Sims Custom Shop Paint job remorse

jmpman

Active member
Hey guys, anyone else here have any dealings with Patrick Sims of Sims Custom Shop? Please beware if you are thinking about it. I sent him a guitar body to be painted one color with a nitro finish four month’s ago. Before I shipped/pre-paid to have my guitar painted and shipped back, he would answer all my questions promptly. He’d also quoted a date when the job should be completed. A week before it was supposed to be completed I emailed him to see if things were still on target, after two days went by I did not get a reply, so I emailed again, and no reply again after two days, so I emailed him again and same scenario, no reply. After not getting any response I sent one more email telling him I would report him to Paypal, BBB and also dispute the charge to my credit card if I did not hear back. He finally emailed me back saying at no point did he give me the time line of it being completed that he’d said, I replied back with a copy of the email stating the amount of time it should be completed. He also stated that if I did a charge back that he would keep the guitar and the only way I’d get it back is to have the funds put back into his account and also pay him additional 35 bucks as a service fee? Nice guy, huh? I won’t go into detail of what else was said, but to say the least he was not apologetic and did not offer to keep me updated on when I should expect it to be finished and have not heard from him since. He will not provide contact info at all nor will he provide his address unless you are invoiced and pay upfront. After waiting 12 weeks I have filed a complaint with Paypal and the BBB. As of today they have not gotten a response from him. Keep in mind if he had communicated and told me more time would be needed, I’d been fine with that and understanding. So if you have any dealings with him, good luck.
 
This is not the first time vie heard horror stories about sims.

Their site almost convinced me to order. Some beautiful finishes there. Then I did some research and found some stories like yours.

You did the best things possible. Out him here and it's public record anyone can search. Rename the thread sims custom shop horror story or scam for easier googling.
 
Update. As of today 4/6/11, since I initiated my complaint with Paypal, Sims has not responded and today is the final day for that to happen. Paypal stated that if he did not reply at all, then they would automatically rule in my favor. Which is bittersweet, I should get what I paid back, but still end up without my guitar body, which honestly is way more important to me than the money. :(
 
Wow! So he's just going to keep the guitar body now? Thanks for sharing this information. Hopefully people see this before they send him work. Too bad too, looks like they do great work.
 
The Hoff":3bqxf8cn said:
Wow! So he's just going to keep the guitar body now? Thanks for sharing this information. Hopefully people see this before they send him work. Too bad too, looks like they do great work.


Looks that way. Needless to say I'm sick to my stomach over it. Thought about getting a lawyer or small claims, though since I already got my money back that I paid for the paintjob, that'd be a mute point, so getting a lawyer would be my only recourse, but the money it would cost would be more than what the guitar body is worth. I'm still thinking strongly about going that route, not sure. I'm open to any ideas.

I'd really like to get the word out on this guy, if there are other forums that have a buyer beware forum that I could post this on, I'd be more than happy to share my experience. I'm certain I'm not the only one that has been taken by this creep....and that's putting it nicely. And yes, the website looks great, no doubt, but to not provide a contact number nor an address to ship to, should be red flag to deter anyone from doing business with him. He'd taken the ship to info off his site after I'd sent mine.
 
Update-

I found Sims contact number and spoke with him. He was point blank and direct with me and offered no apology for his actions or lack of. All I can say is putting the customer first is not one of his finer attributes. During the course of the conversation, he said he had the guitar completed and would need to be paid before shipping. He said he would send pictures for me to look at and would send me the billing for service.

After some back and forth emails over the course of a few days, he finally sent me pictures of my guitar completed along with the billing of service from Paypal, but this time it was from his wife’s account, not his. When I questioned him about this, he stated he no longer had his account and was sharing his wife’s account. Crossing my fingers this time around, I paid him as I really wanted what was mine back. He forwarded the Fed Ex tracking number to me later that evening.

It arrived yesterday (Saturday). I can’t say anything negative about the paint job, it turned out exactly the way I wanted and the quality was very good. Having said that, this has taught me a hard lesson, do all the research you can on the internet. And even though it all worked out in the end, it is bittersweet for the obvious reasons, but I did get my guitar back……I’m one of the lucky ones. For those out there who are still waiting, don’t give up, I didn’t.
 
Go buy a lottery ticket. The stars are lined up for you :LOL: :LOL:
Glad to hear this one had a happy ending.

R~
 
Wow this guy is up there with voodooman. Maybe worse cause his work is more expensive than VMs switches.
 
sinfish":2k8by4wb said:
lets see what all the hubbub was about. post a pic of the new paint


Here you go, before and after.
 

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I sent my stuff to marty bell. No BS all done within 3 weeks.

Also there is Mike Learn, and there is Rick from guitargurullc Had no complaints about either of the 3.

Way better choice.
 
i use dan lawrence and mike learn. i used to use shawn ortiz at extreme graphix (dean,jackson,etc) , but he kinda fell off the map.
 
I just wanted to express that I have had the same problem with Patrick Sims at Sims Custom Shop. Trying to get my money and/or guitar back right now after 9 months and countless promises broken.
Go to this site to see more on the scam
www.simscustomshopscam.com
 
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