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Is it indicative of the ridiculous state of British consumer law now that an individual can 'do a runner' by staying in exactly the same place and doing exactly the same thing, having done nothing but slightly change the name? Or inherent foolishness on the part of the scammer in not actually making any sensible attempt to leave the crime scene?

You wouldn't steal a car and stay parked outside the owners house...

This is posted over on Warseer:

Maelstrom has shut down. A new company called Maunsfield Gaming is picking up the pieces and will be online in a week or two. They will also run what was EOTS.

I've heard that Maelstrom got into financial difficulties, but was managing with a repayment plan. The debt was sold on, and the purchaser called in the debt, a lot of money. MG couldn't pay this money... what will happen next, who knows. There's more to the story than this too I'm lead to believe, but as the BBC would say, I can't prove it......[

*shrug* might be true, might not, but I think any 'new' company that emerges from this is really going to struggle to attract customers, or garner any goodwill among the wargaming community.

 Far Seer wrote:
I'm not going to believe anything until Maelstrom Games comes out an makes an official statement.

If Maesltrom are bust or closed then you won't hear a statement from them.

if this thread is anything to go by, if they are still trading (ha!) then they won't put out any statement.

TL: DR

There will be no statement from Maelstrom.

You may get one from an exciting new company called Maunsfield though!

EOTS could make a statement that they are picking up old MG outstanding orders and will be handling their delivery. Given that the EOTS registration system is 1:1 to what the MG had, that would not be that much difficult. I wonder if MG site is shut down for this purpose? It might sound over-optimistic, but MG could simply turn off their site and we would be getting the standard 404 page not found screen instead of "being under maintainance". Currently, I tried to log into EOTS with my MG details and it did not work.

CainTheHunter wrote:
EOTS could make a statement that they are picking up old MG outstanding orders and will be handling their delivery. Given that the EOTS registration system is 1:1 to what the MG had, that would not be that much difficult. I wonder if MG site is shut down for this purpose? It might sound over-optimistic, but MG could simply turn off their site and we would be getting the standard 404 page not found screen instead of "being under maintainance". Currently, I tried to log into EOTS with my MG details and it did not work.

It did not work because they are different companies and the client database will not migrate from one to the other.

Also don't hold your breath on EotS picking up old MG orders. EotS was setup so that it could start with a "clean slate" so to speak, they will no more pick up MG outstanding orders than they will pickup MG outstanding debts to suppliers... i.e. not at all...

Time to go check the FLGS prices again...

 Jayce_The_Ace wrote:
This is posted over on Warseer:

Maelstrom has shut down. A new company called Maunsfield Gaming is picking up the pieces and will be online in a week or two. They will also run what was EOTS.

I've heard that Maelstrom got into financial difficulties, but was managing with a repayment plan. The debt was sold on, and the purchaser called in the debt, a lot of money. MG couldn't pay this money... what will happen next, who knows. There's more to the story than this too I'm lead to believe, but as the BBC would say, I can't prove it......[

*shrug* might be true, might not, but I think any 'new' company that emerges from this is really going to struggle to attract customers, or garner any goodwill among the wargaming community.

I don't buy that - if he was actually making repayments then surely it wouldn't have been such an issue - sounds more like he failed to make repayments and the company then decided to act. If you are a creditor and your debt is being paid then you keep taking the cash, however it the payments stop coming in and you know the debtor is in a hole then you act ...before it's too late........ I wonder if it was too late?

I don't buy that - if he was actually making repayments then surely it wouldn't have been such an issue - sounds more like he failed to make repayments and the company then decided to act. If you are a creditor and your debt is being paid then you keep taking the cash, however it the payments stop coming in and you know the debtor is in a hole then you act ...before it's too late........ I wonder if it was too late?

Sadly banks and other firms that handle debt do it all the time.

A repayment plan is worked out, and is being kept to but then something changes and the debt is called in, could be the repayments weren't being met,

but it could have been the bank etc just wanted to clear their books, or felt selling the companies assets would provide a short term boost to meet a profit target, or they might have heard a separate debt was being called in and paniced

True..... likely that if someone owed me a small fortune and stopped making repayments I'd probably kick them into touch too! (or just give them a kicking)

I can't believe the number of people who are supporting Eye of the Storm. It is a company run by the very people who ripped a lot of gamers at MG.

 Mr. Burning wrote:
If Maesltrom are bust or closed then you won't hear a statement from them.

if this thread is anything to go by, if they are still trading (ha!) then they won't put out any statement.

