Arnot Wadsworth

C

captdcb

Registered
Has anybody had any trouble getting a cue made by Arnot? I have 3 high end cues I bought from him and never had a problem. I ordered and paid for a break cue from him 15 months ago and still have not got my cue or my money back. When I ordered it he said it would take 3 months. I know he has had some health issues. I have called and called and he said it would be read soon. But the last time I called to check on it which was about 3 months ago he hung up on me. After that I got my attorney to send him a letter requesting he send me the cue or send my money back. Still no responce. :(

Dennis
 
I did call the Sheriff's office in Lake Worth, FL and talked to them but they said it was nothing they could do. But I wil call the State Attorney office next week.

Thanks
 
Do a search on Arnot, you'll see other results. The consensus is he is very ill, not a thief.
 
captdcb said:
Has anybody had any trouble getting a cue made by Arnot? I have 3 high end cues I bought from him and never had a problem. I ordered and paid for a break cue from him 15 months ago and still have not got my cue or my money back. When I ordered it he said it would take 3 months. I know he has had some health issues. I have called and called and he said it would be read soon. But the last time I called to check on it which was about 3 months ago he hung up on me. After that I got my attorney to send him a letter requesting he send me the cue or send my money back. Still no responce. :(

Dennis
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I think a stark reality is, most cuemakers live hand to mouth so to speak. Many are very back ordered and have taken deposits, possibility totaling in the many thousands of dollars. If something should happen to the cuemaker I suspect all would lost. I guess it is the chance you take giving a deposit. I don't believe cuemakers should take deposits period. I don't believe Szamboti ever did, at least not on any of the cue he built me.
 
macguy said:
I think a stark reality is, most cuemakers live hand to mouth so to speak. Many are very back ordered and have taken deposits, possibility totaling in the many thousands of dollars. If something should happen to the cuemaker I suspect all would lost. I guess it is the chance you take giving a deposit. I don't believe cuemakers should take deposits period. I don't believe Szamboti ever did, at least not on any of the cue he built me.
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I agree no deposits at least until the day they begin work on the cue or purchase material for it. I see doing that for mat'ls. But hopefully they wouldnt just spend your deposit before hand for regular expenses..... sooner or later that money that has been advanced dries up and someone gets screwed.
 
Thanks for all the input. I know Arnot has been ill and I am very sorry for that. I have 2 of his high end cues and one 60" very plain cue which is the cue I play with. He was going to build me a matching jump break cue to plain cue I have, I think #775 on his web site. He did tell me some months ago he woulld send me my money back which, but I never got the cue or the money. I sent him the money in Dec. 2011 and talked to him many times after that about the cue. After 3 months, every time I talked to him he said it was almost ready to ship out and I should have it in a few weeks. But now I can not reach him on the phone.
 
Bowmer said:
I agree no deposits at least until the day they begin work on the cue or purchase material for it. I see doing that for mat'ls. But hopefully they wouldnt just spend your deposit before hand for regular expenses..... sooner or later that money that has been advanced dries up and someone gets screwed.
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Are you referring to our present day Social Security system ?
 
Bowmer said:
I agree no deposits at least until the day they begin work on the cue or purchase material for it. I see doing that for mat'ls. But hopefully they wouldnt just spend your deposit before hand for regular expenses..... sooner or later that money that has been advanced dries up and someone gets screwed.
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It is worse then that. This is a true story about a very respected cuemaker who is often discussed on here. He was completing a cue for a customer that had been paid for in advance, total amount. I was at his shop and saw the cue. Like a week later the cue shows up in the pool room sold to a local player/collector for $2000.00.

What the cuemaker had done, since he had nothing coming money wise for the cue because it was paid for in full like 2 years earlier, he sold it for cash in hand to someone else because he needed money. I mentioned it to him on the side about selling someone's completed cue to someone else. He actually justified it by saying, the cue was worth more then he had originally agreed to build it for anyway. If he can get $2000.00 for it, (The price to the original buyer was $1100.00), he was taking it. Who knows if the other customer ever got a cue or his money back.

Once you give a large deposit or pay in full for a cue, the cuemaker looses incentive to make the cue. The money gets spent and when they get around to making the cue in their mind they feel like they are working for nothing now.

This is a funny story. Years ago I ordered a cue from Balabushka. I paid for it in full thinking that would help me to get the cue sooner. By the way, the cue was only $110.00 with two shafts. I spoke to him on the phone like a half dozen times over a three year period about the cue and every time he would say he was just about finished with it. If I lived in NY I could have probably gotten it quickly.

