WARNING: Jon Letts/Letts Basses

[EddieG]

After 10 years, it seems like the OP is equally as interested in achieving a moral victory as he is recouping the actual loss.

I'm not really sure how to respond to this, other than to ask you; if you had been pursuing someone for years who owed you money, and you saw his social media presence steadily increase while he ignored your correspondence, how would you feel about that? Would you be happy that the guy who was owe you money and had been ducking you was reframing himself on YouTube as clean and shiny? And if you had the means to counter that, wouldn't you take it?

If a "moral victory" was all I was after, I think I probably achieved that a long long time ago.
But I think given the lengths I've been forced to go to are clear, you've got it wrong there.

 

[PiquetBass]

Seems mildly reminiscent of a recent ITV mini-series about the post-office....

(not wanting to derail this, stick to your guns Eddie).

 

[EddieG]

In the interests of full disclosure and keeping everything on the level, I should let everyone know that I accepted Jon's request to email him, with a view to seeing if and how this can finally be resolved.
Contrary to some suggestions, my intention has always been to detail my experience publicly using only the facts, and possibly find some way to settle the matter to my satisfaction.
I will keep everyone updated on this thread on developments.

 

[Obese Chess]

Yeah, I saw that earlier in the thread. I don't understand how these legal judgements work. I would think that there are additional legal remedies to pursue when someone does not comply with a court order.

OP has already addressed part of this and I don't have a dog in the fight so I won't get into that, but regarding the part quoted here, if I understand you correctly, it's kind of the same thing as has been detailed in the Darrin Huff thread where you can't get blood from a stone. If someone has no money, you can't get them to pay money. If they don't have income or wages, the government can't garnish it. There's really only so much you can do in cases like this, as most countries no longer have debtor's prisons (which, for the record, I think is a good thing).

 

[davedamage]

I'm not gonna read all of the comments, so...

Should have stopped there. Or, be lazy and judgemental. Either way, nothing useful there.

 

[younggun]

In the interests of full disclosure and keeping everything on the level, I should let everyone know that I accepted Jon's request to email him, with a view to seeing if and how this can finally be resolved.
Contrary to some suggestions, my intention has always been to detail my experience publicly using only the facts, and possibly find some way to settle the matter to my satisfaction.
I will keep everyone updated on this thread on developments.

I will say a personal thank you for going through all the trouble in making this thread. It's VERY factual and detailed, and I'm sure the great majority of us who are reading this agree with your reasoning in posting it up. It's a big benefit to the community to expose a thief and a fraud.
It's very obvious to anyone reading through this thread, based on both your factual information and Letts' response, that Letts is an unethical thief and people should stear clear of him. You are always going to have a small percentage of people who will make excuses and defend those who are wrongdoers in the world, and worse, try to make you feel as if you did something wrong in calling them out and holding them accountable. Notice that no one who criticized you, actually attacked your facts...just your character and motivations. I'm sure those same folks criticizing you for exposing him can see how obviously dishonest he is. I guarantee you, none of them with half a brain would put their own money on the line, and order a custom build from him after reading through this thread. But, blaming the victim and not the perpetrator has become a twisted norm for some in this world...it's just a form gaslighting. Ignore it.

 

[Mike Vee]

After 10 years, it seems like the OP is equally as interested in achieving a moral victory as he is recouping the actual loss.

soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo what? is he not entitled to that? regardless of his motives, what matters is that the builder was exposed for his crimes. yes, crimes. op has ever right to bring us this story regardless of his motives. are you saying that he should stay quiet?

 

[Bullitt5135]

I'm not really sure how to respond to this, other than to ask you; if you had been pursuing someone for years who owed you money, and you saw his social media presence steadily increase while he ignored your correspondence, how would you feel about that? Would you be happy that the guy who was owe you money and had been ducking you was reframing himself on YouTube as clean and shiny? And if you had the means to counter that, wouldn't you take it?

If a "moral victory" was all I was after, I think I probably achieved that a long long time ago.
But I think given the lengths I've been forced to go to are clear, you've got it wrong there.

I'm sorry that I questioned your motives or gave the impression that you shoulder some of the blame in this. Clearly you do not. This guy took your money and didn't deliver on years of promises to make it right. I appreciate you taking the time to document your situation so others can make an informed decision if they are considering giving money to this guy.

 

[DeepHz]

Oh my word. You really think that threatening a person with violence is the answer?

