Sweetharp

[Jana Filipovska]

Hi,

I am also one of those hopelessly waiting for the harp. I placed my order in October 2011, after making sure delivery wouldn’t be a problem (I live in the Czech Republic). At the beginning, Chris was quite responsive, promised the harp would be ready before Christmas (haha). I am not naive, I expected delay, but I have to say my patience is wearing thin. I will not even write about how difficult (if not impossible) is to get Chris to respond, we all know that very well. I have paid in full already, too. Ok. I get it, he is like that, plus illnesses and broken ribs and evil spirits, sure.

What makes me really angry, though, is the fact that I was so excited I talked a fellow harper into ordering one too. It would have cut our shipping costs in half. Now I feel like I am discredited in our harp community. My harper friend is now cancelling her order, hoping for a refund. My shipping costs have doubled again. And I am NOT rich by any means. I am currently playing a pakistani 22, a nice harp, but oh god am I ready for an upgrade.

The thing is, I am afraid of cancelling. I would simply have no money for another harp if I didn’t receive the refund, and how can I sue Chris from over here? Besides that, I still believe he is not a bad person, and I don’t want to have to take action.

But if I wait, and eventually get it, and IT IS NOT AS PROMISED, I kid you not, it will break my heart. There would simply be no way for me to have him repair it, or send additional strings, or mail it back to him. The shipping is so expensive, along with the VAT, that it makes me physically queasy when I think about it.

Basically, if anything goes wrong, I will have no more money to order anything else. Harps are super expensive here. I am a teacher making 13$/hour, around 850$ a month.

Two days ago I sent another e-mail to Chris Caswell, in four copies from two different e-mail adresses, to make sure at least one gets through the spam filter. No response. I am at my wits end, regretting that I have ever seen the harp on youtube.

I have to say thank you though, thank you guys who have given me some hope that the harp might be worth the wait.

Sorry for venting, but if Chris reads this thread, I felt it had to be said. I am disheartened, disappointed and aggravated. Please, Chris Caswell, have the decency to respond at least once without any excuses, just tell me what’s going on, and when (if ever) you’ll send the harp.

All the best.

Jana F.

[barbara-dixon]

Well, after numerous emails I finally received my lap bar in late August.

[wil-weten]

Dear Jana, I feel so sorry for you.

Perhaps, as Chris is active on Facebook, maybe the best way to get him to respond

[karsten-stielow]

Jana, i placed my order a half year earlier in may 2011. Past 15 months I am waiting for a credible feedback and hope the harp arrive every day or just not …
What can i do? From germany i can not bring an action against so.

So, I hope the harp arrive somtime in my life …

[Jana Filipovska]

Oh my god… fifteen months, that’s horrible. How much longer does he expect us to wait? I am so discouraged right now.

I think I am going to cave in soon and cancel the order. 🙁

[Jana Filipovska]

Thank you for your support, Wil. I’ll try to get him to respond to me through facebook, although this hasn’t been very effective so far.

Also, thanks for those harp tips. The problem is, I am afraid he won’t give me my money back. I can’t afford to buy another harp until I get it all back. And even so, it is going to be hard finding a harp that would be cheaper. Even that Camac Bardic is more expensive, and there would still be the shipping… No VAT though. So I would consider it.

Ah, it’s just heartbreaking, that’s what it is. I was so in love with the Sweetharp. Do I even want to buy it from a person who has no respect for me though? That’s the big question.

[mary-albers]

For anyone who is interested, you can file complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the California Attorney General online. Both sites have consumer complaint forms. I certainly would never have ordered a harp from Caswell Harps if there had been multiple complaints filed previously. Perhaps the time has come for the many harpists who are unhappy with this whole experience to take action.

[Maria Myers]

Chris was ill and was really trying to get back on track.

[kathy-chanik]

I did see Chris Caswell at the Somerset Festival last month and you will all be glad to hear he appeared to be fine health. He certainly was busy there, teaching workshops, giving a concert, and hosting the Carolan Marathon. I had a chance to try the two Sweetharps he had there on display-one sounded pretty good, the other one not so much, and the red one left a bit of dye on my fingers. He said there was a four week wait for delivery. I spoke to some people there about this situation, and the opinion expressed was that Chris came up with this cute and fairly cheap harp and then just got overwhelmed with orders, way beyond his infrastructure’s capability to deliver. So where does that leave everybody? Beats me, I think you need to be VERY patient and then eventually you might get your harp. It’s a sad situation for everybody, including Chris Caswell.

[nancy-glickman]

Reading all of these latest posts makes me even more frustrated. If he has the strength to play at concerts and do other things he should take the time to let people know about their harps, I sent him 500.00 to finish my harp which he obviously still hasn’t done and all i know is that i’m in group 3 and i placed my order over a year ago and still have nothing. i did get a Stoney End harp that someone needed to sell and i really like it. it has a great sound and keeps in tune. what my next step is, i’m not too sure yet.

[nancy-glickman]

agree!

[polly-bolack]

I paid in full for the Elfin July 7, 2011. Still haven’t received it.

[nancy-glickman]

i feel the same and just don’t want the harp anymore, it looks like the only thing left is Better Business B. and the attorney general. i feel bad for all of us, it looks like i’m just out the money i sent him.

[Peg OMeara]

[nancy-glickman]

glad to hear you will go with a Stoney End, i have a 22 string lap harp and it is quite nice, the sound is quite pretty, it holds tuning well and still no broken strings. i’m also glad you are listening and following what we are going through with the harps. i just do not know what to do about the order i placed. good luck with the harp you get.

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