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8 minutes ago, Ricky Rioli said:

 

The poor bass being stolen was just the final part of a ridiculous saga, and throughout the dealer was 

Apologies I didn't see the refund bit !  You've not lost on it anyway that's the main thing.

Clearly that bass really wasn't meant for you...  I guess someone will end up using it at some point tho...

I wonder if  "the bitter comes out better on a stolen guitar "  works for bass too !

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On 03/07/2021 at 07:15, Ricky Rioli said:

I've now been given permission by the police to advertise the fact that my G&L SB-1 serial number CLF2012012 was stolen from Heathrow Airport between leaving the plane and being handed to Parcelforce to go through customs. So not just stolen but smuggled, too.

Some optimist in the Midlands is currently trying to flog this for a grand on Facebook Marketplace. I can't imagine that anyone interested in this instrument would not find it suspicious, and would be googling the serial number. If that's you, Hi! Don't buy it!

You can see from the spec sheet that this G&L SB-1 has these non-standard specs: empress wood for the body, quartersawn maple for the neck and a narrow 1½" nut.  Since it left the factory the knobs were upgraded to CLF Research knobs and the Daddario Nickels were replaced with Rotosound Swing Bass pure steel strings. 

The dirty mark on the body just by the 18th fret was presumably added by the grubby scrote who half-inched it from Heathrow.

I have been given a full refund, so the instrument is no longer anything to do with me. It was ordered via Greg Bump at Rocket Music in Blacksburg, Virginia, who has a mammoth reputation in America, and who has, over the last nine months proven it well-deserved, repeatedly.

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How is something like that even possible?

Sounds like a nightmare!

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16 hours ago, jd56hawk said:

How is something like that even possible?

Sounds like a nightmare!

Reminds me of a story about the first batch of Datsun cars imported to the UK via Shoreham (Datsun were HQ'd in Worthing). With great ceremony, the first 6 cars were unloaded and driven onto a transporter - never to be seen again. There's seemingly nothing that audaciousness can't overcome.

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3 hours ago, Ricky Rioli said:

Lot 2044 at a recent W&H Peacock auction

G&L musical product inc. pink and white finish 4 string electric base model SB1 with fitted case and cert. of authenticity.

The March 2021 receipt from Rocket Music is still with the bass, sorry the "base". 

Peacock Auctions page on Facebook

I've sent an email to Peacock and have cc-ed Rocket Music. 

oooh well done finding that. An auction should have some fairly good money laundering regulations that mean they should know exactly who's selling and who's buying. 

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I must say, you've handled this whole thing with a lot more calmness and pragmatism than I would have. Fair play to you for staying level-headed and objective about the whole thing. 

Thst said, I'd imagine you've written and deleted many posts several times before hitting reply!

I'm glad it all worked out as well as it could have for you and (save some understandable disappointment) you've walked away relatively unscathed and not out of pocket :)

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That’s exactly what was on watchdog a while back. There was a special auction house where thousands of items, mostly with address labels still intact, were sent as ‘undeliverable’ and auctioned. I’ll see if I can find it…

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I'm guessing "unknown government body" is short hand for "I'm not dobbing in my contact who gives us all this stuff to sell" ?

I work for a company who owns an auction business (cars) - it is super locked down in terms of the auction house having a legal responsibility to know who is selling things and that they are who they say they are to stop money laundering. In my experience, based on the automotive sector, it is utterly unfeasible that the auction house wouldn't know the "government body" involved and also the name of thee disposal agent who would have  authorised sale and the courier who delivered the items.  

anyway, I'm getting annoyed, and just edited out anything liablous or that would get me in trouble with the mods  - how you've kept calm I don't know!

 

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15 hours ago, Ricky Rioli said:

I have now heard, on the request of Mark Baker, the CEO of W&H Peacock Auctioneers and Valuers, from a Charlotte Peters of Parcelforce. According to the various pieces of information given to me by Charlotte Peters and Nigel Brewer, what happened to my bass was this:

1. The parcel lost its label

2. The parcel was moved to a lost property section. At this time, the case contained paperwork giving both my name and address and Rocket Music's details. No attempt was made to contact either of us.

3. The parcel was moved by some unnamed government body from lost property and placed with Peacock Auctions. This unnamed body has a long-standing relationship with Peacock Auctions and has sold thousands of items via them. The case still contained the paperwork giving both my details and Rocket Music's. Again, no attempt was made to contact either of us.

4. The bass and an unplayed ESP guitar worth about twice my G&L were bought by Nigel Brewer, who runs Mirrorspan, a bespoke kitchen fitting company in Bedford. A personal friend of Mark Baker, Nigel has bought many guitars from Peacock Auctions over the years. The case still contained the paperwork giving both my details and Rocket Music's, which Nigel demonstrated by reading my address to me over the phone. Unfortunately he was not able to find a phone number for me, and when he tried to phone Rocket Music, it went to voicemail.

5. Nigel Brewer placed the bass and the ESP guitar for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Those adverts have now been taken down.

As I understand, Nigel Brewer is returning the bass and the ESP guitar to Peacock Auctions, who naturally have offered him a complete refund. They will they liaise with Parcelforce and return the bass to Greg at Rocket Music. 

Charlotte Peters, Parcelforce's Customer & Admin Manager at the Coventry Hubs told me that "there have been a number of procedures that have not been followed by USPS and PFW which resorted in the item not being located despite your best efforts to find it. These are being investigated - I have passed this onto our Executive Team to look into this matter further and they will be in touch in due course." I look forward to the Executive Team's help in returning Rocket Music's property, and hope for a positive response to my suggestion that Parcelforce compensate me for the costs of changing pounds to dollars when the pound was weak, and changing them back when the pound was strong. 

Where did the money from the auction sale go to?  Charity, Peacocks back pocket, parcelforce's back pocket or somewhere else?

This is bizarre.

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