TL: DR

There will be no statement from Maelstrom.

You may get one from an exciting new company called Maunsfield though!

Did you really just use "TL: DR" to refer to a two line post?

I've had an outstanding order with maelstrom since august for a dark vengeance set. Am starting to worry about my 50 pounds at the moment. Should i contact paypall about a chargeback?

chrisjuuuh wrote:
I've had an outstanding order with maelstrom since august for a dark vengeance set. Am starting to worry about my 50 pounds at the moment. Should i contact paypall about a chargeback?

Absolutely. And do it immediately, as should anyone else.

This is a classic move whereby a company jetisons it's debts and tries to stay open under a different name. In no way will they honor any orders by Maelstrom. They will keep up the illusion of different company, different people, etc.

 mikhaila wrote:

chrisjuuuh wrote:
I've had an outstanding order with maelstrom since august for a dark vengeance set. Am starting to worry about my 50 pounds at the moment. Should i contact paypall about a chargeback?

Absolutely. And do it immediately, as should anyone else.

This is a classic move whereby a company jetisons it's debts and tries to stay open under a different name. In no way will they honor any orders by Maelstrom. They will keep up the illusion of different company, different people, etc.

I would also advice you do to so, but I don't know if a refund is still possible, since paypal states you should file a complaint within 45 days of transaction.

Luckily I found that out in time (35 days after order date) and I'm awaiting what paypal will tell me (and if they will refund).

I often wonder how these telesales companies offering to take up your PPI claims, change your electricity supplier etc manage to get enough customers to keep going ... and then I see the posts on here from people who still think putting new orders in at Maelstrom is a good idea and if they were going bust then I'm sure they would have said so on their website.

Now, if any of you have had an accident at work or in your car why not text CLAIM to 88326 ... [that's a joke by the way]

I lost patience with Maelstrom when they shut the online store on Saturday without any communication and I initiated a charge back this morning - luckily I have 120 days to file a charge back as they were not in a position to fulfill the order when I placed it. I placed an order on the 3rd of September for an item that had to be ordered in and I was prepared to give them time to complete the order (which I now realise was never going to happen as the manufacturer won't deal with them and isn't supplying EoTS either) however they have ignored all contact from me - which was largely sent just in case so that I could prove to the credit card company that I had tried to resolve the issue with Maelstrom. I've spent 1,000s of pounds over the years with Maelstrom and the order is only for £62 but it's the principle of the thing I will never have anything to do with any company linked to them again after this.

paypall has closed my claim as it was payed for more than 45 days ago. DaveC could you explain how come you have 130 days to claim? The purchase i made was a preorder. not sure if this helps me at all. any help would be appreciated.

You need to have used a credit card.

bugger....my paypall is directly linked to my bank account so it just gets transferred straight out and over. any point in me going down to my bank tomorrow to see if they can help me at all?

Yep Credit Card if a supplier is not in position to fulfill the order when you place it and they have to order it in for delivery at a later date you get up to 120 days to apply for a charge back.

 Jayce_The_Ace wrote:
This is posted over on Warseer:

Maelstrom has shut down. A new company called Maunsfield Gaming is picking up the pieces and will be online in a week or two. They will also run what was EOTS.

I've heard that Maelstrom got into financial difficulties, but was managing with a repayment plan. The debt was sold on, and the purchaser called in the debt, a lot of money. MG couldn't pay this money... what will happen next, who knows. There's more to the story than this too I'm lead to believe, but as the BBC would say, I can't prove it......[

*shrug* might be true, might not, but I think any 'new' company that emerges from this is really going to struggle to attract customers, or garner any goodwill among the wargaming community.

I would buy from them tomorrow if they had the same prices and free shipping to North America (well, assuming I needed anything at the moment, which I do not).

Wargaming is not really the arena to make an ethical stand as a consumer. If it was, we would all have boycotted GW products several years ago.

Altruizine wrote:

I would buy from them tomorrow if they had the same prices and free shipping to North America (well, assuming I needed anything at the moment, which I do not).

Wargaming is not really the arena to make an ethical stand as a consumer. If it was, we would all have boycotted GW products several years ago.

Even if ethics weren't a factor, there's very practical reasons not to order from Eye of the Storm--we know it's run by the sort of people who see nothing wrong with cheating loyal customers out of their money and exploiting their goodwill.

Altruizine wrote:
Wargaming is not really the arena to make an ethical stand as a consumer. If it was, we would all have boycotted GW products several years ago.

