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:03/12/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  I experienced fraud on my account and immediately reported it. I have been attempting to simply update my phone number on my account since last November unsuccessfully. They keep stating I need a pin letter mailed but never receive it. I have no access to online account since I have no replacement credit card from them. I also have never received any further information about the fraud I reported. Which was for the exact amount of my available credit done at a Sweetwater store in another state. I am not receiving any monthly statements. Yet last month I received a letter stating they mailed a statement and would not be sending me another. I have called every month since November with no resolution.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/18/2025

  *******,
  
  Thanks for reaching out and Im very sorry to hear about this issue. To clarify, you mentioned that youre looking for a replacement card from us, or you mention a Sweetwater store in another state. We dont issue credit cards, and we only have one location in *************** *******. I was unable to find any record of your information. Is this issue with Sweetwater Sound?
  
  Please let me know and well be happy to help!
  
   
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/18/2025

   I am rejecting this response because:

  The Sweetwater Sound physical location is who committed fraud on my account. This complaint is regarding my Sweetwater card with Synchrony that been on hold and Ive been attempting to resolve since Nov 2024. To date, I still have no way to pay my bill other than sitting on hold for hours, receive no statements, cannot get a card due to no pin, etc. Im also filing complaints elsewhere against *************** 
  
  

  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/21/2025

  *******,

  Thanks for your follow up and I'm very sorry for everything that has happened. After doing some additional digging, we were able to locate where a Synchrony card was used in your name. Sadly, it is part of a fraudulent transaction, under someone else's name, which is why we were unable to find your account initially. It appears that a fraudster came to our website, and placed an order online using a Synchrony card in your name. This was ordered back in November of 2024. To be clear, we had no knowledge of this purchase, nor were we the ones who submitted this order. The order was fulfilled based on the information provided though.

  Additionally, we do show an open "chargeback" on this order, meaning Synchrony has reversed the funds from us, and they are now fully managing the dispute. We're going to reach out to our Synchrony escalation points to see if we can help assist in getting this resolved. They should simply "write off" the fraudulent charge, and you would not have any responsibility at all to it. 

  Once we hear back from Synchrony, we'll be happy to reach out to you directly with an update. In the meantime, if you have any questions for me, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly as well!

  Sorry again for the trouble, and we'll be back in touch soon!

  
  
  ****** ******
  Director of Customer Experience
  Office: ************ 1046
  ******************************************************************
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/04/2025

  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.

  I purchased a Helix Floor from sweetwater in December of last year and had to return it because it had a problem with the volume ****, so they sent me a replacement and this one has a terrible noise with the expression pedal, so I was going to send it for a warranty evaluation and repair until they told me I had to pay for the shipping and if anything happens in transit I'm responsible, so I'm not going to bargain losing over a thousand dollars because their evaluation teams don't check the product before sending. So I told them I want a shipping label for a refunded return. A guy from sweetwater called me Friday and said they would send me the refunded label, but it's been several days and still no label or reply even after emailing them twice to check on the status of it. I'm sick of it, they are scamming me and I have come to you guys to make it right.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/05/2025

  *****,

  Thanks for reaching out and I'm very sorry for the issues with the Helix, and for the amount of time it's taken to get things resolved. We completely understand your frustration and will be addressing this with the key teams involved, so that we can learn from this and get better. We truly appreciate your patience in getting things solved.

  I understand that you've been in touch with our team and that we've gotten the return label, so that we can get you refunded. If you have any other concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out!

  Kind regards,

  
  ****** ******
  Director of Customer Experience
  Office: ************ 1046
  ******************************************************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/06/2025

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  
  

  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/27/2025

  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.

  I purchased a limited run of a 60s ****** *** **** and was told I was the purchaser of guitar number 24 of 25. The purchase was made January 2 and I was told it should towards the end of January when I would receive the guitar. When I checked in again on February 5 I was told to check back in a week. Later the same day I received a text stating that I would not be getting the guitar. I was initially told that the reason was now ****** had decided to only make 25 which was always the case and screen shots of the site show this. Once I explained that I was then told, ****** had decided to only make 24 of them and they only received 22 of them at Sweetwater. So the others went to customers that had not purchased before they were sold to the first 25 purchasers. I find it hard to believe ****** would tell a big customer like ********************** they would produce 25 guitars that are a Sweetwater exclusive, only to produce 24, and only send 22 to the store who sold 25. Someone is not being honest. After waiting over a month for a guitar I was very excited about that was a limited run, mine was sold to someone else.I sent an email to all of upper management with the details of my experience and didnt receive one response. From CEO down. This place does not care about customers or customer service.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/17/2025

  Hello,

  We've been in touch with this customer to try and resolve things!

