Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  01/10/2025

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a trumpet for our grade school aged child and upon not being able to complete payments gave the trumpet back to the business (humiliating our child) and the company is still requiring payments and impacting our credit score. We should not owe for an item we do not have and had to purchase a second trumpet for our child to continue in band. The Music Shoppe exploits low income families.

  Business response

  01/16/2025

  Hello-

  The complainant shares an address with an individual who rented a trumpet from The Music Shoppe with a value of  $1,175.00 plus tax on 11/12/2020.   The initial payment made was $19.90 for the rental and $10.00 for maintenance coverage.   The agreement was a 36 month rent to own contract consisting of 35 principal payments of $48.00 with a final payment of $26.73.  Maintenance coverage of $5.00 per month was selected by the renter.  The contract allows for return of the instrument any time without further obligation for future payments, but without forgiveness for any past due balance.  The contract also allows for a 30% discount of the unpaid principal balance of the contract should the entire balance be paid off early.  

  After the initial down payment, the following payments were made:

  $48.00 due 1/20/21, made 1/27/21

  $48.00 due 2/20/21, made 2/24/21

  $48.00 due 3/20/21, made 3/20/21

  $48.00 due 4/20/21, made 4/20/21

  $48.00 due 5/20/21, made 5/26/21

  $48.00 due 6/20/21, made 6/23/21

  $48.00 due 7/20/21, made 7/28/21

  At this point, the complainant's automatic payments ceased to be authorized.   The following communications were sent by The Music Shoppe to the complainant:

  
  8/20/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  8/23/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  8/24/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  8/25/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  8/26/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  8/27/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  8/30/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  8/31/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/1/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/2/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/3/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/5/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/7/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/8/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/8/2021 Delinquency Letter: 2
  9/10/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/13/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/14/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/15/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/16/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/17/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/20/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/21/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/22/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/22/2021 Delinquency Letter: 3
  9/23/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/24/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/27/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/28/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/29/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  9/30/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/1/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/1/2021 Delinquency Letter: 4
  10/4/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/5/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/6/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/7/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/8/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/11/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/12/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/13/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/14/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/15/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/18/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text

  10/18/2021 Default notice sent-  due 10/30/21 (registered mail)

  10/19/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/20/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/21/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/22/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/25/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/26/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/27/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/28/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  10/29/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/1/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/2/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/3/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/4/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/5/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/8/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/9/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/10/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/11/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/12/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/15/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/16/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/17/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/18/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/19/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/20/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/22/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/22/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/22/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/23/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/24/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/26/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  11/29/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text

  11/29/2021 Email sent by **** *.- sending to collections later in the week
  11/30/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/1/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/2/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/3/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/6/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/7/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/8/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/9/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/10/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/13/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/14/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/15/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/16/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/17/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/20/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/22/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/24/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/28/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/29/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/30/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  12/31/2021 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/4/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/5/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/5/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/6/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/7/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/10/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/11/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/12/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/13/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/14/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text
  1/17/2022 Declined Rental Autopay Text

  In addition, phone calls from The Music Shoppe's business office were made on the following dates:

  12/2/21- VM full, unable to leave message

  12/6/21- VM full, unable to leave message- renter called back.  offer was made by The Music Shoppe to remove delinquent payments and payment will be withdrawn as scheduled on the 20th.  No follow through from renter.

  1/8/22- VM full, unable to leave message

  1/15/22-  VM full, unable to leave message

  1/17/22- contract was transferred to collections agency.

  The following is  the attempted  communication from the collection agency:

  1/19/22- letter describing collection process- return accepted, call for amount

  1/20/22- Letter sent- model validation notice

  1/20/22- attempted call- left no message

  Further calls and letters sent by collection  agency- no record of details are on file.

  On March 9, 2024, the customer sent the instrument in for repair.  Upon running the serial number and connecting it with the past due account, the trumpet was not returned to the customer.  A call was made to the complainant, explaining the trumpet would not be returned.  The complainant was instructed to contact collection service to resolve the past due balance.  No communication was ever had with the student or the educator in the school music program.  No "humiliation" was perpetrated by The Music Shoppe or any of its staff.

  Total amount collected: $365.90, total bad debt written off: $1,515.73.

  Due to the complete lack of communication on behalf of the renter and the complainant, and lack of follow through on the few commitments made by the renter, The Music Shoppe was compelled to pursue formal collections.  The Music Shoppe has may options for families who need a lower cost instrument- in fact, the renter was provided this choice at the time of signing the contract.  They opted for the price point of the instrument they rented, and at no time communicated a desire to change price points, or look for an alternative to the instrument they had.  The complainant did not "return"  the instrument to The Music Shoppe as they claim, the trumpet was sent in to the store for repair after nearly 3 years of delinquency, recognized by The Music Shoppe as past due, and repossessed according to the terms of the rental contract signed by the renter.  At no point did the renter or complainant attempt to reconcile the past due amount to secure the return of the trumpet.  After more than 100 individual attempts at communication, several unfulfilled commitments by the renter, and more than 6 months of past due payments, no option but collection was open to The Music Shoppe.  At this time, according to the policy of the collection agency (and as has been communicated to the renter), any past due balance must be reconciled directly with the collection agency.  The Music Shoppe respectfully disputes the complainant's claims.

   

   

   

   

   

  Customer response

  01/22/2025

   I am rejecting this response because:

  The music shoppe rents instruments to low income families with the premise of making money and using their child's passion for music as a tactic to further their business. We should not owe for a rented instrument that was taken from our child directly from her school. After having this horrible experience and letting it go, now years later the company is still trying to extort money from our family and punish us financially for returning the trumpet in question to the company. We do not have the item and haven't since 2022, so why would we owe this company any money at all? Why would they still be attempting to apply collections agencies to "recover" something we do not own or owe to them? Ultimately we want to have all ties to the music shoppe severed and for them to cease collection attempts for an item they have already SOLD. Note all attempts made to reach us by the company are irrelevant as we just want them to stop asking us for more money. 

   

  
  

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