Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/11/2025

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I purchased a new product at full price (Guitar tuning machines) for a customers renovation of an expensive guitar I'd been contracted to repair.I received a nondescript product in a plastic baggie with neither marked packaging nor any identifiable markings indicating what I'd actually been sent. I contacted StewMac by email as they have no customer service phone number. I received a reply that the product I received was a bulk product that had been repackaged. This was never disclosed to me at the time of sale. I now find that the item number this is sold under does not exist with the manufacturer and is in fact the ONLY number given for this product on their website. Currently I have no model number for this product and no documentation whatsoever that this product is even authentic and what I paid for.I was informed by StewMac that they could not give me a phone call that day as they were simply too busy, but could possibly schedule a call the next day. I informed them that I would have the end user customer for whom I am working and to whom these parts will ultimately be conveyed, in my office for the phone call and to please schedule the call for the following day. It was then that StewMac ended their email conversation with me and ultimately did not schedule a call as stated.This is the worst customer service I've ever experienced and I'm in question as to whether it's even legal to sell open box/no box or repackaged products without disclosing such to the customer.Ultimately, I need actual documentation that I have received what I paid for.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/14/2025

  The basis for this complaint has been addressed by the company whom it was lodged against and to my satisfaction. 

  They have contacted me and resolved the nature of the complaint. 

  Please either withdraw my complaint or close it please. 

  Thank you

  Business Response

  Date: 02/17/2025

  Thanks for the opportunity to respond to this complaint, we genuinely appreciate it. 

  We believe this issue with Mr. ********* has been resolved. He had some valid concerns but our lead technician was able to address them adequately. In turn, his customer wanted to continue with the build. A screen shot of the most recent communication is attached.

  Please let us know if **** feels otherwise. We are happy to help in any way that we can.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/19/2025

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I accept the business's response to resolve this complaint.
  
  Regards,
  
  **** *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/22/2024

  Type:Delivery Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  BBB transcribed from typed letter received via US Mail:

  ******* ******** **** Woods Dr., **** **** ********* ***., IL 60004

  May 16, 2024

  Better Business Bureau 1169 Dublin Road Columbus, OH 43215-1005

  Dear Better Business Bureau:

  I am contacting you about a problem that involves a business in your jurisdiction. I briefly met with the senior director of operations at your Chicago office, Nathan, about the matter and he encouraged me to contact your office. Allow me to present my case to you and make my request afterward.

  I have several communication and other limitations that impede my ability to do business with companies that are not accommodating. Two such limitations are me not using email or e-commerce solutions. An established company in Athens, Ohio called StewMac is the only seller I can find of an adhesive I need. I called them every few months from July 14, 2023 to March 26, 2024 hoping to reach someone about purchasing the item. However, they are one of those companies that maintains a phone line solely to tell people to contact them electronically instead. It is infuriating. I finally just sent them a mailing that included a brief explanation of my dilemma and frustration, a request to sell me the adhesive I desire, and enough cash to cover all costs. They were supposed to receive the mailing on April 1 according to the USPS. I have yet to receive the item, return correspondence, or my money back.

  I enclosed copies of my substantial precautionary evidence in support of my endeavor. I have conducted transactions this way many times across the years and successfully, perhaps in part because of subtle carefulness. Even though I do not always receive 100% endorsement, this is the first time I can remember proceeding without establishing contact with the company beforehand...and the first time I have not received the desired item in return.

  ****** and I discussed several options considering StewMac's accreditation with you, including sending new correspondence requesting that StewMac either fulfill my order or send back my money. I am most inclined to pursue that option now but I would want that correspondence to go to the top leadership position in Athens, not the de facto face of the company again, Mr. Brock Poling. The Better Business Bureau lists Mr. **** ****** as President but I am not convinced that is accurate, or that he is even in Ohio. I found references elsewhere alternating between Mr. ****** and a *** ******/******* who I do believe is in Athens. StewMac evidently has a parent company-perhaps Champlain in California—which could be muddying the waters. This is where I would appreciate your help. Thank you,

  Business Response

  Date: 05/29/2024

  Thank you for this opportunity to respond.

  First, our sincerest apologies to *******. And thanks for your continued patience. I was able to track down the letter/order he mailed in, it was handed off to our CS team. We no longer accept mail orders but we do our best to honor them, especially if funds are sent along with the order. However, it takes much longer to process these and we apologize for the delay. 

  We have expedited an order entirely for free to *******, it should arrive at his residence tomorrow. The $30 he sent is included in the package as we did not want to charge him, especially after the long wait and the excellent feedback that he provided. 

  We also included a letter in the package letting him know that we do provide a callback service so that he can place his orders over the phone. We simply require contact to be initiated via email first so that we can schedule the callback. Our email address is [email protected] or you can contact us through the help widget on our site. At some point in the near future, we plan to have full phone support restored at which point ******* will be able to call in directly to place his orders.

  Until then, we are still committed to helping ******* as best we can. We just really appreciate the opportunity to do so. 

  Thanks again. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/21/2024

  ******* ********

  **** Woods Dr., Apt. ****

  ********* ***., IL 60004

   

  June 15, 2024

   

  Jordan ******

  BBB Dispute Resolution Team

  Better Business Bureau

  1169 Dublin Road

  Columbus, OH 43215-1005

   

  Dear Mr. ******:

   

  I am writing in regard to BBB Complaint ID 21746279 Steward MacDonald. Please do not make this letter publicly available.

  First, I want to thank you and ****** from your Chicago office for your help -- please pass the message to Nathan.

  Secondly, through your intervention, I received a satisfactory response from Stewart MacDonald, specifically, a packaged that included everything promised in the message you forwarded to me. I just have not used the product yet to verify that somehting is not wrong with it. I have had to focus on an unrelated, fully-engrossing activity for the past month which is also why I have not been able to respond to you before the small window of opportunity I have now.

  Assuming you already closed the complaint, consider updating its status to indicate customer acceptance and giving Steward MacDonald awareness.

   

  Thank you again,
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/15/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Entered by BBB Staff -  Consumer recently purchased six guitar tuners. Paid approximately $58. Dissatisfied with the product quality of the tuners. They are no better then what he currently has The company has not replied to a letter. phone calls and emails. The tuners were advertised that they would fit on his guitar. The tuners did not fit the way they were advertised. Consumer had to drill the tuners to it his guitar. Consumer offered to upgrade to a better tuner but the company will not contact him.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/15/2023

  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint! I am more than happy to provide some insight in hopes to better help the customer. 

  We have responded to every email that we received from ****. Screen grabs are attached to this message with date and time stamps to validate our claims. 

  In our replies, we told **** that he is more than welcome to send the tuners back for a refund and we created an RMA to authorize his return (we require that an RMA be included with every return package). Instead of responding to our replies, **** created new help tickets which took us more time to get to. We believe that his inability to receive our replies combined with him creating new help tickets created a lag in service which would understandably leave him frustrated and under the impression that we were not communicating back. 

  For some additional info, whether a customer contacts us through the help widget on our website or emails us directly at [email protected], all of those messages are funneled through our help desk software. It creates a ticket with the customer's info and allows us to better collect data about why they contacted us. Sometimes, our replies get routed to a junk/spam folder or a promotions folder due to our domain name. Since **** appears to not be getting our replies, our rep **** instinctively messaged him from his personal (but still work associated) Outlook email address. We are hoping that **** receives that message since it was sent through Outlook and not our help desk software.

  Thanks again for this opportunity to explain things. Just like all of our customers, ****'s satisfaction is important to us. 

  **** H. 

  Customer Support Manager

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/04/2023

  thank you bbb for working on this problem.....i did receive part of the money i paid for merchandize but they kept  $12.50 of my shipping charge ....the ID no. ******** was my complaint number....again you have done a great job and i will go on and let them keep the shipping charge which they said they would pay me back .....i will not ever do business with stewMac again ....
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/09/2023

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I paid these jokers over $43 for a multimeter When it arrived it did not work. I returned it to them. They refunded the money that I paid for the multimeter, but they informed me that I had to pay the $13.60 to ship it back. I woudl like a refund for the $13.60 to ship it back. Also, I would like to report that these people are scammers. The multimeter was a piece of junk that didn't work.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/11/2023

  Thank you for letting us know. 

  We are sorry to hear that ******* has rejected our response. For the record, I was physically present in December when we put fresh batteries into the multimeter and it worked properly without issue. We tested it several times before reintroducing it into our inventory. We would never restock something that was defective or did not work. We are also not disputing *******'s claim that he put batteries in the meter, we believe him. We can only speculate that something was amiss because we were able to get it working properly on our end with just a fresh set of batteries. We certainly hope to hear back from ******* in the future and he is always welcome to contact us when needed. In the meantime, we have already:

  1. Refunded *******'s purchase 

  2. Refunded *******'s original shipping charges

  3. Sent him $15 via PayPal which is more than the return shipping charges he was responsible for paying

  Screen grabs from PayPal have been attached to document this. At this point, ******* has been overcompensated for the money he spent with us and the product he returned functions properly. If he wishes to leave this complaint as is because he believes that he received a defective product that we have confirmed is not defective, he has every right to do so. We completely encourage full transparency and always have. We are just grateful for the opportunity to present the facts that we have gathered on our end and provided screen grabs with to support our claims. 

