(Topic ID: 190594)

Heighway Refunds

By bane

6 years ago


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  • 86 posts
  • 46 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 6 years ago by NeilMcRae
  • Topic is favorited by 15 Pinsiders

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There are 86 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 2.
-5
#51 6 years ago
Quoted from chrisnack:

It's not in their best interest to give refunds, just like Andrew. Nothing has changed there.

Actually is is 100% in their best interest to give refunds. That is the only way to dig out of the hole and show they are committed to make this work on their own money.

Quoted from chrisnack:

I don't believe anyone has actually gotten a refund from them

I am not going to search for it, but one person posted they got a refund from Daniel

#52 6 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

Actually is is 100% in their best interest to give refunds. That is the only way to dig out of the hole and show they are committed to make this work on their own money.

I am not going to search for it, but one person posted they got a refund from Daniel

Actually, it is not in their best interest to give refunds. They are proving this by not issuing refunds to those who have asked/demanded them.

#53 6 years ago
Quoted from MrBally:

it is not in their best interest to give refunds.

I agree since they are already taking on a cash strapped project.

#54 6 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

I am not going to search for it, but one person posted they got a refund from Daniel

1 out of like probably 30... not to mention there are quite a few well over 45, if not 60 days by now....

#55 6 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

Actually is is 100% in their best interest to give refunds. That is the only way to dig out of the hole and show they are committed to make this work on their own money.

yes and no... either way they certainly aren't doing everything to repair that... i did stop following the other threads, but i doubt much has changed....

It's a mess and it will probably stay a mess for a long time... it is what it is...

I can't support them as a business anymore given how things were handled. I'd rather funnel my money to other companies. CGC has been doing a fantastic job communicating and ACTUALLY making machines. As far as I'm concerned they are setting the bar for every other company. They have already produced more AFMr's than Heighway did Alien machines. In a matter of a few months.

-3
#56 6 years ago
Quoted from chrisnack:

yes and no... either way they certainly aren't doing everything to repair that... i did stop following the other threads, but i doubt much has changed....
It's a mess and it will probably stay a mess for a long time... it is what it is...
I can't support them as a business anymore given how things were handled. I'd rather funnel my money to other companies. CGC has been doing a fantastic job communicating and ACTUALLY making machines. As far as I'm concerned they are setting the bar for every other company. They have already produced more AFMr's than Heighway did Alien machines. In a matter of a few months.

on a personal level >>enjoy you AFM. Great game!

on a larger scale >>I personally dont think any company that only make refakes has a whole lot to cheer about, but I guess hooray for those that like that sort of thing. I think they are similarly sucking money out of the entire hobby. I sure hope the quality turns out to be better that MMr is.

#57 6 years ago
Quoted from Whysnow:

on a personal level >>enjoy you AFM. Great game!
on a larger scale >>I personally dont think any company that only make refakes has a whole lot to cheer about, but I guess hooray for those that like that sort of thing. I think they are similarly sucking money out of the entire hobby. I sure hope the quality turns out to be better that MMr is.

I put several dollars into your AFM again Tuesday night. BTW Buck Hunter was struggling to kick the ball out into the shooter lane.

For me, i'd rather pay $8k for a remake that plays better and looks better than the same or more for an original. I don't care how good of shape it's in, it's still 20+ years old. I love what they did with MMr and I'm excited as hell for my AFMr. The updated displays, full LED lighting... all MUCH better...

Remakes aside, the ability to listen to customers, communicate and actually produce machines, those are things others seem to be struggling with and CGC is doing a great job with as far as I can tell.

#58 6 years ago
Quoted from chrisnack:

BTW Buck Hunter was struggling to kick the ball out into the shooter lane.

feel free to shoot me a text anytime you experience an issue (#is on the price card of all games)

We strive to fix any issues when we know about them.

#59 6 years ago
Quoted from chrisnack:

yes and no... either way they certainly aren't doing everything to repair that... i did stop following the other threads, but i doubt much has changed....
It's a mess and it will probably stay a mess for a long time... it is what it is...
I can't support them as a business anymore given how things were handled. I'd rather funnel my money to other companies. CGC has been doing a fantastic job communicating and ACTUALLY making machines. As far as I'm concerned they are setting the bar for every other company. They have already produced more AFMr's than Heighway did Alien machines. In a matter of a few months.

