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Bank shut down my card and are sending out some forms.
SWIMBO was out of the loop. I thought I was upset, when she found out...
 
I was told when I called the district attorney of Fannin County that I could call the Honey Grove Police Department and report a theft if I felt I had been robbed. I plan on calling them this week, but he did warn me not to expect this prompt Marcus to finish my stand or speed anything up.
 
I called Paypal and spoke to a representative about my case, explaining that I was in communication with Marcus during the timespan and was getting the run around. He stopped the automatic closing of my complaint because of the 45 day limit and reopened the case. They credited my credit card back after about 2 weeks. So it's worth a call to Paypal to see if they'll do this for you as well.

Gardenhead said:
Ugh, I hate to come across this message now. I'm in a similar situation - talked to Marcus for weeks about exactly what I wanted, finally paid for mine in early June. Its been the same thing since then - horrible communication, every time we do talk it's 'going to be finished this weekend'. I even sent him my BCS controller that I had bought myself so that he could flash the firmware with a custom one from BCS. Stupid on my part, I'm already counting that as completely lost.

I'm going to file with the Texas AG, BBB and my bank. I paid through PayPal but their buyer protection only lasts for 45 days after purchase. So I'm going to start a claim with my bank and see how far that gets me. Any suggestions from other people who are dealing with their banks right now?
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I wonder if this guy planned to be a ********* scam artist or if he got in a jam badly. The problem with taking 100% build money up front is that it leaves an opportunity to do the wrong thing. You get in a bind financially and think that you'll use the next order money to buy the parts needed to finish up the previous. It slips further and further and that next order isn't enough money to finish the three builds on your plate.

I'm not saying any of this is a reasonable excuse, but it may be the explanation. If you had the cash in hand and it meant the difference between eviction and having someone badmouth you on a web forum, what would you do? Seams he may have tumbled down a nasty hole he couldn't climb out of.
 
Policies, Terms and Conditions:
Credit Cards by
We accept the following credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, and Discover. There is no surcharge for using your credit card to make purchases. Please be sure to provide your exact billing address and telephone number (i.e. the address and phone number your credit card bank has on file for you). Incorrect information will cause a delay in processing your order. Your credit card will be billed upon shipment of your order.


I have been following this thread (don't know why...car wreck). Has anyone noticed the info above from the website? Maybe that doesn't apply to custom orders?
 
nberk said:
I called Paypal and spoke to a representative about my case, explaining that I was in communication with Marcus during the timespan and was getting the run around. He stopped the automatic closing of my complaint because of the 45 day limit and reopened the case. They credited my credit card back after about 2 weeks. So it's worth a call to Paypal to see if they'll do this for you as well.
Click to expand...

This prompted me to try and call PayPal again. It took a few representatives, but with enough insistence they eventually transferred me to the limitations department (I think?). There, they opened up a fraud claim and about a week later PayPal refunded me my money. Whew! Now that I got my money back, I'm not going to pursue this anymore. Good luck to anyone else still fighting.
 
I sent numerous emails to Marcus and finally got a response. He promised me he would refund my money in full. Two weeks later he sent me a UPS package with a check for the full amount. Of course it bounced. I emailed him back insisting on a cashiers check but have not heard from him. Now that I have a check in hand at least I have a better case against him in court. I have spoken to PayPal several times now and they have not been at all helpfull. The fight continues....
 
brian320fo said:
Two weeks later he sent me a UPS package with a check for the full amount. Of course it bounced.
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He just committed a very serious offense here in Texas. You can now have his butt tossed in jail.

The Texas legislature has enacted serious laws in regards to writing bad checks in the state. In Texas, a bad check usually entails writing a check for an amount that you know is greater than the amount in the checking account. Other types of bad checks are those written against an account that was closed, never existed or that you are not authorized to use. Fraudulently spending money you do not have is a serious offense.

Criminal Penalties

In Texas, bad check writers can be subject to criminal penalties. The bad check writer can be sentenced to up to two years in county jail or be fined up to $1,000. For multiple offenses, the jail term can be extended by the court. The offender must also pay the original amount for which the bad check was written, and can be required to pay any expenses incurred by the recipient of the bad check, such as legal fees.

