Horrible experience with a Nak Tech

[insane79]

is it good to meet such a scammer inperson at his place.

Take the cops for back up

 

[snappysam]

Admin, please delete if this post violates any forum rules.

Dear All,

I got this contact for this Kolokota based Nak tech from a random OLX user who was selling a deck.( Or is it the same Tech person !! Read on.. )
I promptly contacted this 50 year old self procliamed Nak expert ( Don't want to disclose his name now, since I filed a complaint in the consumer forum. If anyone wants to know his name, please DM me. I may eventually disclose his name if needed ). I sent him a video of the tape deck and he confirmed that it costs max 5k including service + spares. I agreed and shipped to his address.

Since received the deck, he has been asking to sell it to him for parts which I refused. Then after a few days, he informed me that VU meters can't be repaired.
Then he confirmed to me that he restored the deck & sent a final bill, hold your breath, worth Rs 17500 !!! I requested him to send me the detailed bill, which he did.
I checked the price of a replacement IC & saw that he charged me over 5k for 4 ICs. I checked online the price and to my shock, I found that it's just Rs 64 ( Sixty Four rupee ) !! Overall he charged me 13k for components alone but the retail price of these components is less than 200 rupee.. !!

Also when I prompted, he confirmed that he couldn't fix the Auto record azimuth issue !!. Basically, he couldn't do much other than it now plays tapes !!!

When I confronted him with the evidence of overcharging, he arrogantly increased the final bill amount and now I've to pay 27k including shipping !!!

I can only blame myself for trusting such Fraud techs.

I've mainly two issues in this transaction

1) Technician never informed me of the revised estimate to get my approval before starting the work.
2) Charging 100 times more markup is totally unacceptable & unethical. Now I want to know whether this is even legal. That's why I filed a consumer complaint

This post has few objectives. Tarnishing someone's ( or a company's ) image in a public forum is NOT the one. Instead, I want to share my learnings with this wonderful community.

1) Always get all T&C in writing. Always inform tech that if it's more than 5% of the initial estimate, they have to formally inform you & get your written approvals
2) Try to get it repaired locally. This will also save shipping cost & avoid potential damages. Since I couldn't find anyone in Kerala, I had to go this way. A known devil is better.....
3) Get the details about the components to be replaced upfront. If you can source it, that's better. This will also give the technician a message that they can't over charge you

I'll appreciate if you share your experience with consumer complaints. Have you tried? Does it really work? Will we get justice in these kinds of cases? In fact the technician even claims that since we don't have any such government norms, he can charge whatever he wants & even challenged me to file any kind of cases against him !!!

All feedback, suggestions, recommendations are welcome..Also, please do suggest a good Nak Tech in Kerala ( Kochi )

Thank you and have a wondereful new year ahead

- Manoj

Hi Manoj

Very bad experience indeed.
Regarding your question about an expert Nak technician in Kochi - there are none. Been to some of the "good ones" in Kochi and they don't measure up. None have the expertise, requisite test tapes, equipment or the dedication.
I believe there are a few reputed Nak technicians outside Kerala. Other forum members can pitch in with their experiences.

Regards
Issac

 

[manojrc]

When communicating with a person in the repair business, there are many pointers and flags one can look for, if the owner of the equipment is knowledgeable and experienced. On the other hand, one needs to be well prepared before going to a Mech as the reverse will also happen wherein the Mech tries to evaluate the potential customer with the intent to maximize revenue. For more valuable or complex equipment, it is always better to deal with the folks in person.

Thank you very much for a detailed response. Appreciate ..

All your suggestions make sense but unfortunately may not work with a conman. We are dealing with a guy who is a habitual offender with a criminal mindset.

Now I asked him to fix the VU meter and record azimuth issues. But I’m not sure whether he has the skill, tools, spare parts etc to address these issues.

 

[TD150]

Thank you very much for a detailed response. Appreciate ..

All your suggestions make sense but unfortunately may not work with a conman. We are dealing with a guy who is a habitual offender with a criminal mindset.

Now I asked him to fix the VU meter and record azimuth issues. But I’m not sure whether he has the skill, tools, spare parts etc to address these issues.

OP might seek help from a fellow member located at Kolkata to inspect the deck and may be can have a video call during the inspection. This would be better to establish the deck is repaired to the OP's satisfaction.

 

[greenhorn]

What Decks did you give him to service? I am not sure a manufacturer such as nakamichi would use discrete logic gate ic's. Can confirm if you can share model numbers

Looks like the deck you gave actually has 4011 IC's. so at least his claim is legit

 

[manojrc]

Looks like the deck you gave actually has 4011 IC's. so at least his claim is legit

Great to see that. Thanks. One major concern I’ve is about the price he charges for these ICs. Had I known that he would charge me 100 times more, either I wouldn’t have agreed for this repair or I would have procured it.

 

[reubensm]

Great to see that. Thanks. One major concern I’ve is about the price he charges for these ICs. Had I known that he would charge me 100 times more, either I wouldn’t have agreed for this repair or I would have procured it.

