Capitol Music They don't keep their records, so they'll try to collect monies from you that you have already paid! Montgomery, Alabama

The people at Capitol Music apparently have a problem with record keeping.  I purchased a King trombone from them in February of 2008, and the man running the store, Mr. Darby was kind enough to set me up with a payment plan, as at the time, I was a student at a nearby university.  What I was not told, however, was that the cash payments I made aside from only 2 check payments would "vanish" from their records.  I paid the $900 agreed upon price over the coarse of the next few months ($100 by check on the first day I took the horn in Feb, and one mailed in March),

and then, as I was in town far more often playing with the Montgomery Symphony and also reorganizing their library over the summer, I came in to the store and made cash payments on the horn for totaling $200 in April, May, June, and $100 in July.  I made sure to pay off the horn by July, as in August I took a job playing trombone for a cruise line, and would not be able to stop by or mail checks until the following December (we were in Europe).  I'm sure I received receipts for most of those cash payments, and check payments, but I cannot find them, as that was over 3 years ago, and they were all handwritten anyway.

Now, over 4 years later, I get a harassing phone call from some very rude collections people telling me I am in possession of unlawfully retained rental property, and that this could affect my credit, and civil liberties in the form of prosecution.

I called Capitol Music and was told my Darby himself that the record keeping they had in the store was terrible after they switched to computers, and that they had a bit of turn over in the front office due to issues he didn't wish to discuss.  I was handed off to a gentleman named Kevin that took my information and assured me I would receive a call back.  That was several days ago, and I have yet to hear from anyone at Capitol Music.

As a professional musician with many contacts in the south east from band directors to professional players, I would have hoped for better treatment from this company.  I suppose I should have put all those receipts in a safe deposit box too....