Problems with Easytiger Models
03-14-2010 | 03:05 AM
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From: Tuscaloosa,
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Problems with Easytiger Models
Guys,
I received my March edition of Model Aviation in mid February like most of you, and was happy to see good coverage of EDF jets inside of it. I enjoyed the E-Jets article and noticed the three Easytiger Model pictures presented within the article. I went on to read Michael Ramsey's review of Easytiger Models F-117 (page 52). I've always loved the look of this aircraft and after reading the article became very interested in owning this one. I've also always wanted a model SR-71 but everything I've ever read told me the aircraft didn't fly well in model form until now. Michael's review convinced me to check out Easytiger Models website about ordering these aircraft.
On Wednesday February 24 2010 I called Easytiger Models and spoke with Curtis Mattikow who claimed to be the owner of Easytiger Models. He told me he had both models in stock and we settled on a price of $550 for both models with free shipping. He said the F-117 would ship priority mail but the SR-71 was too big for priority mail and would have to ship regular post. I asked if he could get those out that day and he told me they had a snow storm and it might be as late as Friday 2-26 before they'd ship. I noticed within an hour of the call, my credit card had been charged $550 by Easytiger Models. On Friday 2-26 I called to order another aircraft, (my grandson had seen the Flying Shark in the Model Aviation article and about had a fit for "us" to have one) I could not reach Curtis by phone. I tried again several times on Saturday 2-27 and again Monday morning 3-1. Each time I called I received a message from the phone company saying "The party you're trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time, will you please try your call again later" I called the phone company and a young lady told me that two things can cause this message.
1. The person you're calling has blocked your phone number
2. The person you're calling has had their phone turned off for non-payment.
I asked if problems with the phone company such as weather could cause the problem and she said "No sir, problems with things such as weather would produce other error messages, not that one".
A couple of years ago I got burned by an Asian company that folded up after they got my money. The first sign of trouble then was phones that didn't work anymore... A knot pulled up in my stomach...
I called the AMA that Monday morning 3-1-10 in hopes that maybe they had another way to communicate with Easytiger Models. I spoke with a very nice young lady who told me they'd have someone call me back as soon as possible. I called twice more that morning only to receive that same message. I tried again sometime after lunch and finally I got an answering machine! I've never been so excited to leave a message! About 10 minutes later Curtis called back claiming to not know who I was. I asked why the phone was off and he said it wasn't. I explained to him that I'd placed an order on the Wednesday before and wanted to know if it shipped and he said it did. About 30 minutes later Michael Ramsey, the editor of Model Aviation called me and asked if I'd heard from Curtis of Easytiger Models and was everything fine now. I figured he'd called Curtis about me and told Curtis to call me and then he checked on me. Anyway, I told Michael that Curtis had called me and said the models were on the way although I didn't know when they shipped and when to expect them. He told me to be patient that New York had had a bad snow storm that caused problems with the phones up there... I felt better for now. I called Curtis back and ordered the Flying Shark for my Grandson. I asked him if he could give me free shipping like the other two and he told me he'd throw in a free battery. I told him I didn't need that battery and he said he'd give me free shipping if I'd call Michael and apologize for my phone call to the AMA. I told him that I'd already talked to Michael and that I didn't need to apologize to anyone about this. I explained to Curtis why I called AMA and was nervous. I asked again for the total charge to the card and he said $179.95. An hour later he had charged my card for $203. I guess the extra $23.05 was for shipping, I don't know. I tried to sit back and be patient about this order. In the meantime I ordered new batteries and receivers and such for all three aircraft from a couple of different companies and all that came in a few days later. On Tuesday 3-9-10 while at home with pneumonia and no sign of any of the models I ordered, I decided to do what I normally do before ordering anything from a company new to me, I searched both RCG and RCU forums for both Easytiger Models and ETM and what I found really, really put a knot in my stomach.
I found one after another problem with Curtis and Easytiger Models posted on both RCU and RCG. In fact I found that Curtis had been banned from both forums! Apparently he has a history of lying to customers and then when they complain about him on the forums he attacks them there. On one thread I found where a guy had said there were many links to Curtis online, I posted a message asking the guy to send me links to these complaints.
