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MG TD TF 1500 - Don Paradowski. Caveat Emptor

It has now been 134 days (19 weeks) since I ordered a dual gauge restoration service by eBay vendor Don Paradowski. He also sells from a Facebook site.

Via eBay, I enlisted his services. I supplied a working dual gauge to have TC/early TD outlined numerals silk screened on the gauge face. His ad assures a concours quality gauge restoration in return. A service that in his ad takes 4-5 weeks. The gauge is sent to the UK for restoration by a unnamed source. After receiving a gauge that was fitted with a MGB style flat glass and bezel, and with a uncalibrated needle not setting on the “0” peg while also not receiving my original glass and bezel returned to me as instructed, I contacted Don Paradowski. His reply was, T-Series gauges used flat glass. WRONG! He then replied “I obviously had the wrong gauge and to return it.” I told him I would retain the gauge I had received until such time he sent me “my gauge” and then I would return the gauge I had received at his costs.

Four days after supposedly shipping “my gauge” to me I received an email from Don Paradowski through eBays messaging asking if my address was ….Missouri? My response was, “No, I live in …. California. Was he kidding me?” After all he had already sent me a gauge to the correct address. Don Paradowski then sent me another email stating he had sent my gauge to another customer. He said he put a stop shipment with the USPS and it was being returned to him to be reshipped to my address. Two weeks later without seeing that my gauge had been shipped to me I sent Don Paradowski another message asking where my gauge was? Don Paradowski response to me was, “it just arrived and was damage beyond repair.

Needless to say I was infuriated at this point as I was trying to complete the car to be debuted at GOFWest in Oregon. Don Paradowski then asked me how I wanted to proceed and wanted me to cancel my order. I demanded that he expedite a replacement gauge to me directly. Don Paradowski then emails me stating, “ I can have a gauge done in the US but it costs substantially more money to have it done.” I fired off another email to Don Paradowski saying that, “ it was on him to eat any additional costs and I expected it to be fast tracked by his supplier.” I also demanded that the gauge be sent directly to me due to time constraints in completing the car prior to its debut. I also wanted the suppliers invoice included for future warranty purposes and an additional correct glass and bezel to replace the ones that were supposed to be returned to me from the original gauge. ( no invoice was supplied with the defective gauge I had received). This was agreed upon by both Don Paradowski and myself and I expected a gauge to be sent within the week. Several weeks later and without any updates from Don Paradowski I sent another email asking where my gauge was. His response was, “He’d check on it.” Another week goes by and I send yet another email. Don Paradowski responds saying “ it’s on queue to be done the following week”’ seeing that my gauge still hadn’t been sent I fired off another email. My displeasure clearly being stated and demanding action as what we had agreed to wasn’t being met. I then get a snarky email from Don Paradowski saying he didn’t appreciate my bar room language. ( I had used great restraint in my emails but my frustration was made clearly known). He hasn’t begun to hear bar room language from me, yet!

Another week goes by and still no information on my gauge’s shipment. Another email sent to Don Paradowski. His response was that, “ the gauge was next on queue and would be shipped at the end of the week. I have continued to send emails to Don Paradowski in the following weeks and continue getting excuses. I still do not have a working “concours quality restored gauge” in hand and no shipping information has been forthcoming.

This is absolutely the worst transaction I have ever dealt with from any seller or company in my entire life. In a previous email to Don Paradowski I stated, “I understand that sometimes sh__ happens, but when the crap hits the fan one goes out of there way to make it right in a timely manner. I have owned my own business for my entire working life. I would never treat a customer the way I have been treated and would certainly bend over backwards to satisfy the customer’s need if I wanted his continued business.

Don Paradowski has supplied me with nothing but ongoing excuse and delays in the past 15 weeks and I still do not have my gauge. My earnest suggestion to anyone considering purchases from Don Paradowski is to run away as fast as you can. His customer service and fulfilling his contractual obligations suck !


Bill Chasser
TD-4834
TD/c-8151
TD/c-16920
TD-19408
TD-24060
W A Chasser

Have you enlisted help from Ebay and PayPal, assuming you used them?

Peter
P G Gilvarry

Bill,

A few years ago, this person relieved me of $200. I received nothing in return. I don't want to go into details as this message may be removed by the moderator.

John
J Scragg

Quite a story Bill, thanks for putting it out there! There's no need for a business to treat a customer like that. They should own up to their mistakes and make restitution to the customer. A good reputation is a key figure in a business's survival, looks like that is a missing element in this situation. PJ
PJ Jennings

Unfortunately many business that can do shoddy work, treat customers poorly or just con-men, survive and some even keep very undeserved high reputations.

Some people work for themselves s others wouldn't put up with them.

I don't know this chap but I've dealt with too many like him, many in the motor trade!
Nigel Atkins

St. Clair Shores, MI?
P G Gilvarry

Not that it helps the current situation, but in the future I suggest West Valley Auto Electronics in Reseda, CA.
https://www.westvalleyinstruments.com/

I have a set of Studebaker instruments in there right now, and have had many British gauges done by them - MGA, MGB, Morris, MG TC (Chronometric), etc. He knows what is correct and what isn't.
Steve Simmons

Don't suppose you've any luck in finding out the "unnamed UK source" have you? It would be interesting to know if they contributed to the situation in any way. A very sorry story.
JK Mazgaj

The UK source installed a MGB style flat glass and bezel and did not return my original pieces. Since the gauge get returned back to Paradowski and is repackaged without the restoration shops work invoice I can only assume that the gauges are repackaged to protect his sources identity. Surely someone in the UK already knows who does the dial rescreening from bold numericals to outlined numericals to match the TC/early TD gauges. But I have at this point no idea who supposedly is building the replacement gauge. I have not had a response to my latest communication to Don Paradowski that was sent Monday morning. But given some of the comments on the forums and within. eBay ratings system I’m beginning to really have a sick feeling about ever receiving my replacement gauge or being recompensed for the $200 loss of my gauge and the $451 and change spent for the services not yet rendered. I simply want the gauge and services I paid for. I’ll give Don Paradowski to the end of the week to respond.

W A Chasser

Well another week has gone by and two more unanswered emails to Don Paradowski. I’ve had enough. I threatened to contact eBay a week ago and I followed through with that threat today. Not being tech savvy I found it quite difficult to get a live agent but eventually figured it out after 2 hours of frustration. I plead my case explaining all that has transpired and that I’d had enough of Don Paradowski’s excuses for 13 weeks and his non-communication over the last two weeks. Ebay said they were going to call him immediately after getting off the phone with me and he would have 5 days to rectify the issue. If I do not receive a response from him within those 5 days eBay will effect a refund and replace the gauge I sent. Or something to that effect. Not sure how they are going to do that but I gave them a stated value for the gauge I sent out. We’ll see if eBay can shake the tree.
W A Chasser

This thread was discussed between 19/10/2021 and 27/10/2021

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