Long story short I get kind of annoyed about the cue, I don't even want it anymore and ask for my money back. In three days I get an envelope in the mail with a check. He actually figured the interest on my money for three years at 6% and added it on. I guess he was happy to no have to hear from me anymore. He was always so very nice on the phone and sounded so sincere about finishing the cue, but never did. Over the years I have owned a number of Balabushka's, I own two now, but never was able to get one directly from him.
 
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Well..... I guess I am out my $628 I paid for the cue. I have tried to call a few more times but dont get an answer. You live and learn. After all the past dealings with Arnot I never ever thought this would happen.
 
cues

I think he will make good and is very sick, i did have dealings with him years ago, and yes he is slow but not out to stiff anybody or at least thats the impression he gave me.
 
This whole scenario is quite interesting and raises many questions. Arnot could be incapacitated now and unable to even answer his customers. There could also be any number of other reasons. It also brings up the question of how to even handle the problem with no other person to contact from his business. Not even sure what I would do in such a circumstance but I hope that the customers can get some satisfactory response from someone in his immediate family regarding his health and cue making business. Good luck to the customers and I hope that Arnot will recover and be able to complete his obligations.
 
Here's something to consider when sending money in advance or pre paying a cue maker...or anyone else for that matter.

You are taking the chance! If said cue maker goes under, you're money is gone. If said cue maker declares bankruptcy, you're money is gone.

Should a cue maker become incapaciated or die while they are in the process of building your cue and you have paid some or in full for the cue, the only recourse you have is to go after the estate...if they have one and that will be a long arduous process.

Maybe cue makers need to take credit cards so the buyer have some protection. I have no idea what the answer is, but you are the one rolling the dice when you prepay anyone for an item that will take months, even years to get.

Does anyone get a receipt when they send money to a cue maker? If not, you're really hosed, how are you going to prove to an estate attorney/court that you even paid in the first place?

I'm sure this doesn't happen often, but this Arnot scenario should be an eye opening experience for anyone and everyone. Protect yourself and your money!
 
I can understand if he is sick and unable to complete the work. The problem is that this was not communicated back to the customer. In this case the customer was hung up on when calling about the cue. This is not how business should be done and probably could have been avoided with a simple email to all who are waiting.
 
Give him ghe benefit of the doubt

He has been a cue maker for many years now he has some kind of a problem. Forget it!


captdcb said:
Has anybody had any trouble getting a cue made by Arnot? I have 3 high end cues I bought from him and never had a problem. I ordered and paid for a break cue from him 15 months ago and still have not got my cue or my money back. When I ordered it he said it would take 3 months. I know he has had some health issues. I have called and called and he said it would be read soon. But the last time I called to check on it which was about 3 months ago he hung up on me. After that I got my attorney to send him a letter requesting he send me the cue or send my money back. Still no responce. :(

Dennis
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Same Issues

I have had all the same issues. I went as far as calling his web site provider and complained to them about what Arnot has been doing. I wanted his web site Taken down so he couldn't get anymore orders. Since that time he has started to do Updates to his site and showing what is being worked on.

And Yes your right a Phone call and Explanation would have saved us all a lot of hassle, and his business a bad Reputation.

Sorry for our losses I feel your pain.
 
I too am being defrauded by Arnot Wadsworth. On March 14 I visited his shop and purchased a $1800 cue which was already constructed. He said if I paid him cash/check (so his wife wouldn't know about the income) he would discount the cue $200 and give me 2 shafts made to my specifications. He told me he would make the shafts and send the completed cue to me in Maryland within 2 weeks. I gave him a check for the total price and was on my way. I have emailed and called numerous times with him only picking up the phone on one occasion telling me the cue would be shipped in couple days. That was 10 days ago and NOTHING. Now he does not answer my phone calls or respond to my emails. I know he has caller ID since the last time I called he answered the phone with my name. I'm not sure he is as sick as others have said. While he has mobility issues, he stated he works about 4 hours a day on cues and has a long time assistant. I am not sure where to go with this. I too either want the cue or my money back. Although, I'm almost convince that neither of these are possible without suing him. Please let me know if you have any luck with the State of Florida officials.
 
I've contemplated this cue maker for awhile. A buddy I've played league with has one of his cues. It has a really nice hit to it, but it doesn't seem as though it's worth the sale. In today's economy, it's rough to deal with something like this.

If he didn't want his wife to know of the income, maybe get her involved. I'm sure hiding income from her wouldn't be looked upon nicely, not to mention scamming good people
 
I don't live in Florida (that's his location right?) but in most states it cost less than 100 dollars to file in small claims. All you should need is proof of purchase or in the case of a check a copy that it cleared, or a credit card statement if the payment was made that way.

If he fails to appear they will issue a judgement which typically results in getting your money. If something like a bankruptcy or estate liquidation goes down you will be entitled to collect your sum either in cash from items sold or physical property of equal value.

Do not wait. File in small claims.
 
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