You do see a smiley face after the "visit" remark right? To put a joke into this scenario is bad form on my part. My apologies to Eddie G. This guy got royally screwed so I shouldn't joke. I have a suggestion if you're open to it. Based on the thread, why don't you get back in your shop and finish making the projects you started and stop making videos and doing damage control on websites.

 

[blacktocomm]

I am truly sorry for any damage my situation has brought to people who had custom orders from me that didn’t work out.

Wow. I usually just rubberneck these threads like a car wreck, but that comment right there is something else.
“Custom orders that didn’t work out”. You took peoples hard earned money and delivered nothing.

 

[Dyerseve14]

Wow. I usually just rubberneck these threads like a car wreck, but that comment right there is something else.
“Custom orders that didn’t work out”. You took peoples hard earned money and delivered nothing.

Dont give him a hard time, it is not his fault. It is "his situation" that is to blame, not him!

 

[JKos]

I don’t understand how the legal ruling against him can been ignored. How does that happen? Seems like the consequences for failure to pay should get worse and worse.

 

[tr4252]

Eddie deserves a moral victory, in addition to being compensated. True, he will probably always remember this matter in a negative way, that can't be helped. Personally, I wouldn't want the bass at this point.

A few members have suggested that Jon get to work, either on the bass or in some sort of gainful employment. Having been self employed myself on three occasions, I know how easy it is to get in over your head. I've had two failures and one success. One thing it taught me was to discontinue my efforts if a business venture turned out to be a loser. This is not easy to do; you've already invested in tools, materials, time, etc., and I will confess that ego is also a factor. I'd probably suggest that Jon find a regular job where he can make use of his considerable talents, if he can, and build guitars on spec until he has enough financial reserve to renew his business. Or, if he does some deep soul searching, he may decide to discontinue the business and live happily ever after as a well paid cabinet maker or something like that, who happens to build and sell instruments on the side.

But first pay these guys off! If it takes a year of working at MacDonald's, so be it.

Tom

 

[Bassgeer]

This is just really unhelpful my friend.

LOL sometimes the truth hurts. Life is tough. Quit trying to play the victim, it isn't earning you any points here.

 

[Lowbrow]

Strawman argument.

Adding information about children also seems a little odd, I didn't even know you had any until you mentioned it.

And also notice that Jon quoted and replied to your post twice, fostering the illusion that you repeated it yourself and bolstering the claim that he's being hounded and persecuted.

 

[Shoreline Gold]

Yeah, I saw that earlier in the thread. I don't understand how these legal judgements work. I would think that there are additional legal remedies to pursue when someone does not comply with a court order. After 10 years, it seems like the OP is equally as interested in achieving a moral victory as he is recouping the actual loss. Of course, that's easy for me to say as it's not my money or time at stake.

There are additional remedies in the US. I'm not familiar with UK's legal system, but in most states in the US, if you know what you're doing, you can file for a judgment against the debtor/defendant, garnish their wages, attach their bank accounts, and failing all that, having sheriff deputies at your door hauling away anything of value. It's a laborious and technical process but you can sometimes recover some or all the costs in doing so.

 

[moon-bass]

A few members have suggested that Jon get to work, either on the bass or in some sort of gainful employment.
But first pay these guys off! If it takes a year of working at MacDonald's, so be it.

Tom

At this point it's pretty obvious the guy isn't meant to be a luthier. I would suggest something like bankrupcy - sell the tools and pay the debts, and don't plan on getting back into the biz.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I don’t understand how the legal ruling against him can been ignored. How does that happen? Seems like the consequences for failure to pay should get worse and worse.

Winning a judgement and collecting on it are two different things. Winning a judgment might help you in the event of a bankruptcy or similar, but by the time you paid for legal fees, you're not getting your money back.

 

[gln1955]

There are additional remedies in the US. I'm not familiar with UK's legal system, but in most states in the US, if you know what you're doing, you can file for a judgment against the debtor/defendant, garnish their wages, attach their bank accounts, and failing all that, having sheriff deputies at your door hauling away anything of value. It's a laborious and technical process but you can sometimes recover some or all the costs in doing so.

If the guy doesn't have a regular paycheck or money in the bank, there's nothing to take. The courts are reluctant to seize tools or other things that may be the person's means to make money. It's not easy getting blood from a stone.

 

[Shoreline Gold]

Winning a judgement and collecting on it are two different things. Winning a judgment might help you in the event of a bankruptcy or similar, but by the time you paid for legal fees, you're not getting your money back.

Yeah, and in the case of a bankruptcy, you are not a secured creditor, which means you go to the back of the line and would be lucky to collect cents on the dollar--or pence on the pound. Or whatever. You get it.