The Music Place Botched Musical Instrument Repair, No Refund Berlin New Jersey

Our clarinet needed to be cleaned, recorked, and according to The Music Place, repadded (an "overhaul"). Upon first pick-up, the instrument was not clean. I sent it back to be recleaned. It was returned, not completely clean, but I took it home anyway. When my son put it together and played it, he was unable to produce sound. His music teacher confirmed there was definitely something wrong and sent a note in detailing what they should take a look at. After sending it back, they repeatedly insisted there was nothing wrong with it. Realizing I was getting nowhere, I took the clarinet to another music shop (((Competitor's name redacted))). I assumed a minor repair was needed.

To my surprise, (((redacted)))'s tech tech said that the pads were not seated properly and that excessive glue was used, resulting in improper seal and the inability to easily produce sound. It would take $250 to completely strip the thing and start from scratch. In a nutshell, (((redacted))) said that The Music Place needed to fix the mess they made of our clarinet. However, The Music Place insisted that there is nothing wrong with the clarinet. They accused my son's teacher of being inexperienced and not knowing what she's talking about (untrue), refused to speak to (((redacted)))'s tech, insisted that the problem is my son's inexperience, and even implied I was fabricating the whole thing. My son's inexperience was clearly not the issue because the rental prior to this was just fine, and I had confirmation from both another tech and his teacher. I offered to get a third opinion from another tech, and they said it would make no difference. They refuse to refund my money. (((redacted))) said the clarinet is unsellable in its current condition, therefore it is of no use to them, except maybe for parts. Now I have to buy a new clarinet. Effectively, The Music Place ruined ours and has caused us to be without an instrument for months now.