On Wednesday 3-10-10 a package arrived at my home. I noticed that it had been shipped on 3-4-10 but when I opened the box up I found the flying shark not the F-117 and SR-71. I called Curtis and asked why I had received the Flying Shark first when it was mailed many days later. Without answering the question he began to rant about how he saw me badmouthing him on RCG for no reason after he gave me this great deal with free batteries and shipping and such. I told him that I hadn't asked for nor needed his batteries and that he offered the free shipping up front. Again I asked why I hadn't received the F-117 and he said he shipped them both regular post since "he had given me such a great deal he couldn't afford priority shipping" I told him he told me the F-117 would come priority mail while the SR-71 wouldn't fit under the priority mail size and he said he didn't say that and then started screaming at me "they're on the way OK? they're on the way!" I tried to talk calmly to him but he'd just scream over me. I told him "Curtis, on our first conversation I told you that I'm very interested in buying your giant scale Bearcat and electric motor package in the next couple of weeks and now after buying 3 aircraft and looking at buying an aircraft and motor package worth over $2500, you 're going to talk to me like this???? And he just kept on screaming and talking over me. I've dealt with guys like Curtis before in business and it's usually not good. These guys behave like this to overcome getting stuck in a corner of lies. He finally got me really upset and I told him that I was going to call the AMA to complain and I hung up on him and did call the AMA. I spoke with a really nice guy named Jim Cherry who is the Executive Director of AMA. He listened to my story and told me he'd work on it. He also asked me to call him when the other two aircraft came in. I appreciated his time. A couple of hours after my call to the AMA, Curtis called back and left a message on my voice mail. In it he said that he was going to refund my $550 and that when the package arrived, he wanted me to refuse the shipment. If I didn't, he was going to have to charge my credit card again. And finally he said that he didn't want my business... (trust me, he doesn't have to worry about that!)
It's now Sunday 3-14-10 (18 days after ordering the aircraft) and I haven't seen the package or the refund and don't know when I will. I do believe the package is on the way, just not when Curtis said he'd sent it. And really the slow shipping wasn't the first time I've been though that, the rude screaming and lying is what upset me. I'm not used to getting screamed at while trying to spend money and do business. The guy has a real anger management problem!
Here's my problems with the AMA in this. I'm a grown man and I should have known better than to order from a company that I didn't know without first checking them out on the forums. Had I done this, I would have NEVER ordered anything from Curtis Mattikow and Easytiger Models after finding all the complaints about Curtis or his "company". It's my fault that I let my guard down because I read the review in Model Aviation the official magazine for the AMA. I realize that Model Aviation can't be responsible for every ad placed in their magazine but I guess I thought the editor would "check out" a company before reviewing and recommending their products. There are now thousands of AMA readers who've read this edition of Model Aviation and might be incorrectly influenced regarding this company. It's alarming to me that others may subjected to Curtis Mattikow's poor treatment of customers as a result of Model Aviations failure to screen it's reviews first. It's this single concern that has me writing this now. I don't want anyone else burned by this guys bad behavior!
Harry McWilliams
I received my March edition of Model Aviation in mid February like most of you, and was happy to see good coverage of EDF jets inside of it. I enjoyed the E-Jets article and noticed the three Easytiger Model pictures presented within the article. I went on to read Michael Ramsey's review of Easytiger Models F-117 (page 52). I've always loved the look of this aircraft and after reading the article became very interested in owning this one. I've also always wanted a model SR-71 but everything I've ever read told me the aircraft didn't fly well in model form until now. Michael's review convinced me to check out Easytiger Models website about ordering these aircraft.
On Wednesday February 24 2010 I called Easytiger Models and spoke with Curtis Mattikow who claimed to be the owner of Easytiger Models. He told me he had both models in stock and we settled on a price of $550 for both models with free shipping. He said the F-117 would ship priority mail but the SR-71 was too big for priority mail and would have to ship regular post. I asked if he could get those out that day and he told me they had a snow storm and it might be as late as Friday 2-26 before they'd ship. I noticed within an hour of the call, my credit card had been charged $550 by Easytiger Models. On Friday 2-26 I called to order another aircraft, (my grandson had seen the Flying Shark in the Model Aviation article and about had a fit for "us" to have one) I could not reach Curtis by phone. I tried again several times on Saturday 2-27 and again Monday morning 3-1. Each time I called I received a message from the phone company saying "The party you're trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time, will you please try your call again later" I called the phone company and a young lady told me that two things can cause this message.
1. The person you're calling has blocked your phone number
2. The person you're calling has had their phone turned off for non-payment.
I asked if problems with the phone company such as weather could cause the problem and she said "No sir, problems with things such as weather would produce other error messages, not that one".
A couple of years ago I got burned by an Asian company that folded up after they got my money. The first sign of trouble then was phones that didn't work anymore... A knot pulled up in my stomach...