If he has sourced the spares from a genuine source, for example like from Jeff Galin of Electronics Service Labs, they are likely to be expensive hence the invoice of parts procured comes into the picture. You always have the option of writing to Jeff privately for a quote on these parts + shipping.

 

[nikhilblr]

If he has sourced the spares from a genuine source, for example like from Jeff Galin of Electronics Service Labs, they are likely to be expensive hence the invoice of parts procured comes into the picture. You always have the option of writing to Jeff privately for a quote on these parts + shipping.

Unlikely. As I said before in my post, I've been scammed by this person as well. He sounds very educated when we speak with him on the phone but is a complete crook. In fact I remember when I was speaking with him he was saying he looking for someone who can repair tape decks in Kolkata

 

[kumarab]

This is such a harrowing tale! Is there a happy ending to this? Did you get your deck back?

Kumar

 

[manojrc]

This is such a harrowing tale! Is there a happy ending to this? Did you get your deck back?

Kumar

No Kumar. Deck is still with him. He says, he couldn’t fix the VU meter issue but still wants such a high price for repair !!

 

[Phani24]

No Kumar. Deck is still with him. He says, he couldn’t fix the VU meter issue but still wants such a high price for repair !!

ask him no need to reoair and dend back your deck

 

[manojrc]

ask him no need to reoair and dend back your deck

Since he claims that he already changed the capacitors and few ICs, now there’s no much option but to pay whatever the amount he quotes and get the deck back safely!!

 

[kumarab]

I am so sorry to hear that. To be practical though, I think you'll just have to treat this as a bad debt, and also a lesson. Pay him and get your deck back. You mentioned auto rec azimuth... I'm guessing it's a CR7 or a 682zx?

All tape enthusiasts, esp in a country like ours, need to invest in a few basic things. A decent digital multimeter, a soldering gun + desoldering pump, a decent screwdriver toolkit and a bottle of synthetic lubricant oil. Do it yourself, instead of depending on strangers you know nothing about.

If you have acces to a local tech (in your own city), or someone you know personally, then that is a different matter. Never send your machines to random people.

I hope you get your deck back soon. Good luck

 

[manojrc]

Finally received the deck !! Now it’s time to test. As expected, immediately after shipping, that fraud blocked me on WhatsApp

 

[kumarab]

Great news! Hope it works well.

 

[nikhilblr]

I am so sorry to hear that. To be practical though, I think you'll just have to treat this as a bad debt, and also a lesson. Pay him and get your deck back. You mentioned auto rec azimuth... I'm guessing it's a CR7 or a 682zx?

All tape enthusiasts, esp in a country like ours, need to invest in a few basic things. A decent digital multimeter, a soldering gun + desoldering pump, a decent screwdriver toolkit and a bottle of synthetic lubricant oil. Do it yourself, instead of depending on strangers you know nothing about.

If you have acces to a local tech (in your own city), or someone you know personally, then that is a different matter. Never send your machines to random people.

I hope you get your deck back soon. Good luck

The thing is I can figure out the mechanical part of cassette deck repairs by watching you tube videos but I know nothing about electronics or electricals. I would not know why a deck does not turn on or which transistor or resistor or capacitor is not working etc. I need to learn these things by reading up on them.

 

[kumarab]

The thing is I can figure out the mechanical part of cassette deck repairs by watching you tube videos but I know nothing about electronics or electricals. I would not know why a deck does not turn on or which transistor or resistor or capacitor is not working etc. I need to learn these things by reading up on them.

Nobody knows. That includes "techs", legit or self styled. When it's an electrical/electronic fault, you either follow a process of elimination by studying the symptoms and look at likely causes. OR you take a scope and start analysing the path.

Now very few will have access to (or would want to invest in) a scope, granted. And if the problem turns out to be something you just can't pin point, then you do need to take it to someone who has the tools. But most of the times, a little reading and patience will get you there. Being proficient with soldering/desoldering is a requirement though.

 

[nikhilblr]

Nobody knows. That includes "techs", legit or self styled. When it's an electrical/electronic fault, you either follow a process of elimination by studying the symptoms and look at likely causes. OR you take a scope and start analysing the path.

Now very few will have access to (or would want to invest in) a scope, granted. And if the problem turns out to be something you just can't pin point, then you do need to take it to someone who has the tools. But most of the times, a little reading and patience will get you there. Being proficient with soldering/desoldering is a requirement though.

What is the scope that we can use to analyse the path? Is it some kind of tool or instrument and if yes can you please share an online link for one. Thanks.

 

[greenhorn]

Any decent analog scope should be fine. Inject a signal at the input and trace it downstream

 

[kumarab]

What is the scope that we can use to analyse the path? Is it some kind of tool or instrument and if yes can you please share an online link for one. Thanks.

Hi, sorry for the late response. An oscilloscope, I mean. There's digital ones avilable, but analog ones are more dependable. They don't come cheap though, so it's only a requirement for a tech (who does this as a business) or a super serious enthusiast who has invested lots into multiple totl decks.