  To give a little bit of background, ****** made a handful of guitars to the wrong spec (the *** **** you wanted with the blue back). Ultimately, they were never specd out, which is different than a limited run, that would be planned and specd. 
  
  Once they realized the error, they reached out to us asking if we wanted to try and sell them as an exclusive, which we agreed to do. We were told that ****** would be sending us 25 guitars, however we only received 22 (19 A stock and 3 that didnt pass our evaluation that had to be adjusted and sold as demo). Because they were the wrong spec, ****** did short us 3 more, which is why we didnt have one for you. Again, all of this happened as a result of a manufacturers error, where they were trying to turn lemons into lemonade. I can assure you, we did not sell around you or do anything intentionally wrong, but do understand how all of this makes us look, and again, Im very sorry. 
  
  We have reached out to ****** to see if there is any chance they can try and make another one, and were waiting to hear back. That said, we do have the correct spec in stock, but it does have a natural back. Would you have any interest in that one? (*****************************************************************************************************)
  
  Regardless, wed love to make things right, and well see what ****** can do, but if they wont make any more, is there any thing we can do at this point?
  
  Please let me know and well help in any way that we can.
  
  Sorry again for the trouble, and I look forward to hearing back from you soon!
  
  Regards,

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/20/2025

  While I appreciate the response and Sweetwater working to rectify the situation, nothing has been done as of yet to do so.  Sounds like they may be working on it but I cannot say the response is acceptable until they have given final outcome. 
  
  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/27/2025

  Hello,

  We've been in touch with ***** about everything that has happened. We contacted the manufacturer to try and work out a special exception, but they were unable to do so. We have offered to help the customer out in anyway that we can with a future purchase/concession to try and make up for this, and we'll hope that we'll have a chance to earn his business!

  Thanks,

  
  
  ****** ******
  Director of Customer Experience
  Office: ************ 1046
  ******************************************************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/27/2025

   I am rejecting this response because:
  While I appreciate the attempt to make it right, it proved unsuccessful and I am still without the item I purchased.  There seems to be no acceptable resolution on their part. 
  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/03/2025

  Again, we're very sorry that we're not able to source the exact guitar for the customer. Sadly, there is truly nothing more we can do to get that exact guitar, but we're open to any and all alternatives.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/03/2025

   I am rejecting this response because: per their response, there is nothing they can do to make it right and provide what I purchased.  
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/19/2025

  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.

  On June 26th, 2024 I was the victim of a credit card fraud where an unknown person(s) bought $1,705.62 worth of digital music software. I reported the fraud immediately to both my ********** and Sweet Water. I was told in an email by Sweet Water to delete the download links. I did so and never even opened them because I didn't want there to be any suspicion that I downloaded the programs or used them. I was told later, over the phone, that due to Sweetwater's policy of not giving refunds or returns of digital purchases, and because the links were sent to a verified email address (WHICH DUH! HOW ELSE DID I KNOW THEY WERE THERE!? PEOPLE STEAL THAT STUFF ALL THE TIME! IT'S WHY I KEEP CHANGING MY PASSWORDS SO MUCH) they cannot prove that I have not benefited from this. Therefore, I must pay the ********** the total amount someone stole from me! This means that Sweetwater has been paid $1,705.62 from me that I never authorized and because of their policy cannot get back! So now I get to be doubly victimized. I have enjoyed my association with Sweetwater for many years professionally (I'm a music educator in a public school) and personally. I never thought I would be screwed over like this because of a policy. I get that I cannot return a digital product, but I did as I was asked and acted honestly. I would think that a business like Sweetwater, who I have had so many positive interactions with, would be able to see past their policy and not s**** me over for the money. Taking the loss in payment is better than losing customers and reputation because I will tell everyone, starting here. However, this could be a golden opportunity for them to show some integrity and remit the payment to my CC so I don't have to pay for something I never wanted, don't use, and never authorized payment for.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/28/2025

  ******,

  I'm so sorry for the issues and for all of the trouble. I know you've. been in touch with our staff and we've arranged a refund back to your Synchrony, which they will then likely cut you a check. Sorry for all of the back and forth, but glad we could get things resolved!