I called the AMA that Monday morning 3-1-10 in hopes that maybe they had another way to communicate with Easytiger Models. I spoke with a very nice young lady who told me they'd have someone call me back as soon as possible. I called twice more that morning only to receive that same message. I tried again sometime after lunch and finally I got an answering machine! I've never been so excited to leave a message! About 10 minutes later Curtis called back claiming to not know who I was. I asked why the phone was off and he said it wasn't. I explained to him that I'd placed an order on the Wednesday before and wanted to know if it shipped and he said it did. About 30 minutes later Michael Ramsey, the editor of Model Aviation called me and asked if I'd heard from Curtis of Easytiger Models and was everything fine now. I figured he'd called Curtis about me and told Curtis to call me and then he checked on me. Anyway, I told Michael that Curtis had called me and said the models were on the way although I didn't know when they shipped and when to expect them. He told me to be patient that New York had had a bad snow storm that caused problems with the phones up there... I felt better for now. I called Curtis back and ordered the Flying Shark for my Grandson. I asked him if he could give me free shipping like the other two and he told me he'd throw in a free battery. I told him I didn't need that battery and he said he'd give me free shipping if I'd call Michael and apologize for my phone call to the AMA. I told him that I'd already talked to Michael and that I didn't need to apologize to anyone about this. I explained to Curtis why I called AMA and was nervous. I asked again for the total charge to the card and he said $179.95. An hour later he had charged my card for $203. I guess the extra $23.05 was for shipping, I don't know. I tried to sit back and be patient about this order. In the meantime I ordered new batteries and receivers and such for all three aircraft from a couple of different companies and all that came in a few days later. On Tuesday 3-9-10 while at home with pneumonia and no sign of any of the models I ordered, I decided to do what I normally do before ordering anything from a company new to me, I searched both RCG and RCU forums for both Easytiger Models and ETM and what I found really, really put a knot in my stomach.
I found one after another problem with Curtis and Easytiger Models posted on both RCU and RCG. In fact I found that Curtis had been banned from both forums! Apparently he has a history of lying to customers and then when they complain about him on the forums he attacks them there. On one thread I found where a guy had said there were many links to Curtis online, I posted a message asking the guy to send me links to these complaints.
On Wednesday 3-10-10 a package arrived at my home. I noticed that it had been shipped on 3-4-10 but when I opened the box up I found the flying shark not the F-117 and SR-71. I called Curtis and asked why I had received the Flying Shark first when it was mailed many days later. Without answering the question he began to rant about how he saw me badmouthing him on RCG for no reason after he gave me this great deal with free batteries and shipping and such. I told him that I hadn't asked for nor needed his batteries and that he offered the free shipping up front. Again I asked why I hadn't received the F-117 and he said he shipped them both regular post since "he had given me such a great deal he couldn't afford priority shipping" I told him he told me the F-117 would come priority mail while the SR-71 wouldn't fit under the priority mail size and he said he didn't say that and then started screaming at me "they're on the way OK? they're on the way!" I tried to talk calmly to him but he'd just scream over me. I told him "Curtis, on our first conversation I told you that I'm very interested in buying your giant scale Bearcat and electric motor package in the next couple of weeks and now after buying 3 aircraft and looking at buying an aircraft and motor package worth over $2500, you 're going to talk to me like this???? And he just kept on screaming and talking over me. I've dealt with guys like Curtis before in business and it's usually not good. These guys behave like this to overcome getting stuck in a corner of lies. He finally got me really upset and I told him that I was going to call the AMA to complain and I hung up on him and did call the AMA. I spoke with a really nice guy named Jim Cherry who is the Executive Director of AMA. He listened to my story and told me he'd work on it. He also asked me to call him when the other two aircraft came in. I appreciated his time. A couple of hours after my call to the AMA, Curtis called back and left a message on my voice mail. In it he said that he was going to refund my $550 and that when the package arrived, he wanted me to refuse the shipment. If I didn't, he was going to have to charge my credit card again. And finally he said that he didn't want my business... (trust me, he doesn't have to worry about that!)
It's now Sunday 3-14-10 (18 days after ordering the aircraft) and I haven't seen the package or the refund and don't know when I will. I do believe the package is on the way, just not when Curtis said he'd sent it. And really the slow shipping wasn't the first time I've been though that, the rude screaming and lying is what upset me. I'm not used to getting screamed at while trying to spend money and do business. The guy has a real anger management problem!
Here's my problems with the AMA in this. I'm a grown man and I should have known better than to order from a company that I didn't know without first checking them out on the forums. Had I done this, I would have NEVER ordered anything from Curtis Mattikow and Easytiger Models after finding all the complaints about Curtis or his "company". It's my fault that I let my guard down because I read the review in Model Aviation the official magazine for the AMA. I realize that Model Aviation can't be responsible for every ad placed in their magazine but I guess I thought the editor would "check out" a company before reviewing and recommending their products. There are now thousands of AMA readers who've read this edition of Model Aviation and might be incorrectly influenced regarding this company. It's alarming to me that others may subjected to Curtis Mattikow's poor treatment of customers as a result of Model Aviations failure to screen it's reviews first. It's this single concern that has me writing this now. I don't want anyone else burned by this guys bad behavior!