Keep in mind folks with all of the credit card chargebacks, they are going to have a "credit rating" hole to dig out of which compounds their financial issues. If they are working purely with their own capital, then they are probably ok. But if they need to secure any financing, that will be an uphill battle with the same company name. I would have thought it would have been easier for them to dissolve the original company and form a new LLC for credit rating purposes alone.

#60 6 years ago
Quoted from Manimal:

Keep in mind folks with all of the credit card chargebacks, they are going to have a "credit rating" hole to dig out of which compounds their financial issues. If they are working purely with their own capital, then they are probably ok. But if they need to secure any financing, that will be an uphill battle with the same company name. I would have thought it would have been easier for them to dissolve the original company and form a new LLC for credit rating purposes alone.

Well in fairness it should hurt them... if consumers have to use chargebacks to get their money, you shouldn't walk away free and clear from that...

#61 6 years ago

I sent a couple emails asking for a refund and (I did get replies), but they were just emails saying how they are "working" on setting up accounts and transferring money and it takes time and they will do their best to get me my refund. I'm tired of the empty promises and the hurry up and wait emails, so I filed a Paypal claim to get my deposit money back....I'm done being a nice guy! I've had enough!

Brian

#62 6 years ago

I don't blame any of you guys for filing chargebacks or doing whatever you think is best BUT...
Buying a company is different from buying an an Ipad at a Best Buy.
I bought a small business (existing) and by the time we had successfully secured financing, it had taken over 6 months.
This has GOT to be far more complicated than that.

Patience fellas.

#63 6 years ago
Quoted from Chambahz:

I don't blame any of you guys for filing chargebacks or doing whatever you think is best BUT...
Buying a company is different from buying an an Ipad at a Best Buy.
I bought a small business (existing) and by the time we had successfully secured financing, it had taken over 6 months.
This has GOT to be far more complicated than that.
Patience fellas.

Did the new HP investors say anything about honoring or processing refunds in their ONE communication on pinside in the last 3 weeks?

Nope. Doing that does not instill a lot of confidence, and like it or not they've got to own what they have done and said (and not done and not said).

Quoted from HP_INVESTOR:

Hello to all pinball enthusiasts out there, we are active investors in Heighway Pinball Ltd.
There has been a lot of talk, and also silence, over the last few weeks. For this we are sorry but we have not been legally able to reach out to you before now.
We are now happy to announce that we have reached an agreement on how to take over the business and move it forward.
We are all pinball enthusiasts and professional business owners. We are fully committed to making your games and we have the plan and finance in place to make this happen.
We have drawn up a detailed strategy to invest money into the company, both to ensure that machines are built to the highest quality and also to ensure that healthy numbers are shipped as quickly as possible.
The company will have new management, new leadership and new funding to make sure that everyone, who has money at stake, will get their ordered pinball machines.
The budget and business plan for how to make this a success has been carefully drawn up and is about to be put in place.
The transaction is now in progress and legal papers are being drawn up as you read this. We hope you all will bear with us for the next couple of weeks as we get everything in place.
We have had positive talks with our major distributors around the world and we thank them all for their patience and for believing in us.
Together with our suppliers, distributors and you pinball enthusiasts, we can make this happen. Alien is a great game and there are more to follow.
We will keep you updated and communication channels will be opened as soon as we are settled in.
Thank you for your understanding and patience in advance. We understand your frustrations and concerns. All of us investors are in the same boat as you, waiting for their games to be shipped and, after much time spent at the factory, we have taken matters into our own hands to ensure that Heighway Pinball can survive and prosper.
Regards
Investor Group - Heighway Pinball Ltd

Hope the HP situation all goes much much smoother and better than it has so far.

#64 6 years ago
Quoted from dzoomer:

Did the new HP investors say anything about honoring or processing refunds in their ONE communication on pinside in the last 3 weeks?
Nope. Doing that does not instill a lot of confidence, and like it or not they've got to own what they have done and said (and not done and not said).

Hope the HP situation all goes much much smoother and better than it has so far.

From the "Rebirth of Heighway Pinball" thread:

Quoted from SLAMT1LT:

We are working don't you worry about that. The investors have made their statement and won't be posting on Pinside again, it's not how they work. All official announcements will be posted on our website and social media from this day forth.
Unofficially​, as one Pinsider to another, I can tell you that behind the scenes substantial funds have now been transferred and so refunds can now be processed and parts ordered.
If you want your money back, you'll get it all back. If you want your game, you'll get your game. That's an absolute certainty. When? As soon as we can.

