Is Chapter House Studios still in business?

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**Scott_K**

I placed an order with http://chapterhousestudios.com/ on August 10th.

I sent them inquiries about my order on September 7th, and again on October 17th.

As of today, I have never received a response.

Anyone else?

**Kid_Kyoto**

That's worrying. Did they charge you?

**General Hobbs**

He's been on saying he was working a new job and that CHS was now a hobby for him. But for such a long delay and no response...

**Scott_K**

Kid_Kyoto wrote:
That's worrying. Did they charge you?

Yes, it was an online order and I paid with Paypal.

If he's delayed / busy, that's fine... but at least tell me by replying to my inquiries.

**Thairne**

Had the same experience.

Ordered. Waited 2 Weeks. Contacted him. Waited a week. Opened a conflict with PayPal. No response from him as it seems. Got my refund.

So no, at least currently, it does not look like Chapterhouse is doing anything (besides accepting your money).
I don't think it's intentional, but I'd refrain from paying without paypal unless you do not want your money back if you want to take a chance at all.

**DarkTraveler777**

Thairne wrote:
So no, at least currently, it does not look like Chapterhouse is doing anything (besides accepting your money).
I don't think it's intentional, but I'd refrain from paying without paypal unless you do not want your money back if you want to take a chance at all.

Good advice on paying with Paypal.

I wonder why Nick doesn't just shut down the web shop if he isn't going to honor orders? Seems needlessly problematic for him (how many annoyed customers are now turned off ordering from CHS) and it is rude and inconsiderate to customers who pay money and then have to wait and go through charge back procedures in order to end up with diddle squat for their wasted time and effort.

**yakface**

This is a pretty simple question and answer thread.

No need to take it off-topic into discussing Chapterhouse's legal battles of the past unless it somehow directly connects to the OP's question.

Please do not do this. You have been warned.

**MrMoustaffa**

Get that paypal claim in ASAP if you used paypal, if not you may be out of luck.

I'd been hearing rumors that Chapterhouse hadn't been sending out orders but this is the first proper thread where I've seen where people are claiming it.

No telling what's going on, could be something as innocent as not checking the right email, but that's a really long time to just have your money and not notice it. I'd recommend hitting the owner up other ways, even if you have to raise a stink on facebook or something.

**Davor**

MrMoustaffa wrote:
Get that paypal claim in ASAP if you used paypal, if not you may be out of luck.

I'd been hearing rumors that Chapterhouse hadn't been sending out orders but this is the first proper thread where I've seen where people are claiming it.

No telling what's going on, could be something as innocent as not checking the right email, but that's a really long time to just have your money and not notice it. I'd recommend hitting the owner up other ways, even if you have to raise a stink on facebook or something.

Could this be considered theft? I know the police will not do anything about it, but just curious since money is taken and accepted, but no product delivered? Maybe call the Ombudsmen or what ever equivalent you have where you live or where Chapter House resides. I just find it so weird that money is taken and nothing and no communication. I thought he was an upstanding guy.

**kronk**

Yeah, initiate a pay pal dispute before your window closes. Even if it is closed, dispute it, anyway.

**Brother SRM**

I don't think Chapterhouse has released a new model since the legal battle with GW, I'd assume they're essentially out of business at this point.

**Stormwall**

Yes they are. They are doing a restocking at the moment and filling old orders or refunding. Guys, it's on the front freaking page.

http://chapterhousestudios.com/index.php?route=common/home

Chapterhouse wrote:

February, 2016 update.

There has been a lot of rumors going around that Chapterhouse is out of business. While we have not had the resource or time to release anything new lately we are still taking orders and producing kits. Many kits are being recast as we speak, such as the conversion kits for the Storm Raven, Razorback and Land Raider tanks.

We just shipped out 50 orders that were waiting (patiently which we appreciate greatly) for restock. You will receive emails with order updates saying when your order has shipped. At this time if you have a Paypal Claim open we will refund your order. There have been instances where customers ask paypay for a refund when their order has been shipped and is in international transit. We will not risk those customers letting paypal as they frequently do, take the money and then we are out of shipping+product+money.

I, personally appologize for the delay in orders. Shipping is slower then it used to be since I do run Chapterhouse part time now. If shipping time is critical or you cannot wait for orders to be shipped I ask you not to place an order in bad faith. There will be a delay in shipping due to stock and other reasons, usually a 7-14 days if that long.

ChapterHouse Studios specializes in the creation of high end resin and metal miniature kits and bits applicable for use with a variety of Warhammer and Warhammer 40k models and the games. Our mission is to help address public demand for unavailable parts and iconography with the highest standards possible. The general idea of our company is that every player should be able to add his own style and flavor to the models and armies they own and we aim to help do that.

So unless gak has changed since then, all is still the same. I hope they aren't, I am buying some more shoulderpads form these guys.

**terry**

But that message was from february, so not sure if its still relevant after 8 months

**Stormwall**

How long has the OP been waiting then? Seems like two months at this time.

Honestly, if he cannot get a reply - I'd do a dispute too. That being said, saying they are out of business is misleading as far as I know, the store is still open and that notice has been posted. CHS is probably just blatantly slow.

Which I'm not condoning, just fyi.