Harry McWilliams
03-14-2010 | 11:33 AM
#2
My Feedback: (104)
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
Harrymc,,, great factual response about ETM, I have had negative dealingswith him few years ago. I see nothing has changed, amazing that he can still suck people into giving him money for poor service and/or bad merchandise.
03-14-2010 | 03:20 PM
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From: Prescott Valley,
AZ
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
Just another good reason to use a service like PAYPAL. If you have issues they, PAYPAL, will take care of it. They too have their problems though. But, overall I really like their service and will always use them when possible.
03-14-2010 | 05:22 PM
#4
My Feedback: (104)
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
Yes! PayPal is the way to go and back that up by using a credit card with it. I bought a 100cc gas engine on E-Bay listed as new, turns out the flywheel and crank is no good, looks to have been dropped, no wonder why he wanted to get rid of it. I could not get any satisfaction from seller so I had the credit card company retract the payment I made using PayPal., otherwise I would be out hundreds of dollars. I went to buy another engine recently advertised on RCU, I told the seller I would only pay with PayPal so I can file a claim if it turns out to be a lemon, well I did not hear from that seller again. I buy alot on the web and I know first hand there are a lot of scammers out there selling junk, Idon't trust any on web deals anymore and accordingly I cover my but and wallet incase the deal is not the deal itis advertised as.
03-15-2010 | 11:57 PM
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From: Splendora,
TX
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
ORIGINAL: jzrf6c
Just another good reason to use a service like PAYPAL. If you have issues they, PAYPAL, will take care of it. They too have their problems though. But, overall I really like their service and will always use them when possible.
Just another good reason to use a service like PAYPAL. If you have issues they, PAYPAL, will take care of it. They too have their problems though. But, overall I really like their service and will always use them when possible.
So if in doubt about a vendor, skip Paypal and use your Credit Card directly. I like Paypal and have been a Paypal user for 6 or 7 years now, but never knew this about their non-Ebay vendors.
Regards!
- Michael
03-17-2010 | 09:00 PM
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From: Cincinnati,
OH
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
I'm always sorry to hear about PPL having problems with Non-Responsive vendors. I'm even more upset when that vendor is one with whom I've dealt, think well of and have recommend to others. My personal experience with ETM and Curtis in particular has always been a good one. He's helped me on several occasions, patiently explaining the mysteries of electric power systems to me a few years ago, making recommendations for powering models I didn't buy from him, and occasionally even selling me good quality goods at a fair price.
My personal experience has resulted in quite a few private recommendations. That being the case, I'm very disheartened to hear this horror story and I hope that Curtis realizes his error, does the right thing and corrects this obvious problem.
My personal experience has resulted in quite a few private recommendations. That being the case, I'm very disheartened to hear this horror story and I hope that Curtis realizes his error, does the right thing and corrects this obvious problem.
03-18-2010 | 01:56 AM
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From: Tuscaloosa,
AL
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
ORIGINAL: harrymc
Guys,
I received my March edition of Model Aviation in mid February like most of you, and was happy to see good coverage of EDF jets inside of it. I enjoyed the E-Jets article and noticed the three Easytiger Model pictures presented within the article. I went on to read Michael Ramsey's review of Easytiger Models F-117 (page 52). I've always loved the look of this aircraft and after reading the article became very interested in owning this one. I've also always wanted a model SR-71 but everything I've ever read told me the aircraft didn't fly well in model form until now. Michael's review convinced me to check out Easytiger Models website about ordering these aircraft.
On Wednesday February 24 2010 I called Easytiger Models and spoke with Curtis Mattikow who claimed to be the owner of Easytiger Models. He told me he had both models in stock and we settled on a price of $550 for both models with free shipping. He said the F-117 would ship priority mail but the SR-71 was too big for priority mail and would have to ship regular post. I asked if he could get those out that day and he told me they had a snow storm and it might be as late as Friday 2-26 before they'd ship. I noticed within an hour of the call, my credit card had been charged $550 by Easytiger Models. On Friday 2-26 I called to order another aircraft, (my grandson had seen the Flying Shark in the Model Aviation article and about had a fit for ''us'' to have one) I could not reach Curtis by phone. I tried again several times on Saturday 2-27 and again Monday morning 3-1. Each time I called I received a message from the phone company saying ''The party you're trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time, will you please try your call again later'' I called the phone company and a young lady told me that two things can cause this message.
