Al Brown-Browns Boas-Nightmare Transaction

pat has left something out and that is that i have whitnessed and will verify everything he has seen. i have seen the backed out sales. when he started to get shocked (which god forbid he had a heart condition of anykind) i was there to inspect the pannals to say they needed to be grounded (which was also verified by another reliable source). this is to say i am in general construction and do electrical work on a regular basis so you all know i am not speaking out of my butt on this matter. i have spoke to the builder of the rack on the phone and he seamed like a really nice guy. but this is problem after problem after problem. i do not understand why you would not give a warenty with any product you make on your own especially when your name is going on it. we are dealing with electricity, this is something that can kill you with no problem, why would you cheat ANYTHING whether it be the ground for each heat pannal or the type of metal the heat pannals are made of??

the heat tape it self was another issue. heat tape should be replaced every couple years just because it is a patrolium product and does have the potential to go bad. mr brown told me him self the heat tape used on the rack was several years old, and sitting in a roll in his house. so with that being said, using old heat tape and also cutting directly through the black portions instead of cutting it on an angle was just another electrical problem. if anyone wants to argue that you can cut the heat tape straight across that is fine, there are things in life taht you can do wrong and never have a problem. but there is a reason that when you buy heat tape it is cut on an angle, and there is also a dotted line on the heat tape every foot saying "cut here"

I am not going to comment on your dispute with Al Brown, I don't know him or you nor do I know what is a fair resolution to your problem as far as money is concerned. What I will do is offer you some advice on how to use the product you have, especially as you sold your old rack?

Steel likes to rust, no doubt about it. If it was not treated correctly it would begin rusting almost immediatly in the average herp room, especially if there was electricity involved, which there is.

The good news is that this is almost certainly just surface rust (any chance on those pics?). Rather than spend an additional $400 that you have to try and recover from Al or whoever made the rack (as sending the product to the manufaturer for warranty work is not unheard of) you might want to try fixing it yourself.

A protable grinder with a wire wheel will get the surface rust off easily enough, you can then prime and paint it. It sucks that you should have to do this after spending $1200 on a rack but at least if you do it now you can salvage the piece and get some use out of it. I am pretty sure no judge will refund you the entire amount since it does still work like it is supposed to, just looks like crap and is slowly deteriorating.

This is a cheap but fast and permanent fix and you can then at least have piece of mind that your animals are fine while you figure out the finer points of the deal at your leisure.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by snared99

To have the panels custom built by freedom breeder would be around $33 each so prob close to $400 shipped

Would those panels be wired with tape? Galv. would be the metal to use (other than stainless or alum). This is how I would look at racks. I would wanna look at some of the units that he (or who ever) built. I would also ask what are his guarantees are. Not everything has a warranty (or has a tail light warranty). Not everyone takes pride in their work. I don't like getting too picky but, when it comes to me spending alot of $$ I will.. I get everything in writing. If it is not in writing or on tape, It did not happen. Unless you have proof of terms, court would just be another cost. Just my opinion.

Thanks,
Michael

Originally Posted by d0cking

Would those panels be wired with tape? Galv. would be the metal to use (other than stainless or alum). This is how I would look at racks. I would wanna look at some of the units that he (or who ever) built. I would also ask what are his guarantees are. Not everything has a warranty (or has a tail light warranty). Not everyone takes pride in their work. I don't like getting too picky but, when it comes to me spending alot of $$ I will.. I get everything in writing. If it is not in writing or on tape, It did not happen. Unless you have proof of terms, court would just be another cost. Just my opinion.

Thanks,
Michael

Yes those new panels would be wired and galvanized metal not whatever these are made of. What it comes down to is:
A couple guys thought they could put out a product as good as another rack builder for alot cheaper. But they built a rack that was identical at first, but a huge loss of quality. And even worse is Mr. Brown is claiming he had no part in the build, but he built the heat panels......Which is where all of our issues have been. I have made Mr. Brown aware of the thread byt he way, but i do not think he will respond.

Originally Posted by snared99

The next day everytime we touched the rack we were shocked.

If someone sold me a product that injured me with electricity I would find a personal injury attorney and sue the snot out of that business.
Most states have good consumer laws, in Texas for instance one can get up to triple damages and attorney's fees; the deal with most consumer suits is the legal cost of bringing suit, but Texas and some other states allow those fees as part of the recovery.
Consult an attorney there.


I wouldn't be begging for him to replace a little rust, I'd take his whole business.

The seller definately owes the buyer a refund if proof is provided of the rust. If the seller was a middleman in the transaction he should then seek compensation from the builder, but that shouldn't be the buyer's problem whatsoever. Warranty or not, rust after 2 months is unacceptable.

Originally Posted by lucille

If someone sold me a product that injured me with electricity I would find a personal injury attorney and sue the snot out of that business.
Most states have good consumer laws, in Texas for instance one can get up to triple damages and attorney's fees; the deal with most consumer suits is the legal cost of bringing suit, but Texas and some other states allow those fees as part of the recovery.
Consult an attorney there.


I wouldn't be begging for him to replace a little rust, I'd take his whole business.

They weren't injured, nobody got hurt so there is no need for an attorney to be involved. Since the plates weren't grounded properly there was a buildup charge of static electricity, the same as if you touch metal in a very dry environment. You get a little shock, not electrocuted. Kind of silly for someone to lose their livlihood over nothing.

Good post Lucille. Court costs in most states is part of the recovery total. If you win the case he will have to reimburse you for the costs of the court. Considering you did get electrocuted based on the improper build of the rack you can easily sue if you wanted to. Whether the rack is under warranty or not (in this case there is no warranty from what I've read), you did get electrocuted which has NOTHING to do with a stupid warranty on the actual rack. Like Nevin mentioned a few posts up, electricity is no laughing matter. If your product contains anything that has to do with electricity you better have your product working right otherwise MAJOR lawsuits can arise if someone/something happens.

To the OP: If you have any children, imagine if your child got electrocuted or if the whole damn rack caught fire and caused a house fire (very plausible in this scenario).

Whether the rack has a warranty or not, his stand will be that he got electrocuted and the rack is a fire/electrical hazard. This is NOT a matter of rust and it having a bad appearence. This is a matter about safety. He will be refunded the amount of the rack, court costs, and possibly more if he pushes the electrocution.

Originally Posted by Drew Zaun

They weren't injured, nobody got hurt so there is no need for an attorney to be involved. Since the plates weren't grounded properly there was a buildup charge of static electricity, the same as if you touch metal in a very dry environment. You get a little shock, not electrocuted. Kind of silly for someone to lose their livlihood over nothing.