**Polonius**

I think the line between "out of business" and "in business, but not updating the webstore, delivering orders, responding to emails, or creating new product" is pretty thin.

They might not be officially out of business, but I wouldn't rely on them for product either.

**Kid_Kyoto**

Yeah, I order from small manufacturers all the time and can usually count a quick 'hey we'll have to cast this up then mail it when we have time' message. I might have to wait a few weeks but I've always gotten a heads up, small niche businesses know how important their reputations are.

Not getting a reply is definitely a cause to worry.

**Scott_K**

Kid_Kyoto wrote:
Yeah, I order from small manufacturers all the time and can usually count a quick 'hey we'll have to cast this up then mail it when we have time' message. I might have to wait a few weeks but I've always gotten a heads up, small niche businesses know how important their reputations are.

Not getting a reply is definitely a cause to worry.

Exactly this.

I'm not claiming that they are out of business, and I did see the February update before I placed my order.

I fully expected to wait a while, but 2 months with no product and no replies has me concerned.

I initiated a Paypal dispute claim. I'll let you know how that turns out.

In the meantime if anyone has information on CHS's status, please share it with us.

Thank you

**Azreal13**

To the best of my knowledge, this post was the most recent communication

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/680437.page#8463812

Around the same time as the message on the front page.

I think it's fair to say that the GW case broke Nick in terms of wanting to continue, even if the outcome was strongly in his favour, and I wouldn't be in the least surprised if he's utterly demotivated with the whole thing now.

Still, no excuse to take money for unfulfilled orders though.

Perhaps a Mod or Lego could offer some info on last logins of either the Chapterhouse or nvilacci accounts to see if it's worth PMing here?

**Scott_K**

Just a follow-up.

I initiated a Paypal claim, and it was decided in my favor.

I should receive a refund shortly.

To date, Chapter House Studios never replied to my inquiries.

Caveat emptor.

**Kid_Kyoto**

That's a shame.

**Zywus**

They've been disbanded in all but the most technical sense (i.e the homepage is still up, but that's it) for a long time.

Did they even deliver on that Kickstarter they started after the lawsuit was resolved? I believe it was for xenos-themed aegis defence lines.

**aka_mythos**

Davor wrote:
MrMoustaffa wrote:
Get that paypal claim in ASAP if you used paypal, if not you may be out of luck.

I'd been hearing rumors that Chapterhouse hadn't been sending out orders but this is the first proper thread where I've seen where people are claiming it.

No telling what's going on, could be something as innocent as not checking the right email, but that's a really long time to just have your money and not notice it. I'd recommend hitting the owner up other ways, even if you have to raise a stink on facebook or something.

Could this be considered theft? I know the police will not do anything about it, but just curious since money is taken and accepted, but no product delivered? Maybe call the Ombudsmen or what ever equivalent you have where you live or where Chapter House resides. I just find it so weird that money is taken and nothing and no communication. I thought he was an upstanding guy.

IF we were to baselessly assume this were malicious, at most it'd be fraud not theft.

In the US there are two venues of law, the Civil courts and Criminal Courts. Civil courts address personal damages, Criminal courts address the violation of established laws the Government has determined have an elevated societal concern. Unless you could show a criminal intent, the police will generally regard a failure to deliver an ordered product as a Civil dispute.

Theft is the taking of personal property without the owners consent. If you give someone money as part of a deal, that is consent. If you loan something to someone and they never return it, you've given consent. Fraud however is an intentional misrepresentation of facts, by someone who knows the facts to be false, to someone dependent on the reliability of those facts, where that reliance and falsehood impart a loss. Without that malicious intent, it is simply negligence in the operation of a business; disputing the charge or taking a business to a small claims civil court are the appropriate means of correcting the situation.

**RiTides**

Zywus wrote:
They've been disbanded in all but the most technical sense (i.e the homepage is still up, but that's it) for a long time.

Did they even deliver on that Kickstarter they started after the lawsuit was resolved? I believe it was for xenos-themed aegis defence lines.

From what I saw, yes, they delivered at least the majority of the Kickstarter... not sure if it was fully complete, last comment was over a year and a half ago!

**General Kroll**

Zywus wrote:
They've been disbanded in all but the most technical sense (i.e the homepage is still up, but that's it) for a long time.

Did they even deliver on that Kickstarter they started after the lawsuit was resolved? I believe it was for xenos-themed aegis defence lines.

Seems wilfully irresponsible not to disable the web store, how many other transactions have gone though and simply not been challenged by the end user.

**aka_mythos**

RiTides wrote:
Zywus wrote:
They've been disbanded in all but the most technical sense (i.e the homepage is still up, but that's it) for a long time.

Did they even deliver on that Kickstarter they started after the lawsuit was resolved? I believe it was for xenos-themed aegis defence lines.

From what I saw, yes, they delivered at least the majority of the Kickstarter... not sure if it was fully complete, last comment was over a year and a half ago!

Last I heard from Nick, he delivered everything promised and ended up paying a couple grand out of pocket to fulfill it. Losing money on something intended to revitalize his company, was the last of what he could take. This is why he backed away from CHS, though he seemed to think he'd still be doing things with it, its just no longer a priority.

**Davor**

Thank you for the explanation aka mythos.