1. The person you're calling has blocked your phone number
2. The person you're calling has had their phone turned off for non-payment.
I asked if problems with the phone company such as weather could cause the problem and she said ''No sir, problems with things such as weather would produce other error messages, not that one''.
A couple of years ago I got burned by an Asian company that folded up after they got my money. The first sign of trouble then was phones that didn't work anymore... A knot pulled up in my stomach...
I called the AMA that Monday morning 3-1-10 in hopes that maybe they had another way to communicate with Easytiger Models. I spoke with a very nice young lady who told me they'd have someone call me back as soon as possible. I called twice more that morning only to receive that same message. I tried again sometime after lunch and finally I got an answering machine! I've never been so excited to leave a message! About 10 minutes later Curtis called back claiming to not know who I was. I asked why the phone was off and he said it wasn't. I explained to him that I'd placed an order on the Wednesday before and wanted to know if it shipped and he said it did. About 30 minutes later Michael Ramsey, the editor of Model Aviation called me and asked if I'd heard from Curtis of Easytiger Models and was everything fine now. I figured he'd called Curtis about me and told Curtis to call me and then he checked on me. Anyway, I told Michael that Curtis had called me and said the models were on the way although I didn't know when they shipped and when to expect them. He told me to be patient that New York had had a bad snow storm that caused problems with the phones up there... I felt better for now. I called Curtis back and ordered the Flying Shark for my Grandson. I asked him if he could give me free shipping like the other two and he told me he'd throw in a free battery. I told him I didn't need that battery and he said he'd give me free shipping if I'd call Michael and apologize for my phone call to the AMA. I told him that I'd already talked to Michael and that I didn't need to apologize to anyone about this. I explained to Curtis why I called AMA and was nervous. I asked again for the total charge to the card and he said $179.95. An hour later he had charged my card for $203. I guess the extra $23.05 was for shipping, I don't know. I tried to sit back and be patient about this order. In the meantime I ordered new batteries and receivers and such for all three aircraft from a couple of different companies and all that came in a few days later. On Tuesday 3-9-10 while at home with pneumonia and no sign of any of the models I ordered, I decided to do what I normally do before ordering anything from a company new to me, I searched both RCG and RCU forums for both Easytiger Models and ETM and what I found really, really put a knot in my stomach.
I found one after another problem with Curtis and Easytiger Models posted on both RCU and RCG. In fact I found that Curtis had been banned from both forums! Apparently he has a history of lying to customers and then when they complain about him on the forums he attacks them there. On one thread I found where a guy had said there were many links to Curtis online, I posted a message asking the guy to send me links to these complaints.
On Wednesday 3-10-10 a package arrived at my home. I noticed that it had been shipped on 3-4-10 but when I opened the box up I found the flying shark not the F-117 and SR-71. I called Curtis and asked why I had received the Flying Shark first when it was mailed many days later. Without answering the question he began to rant about how he saw me badmouthing him on RCG for no reason after he gave me this great deal with free batteries and shipping and such. I told him that I hadn't asked for nor needed his batteries and that he offered the free shipping up front. Again I asked why I hadn't received the F-117 and he said he shipped them both regular post since ''he had given me such a great deal he couldn't afford priority shipping'' I told him he told me the F-117 would come priority mail while the SR-71 wouldn't fit under the priority mail size and he said he didn't say that and then started screaming at me ''they're on the way OK? they're on the way!'' I tried to talk calmly to him but he'd just scream over me. I told him ''Curtis, on our first conversation I told you that I'm very interested in buying your giant scale Bearcat and electric motor package in the next couple of weeks and now after buying 3 aircraft and looking at buying an aircraft and motor package worth over $2500, you 're going to talk to me like this???? And he just kept on screaming and talking over me. I've dealt with guys like Curtis before in business and it's usually not good. These guys behave like this to overcome getting stuck in a corner of lies. He finally got me really upset and I told him that I was going to call the AMA to complain and I hung up on him and did call the AMA. I spoke with a really nice guy named Jim Cherry who is the Executive Director of AMA. He listened to my story and told me he'd work on it. He also asked me to call him when the other two aircraft came in. I appreciated his time. A couple of hours after my call to the AMA, Curtis called back and left a message on my voice mail. In it he said that he was going to refund my $550 and that when the package arrived, he wanted me to refuse the shipment. If I didn't, he was going to have to charge my credit card again. And finally he said that he didn't want my business... (trust me, he doesn't have to worry about that!)
It's now Sunday 3-14-10 (18 days after ordering the aircraft) and I haven't seen the package or the refund and don't know when I will. I do believe the package is on the way, just not when Curtis said he'd sent it. And really the slow shipping wasn't the first time I've been though that, the rude screaming and lying is what upset me. I'm not used to getting screamed at while trying to spend money and do business. The guy has a real anger management problem!
