A Warning about Davy Stephenson

[muckle_moose]

Dear Uilleann Pipers,

I'm not into slander or defamation. I realise people have good days
and bad days---I certainly do. Therefore it is with reluctance that I
now write to warn other pipers about a certain well-known maker,
Davy Stephenson. I don't need to express any personal opinions,
because the facts speak for themselves.

I am trying to recover two chanters, C and C#, that I sent to him in June 2007.
They were made by him, and he agreed to reed them for me.

It is now SIXTEEN MONTHS later, and he still has not returned the chanters.
He does not answer emails, and his telephone gives the message:
"This number does not accept incoming calls".

Several times over the last 16 months he said the chanters were
almost ready to return, or that he was just about to return them.
Most recently, he wrote an email telling me he was going to post the
chanters on Monday, 13 October. But as they have not yet arrived,
I can infer he did not post them. (delivery from his town in North Yorkshire
to Edinburgh would be 2 days at most).

Those are the facts, which can be supported by the record of emails
between Davy and myself. I suggest that any pipers who are considering
doing business with Davy should decide for themselves whether it is
worth the risk.

I now have to decide how I am going to recover the chanters.
I could perhaps try contacting the local police and make a complaint
about a local merchant who is witholding merchandise.
I could also drive to his home, but I have no way to know if he'll be
there when I arrive. Also, the cost of petrol to drive there and back
will be about £60.

If anyone has any suggestions, they would be welcome!

I'm very disappointed with Davy. In the past he has been very
kind and helpful to me. He is a skilled craftsman, and anyone who
has seen or played his pipes would agree that the quality is excellent.
I'm aware that he has described various health problems, and of course
I'm sympathetic with anyone who is in ill health, but not when
customers who have paid in full for his products, and have been
patient waiting for a long time, are given false assurances and then ignored.

I have also noted that he maintains a functioning web site,
and advertises for apprentices to learn pipemaking.
It would seem that he can therefore return my chanters if he wanted to.

Davy, if you are reading this, please return my chanters and prove
you deserve to recover your good name as a skilled, helpful, friendly,
and honest pipemaker. Please do not ignore your customers!

Slan,
Brett Patterson
Edinburgh, Scotland

[Dale]

About this thread.

mucklemouse contacted me and I provided advice about how to make the post he made above and the post is consistent with board policies. So, here it is and the thread provides the kind of warning most members seem to believe will be valuable.

I'm locking it not because it's inappropriate, which it's not, but to prevent pile-on comments, some of which might not be in keeping with policies.

This is the best compromise I can work out at this time.

[Dale]

From Davy's website:


http://www.bagpipeworks.co.uk/latest_news.htm