Notice Requirements

The recipient of a bad check is obligated to inform the bad check writer of the offense. According to Texas law, there are several accepted means for notifying the bad check writer. The recipient of the bad check can send notification by first-class mail, registered letter or certified letter with return receipt. The communication must clearly state the grievance and contain the recipient's return address on the envelope. The cost of sending the letter can be passed from the sender to the recipient, as part of the recipient's expenses.

Filing a Complaint

If you receive a bad check in Texas, you can file an official complaint. If you receive a bad check for more than $20, you can file your complaint with the local district attorney. If you receive a bad check for more than $500, you are required to file the complaint with the district attorney, unless the check was written to pay rent. Bad rent check complaints need to be filed through your local justice court.
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I'd remind Marcus of the Felony he committed and that a cashiers check better be FedEx'd the next day.

If he gave me ANY kind of run around, I would not hesitate to file a criminal complaint so the AG could issue a warrant for his arrest.




Penalties in Texas


  • Committing check fraud in Texas is considered a criminal offense. According to The Law Offices of RJ Atkinson LLC, in Texas it is a misdemeanor to write a bad check for under $50. Writing a bad check for more than $50 is a felony. Penalties start with jail time up to two years and $1,000 fines. Penalties may be as severe as up to 10 years in jail. The holder of the bad check can also charge the criminal with processing fees.

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Oh god I don't need to be reading this :(

I guess he got me too.

I hope he comes through. I heard from him a couple weeks ago.

**update** heard back today. said he will be gone for the next 12 days, but is going to have someone ship my stand. :p
 
Don't believe it until the stand is delivered and in one piece. Hopefully you'll get lucky like this San Antonian did.
 
After Marcus sent me the bad check I emailed him and told him what happened. He apologized and a couple of weeks later sent me a cashiers check for the full amount. It has cleared and we are all even. A long protracted process but it was finally resolved. Good luck to others.
 
luke2080 said:
Thats why I buy everything through a credit card. At the very least, they are good about refunding your money, and then letting them chase getting their money back. Lots of reasons to complain about CC companies, but this is the reason I'm OK with them. (But I've gotten like 8 charges refunded...once because the Spearmint Rhino in Vegas tried to double charge me. Just because I couldn't see doesn't mean they need to charge me twice!)

Good luck getting your $$ back, and thanks for letting others know to stay away.
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HAHA.....Spearmint Rhino ****ing ripped my off too bro. Asked the waitress for a bud light and I gave her a 20 for it. She came back with the 16 oz bottle and asked me for a tip. I said, "how much was the BL?"....."20 bucks" she says. WTF!!!!! I forget what other strip clubs I went to there but the spearmint definitely has some of the best "talent". anybody know of another high class 2-level strip club in Vegas....my memory is a bit fuzzy.
 
Still waiting. He sent me an email saying he'd be out for a couple weeks and that he'd have someone send it, but i've yet to get anything. Its been over three weeks since he said that and I can't get a hold of him. Frustrating since I built my new house with a gas hookup and had this ordered a long time ago :p
 
I finally received a response, from Marcus' wife saying he has been in and out of the hospital for the past couple weeks. Hopefully he'll be okay.
 
Paypal is of no help being that I am over the 45 day limitation for disputes. Very convenient since it was a 60 day agreement on the build. I am working with my bank and credit card company to try to get a refund.

I still want a brewstand, in need of one, but all of my money is tied up in this fiasco.
 
I called and navigated the phone tree at Paypal to tell them my story. Once I finally spoke to a live person he was able to stop the automatic closure of my case. There was then a delay, but they did refund my money. It's probably worth the call.

Since I was scarred by the incident I went the other direction and ordered from a large homebrew setup online (Northern Brewer). I got a Top Tier from them and am very happy. It's a great setup and I'd be happy to recommend it to anyone.
 
SwampassJ said:
I am a Nigerian prince in need of your aid.
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Me too, your relative left you a large sum of money in Nigeria and I just need a checking account number to help you out in retrieving the money... LOL.

Just kidding of course. It sucks that this happened to you, suspicious that someone was just posting a few weeks ago that they ordered a stand from him and recieved it a week later. Certainly dosnt sound like anything has changed with this guy except the story! I'd work with PayPal NOW if you can. Others have managed via phone to get refunds past 90 days chasing the system. I would think at some point they would stop this joker from taking orders via PayPal.