Here's my problems with the AMA in this. I'm a grown man and I should have known better than to order from a company that I didn't know without first checking them out on the forums. Had I done this, I would have NEVER ordered anything from Curtis Mattikow and Easytiger Models after finding all the complaints about Curtis or his ''company''. It's my fault that I let my guard down because I read the review in Model Aviation the official magazine for the AMA. I realize that Model Aviation can't be responsible for every ad placed in their magazine but I guess I thought the editor would ''check out'' a company before reviewing and recommending their products. There are now thousands of AMA readers who've read this edition of Model Aviation and might be incorrectly influenced regarding this company. It's alarming to me that others may subjected to Curtis Mattikow's poor treatment of customers as a result of Model Aviations failure to screen it's reviews first. It's this single concern that has me writing this now. I don't want anyone else burned by this guys bad behavior!
Harry McWilliams
Guys,
I received my March edition of Model Aviation in mid February like most of you, and was happy to see good coverage of EDF jets inside of it. I enjoyed the E-Jets article and noticed the three Easytiger Model pictures presented within the article. I went on to read Michael Ramsey's review of Easytiger Models F-117 (page 52). I've always loved the look of this aircraft and after reading the article became very interested in owning this one. I've also always wanted a model SR-71 but everything I've ever read told me the aircraft didn't fly well in model form until now. Michael's review convinced me to check out Easytiger Models website about ordering these aircraft.
On Wednesday February 24 2010 I called Easytiger Models and spoke with Curtis Mattikow who claimed to be the owner of Easytiger Models. He told me he had both models in stock and we settled on a price of $550 for both models with free shipping. He said the F-117 would ship priority mail but the SR-71 was too big for priority mail and would have to ship regular post. I asked if he could get those out that day and he told me they had a snow storm and it might be as late as Friday 2-26 before they'd ship. I noticed within an hour of the call, my credit card had been charged $550 by Easytiger Models. On Friday 2-26 I called to order another aircraft, (my grandson had seen the Flying Shark in the Model Aviation article and about had a fit for ''us'' to have one) I could not reach Curtis by phone. I tried again several times on Saturday 2-27 and again Monday morning 3-1. Each time I called I received a message from the phone company saying ''The party you're trying to reach is not accepting calls at this time, will you please try your call again later'' I called the phone company and a young lady told me that two things can cause this message.
1. The person you're calling has blocked your phone number
2. The person you're calling has had their phone turned off for non-payment.
I asked if problems with the phone company such as weather could cause the problem and she said ''No sir, problems with things such as weather would produce other error messages, not that one''.
A couple of years ago I got burned by an Asian company that folded up after they got my money. The first sign of trouble then was phones that didn't work anymore... A knot pulled up in my stomach...
I called the AMA that Monday morning 3-1-10 in hopes that maybe they had another way to communicate with Easytiger Models. I spoke with a very nice young lady who told me they'd have someone call me back as soon as possible. I called twice more that morning only to receive that same message. I tried again sometime after lunch and finally I got an answering machine! I've never been so excited to leave a message! About 10 minutes later Curtis called back claiming to not know who I was. I asked why the phone was off and he said it wasn't. I explained to him that I'd placed an order on the Wednesday before and wanted to know if it shipped and he said it did. About 30 minutes later Michael Ramsey, the editor of Model Aviation called me and asked if I'd heard from Curtis of Easytiger Models and was everything fine now. I figured he'd called Curtis about me and told Curtis to call me and then he checked on me. Anyway, I told Michael that Curtis had called me and said the models were on the way although I didn't know when they shipped and when to expect them. He told me to be patient that New York had had a bad snow storm that caused problems with the phones up there... I felt better for now. I called Curtis back and ordered the Flying Shark for my Grandson. I asked him if he could give me free shipping like the other two and he told me he'd throw in a free battery. I told him I didn't need that battery and he said he'd give me free shipping if I'd call Michael and apologize for my phone call to the AMA. I told him that I'd already talked to Michael and that I didn't need to apologize to anyone about this. I explained to Curtis why I called AMA and was nervous. I asked again for the total charge to the card and he said $179.95. An hour later he had charged my card for $203. I guess the extra $23.05 was for shipping, I don't know. I tried to sit back and be patient about this order. In the meantime I ordered new batteries and receivers and such for all three aircraft from a couple of different companies and all that came in a few days later. On Tuesday 3-9-10 while at home with pneumonia and no sign of any of the models I ordered, I decided to do what I normally do before ordering anything from a company new to me, I searched both RCG and RCU forums for both Easytiger Models and ETM and what I found really, really put a knot in my stomach.