O_O

You are not serious are you?

Can't a bunch of people gang up and take them to court, like what some people did with mcdonalds some years ago (but this time with an actual good reason)?

Yes I know nothing about law but I would thnk that the owner could be held accountable if he has 2 companies still running doing much the same thing.

Altruizine wrote:

 Jayce_The_Ace wrote:
This is posted over on Warseer:

Maelstrom has shut down. A new company called Maunsfield Gaming is picking up the pieces and will be online in a week or two. They will also run what was EOTS.

I've heard that Maelstrom got into financial difficulties, but was managing with a repayment plan. The debt was sold on, and the purchaser called in the debt, a lot of money. MG couldn't pay this money... what will happen next, who knows. There's more to the story than this too I'm lead to believe, but as the BBC would say, I can't prove it......[

*shrug* might be true, might not, but I think any 'new' company that emerges from this is really going to struggle to attract customers, or garner any goodwill among the wargaming community.

I would buy from them tomorrow if they had the same prices and free shipping to North America (well, assuming I needed anything at the moment, which I do not).

Wargaming is not really the arena to make an ethical stand as a consumer. If it was, we would all have boycotted GW products several years ago.

So you would seriously buy from people who have a track record of ripping off large numbers of customers? Interesting to say the least.

 maxxev wrote:
Can't a bunch of people gang up and take them to court, like what some people did with mcdonalds some years ago (but this time with an actual good reason)?

Yes I know nothing about law but I would thnk that the owner could be held accountable if he has 2 companies still running doing much the same thing.

It would all depend on whether the companies were 'linked'

If maelstrom that was 'gave' EOTS the building and a bunch of stock for little or nothing the administrators will probably be able to grab it back (and the business owner may be prosecutable)

If however EOTS paid a 'reasonable' sum for the building and any stock transfered then it would probably be safe.

It will all depend on the circumstances.

As has been mentioned above somewhere any EOTS gamers with terrain/stuff etc in the shop should remove it just in case... If it did go down to you'd need to able able to PROVE it was yours to get it back (and even then it might take a fair while)... And don't go buying anthing that's not in stock, tickets for events happening later or gift vouchers either just in case


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 maxxev wrote:
Can't a bunch of people gang up and take them to court, like what some people did with mcdonalds some years ago (but this time with an actual good reason)?

Yes I know nothing about law but I would thnk that the owner could be held accountable if he has 2 companies still running doing much the same thing.

It would all depend on whether the companies were 'linked'

If maelstrom that was 'gave' EOTS the building and a bunch of stock for little or nothing the administrators will probably be able to grab it back (and the business owner may be prosecutable)

If however EOTS paid a 'reasonable' sum for the building and any stock transfered then it would probably be safe.

It will all depend on the circumstances.

As has been mentioned above somewhere any EOTS gamers with terrain/stuff etc in the shop should remove it just in case... If it did go down to you'd need to able able to PROVE it was yours to get it back (and even then it might take a fair while)...

And don't go buying anthing that's not in stock, tickets for events happening later or gift vouchers either just in case

This should be a lesson to everyone who waited and waited:

If you order something and it doesn't arrive in a timely fashion, start a paypal claim within the 45 days even if they have reassured you that it has shipped or will ship soon, will arrive soon, etc.,. The worst case scenario is that you get your product and you simply cancel the dispute.

After around 30 days, you need to start thinking about doing this. If a seller doesn't like it and tells you they'll either process your refund or ship you the goods once you close the dispute don't do it. Having a dispute open does not prevent the seller from the doing the right thing.

Once, I had a few items missing from an order with an eBay seller and I let them talk me into waiting for the replacement items to ship. They did their best to reassure me and delay me until the 45 days passed and then that was it. The items never arrived and I had no recourse.

Altruizine wrote:

Wargaming is not really the arena to make an ethical stand as a consumer. If it was, we would all have boycotted GW products several years ago.

Welcome to my world! As a loyal GW customer from 1992 to 2010, I will now only purchase GW products second-hand so that they do not ever directly receive a penny from me.

A look at the info here should make clear just who has taken over. Maelstrom, Maunsfield, Penda, EOTS, Mierce, Anglia.

Take your pick, they all have the same Director. So for someone here or on Warseer to say that anyone is "picking up the pieces" is at best naive and at worst misleading.

Pic through this little lot:
https://www.duedil.com/director/908908730/robert-lane

Isn't it ironic that all that customer money disappeared in a Maelstrom
The name should have been a warning: