Here is a summary of experiences with James Bede of BedeCorp. From feedback I received from many other past victims, this behavior is Bede's way of life since the mid-1970's. He can best be described as a scammer, a con artist, a liar, and a thief (and doing so very poorly at that):
Mid- December - I received an unsolicited letter from Jim Bede BedeCorp, Medina, Ohio, about the fully revitalized BD-4 aircraft kit program. Per Bede's offer letter to purchase available kits, material kits are available and off-the-shelf parts are easily obtainable. I arranged to meet Bede in his office in mid-January. He had plenty of time to assemble subkits.
January 13, I paid Bede in full for seven subkits he had been advertising as available. I walk around his sparsely-equipped shop. (For a sheet metal shop, that is not too alarming.) Payment was made in his office via personal check. The check is cashed the very next day. This was NOT an Internet deal. All Federal trade laws and Ohio state trade laws apply.
Mid-June - After half a dozen phone calls and e-mails requesting and demanding a full refund (multiple violations of the Uniform Commercial Code - Article 2 - Sales) and requesting and demanding parts delivery, some parts (not all) of the wing subassembly finally show up (21 weeks after ordering). Most kit suppliers deliver full kits in an average of 8 weeks.
Mid-July - Discovered Bede sent 192 sq ft of wing skin of. 020 inch thickness. The Bill of materials clearly calls out for. 025 inch thickness. I demand Bede replaces it. He does nothing. I still have the. 020 inch thick skins. Wing work stopped.
Next few months, I make more phone calls demanding parts delivery. Bits and pieces arrive every 4-5 weeks. No full subkit arrive. Laser-cut gussets are of reject quality; corroded parts arrive.
August - I physically drive to Bede's shop to pick up parts. There are still no landing gear parts. There are no frame struts. Bede admits he has not yet found a supplier to even make them! And he continues to advertise material kits are available. He claims a BD-4C is in the works. He offers it to me at no additional cost. I later realize this was a delay tactic. A BD-4C has never been built even as a prototype.
October 17 - Still needs parts to complete the wing. Have no fundamental frame channels with which to start the fuselage. Am demanding parts every week by now. Bede states my order is "top priority". I ask the Medina County Sheriff to talk to Bede to convince him to send parts. The Sheriff talks to Bede; tells me this is not a crime, he can not do anything. Bede sends me a $50 gas gauge, nothing more, to appease me. It is now obvious to me that he no longer has any money and is desparate to take in more unsuspecting victims.
November and December - I hire an attorney from Medina, Ohio, who specializes in contract laws. He knows of Bede's reputation. Attorney sends letters to Bede demanding parts. Some parts arrive: Bent sheet aluminum; angles that are 48 inches long (bill of materials call for 84 inchlong pieces; a cheap block of wood arrives; bill of materials calls for two round dowels). My attorney advises action will be taken if parts are not delivered. He encourages Bede to comply with the contract.
January - I again demand parts from Bede. He delivers a few small sheets of aluminum. No more deliveries arrive after that month. I again point out the serious matter of non-delivery.
February - My attorney sends a formal complaint to the Ohio Attorney General office. Bede admits to my lawyer that "it should have been obvious to the customer that kits were not available". (His nearly - verbatum words, not mine.) He admits to the Attorney General inquiry that he cannot get parts. He cannot get parts from Aircraft Spruce!? ALL his literature emphasized that off-the-shelf parts are readily available.
The Attorney General office replies to me they need more complaints before they will take action. My loss claim of $24,700 is not significant to them. Bede's voluntary admission of failures and false advertising is not significant to them. I let them know I am displeased with their attitude. The Ohio State Attorney General's office is worthless.
March - Ask my attorney to pursue this matter via the civil court system. He says mediation will probably be ordered. Reports are coming to me from other Bede product buyers I connect with via Internet that their phone calls and e-mails to Bede are not being answered. I suspect Bede has shut down shop and wants to hide again, as he has done many times in the past. He has no money and no intent to face the truth.
April - As of this writing (15 months later), I have not received: horizontal tail stabilizer parts to include the ribs; no vertical tail stabilizer parts (spars or ribs); no seats; no basic instruments; no plexiglas; no engine cowling; no wing tips; no landing gear struts; no wheels, no tires, no brake
assembly-anything. The stainless steel firewall sheet is 4 inches too narrow. Fireproof engine cooling baffling is the wrong dimensions and not enough surface area. Nineteen pints of two-part epoxy has expired its shelf life (could not use it to assemble the wing because I still am awaiting wing parts.) All these items (and more) are contractually deliverable per BedeCorp's own Bill of Materials.
His web advertising has a spectacular page touting the BD-4c and its impressive performance. Let me emphasize that, as of this posting, no BD-4C has been built even as a prototype. No grounds exist for the performance claims put forth by BedeCorp. Reputable dealers build and tune prototypes before announcing a
product to the world. Irresponsible and reckless dealers make claims as Bede is now doing.
I am sending out consumer warnings to each and every EAA chapter for which I can find an e-mail address. I wrote to Kitplanes magazine and asked why they continue to advertise Bede; no answer from them. Have asked the EAA Headquarters for help; they have an interest in this matter. Am spreading the word to never buy anything from Jim Bede. Only truth is included. My attorney knows I am doing this and states it is perfectly legal to do so. To date, at least half a dozen readers have heeded my warning, and they are so grateful!
I will send anyone scores of pages of documentation and photographs of the few parts that have arrived. I challenge anyone to prove Bede is complying with the contract.
To date, I am out over $24,700. Future attorney fees will bump that up. I suspect Bede has no money. I personally have been told of his development of two more light-sport aircraft and purchase of an expensive Computer-Aided Design program while I waited for parts delivery.
If anyone has useful advice, I will listen with full intent to comply with their advice.
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