  Thanks,

  
  
  ****** ******
  Director of Customer Experience
  Office: ************ 1046
  ******************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/20/2025

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  A transaction was made nov,24,2024 that I did not make. I have tried going through my credit and contacting the Sweetwater representative multiple times but he acts like hes never been notified. I have called and emailed on multiple occasions. The invoice shows me as a recipient of electronic items, and even shipped physical items to ensure that a fraud claim would be denied. On nov,25,2024 I received an email for activation codes for the electronic products, there was also another email that it had been sent to, ******************** I do not know or have any affiliation with that email. Sweetwater representative says he cannot remove it from my account. I have tried escalating through the company but they refuse to give a refund.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/21/2025

  Hi *****,

  Thanks for reaching out and for your review. I'm so sorry that you've had to escalate to the point of getting the BBB involved. I certainly wish that our team would have done more to get you resolved! Additionally, I'm also sorry for the hassle and frustration around the fraudulent order that was placed with your personal information. I can understand how unsettling that must be and I'm sure you've taken all the steps necessary to ensure your protected.

  As far as your purchase, I do show that we issued you a full refund yesterday for the order from 11/24. There was a time where the bank indicated that a chargeback was in place and active. It wasn't until just recently that we learned it was closed in our favor. Once that was done, we issued the refund. Those funds should post to the bank by tomorrow, hopefully resolving this once and for all.

  If you do have any other questions, please don't hesitate to write and I'm very sorry for the issues!

  Thanks,

  
  
  ****** ******
  Director of Customer Experience
  Office: ************ 1046
  ******************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/05/2025

  Type:Delivery 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.

  I ordered a Korg G1 Air Piano from ************************** for the total amount of $2189.99. The store shipped the package out through the ***** carrier, in which the following tracking code was provided: ************. According to the details of the tracking information, the package was marked as delivered at around 11:42 AM. However, when I got home shortly I could not locate the package. I frantically searched the perimeter of the property to see if I could better locate the package. Despite my efforts, I still could not locate the package, in which I decided to inquire about my neighbors to see if they had in fact received it instead. Unfortunately, none of my neighbors seemed to have received it. This could have all been prevented if the store had opted to use signature delivery for a package of this value. After I told the store about this issue, they told me that they will investigate this issue and after the investigation which took many weeks, they asked me to file a police report marking the item as theft. After I gave them the police report, I asked them if a refund was possible instead of a replacement because I bought the same piano in person at guitar center, but after waiting multiple weeks, I still have not received a response. I sent them another email weeks later and I still have not received a response.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/09/2025

  *****,

  First, I'm very sorry for all of the issues and poor response. I can certainly understand your frustration, and I hate that you had to go to the BBB to get movement on this case. I'm also sorry for the initial delivery issue in the first place. 

  As a quick update, in reviewing the police report you submitted (thank you for that!), it appears there is a discrepancy in the report information. According to your local law enforcement, report IDs have a 15 number sequence, while yours has 9. Is this something that you're able to check with the department where you submitted the report? 

  Additionally, there is also an open chargeback/credit card dispute on this transaction. As a result, your bank should have returned the funds to you. Because of that, we're not able to issue a refund at this time, unless the bank were to close out the dispute in our favor. You'll have to contact your bank to get an updated status of the dispute.

  Either way, if you can get some updates, we can re-evaluate this case. Simply reach out to me directly with my contact information below, so that we can do our best to assist!

  Sorry again for the trouble, and look forward to hearing back!

  
  
  ****** ******
  Director of Customer Experience
  Office: ************ 1046
  ******************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/22/2024

  Type:Customer Service 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 called this business to inquire about purchasing a guitar (an expensive one) and my usual sales person was not available so I got routed to another one named ****** who was rude and condescending in the way he spoke to me. First of all Im not his client so he should mind his business. Im **** hackers client. I simply asked him if since I was spending close too 2 grand on a guitar maybe they could set it up for me? ****** refused saying we usually dont give them for free like that. It would be an extra 100 dollars. Again. Im not Dustins client Im **** hackers. So why is ****** speaking on ****s behalf. ?? I dont get it. The guitar is almost 2 grand. The set up is 100 dollars. Any guitar store would do that for a customer thats spending that kind of money on a guitar. I didnt ask for anything out of this world. In any event this *** ****** should mind his own business. Any discussion of discounts or extras should come from ****. I dont appreciate being treated like that. Ive spent thousands of dollars on guitars there. This guy was out of line. Hes talking like hes the company president. Not good

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/23/2024

  I've connected with **** and we'll be addressing with the particular individual involved. We're very sorry for the poor experience.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/23/2024

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  
  

  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/03/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising 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.