#65 6 years ago

Been aware of that. Sadly, third party hearsay is terribly unfortunate. I'll never understand why people here have essentially spoken on behalf of management (it has been endemic for HP), new or old (look how it worked out for those speaking for the old management). By acting as a proxy, they are literally putting their own reputations on the line for other people. Beyond that craziness, good news if true.

#66 6 years ago
Quoted from Chambahz:

I don't blame any of you guys for filing chargebacks or doing whatever you think is best BUT...
Buying a company is different from buying an an Ipad at a Best Buy.
I bought a small business (existing) and by the time we had successfully secured financing, it had taken over 6 months.
This has GOT to be far more complicated than that.
Patience fellas.

Yea, except patience in some cases can cost you a bunch of money. You either have to make a decision to wait this out and leave your money in play, or do all you can to get your money back. If you wait for them to respond, you can run over time limits for chargebacks, and then you are just at their mercy. I understand them wanting to get information out to the masses to calm folks down, but they should not have told people they would get refunds if they want them. I think that was an under-estimation of how pissed folks are, and how they would react. They would have been better off avoiding that whole subject until they have the company sewn up. But I also don't buy the "it's taking weeks to get through the legal paperwork" excuse either unless they are still not quite telling the truth. They claim to be financing this with private funds, but a basically cash deal for a company isn't that hard.....there is more to this. Even if it was taking forever to get the paperwork in place, they could still be doing refunds if they are as flush with cash as they claim.

#67 6 years ago

All this talk and speculation on this new management is great but the problem is people seem to be willing to just hand over money to fund companies just like this. Each to their own if they just like throwing their money away.

This new management has already showed they are no better. They announce before they have control and they obviously do not have control or know the current state of finances. Sure they are sorting that out. They best thing they could have done to show they are a class act is refund ALL orders/deposits immediately. And they should have known who the customers all are before any announcement was made and contacted them with what the future plan is and options are regarding refunds. I can't imagine there are more than 100-300 that have actually paid in full. Most likely many are deposits so figure maybe 150 that are paid in full. If they did that and finished production on their own capital it would show the new management/investors are serious and it would restore confidence for anyone wanting to buy a game. Furthermore the people refunded should be given the chance to purchase at the original price once games are actually ready to ship. That would be a class act.

I am a pretty optimistic person usually and truly hope this has a happy ending for everyone but in this case it black and white what the smart move is.....get your money back now.....buy it later when games are actually shipping.

If they truly have the capital to produce the game there should be no pushback or delay for refunds. They should be acknowledged and processed immediately. If they need the preorder money to get games to production I don't think anything more needs to be said as we have seen how that has played out.

#68 6 years ago
Quoted from Wickerman2:

We are happy to announce that we are in the final stages of the transition to our new ownership and management. This means we can start the process of refunding our customers, who have requested refunds. We will begin this process early next week. Affected customers will be contacted accordingly. Completing the transition will also mean that the new management will be in control of the official web page, Facebook and other communication channels, allowing for official announcements to be made.
Parts keep being ordered in large amounts to prepare for the step up in production. We will keep you updated on progress. The production schedule is coming together and will be finalized shortly for the first batch of games. Everybody wants to know their position in line and all we can say, for the time being, is that we are hard at work finding out and hope to be able to tell you soon.
We are also working hard to reach out to people with existing games that are experiencing trouble. We want to get those problems solved as quickly as possible. If you know of someone in that situation, that has not been in contact with us yet, please ask them to get in touch. They can send an e-mail to [email protected] or contact us directly on +44 (0)1495 305634
Thank you all for your time and we will be in contact next week with another update from Heighway Pinball.

Not completely sure if this is an email or what at this point. Hope it helps

23
#69 6 years ago

Just went to the Facebook Page and thought this was funny....

heighway alien (resized).JPGheighway alien (resized).JPG

#70 6 years ago

hahahaha

#71 6 years ago

Whatever side of the fence you are on this whole thing, that is a damn funny knee slapper.

#72 6 years ago

Judging Andrew's pose I'd guess a cute girl was walking by.

#73 6 years ago
Quoted from Mr68:

Judging Andrew's pose I'd guess a cute girl was walking by.

I don't blame him, if I had my hand on an Alien, I'd proudly display my woodie.

1 week later
#74 6 years ago
Quoted from chrisnack:

Man the contrast to CGC is incredible. The updates and customer service provided is incredible and how it should be for ALL companies.

Lol. You must be new to the hobby right?

