A bad experience at Epps

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Claven2

Claven2

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Let me start by saying yes, I did contact epps first!!!

Unfortunately, I have to register my dissatisfaction with the service I rec'd. I have done business there a few times before and was very satisfied.

This time, I ordered a new Chiappa model 92 take-down 20" rifle in .45 Colt. The rifle is attractive and otherwise nice, but the front sight dovetail was improperly machined and cut too deep resulting in a front sight blade that won't stay put. A factory defect Epps would not have noticed before they shipped the rifle.

I got the rifle yesterday afternoon and called today to request a refund or exchange against a Winchester 1892 since they had no chiqppas left in stock and I explained I needed something for this season.

Caveat emptor.

Epps claimed it was store policy not to exchange or refund any firearm that was defective and that it has to go back to the importer for repair, something they conceded would take months. This is very poor customer service. The gun is unused/unfired and in its original packaging.

To summarize:
- defective product.
- return not being offered.
- exchange not being offered.
- my request to talk to a supervisor denied.
- their response when I suggested their actions were not jaw consumer protection laws: "that's policy - sorry".
- I told them I was considering contacting MasterCard to dispute the charge after it became evident they weren't going to be reasonable. Their response: "you are welcome to try".

Hopefully my experience is isolated, but caveat emptor. I now am out over $1000 and am stuck with a gun with unusable sights and a (possibly) barrel that needs replacing which I can send for warranty, maybe to italy, but will not have a new rifle for this hinting season.
 
Sorry to hear this, I too have had good and bad experiences there. Just watch out for their evil restocking fee.
 
They may think that it doesn't matter, but a bad review on CGN definitely changes my mind, especially from a veteran member.

The bad publicity something like this can cause will definitely cost them more than the profit on that gun sale.

I'd rather pay MORE and buy a gun from a store that appreciates it's customers, than getting told to basically "get lost" when there's a legitimate dispute on the condition of a new product.

I bought a defective gun case from a CGN sponsor business, the locks jammed, I had to cut the locks to get the guns out! Told the store, what happened, they said bring it back for exchange or credit, no problem. That gets them thousands of dollars of my continued support and a lot of respect.

I hope Epps can make this right, I don't like to see long standing CGN'ers get the run around, all the best.
 
Claven2 said:
Caveat emptor.

Epps claimed it was store policy not to exchange or refund any firearm that was defective and that it has to go back to the importer for repair, something they conceded would take months. This is very poor customer service. The gun is unused/unfired and in its original packaging.

Hopefully my experience is isolated, No, it's not!!!
Click to expand...

There was a very long thread not too long ago, about the exact same policy of Epps, how to s...w their customers.`

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?674202-Ellwood-Epps-customer-service-unhappy!

"Harrier45" assured us all that this kind of BS will not happen again in the future.
That is very unfortunate, because I like the store (Epps) and will now have to find another place. :(
 
BRB grabbing my pitchfork.

But seriously, does this mean they'll willingly sell products without first througly inspecting them and then say "Not our fault buddy" when the customer receives his product? I don't like the sound of this.
 
The perils of buying online, without first inspecting the firearm. I have been lucky online so far, but this confirms the need for the long road trip. sigh
 
Thanks for posting this. I was also just about to order a gun from them, I will also look elsewhere
 
To avoid mob mentality, I will say Epps was very helpful and responsive when I bought an HK usp. The salesman said two mags but only one was shipped. They sorted it out right away. Just a missed communication between the sales guy and the shipping guy.

Unfortunately firearm dealers are specialized, and few and far between. Lots of buyers and few sellers keeps them very busy. Things get missed, and we just have to deal with it.

I for one am happy with our dealers doing their best to import and sell the newest and best firearms to Canadians, (let's hope they lower prices :) )

Keep up the good work.
 
polaris said:
There was a very long thread not too long ago, about the exact same policy of Epps, how to s...w their customers.`

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?674202-Ellwood-Epps-customer-service-unhappy!

"Harrier45" assured us all that this kind of BS will not happen again in the future.
That is very unfortunate, because I like the store (Epps) and will now have to find another place. :(
Click to expand...

Yes, I saw that thread. The summary is that the gun was restricted and the Epps employee claimed that the act of registering the firearm to a buyer precluded its return to the imported as defective dealer stock, so it became the owner's responsibility.

I fail to see how that applies to my case though given it's a LONG GUN in Ontario, so it's not registered to anyone.

Honestly, I would accept the warranty route if it would result in my having a gun sometime during this hunting season, but that is not destined to be.

I had packed the rifle expecting them to just say "yeah, send it right back for exchange". Now that I know they won't, I'll be unpacking it again and taking detailed photos to document everything wrong with it before sending it back. The sight is only one issue, there were other minor issues I didn't bother reporting because I could live with them (hairlince crack in the buttstock, some machining errors inside the action, etc.) I phoned Mastercard and they are willing to work with me, but I want to give Epps one more try to make it right. Once they have the gun back next week, I will phone them to see what they say then. If they are still telling me to pound sand, Mastercard says I have a strong case against them.

Moral of the story: always use an insured CREDIT CARD when buying form this seller. A business should not be judged by the times they rapidly (and by pure luck) sell non-defective merchandise, they should be judged on how they deal with the instances where they have to deal with problems that are not the customer's fault.

Believe me, I would not be airing this on CGN unless I was dismayed at their response above and beyond my normal experience as someone who buys and sells literally dozens of guns each year.

As an aside: when I bought the gun, it was a coin toss between this one and a Miroku Winchester from Prophet River. You can guess which company I now wish I had done business with...
 
I've had bad experiences here too. Even the owner himself doesn't keep his word on a promise. That's where it all starts with the management team IMHO...
 
I bought a HiPoint 995 TS when they first showed up at Epps. They sent me rusted mags with one holding only 4 rnds. Got a reply from them with "It's a cheap gun...they come like that!!!"
 
I dont work for Epps and im not a shill

A few years ago i got my first centrefire pistol from them, TT-33. first time out to the range i see that on the first shot my mags keep dropping out on the first shot. next day i call them up and tell them my problem, they tell me to get an ATT to bring it back and they will exchange it, which they did. Of course this is a pistol worth a couple of hundred bucks vs a $1000 rifle so maybe thats the reason they didnt have a problem with it, it was a few years ago and its not a "new" gun.
 
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