Hi,
I'm posting here to tell everyone to avoid Retro Heart like the plague . This guy (Steven G.) ships poor quality, faulty and incomplete items - very different from the ones advertised in his images. He's also a natural born liar that will have excuses ready, will promise replacements and refunds and will keep you waiting with lies for weeks before he actually stops replying to emails and disappears.
Last February I ordered 9 arcade cabs on his web page, Retro Heart. After a few weeks I received them and was negatively surprised by their poor finish (rough edges, dents in the paint everywhere, low res/badly glued decals). Since they were amateurish, handmade models I did not complain too much about them, except for 2 models in particular: Star Wars cockpit and Outrun. These models were simply not what I ordered as the SW cab was missing the control yoke (that was clearly present in the pictures on Retro Heart site) and Outrun was missing its steering wheel (of course it was also present in the pictures on the site). Pretty annoying considered I had paid 40 pounds for these 2 models!
I asked to have them refunded or to be sent 2 replacement units. We agreed on a replacement. After a few weeks I asked for an update on their status and was told that due to bad weather it wasn't possible to spraypaint them and so that I had to wait some more. A few weeks later, he said that cabs were completed but that he was still missing for the Outrun steering wheel that he ordered. I kept waiting as I was in no hurry and as the guy seemed reasonable. Again, weeks passed and I asked for updates again. This time the reply was that he was sorry, but his wife was badly ill and so he had to focus on that. I apologized, believing in his words and told him to do in no hurry given the circumstances. After 3 weeks I contacted him again to check for a simple update and ask him for at least some pictures of the supposedly completed units and got some elusive replies. Finally, at the end of April (more than 3 months after we agreed on a replacement) I asked for a refund via Paypal, as I had no faith that the replacement units were going to be ever shipped. He said that it was ok but that he had to upload funds on his account in order to refund me. After a few days of waiting he, again, said that the crediting of the money on his account was taking longer than expected and then…he disappeared! A few days later he stopped replying to my emails. I had a friend to email him enquiring for his cabs to see if his mail was working… he replied immediately to him! His email was fine and he was also fine…quite simply he decided that it was better to keep for himself the money he owed me. Of course he never sent me my refund (or the replacement cabs) and simply disappeared.
I have all his promises excuses and lies clearly documented in emails and decided to post this just to help others avoid what happened to me.
Please steer clear from this Retro Heart guy, you will be disappointed at best or cheated at worst. I was cheated.
