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Business Profile

Fishing Gear

Housatonic Rods

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

Find BBB Accredited Businesses in Fishing Gear.

Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 2 total complaints in the last 3 years.
  • 0 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

If you've experienced an issue

Submit a Complaint

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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Complaint status

Complaint type

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:02/07/2023

    Type:Delivery Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    On June 3, 2021, I telephoned Mr. ****** requesting to purchase a custom made rod by him for delivery in September 2021. I sent 2 deposits by ***** totalling $750.00. On October 15, I spoke to him again and he said rod had been sent out to be wrapped and we would receive soon. I sent $500 by ***** on 10/15/21 and $500 on 10/19/21. I have never received the fishing rod despite repeated emails, phone calls, voice messages left and even a certified letter on December 19, 2022 which Mr. ****** refused to pick up.

  • Initial Complaint

    Date:08/11/2022

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unanswered
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    Last November, I sent Mr. William A*****, proprietor of Housatonic Rods, a deposit of $860 to get in his queue to build a bamboo fly fishing rod for me. In an e-mail, he said that he was expecting to deliver the rod in March. My check cleared, and my checking account was debited the $860. As March approached, I e-mailed him to find out if he was on schedule, and to inquire about such details as grip style and reel seat style. He did not reply. I e-mailed him again, and he still did not reply. His website does not give his phone number, but I found a number for him on the Internet. If the number I found is actually his, it is ###-###-####. I left a voicemail, but I got no callback. On February 28, I sent him a certified letter to review our correspondence and my attempts to contact him, and to ask him either to respond or to issue a refund. He never picked up the letter, and it was returned to me by the USPS.

    He works with a woman who restores bamboo fly rods, and in April I sent her a letter asking if she knew of any reason for his failure to communicate, and asking her to tell him that absent a legitimate reason I wanted a refund of my deposit. I still received no response from either of them.

    Because misfortunes, such as death by COVID-19, do happen, I did not know that he was even still alive. But I contacted a fly fishing store near his business, and I asked if they knew him, and if so, whether they knew if he was dead or somehow incapacitated. They do know him, and they assured me that he was alive and well.

    I see no excuse for treating a customer this way. I no longer want to do business with him, and I want a refund of my deposit.

Housatonic Rods is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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