Hugh Laurie as House Custom Headsculpt by Chris Howes Interest Thread

[The Drizzle]

Still nothing here. I have emailed him again asking for a refund with no answer, and I was one of the unpainted House heads, so if he was telling the truth, mine should have gone out no later than the 14th if he was going that route. Now it's the 27th, and nothing. I'm really tired of this, and tired of him treating us like we are nothing. Combined, we gave him a lot of money, and I'm starting to believe that a call to his local police department may be a good idea.

 

[Husker75]

Just got this response:

"I'm shipping a set of painted heads out tomorrow, I'll make sure yours is among them. Please do me a favor, send me an email with the subject "Hello" to make sure it gets to me with your shipping address to make sure I have your proper info updated in my address book.

Thanks, Mike!

Take Care,
Chris"

So i will let you all know when i get something. Ok? And of course, pictures too. Lets cross our fingers and hope this goes through.

 

[RKE!(%*]

Let the buyer beware. I ordered a custom head from Chris Howes back in August of 2008He (via e-mail) told me that it would be done in November. He kept promising to send pictures of the sculpt. When that didn't happen, I e-mailed him and asked when it would be done. He said it would be done in December. Again, nothing. I sent another e-mail to him in January. Once again he replied that it would be done in a week or so. That was over 6 months ago. I haven't heard back from him since even though I have e-mailed once a month asking for a status. I have even gone so far as to ask for my money back. He doesn't even bother to respond. What concerns me is that he continues to solicit business when there are so many other customers still waiting for items they have paid for months and months ago.

His supporters say to be patient and that he will come through. Well, after months of waiting and numerous unanswered e-mails, I can't help but feel that Chris Howes has ripped me off. I realize I am not alone. I saw a post where a guy has waited a year and still hasn't received his custom sculpt.

So If you plan on doing business with Chris - be forewarned.

 

[The Drizzle]

We all need to pool our resources, and file reports with his local police department, and the FBI internet fraud division. If these agencies see numerous reports of his ignoring customers/nondelivery, he will get at the very least a visit that gives him a good look at the reality of the mess he has created. I urge you all to print out a copy of your paypal transactions in case either agency wants to see them. It's time for all of us to get organized. Separately we are an annoyance, together we will be a startlingly large dose of reality.
I wonder if we should set up a domain somewhere with all of this info in one place call it something like "chrishowesvictims.com". I'm sure that would end up in the search engines, and may serve as a warning sign to save some people from being ripped off, sort of like "here there be dragons" or "beware of sleestak".

 

[Buttmunch]

The thing is Chris has come through in the past. I still think something has happened to him. For all we know he might in a coma right now. Its not like Chris to just ignore everyone. Some few, select people seem to be getting responses so I don't know what to think anymore. But since some/most of us have gotten either the Stark/Wayne/or Joker heads from him we can't really say he is a scammer. I'm sure something major has just come up and is preventing him from responding. Remember, his professional work comes before these custom pieces.

But still, a response to an email or a post here would go a long way for him.

 

[costumeball]

I heard from him recently, and he is fine, just really busy with tons of "real job" work.

I expect to have my House head (and another project he was doing for me) arrive this week.

 

[Mollins]

Well, I ordered one off of eBay, and I contacted him, and my head has supposedly been shipped out, so I shall wait and see if he's sendign the eBay auction heads

 

[ProgMatinee]

Well, I ordered one off of eBay, and I contacted him, and my head has supposedly been shipped out, so I shall wait and see if he's sendign the eBay auction heads

well thanks for willfully complying with his scam against everyone else that preordered. at best you get your product and possibly alienate those waiting for theirs and at worst he rips you off too

 

[Mollins]

well thanks for willfully complying with his scam against everyone else that preordered. at best you get your product and possibly alienate those waiting for theirs and at worst he rips you off too

Ah, but y'see, I paid with paypal, so I can get my money back if I don't get the head =]

 

[mosaicsquare]

yeah just as the rest of us. but we were the ones who went to him to commission the head ... btw i still haven't got jack squat from him... that means no email response or product.

