50:50 GMT
for better or worse, they have had my £300 for what nearly 6 years now. and 300 people paid this? thats £90k ... and there's interest that can be made on that, theoretically. i know obviously money has been spent on the books we have got etc, and it can't have been cheap. but it still isn't small change that we effectively gave mongoose to do with as they chose. The whole thing stinks - at worst of gross incompetance (in which case, the directors of that company should not be trading) or at worst of fraud (in which case, they should be in jail). Trading Standards should definately be looking at this. And really, no-one should think that sitting meekly and waiting is going to magically either improve these people's business ethics or competancy. In reality it will probably just allow them to blow more of other people's cash and dig an even bigger hole. Take it to the authorities before it gets any worse. If I'd paid for the megadeal, that's what I'd be doing.
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duk3
Kai Lord
"Live Now. Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again"
Posts: 93
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Post by duk3 on Jul 9, 2013 14:45:13 GMT
Hi All,
I recommend being patient guys. I to am a megadeal customer but as the saying goes " you cant get blood out of a stone". I am sure eventually we will all get our refund either by pro rata refund or instore credit. If you go the legal route you just end up paying solicitors and for what? Just my opinion . Peace !
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Post by ramthelinefeed on Jul 10, 2013 11:10:54 GMT
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Post by balgin on Jul 10, 2013 16:32:11 GMT
As one of the original Megadeal customers (who paid up about £300 plus another £30 for post & packing for all the books before te Megaldeal became reduced in size) I was disappointed to find out that Mongoose would not be publishing the Lone Wolf series any more. I must say I wasn't surprised. Released ahd slowed to a crawl. Obviously something wasn't working so the license being pulled was predictable.
I was surprised to not be informed about it at all. One day I thought "you know what? I'll go and check the Mongoose forums to see if there's any more news on what's going on with Lone Wolf" only to find there wasn't a Lone Wolf section on the forums any more.
So I did a bit of searching and eventually found out that they'd stopped producing the series a few months back and not told any of us megadeal customers. No courtesy email, nothing. I suppose if I'd been checking the forums a bit more I would have noticed sooner but the growing delays between releases had eaten into my willpower and I'd got used to expecting nothing from a forum checkup.
I then came across the fact that Mongoose had basically ditched support for (almost) all the roleplaying games that they produced and were moving back to wargames. Unfortunately the wargames that they produce don't really appeal to me so I could ask for a load of free stuff that I don't want. I could try to sell it second hand and I'd sell some then just get left with a load of leftover stuff and my house is very full of toys and games as it is.
So I sent Matt Sprange an email (as per his forum post) on 27th March explaining the situation and suggesting that since I essentialy paid for 38 books (including the novels) and received 19 books (again, including the two novels that actualy did get printed) then perhaps a partial refund would make sense. Asking for all the money would just be greedy. I did not mention a specific ammount of money but I feel that I made it quite clear that half the books had been received.
I haven't heard back from him since. Not once. No reply. I am not happy about this but there's probably not much I can do but sit back and wait.
The worst part is that now that Cubicle Seven's going to be publishing the rest of the books I'm essentialy going to have to pay for them twice. And money aside that jars with my sense of what righteous justice should be like.
At least I get to make a post here for those of you who share my plight to know that you are not alone. I should probably go and remind those of us who used to ahng out at Tower of the Sun that I've finally registered an account here too. There may be fond reunions.
Still not happy about feeling ignored by Mongoose 'though.
*Feeling doesn't mean being. I was careful with the wording there but over three months waiting for a reply feels bad.
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Post by ramthelinefeed on Jul 10, 2013 18:41:48 GMT
I haven't heard back from him since. Not once. No reply. I am not happy about this but there's probably not much I can do but sit back and wait. There are quite simple and straightforward things you can do! Mongoose are a limited company registered in the UK. They are clearly in breach of contract with all their "megadeal" customers, and it is not acceptable for them to ignore your correspondence. If you live in the UK, you can easily email or telephone your local 'Trading Standards' office and ask for assistence. (They won't assist individuals living outside the UK, but since there are a few hundred people in the same boat, any remedy they bring will benefit everyone). The other action you can easily take depends on how you paid for your megadeal: if you paid by debit card or credit card, you can contact your card issuer, explain the situation, and request a pro-rata refund from them. There are vasious legal schemes which make the card issuer jointly liable as well as the retailer, and also they can charge back the funds from the retailer. Trying either or both of these routes will take up only a few minutes of your time and cost you nothing.
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Post by balgin on Jul 10, 2013 19:30:13 GMT
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Post by ramthelinefeed on Jul 10, 2013 19:44:24 GMT
well, give them a ring! Your local council will have a Trading Standards office, their number will be on your council's website.
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Post by shadowraven on Jul 11, 2013 18:39:58 GMT
Having been associated with Mongoose in the past, I feel really terrible about all this. Granted, I was just a writer and the lead on the Lone Wolf stuff, but I wish there was something I could do for everyone.
All I can say is: hang in there. People have been getting their refunds and those are still rolling out.
Don't stop pestering the Mongoose office. The squeakiest wheels are apparently getting attention first.
Take care and good luck!
-A
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Post by beowuuf on Jul 11, 2013 19:57:12 GMT
I still haven't had time to do it, but as I said, you can also phone Mongoose directly too. If someone manages it before I eventually do, let us know if it actually worked!
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duk3
Kai Lord
"Live Now. Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again"
Posts: 93
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Post by duk3 on Jul 13, 2013 18:02:53 GMT
I agree with you Shadowraven. Keep a regular, professional correspondence line open with Matt @mongoose and it will produce results. It did for me . Good Luck to the rest of you guys !
Duk3.
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