I found one after another problem with Curtis and Easytiger Models posted on both RCU and RCG. In fact I found that Curtis had been banned from both forums! Apparently he has a history of lying to customers and then when they complain about him on the forums he attacks them there. On one thread I found where a guy had said there were many links to Curtis online, I posted a message asking the guy to send me links to these complaints.
On Wednesday 3-10-10 a package arrived at my home. I noticed that it had been shipped on 3-4-10 but when I opened the box up I found the flying shark not the F-117 and SR-71. I called Curtis and asked why I had received the Flying Shark first when it was mailed many days later. Without answering the question he began to rant about how he saw me badmouthing him on RCG for no reason after he gave me this great deal with free batteries and shipping and such. I told him that I hadn't asked for nor needed his batteries and that he offered the free shipping up front. Again I asked why I hadn't received the F-117 and he said he shipped them both regular post since ''he had given me such a great deal he couldn't afford priority shipping'' I told him he told me the F-117 would come priority mail while the SR-71 wouldn't fit under the priority mail size and he said he didn't say that and then started screaming at me ''they're on the way OK? they're on the way!'' I tried to talk calmly to him but he'd just scream over me. I told him ''Curtis, on our first conversation I told you that I'm very interested in buying your giant scale Bearcat and electric motor package in the next couple of weeks and now after buying 3 aircraft and looking at buying an aircraft and motor package worth over $2500, you 're going to talk to me like this???? And he just kept on screaming and talking over me. I've dealt with guys like Curtis before in business and it's usually not good. These guys behave like this to overcome getting stuck in a corner of lies. He finally got me really upset and I told him that I was going to call the AMA to complain and I hung up on him and did call the AMA. I spoke with a really nice guy named Jim Cherry who is the Executive Director of AMA. He listened to my story and told me he'd work on it. He also asked me to call him when the other two aircraft came in. I appreciated his time. A couple of hours after my call to the AMA, Curtis called back and left a message on my voice mail. In it he said that he was going to refund my $550 and that when the package arrived, he wanted me to refuse the shipment. If I didn't, he was going to have to charge my credit card again. And finally he said that he didn't want my business... (trust me, he doesn't have to worry about that!)
It's now Sunday 3-14-10 (18 days after ordering the aircraft) and I haven't seen the package or the refund and don't know when I will. I do believe the package is on the way, just not when Curtis said he'd sent it. And really the slow shipping wasn't the first time I've been though that, the rude screaming and lying is what upset me. I'm not used to getting screamed at while trying to spend money and do business. The guy has a real anger management problem!
Here's my problems with the AMA in this. I'm a grown man and I should have known better than to order from a company that I didn't know without first checking them out on the forums. Had I done this, I would have NEVER ordered anything from Curtis Mattikow and Easytiger Models after finding all the complaints about Curtis or his ''company''. It's my fault that I let my guard down because I read the review in Model Aviation the official magazine for the AMA. I realize that Model Aviation can't be responsible for every ad placed in their magazine but I guess I thought the editor would ''check out'' a company before reviewing and recommending their products. There are now thousands of AMA readers who've read this edition of Model Aviation and might be incorrectly influenced regarding this company. It's alarming to me that others may subjected to Curtis Mattikow's poor treatment of customers as a result of Model Aviations failure to screen it's reviews first. It's this single concern that has me writing this now. I don't want anyone else burned by this guys bad behavior!
Harry McWilliams
Just a quick update. I still have not received the 2 aircraft I ordered from Easytiger Models (F-117 & SR-71). As I stated in an earlier post, I did receive the Flying Shark last week. I don't expect to receive the MIA aircraft either because I don't think Curtis ever mailed them. I did receive a $550 credit from Easytiger Models to my account on Tuesday though. In a voicemail Curtis left me on the 10th, he said he was going to refund my money and "when" the package arrived just refuse it or otherwise he'd have to charge my credit card again. Now do you really think Curtis would refund my money while a package is in transit... of course not! Fact is, he never mailed them. Also, he told me he had shipped the F-117 Priority Mail and the SR-71 regular post and in the voicemail he says to refuse "THE" package. So which was it, one or two packages Curtis? LIES, LIES, LIES! I'm disappointed that I won't be receiving the aircraft (I've got 4 new batteries that I have no home for now) but I'm glad that I got my money back. I believe my phone calls to the AMA ensured that would happen.
Michael211, I did talk to Michael Ramsey (Editor of Model Aviation) Wednesday morning. We talked for quite some time, and though I didn't agree with some of his opinions, we had a very good chat. I do like Michael and I do appreciate his hard work and enjoy his articles and I will continue to read his work in Model Aviation. However, I will always be careful of anything I read in that magazine from now on.