#75 6 years ago
Quoted from Manic:

Man the contrast to CGC is incredible. The updates and customer service provided is incredible and how it should be for ALL companies.

wait till you have quality issues or a ticket replied to then see how good cgc is lol

#76 6 years ago
Quoted from Manic:

Lol. You must be new to the hobby right?

Nope

#77 6 years ago
Quoted from peaceboy666:

wait till you have quality issues or a ticket replied to then see how good cgc is lol

I've had a few minor issues with my MMr and they were very responsive and sent out the parts quickly. So don't know, I've had nothing but positive experiences.

#78 6 years ago

I opened a ticket with CGC. They immediately replied. Completley satisfied with each and every interaction, including phone calls.
Anyone who is complaining about their customer sevice is way off. As for them being a "refake" company, thats just a poor attitude by people trying to flip old machines for profit.
Hopefully Heighway will reorganize for you buyers and give you the game you desired.

#79 6 years ago
Quoted from Flowst:

I opened a ticket with CGC. They immediately replied. Completley satisfied with each and every interaction, including phone calls.
Anyone who is complaining about their customer sevice is way off. As for them being a "refake" company, thats just a poor attitude by people trying to flip old machines for profit.
Hopefully Heighway will reorganize for you buyers and give you the game you desired.

You new guys apparently know nothing about the 70 plus MMr owners that got stuck with faded, factory second PF's and the company's complete refusal to make it right... other than offering a cheap piece of plastic to try to hide the problem.

I'm hoping they don't screw anyone this time around but don't don't try to rewrite history. It makes you look uninformed.

Do your own research - it's all here somewhere. And of course they are polite with small requests... what's your point?

#80 6 years ago

All this is very relevant in a Heighway refund thread.

#81 6 years ago

Hi All,
I imagine when Andrew started down this road , his intentions were honorable. The problem is that he was undercapitalized . Better than 90% of all businesses that fail do so because they underestimated the costs of starting up a business. In our pinball world we seem to have an even riskier venture. One where customers front start-up money. This is done in other places in the form of venture capital where the investors are promised some kind of return on their investment. The riskier the venture the higher return if it is successful. In the case of our hobby the "return" is the promise of a new pinball . Not just a new pinball but one that is very different than what is currently available. When you decide to "invest" in a new pinball venture , one that has no ties with the current dealer network, be prepared for the risk to fail. It is wildcat investing. It is slightly more risky than putting your money on red or black in Vegas. Don't invest what you can't afford to lose.
I am sure most of you have some relationship with dealers. If a "new" pinball venture opens up ( and they surely will) ask your dealer what he/she thinks. Will I get anything for my investment? Chances are they will be able to offer good advice. We tend to keep our ear to the ground and could offer some advice. When you buy a pinball from established manufacturers, you are making a purchase. When someone asks you to prepay, they are actually asking you to invest venture capital into their new business. The truth is not only should you get the pinball, but if successful you should get shares in the new company.

my 2 cents-Jerry

#82 6 years ago
Quoted from Hazoff:

All this is very relevant in a Heighway refund thread.

Aww damn you're right... here I'll help you out: no news.

#83 6 years ago
Quoted from Manic:

Aww damn you're right... here I'll help you out: no news.

Yeah but some people are hoping for refunds and see new posts and it turns out to be a CGC customer service debate, Did u get any info at all regarding ur refund? Have u spoke with the Investors at all?

#84 6 years ago
Quoted from PinballAlley:

When someone asks you to prepay, they are actually asking you to invest venture capital into their new business. The truth is not only should you get the pinball, but if successful you should get shares in the new company.

I learned my lesson from jpop, and Full Throttle was actually my last "pre order" game. Now everything I buy is through a distributor, basically I'm "ordering" it.

So I never did pre-order Alien and watched everything unfold as a potential customer, and still am. Hopefully they can get it together and I can buy Alien. Cash & carry.

#85 6 years ago
Quoted from frolic:

Hopefully they can get it together and I can buy Alien. Cash & carry.

thats the way to go.

#86 6 years ago
Quoted from Manic:

You new guys apparently know nothing about the 70 plus MMr owners that got stuck with faded, factory second PF's and the company's complete refusal to make it right... other than offering a cheap piece of plastic to try to hide the problem.
I'm hoping they don't screw anyone this time around but don't don't try to rewrite history. It makes you look uninformed.
Do your own research - it's all here somewhere. And of course they are polite with small requests... what's your point?

do you mean the insert issue? if so you are completely blowing that out of proportion.

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