Regardless, if you make it nowhere note people contacting the AG in Texas.
 
So PayPal was very helpful and is giving Marcus 10 days to rectify this situation. I ordered on Sept 22nd and never received anything. Hopefully I'll have my money back to spend on a brew stand that i might get!
 
Drunkmunk, if you look back at your inbox i messaged you last year about this time about the stand you purchased. I must have purchased mine shorlty after you. I sent several emails as well. I got excuses too - Family emergencies and weather. After a few months i got my stand ~$400. I was disapointed with the box when i saw it at my door. I was even more disapointed when i opened it. 3 legs fit the 4th one was damaged and bent (I see that has been noted from other purchasers). The stand was missing the control panel mount, and the dimensions were not what i requested. the stand has colleceted dust for over a year now as i have not brewed on it. I need to make modifications that i just haven't had the time to do because of my new born twin boys. I never bothered getting my money back, too difiicult to deal with and it took too long in the first place. I'm really disapointed. Should have bought a bad ass.
 
I must be living right. I ordered form Marcus and got a 3 week turnaround from the order date to my front door. It's a very basic stand. I plan my first session for tomorrow. I posted my detailed review under - Pinup Brewery - including pics.

Stand burners1.jpg


stand with pumps and chiller1.jpg
 
So I just wanted to share my experience with purchasing a stand from Brewers' Equipment (Marcus) brew stand. The stand came a week late but it was due to weather issues from a tornado so that was out of his control. Initially I called him and asked questions he was friendly and answered them promptly. So I ordered the Mill stand which he had in stock and it showed pictures of a regulator.

So once the stand arrived their was a slight bend in the leg post and the sleeve would not fit it. So I had to bend it back not a big deal but then I realized their was some welding debris in the way and had to chisel it out which makes me believe he never tried to fit the leg in the first place.

My other issue is that the stand did not come with the regulator but to be fair it did not list it in the invoice but all his other stands do mention it be standard. So I think it should be clearer if it does not come with it. So I bought one at HD after he told me any 10psi regulator would work after I emailed him about the issue.

So when I attached it the regulator did not work because the flame would not actually lite the banjo burners but instead it lit the air intake which is really dangerous. So I tried calling him and emailing him with no response so far. So after my own research I figured out these are high pressure burners that need a minimum of 20 psi and after calling Midwest homebrew for advice they said that could be the issue why they are not working.

So I went on Amazon and ordered a high pressure with a 0 -30 psi regulator made by banjo burner. So yes the stand was a good value and seems to be really sturdy but I have had to do a lot of research because Marcus has given me bad information and has not provided open communication since I bought the stand.

I am putting this information out their because after I purchased the stand I then saw all the mixed reviews about dealing with him.

So far I have not been able to even properly test the stand or use it!!
 
I really have tried to not post on here about my experience ~ but ~ for anybody thinking of buying a stand - I say beware or at least know that you could be waiting a while..my order was placed in December 2011. I got a stand April 3rd - it's not functional mind you, the pumps are still on their way. WTF. It's a shame - I had hopes. I have had to follow-up all the way, email after email - if I knew now, what I do today, I would pay extra just to have no hassles and a functioning stand from someone else. I just pray this works when it all hooks up..
 
Over the last month, I've been thinking of buying or building a single tier brew stand. I had just built a gate with about 75% the amount of mild steel (stainless is pretty, but too expensive) I'd need for the stand build, and it ended up being pretty spendy. I figured I could build a stand, without cutting too many corners, and with using certain components I already had (i.e., 2 10" banjo burners), for about $450 or so. I decided to shop around a bit to see if I could find a pre-built stand for about the same.

At the top of my list for a while was the BadAss Single Tier, mostly because of how great it looks, but also because it was all I could find. Finally, I stumbled upon an old recommendation by one HBT user to another for Brewers Equipment... and saw they sold 3 burner single tier brew stands in mild steel for $505. I was very interested.