We differ in opinion in two areas.
1. I feel it's the reviewer's responsibility to check out any company whose models they are reviewing.
Michael said he is only reporting on the model itself, not the company.
2. I feel the forums are a good place to research companies. If customers have a problem with product or customer support, you'll usually see the complaints on the forums. Now I understand that you can't always trust what you read on the forums but if you see enough on a company (and believe me, there are PLENTY on Curtis and Easytiger) you should be VERY careful about dealing with that company. And the fact that Curtis is banned from both RCU & RCG speaks volumes on the man.
Michael says he doesn't do any research on the companies whose products he reviews. And he certainly doesn't trust anything he see's on the forums. I asked him how he knew Easytiger was legit and he said he has worked with Curtis before and never had a problem with him. Of course he's never had a problem with him before! Michael is the editor of the AMA's magazine! Curtis will bend over backwards to please Michael. Look what it's done for him... he received star coverage in March's edition of the magazine!
I invited Michael to call a couple of people he knows that have good knowledge of Curtis and the games he plays. I sincerely hope he will take the time to do that. I filled his ear with a great deal of information and if he places those calls they will reinforce what I told him. I have hopes that he will change his position on these two VERY important points. I do believe it's the AMA's responsibility to protect us from harm whenever possible and rethinking these points could go a long way to doing just that.
You guys can help with your voices as well. If you agree with these points, you can contact the AMA at any level you feel comfortable with. Let them know your opinions on this matter. All I ask is that you don't turn this into a Michael Ramsey bashing. I feel Michael is a good guy and I'd like to see him continue with his work. I just believe he and the AMA need to rethink their policy on advertisers and reviews to protect their members.
Harry
03-19-2010 | 07:43 AM
#9
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
Good guy & company NOT to deal with.
For the size of it, He is way up there in % when it comes to holding money.
ANY GOOD DECENT company WILL ALWAYS take American Express or Mastercard...................
No take those 2..........DO NOT think of continuing a sale............Hang up immediately..............Who is more impolite ? You, or someone trying to scam you ?
HANG UP ALWAYS.
USA is the land of opportunity. If you are a crook.
That is why a lawyer will be appointed, if you can not afford one................Do they appoint one for the NON - crook. ????
03-26-2010 | 11:43 PM
#11
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From: Osceola, IN
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
Hello Fellow Flyers,
I find this post by Harry very interesting. In regards to the articles on the F-117 and SR-71, Easy Tiger Models claims to be the manufacturer. When in fact they are made by Lanxiang Models. The same can be said about the F-35 which is made by Nice Sky Models. Makes you wonder what you can trust.
I find this post by Harry very interesting. In regards to the articles on the F-117 and SR-71, Easy Tiger Models claims to be the manufacturer. When in fact they are made by Lanxiang Models. The same can be said about the F-35 which is made by Nice Sky Models. Makes you wonder what you can trust.
05-24-2010 | 08:50 PM
#12
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RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
This story is really long.
I cannot really understand what the problem really is.
Did you get your planes or not?
I am a happy Easytiger customer, I have bought two planes, I am happy with both.
One is the SR71, I like it a lot, but its not a plane I fly every day, it's a little tricky to fly.
I cannot really understand what the problem really is.
Did you get your planes or not?
I am a happy Easytiger customer, I have bought two planes, I am happy with both.
One is the SR71, I like it a lot, but its not a plane I fly every day, it's a little tricky to fly.
06-03-2010 | 10:12 PM
#14
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From: Wilkes Barre,
PA
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
I am going back to scratch built an part built helli's and planes. Recently I got burned bad by nitroplanes and xheli, the same company. Stay far away from them!!!
02-25-2011 | 02:03 AM
#15
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
Cmon guys, the easytiger models are really Ugly, and now i hear the customer service sucks, thats just funny already. Im surprised Easytiger themselves haven't created a mr. anonymous satisfied chime in yet. Maybe because there isnt enough people here to talk about it, lol. figures.
04-03-2011 | 06:53 AM
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From: , CT
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
I bought two large planes and ;ove them both and had no problems.
From reading above, it seems like you got all your planes and were just a nervious customer.
From reading above, it seems like you got all your planes and were just a nervious customer.
06-12-2011 | 02:21 PM
#17
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From: Salmon Arm, BC, CANADA
RE: Problems with Easytiger Models
I bought two large planes and ;ove them both and had no problems.
From reading above, it seems like you got all your planes and were just a nervious customer.
From reading above, it seems like you got all your planes and were just a nervious customer.
