Beware! I've just retrieved my Vienna Regulator from Redlands Sales. It is an antique shop at which I made the mistake of putting the large antique clock on consignment a couple of years ago out of financial necessity. When I attempted to take it back last year, I was dissuaded and told to wait patiently until it could be cleaned and oiled for a nominal fee by a professional that the owner knew, as it would sell much more readily when tuned and running. On that day, I could not find the item in the store. I would check back periodically, but was told to wait just a bit longer until David Hazekamp, the owner had time to attend to the matter. Finally last week, I insisted on bringing the clock back home; now that I have it in my possession I can see that it's practically ruined. The case has been crudely glued and appears to have been dropped. The ornate woodwork has nicks and gouges everywhere. One of the keys is missing, and the under-plating on one of the weights is gone. What had been worth thousands is now reduced to a sad, damaged, irreparable mess.
I walked around the shop looking for other items that I had placed on consignment. When I asked about them, Mr. Hazekamp said that he wasn't sure about the various little things I might still have with him, and that he was still unpacking from the move to the new facility. He said that he would let me know when anything surfaced. I actually found a piece of satin glass in the store that belonged to me, but the sterling silver basket and saucer that it once sat in were gone.
Before I placed this review, I consulted with two attorneys who encouraged me to sue this establishment. I decided to call Mr. Hazekamp first to see if he might lend answer to what had happened and perhaps take steps to make the situation right. He was extremely combative on the phone and portrayed the situation as if he had been doing me a favor by “storing” my item for all this time. He said that after the first sixty days he could do whatever he wanted with items that came to his store. His recollection of the original condition of the clock and our agreements concerning it were altogether at variance with the truth of the matter, and I found it difficult to get a word in.
A family heirloom is destroyed. Letting such precious items fall into the hands of this establishment was a foolish mistake. I'm sure that my parents are rolling in their graves.
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