  ******** products at advertise *************** refusing to **** me products.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/10/2024

  Hello,

  We've been in touch with the customer and worked to resolve the outstanding issue. Ultimately, a mistake was made on our site regarding the price, which we were quickly made aware of, and the error was fixed. We do our best to honor mistakes like that when they are made, but the discrepancy was more than we could work with. That said, we did work with the customer and landed on a satisfactory price. We feel awful when things like this happen, and we're very sorry. 

  Thanks,

  ****** ******
  Director of Customer Experience
  Office: ************ 1046
  ******************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/03/2024

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  On July ***** i purchased a Larrivee SD-40R from Sweetwater. I drove from ********* **** to *************** to buy this guitar. The total purchase was ******** with set up and tax. cash was paid. The guitar had to be left there for the set up. it was shipped to my residence about 3 weeks later. the guitar was fine at first but developed a buzzing noise on the * string,3rd and 4th fret. I called the ******** factory about this problem and they stated that the guitar had an incorrected set up. I then took this guitar to a trusted Luthier that I had used for about 25 years. He stated that the set up was wrong. I ordered a saddle nut from Larrivee of **********. The set up was complete and it did not cure the buzzing noise. I played it for awhile and could not get over this noise. I then took the guitar to Chillicothe ****. It was diagnosed with over intonation, or a wolf note. The Luthier there stated that it was un repairable. A friend of mine referred me to a Luthier shop in *************, The Guitar House Workshop. Their diagnosis of this guitar was the same. they could hear problems with the * string. They advised that they could try to get this problem fixed but was upfront and stated that they may not be able to fix it. *y this time it was June 4,24. I got it back and the over intonation was still present. They stated that Sweetwater was pretty good about this type of situation and to contact them. I contacted ***** **** at Sweetwater, He had me send a Video of the guitar to him He stated that he heard nothing wrong with it. I stated that I could not sell this guitar with a clear conscience knowing that something was wrong with it. So we ordered a Seagull Artist Mosaic to either replace it or trade it in. I traded this ******** in on 09-26-24. The trade in paper stated that the retail on the Seagull was *******. I ended up with two defective Seagulls from Sweetwater that were traded back in. I asked for a Godin instead and they wanted ****** difference the same retail

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/03/2024

  These documents, gear exchange, show the retail price of the Seagull guitar as *******- the retail price of the Godin is *******- dated 9-26-24. Because the Larrivee was defective they replaced it was a ********** a great loss. I got 2 defective replacement Seagulls in a row that had to be sent back. I wanted a Godin,same retail. Maybe better quality. They wanted ****** more.. according to gear exchange document Godin and Seagull are the same retail.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/10/2024

  Hello,

  We've been in touch with this customer and have come to a resolution. We sincerely apologize for the issues that ***** experienced with guitars that he purchased from Sweetwater. In an effort to solve the customer, we ultimately refunded the customer in full for his purchase. We're hopeful that we'll have a chance to work with him again in the future!

  Regards,

  
  
  ****** ******
  Director of Customer Experience
  Office: ************ 1046
  ******************************************************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/12/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  This is not really rejecting this response it's to state that I'm completely unsatisfied with all of this. I contacted Sweetwater just this morning because they hadn't contacted me and still haven't mailed a check. I have lost $1200 on this deal but 500 was my fault for not returning the guitar immediately. This has been ongoing for months and I want it to be over.3 defective guitars in a row and a minimum of $700 lost 
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/23/2024

  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.

  I ordered some instruments through this company and every time I call to purchase something else or I have to ask a question they tell me they dont know. The site describes them as sales engineers and gear experts yet when I ask basic sales questions they cant answer me. Like warranty. Where is it made. Does the guitar come with a case? *** etc. my particular sales person **** is pretty good but I gotta say the rest Ive spoken too have no clue what there selling and its frustrating as a consumer whose spent thousands already on guitars etc etc and other equipment. I just cant understand how a sales expert or sales engineer as they are called doesnt know basic questions. Something is wrong. They need better training in my opinion

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/29/2024

  ****,

  Thanks for reaching out and for sharing your feedback. I'm so sorry to hear that your experiences with our sales team have been less than satisfactory. I'm glad to hear that **** has been taking pretty good care of you, but concerned that others have not. We'll be sure to dive in and see all who has been involved so that we can follow up and work to coach/train the team to be better. In the meantime, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly and I'll help where I can!

  Thanks again,

  
  
  ****** ******
  Director of Customer Experience
  Office: ************ 1046
  ******************************************************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/02/2024

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  
  

  Thank you.