  Thank you again for the opportunity to address this complaint. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/13/2023

  I accept the business's response to resolve this complaint.

  I looked in my Paypal account this morning and found that they had indeed refunded me $15. I have attached a document verifying this. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/05/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  October 30, 2022 - PRESENT StewMac repeatedly ignored my unsubscribe-email requests. I am no longer able to access my StewMac account. StewMac claims that my email is not recognized but I still am getting DAILY advertisements in my email box. Their phone number is a message instruction to use their website for contact, Since my account is unaccessable I can no longer contact them using their website.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/07/2022

  Thank you for the opportunity to address this complaint!

  One of our customer support reps emailed ***** back 18 hours ago. They are attempting to get him back into his customer account. I have attached an image to this message showing the reply as well as date and time stamps.

  Additionally, our marketing emails are sent using different software. So a customer can access their account and still asked to be removed from our marketing emails. The two are not mutually exclusive so the customer did not need to change their account email address to stop marketing emails. 

  We will make sure that the customer can regain access to their account and also is unsubscribed from promotional emails. We are just waiting for them to respond to our latest email that was sent 18 hours ago. 

  Thanks again!

  ****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/08/2022

  I accept the business's response to resolve this complaint.
  Regards,
  
  ***** *******

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/04/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Order # ************ $137.84. I ordered ColorTone Aerosol Finishing Set with Tinted Lacquer, Cherry Red. The website did not state the paint was translucent. It did not cover existing colors even after using preparation products and procedures properly. The technician contacted by email informed me it was translucent but refused to send a single can of replacement paint. The website information should be specific about the paint being translucent. If they were this would NOT have happened.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/05/2022

  Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention!

  After evaluating the correspondence, it appears that our technician did not deem this as a defective product and he declined to send a free replacement can of lacquer. 

  However, the customer pointed out that there was some confusion regarding the product description. Given this, we had a representative reach out to the customer and offer a refund or replacement. It is my belief that this issue is currently being resolved and we hope that the customer will confirm this with the BBB when they get a chance. 

  Please let me know if there is anything else needed. 

  Best regards, 

  **** ** 

  Customer Support Manager

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/07/2022

  I accept the business's response to resolve this complaint.
  Regards,
  
  ****** ********* **

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/15/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I ordered $938.25 on order # ************ which included the Mojotone Winding machine. The winding machine was defective as the result of an allen screw which had been screwed on so tight that I can not unscrew the allen screw. Therefore, according to StewMac, I am to return the order. I have written StewMac regarding this and they did not read my email as they said something not related to my email. " Thanks for your product suggestion. We only sell the items that appear on our website, and we are not able to do any special ordering. However, we do appreciate learning what our customers need that we don’t currently sell. We have forwarded your request to our Product Development team for consideration. If you have any further questions, please reply to this email. We will be glad to help." So now I must turn to the BBB for resolution. Thank you, ******* **** ###-###-####

  Business Response

  Date: 11/15/2022

  Thanks for reaching out to us about this! I have attached a .jpg of the most recent correspondence between ******* and our CSR ******, this includes date and time stamps outlined in green.

  We told ******* that we are happy to setup a return and asked him to confirm if a refund is what he wanted. If not, we are happy to replace the item. We tend to ask for items like that back if there is a defect so that our QC team can assess what went wrong. All ******* needs to do is reply to that email and we will gladly refund him or replace that item. 

  This is a bit of speculation but we are wondering if what ******* saw was an automated reply based off of the option he selected when contacting us through our help widget. I cannot locate any correspondence where a CSR responded with that message but he has contacted us a lot recently so there is always a possibility that it is buried and I missed it. Regardless, we think it's most likely an automated response as that is the same automated reply that gets sent when a customer contacts us with a product idea. 

  Please let us know if there is anything else that you need from us. We feel that the attached .jpg should be enough to demonstrate that we did respond to his request to return the product and are happy to facilitate. 

   Thanks!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/29/2022

  *********************
  
  Thank you for your email and your time contacting StewMac.  I asm sending the products back to StewMac and expect a full refund of my funds. 
  ****** was very unhelpful, but Josh was very helpful.
  Thank you Central Ohio BBB for helping me as I feel that I would have gotten nowhere without your help.
  So at this point it appears that it is going to work out.
  Very Best Wishes,
  ******* ****
  
  
  --
  Catherine McLaughlin
  Senior Dispute Resolution Consultant
  BBB Serving Central Ohio
  614-486-6531 ext. 135
  bbb.org