The day following this discovery, last Tuesday, I was at work at decided to place the order. Just prior to doing so, I decided to read some of the reviews folks had been leaving about this business. Some were good, most were bad. The two most common complaints: poor communication once an order was placed and the item was shipped much later than Marcus (owner) promised. Usually this is enough to cause me to lose interest. But the price! After sitting on it... for a few minutes... I decided to test my luck, particularly since my credit card does have protection (I know, I know). I emailed Marcus around noon and he responded within the hour. I asked him if he built custom stands, as there were a few things I didn't want (the burners) and a few add-ons I did want (pump mounts). He was happy to fit the stand to my desires, though wanted more details. HE is the one who suggested we talk on the phone. Since my work doesn't allow long distance calls, he offered to call me there, which is no easy task... after an hour of trying, we finally got connected. After telling him everything I wanted, and him answering a bunch of my questions, he gave me a total:

$475, shipped.

That's just about the same as I would have paid to build my own, and he's been doing this for a while. Sure, I have to drill the holes to fit my burners, but that's fairly normal. He assured me he would start working on my stand the next day and have it shipped by Friday. I paid.

Then I started to worry... many of the reviews I read gave similar accounts up to this point. I wondered if he'd completely lose contact with me, just take the money and run. So I tested that hypothesis and emailed him Thursday evening to ask how the build was going. Within an hour (which was about 11pm his time), I received a response- "Just finished, UPS is picking it up tomorrow!" Needless to say, I was happy to hear this. The following day, last Friday, I received an email with a UPS tracking number. My stand is scheduled to be here this Wednesday, just in time for me to use to brew an Oatmeal Stout this weekend.

I will add to this review as soon as I receive the stand, then after first use. I've no expectations the stand will arrive in perfect cosmetic condition, as UPS tends toward a less gentle approach. But I'm much less interested in looks than functionality.

Cheers!
 
Thanks for this post, it saved my day. I just placed an order today for his electric stand for $275 delivered. I can't beat that price. Marcus told me it will be made and shipped next week.
 
HarkinBanks said:
Thanks for this post, it saved my day. I just placed an order today for his electric stand for $275 delivered. I can't beat that price. Marcus told me it will be made and shipped next week.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what he said to me and it was here a day earlier than he quoted. Had a bit of confusion hooking up my propane, so he asked me to call him and he walked me through the process... while on the road with his family. Great guy, by my subjective experience!

image-3540709842.jpg

I ordered basically bare bones only because I have 10" banjos.
 
Used the stand this afternoon. So f*cking good! And that was without all the parts. I'm looking forward to using it all put together in a couple weeks. Seriously good.
 
Any issues using the flask on an electric stove? I thought you had to insulate by using a a pot of water.
 
Malric said:
Any issues using the flask on an electric stove? I thought you had to insulate by using a a pot of water.
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First off, and most importantly, I hate that damn stove. Takes forever to get water to a boil. Problems? Nope, works just fine for me, and I've made 10+ starters in that flask (bought it a few months ago).

The stand kills! I just mounted my Chugger pump last night... after brewing...needed the hardware.
 
I bought a SS totally equipped single tier rig from Marcus that was damaged in transit. Not only did he have it picked up, repaired and sent back at no additional cost, the thing was half the price of other builders or retailers. I ordered it with the BCS controller, longer length (72"), pump switches and mounts, chiller mount and LP tank rack. Yes, his order time/ship process is a bit unnerving and I saw the posts about the horror stories other had, but I spoke to him, brought up the issues beforehand and just moved forward. The only recommendation I will make is, if you're buying the automated system, get it priced with metal conduit not PVC housing. It will melt with the heat of the 10" banjos. Nice guy and I wanted to support a fellow brewer. I got more than my money's worth.
 
urbangravity said:
I bought a SS totally equipped single tier rig from Marcus that was damaged in transit. Not only did he have it picked up, repaired and sent back at no additional cost, the thing was half the price of other builders or retailers. I ordered it with the BCS controller, longer length (72"), pump switches and mounts, chiller mount and LP tank rack. Yes, his order time/ship process is a bit unnerving and I saw the posts about the horror stories other had, but I spoke to him, brought up the issues beforehand and just moved forward. The only recommendation I will make is, if you're buying the automated system, get it priced with metal conduit not PVC housing. It will melt with the heat of the 10" banjos. Nice guy and I wanted to support a fellow brewer. I got more than my money's worth.
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Great to hear! He really is a very nice and responsive guy, with great prices.
 
Got my UPS tracking info yesterday, I will take delivery on Thrs. 50 lbs from TX to PA. I can't wait.
 

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