 

[The Drizzle]

If he's overwhelmed with "real world jobs" then maybe he should have had the good sense to not take some of them, and finish his commitments first. His treatment of us has been deplorable. Nothing is wrong with him, he showed up a few weeks ago, and rebuked us all and tried to blame everything but his own poor sense of business and timing. He took no responsibility for his endless delays, and not updating. Not the attitude of someone trying to satisfy PAID customers. I think we're to the point now where he doesn't really deserve a whole lot of sympathy. I would have had some if he would have bothered to update people on all the paid projects, but he hasn't. He's been the polar opposite of friendly and transparent.

 

[Buttmunch]

He has to take the "real world" jobs. That is what pays his bills. He is doing these comissions for fun, not profit. He can only work on these when he has the time to.

Granted, we do deserve some form of comunication from him. That much I agree with you on. Even just a quick "I'm busy with real jobs, please be patient" would have been nice. Just because he hasn't doesn't mean we need to get the pitchforks out. Two wrongs don't make a right. Needless to say, after the House and Cameron sculpts are finished I doubt Chris will bother with the other sculpts with the way people are begining to treat him (granted some of it is deserved, but again, two wrongs don't make a right).

 

[Husker75]

Yeah, i just got another message from chris. He is sending out more painted house heads, and still hard at work on other projects. He is finishing stuff but focusing on quality, not rushing things that are sub-par out. But he IS still working his butt off to finish all outstanding commitments. he seemed very sincere.

But.
I don't think you guys should expect him here again. Especially not for any future projects/commissions. I think he'll try to wrap up everything he has that people have paid for, and then not come back here. And honestly, i can't blame him. He wasn't innocent in this, but he certainly wasn't treated fairly on here either, imo.

I'm gonna see if i can get some more information from him for you guys, while i have an open end i guess! lol.

But also, he said he has spoken with a few people here who have agreed to post updates and pictures for him in case he doesn't come here.

Honestly? If i was him, the last thing i'd want to do is come here, and sift through the hundreds of ridiculous posts we've made. That alone would take him hours and hours.

I'll let you know if i find anything else out, and of course i'll post pictures and stuff when my head gets here.
~Michael

 

[The Drizzle]

It's a problem of his own creation. No one should have had to wait as many as 14 months. He bit off more than he could chew, but doesn't care to admit it or be reasonably contrite. Things didn't really begin to heat up until after he made his brief appearance, and handled it so poorly, again, giving no real updates as much as blaming his problems on us. then when his two weeks he mentioned passed with pretty much no update, it was at that point that it began to become absurd. I have total sympathy for the customizers that have been good communicators and are visibly trying to make amends. The fact is, this would not be in the state it's in with all of the complaints if he had just handled it decently. This whole situation's spinning out of control is his fault, and no one else's.
It seems to me like a few just want to hush this all up in hopes that it makes Chris happy so maybe they could keep getting heads. Sorry, I don't see it that way. I don't care if he makes the best heads on earth (which he doesn't) I still wouldn't want to do business with him based upon his treatment of his customers in the 1:6 community.

edit- I still want a refund, which would clear one of his commitments, but it's obvious he has no intention to, which is the polar opposite of his guarantee, which says to me he's not reputable.

 

[Husker75]

It's a problem of his own creation. No one should have had to wait as many as 14 months. He bit off more than he could chew, but doesn't care to admit it or be reasonably contrite. Things didn't really begin to heat up until after he made his brief appearance, and handled it so poorly, again, giving no real updates as much as blaming his problems on us. then when his two weeks he mentioned passed with pretty much no update, it was at that point that it began to become absurd. I have total sympathy for the customizers that have been good communicators and are visibly trying to make amends. The fact is, this would not be in the state it's in with all of the complaints if he had just handled it decently. This whole situation's spinning out of control is his fault, and no one else's.
It seems to me like a few just want to hush this all up in hopes that it makes Chris happy so maybe they could keep getting heads. Sorry, I don't see it that way. I don't care if he makes the best heads on earth (which he doesn't) I still wouldn't want to do business with him based upon his treatment of his customers in the 1:6 community.

edit- I still want a refund, which would clear one of his commitments, but it's obvious he has no intention to, which is the polar opposite of his guarantee, which says to me he's not reputable.

Without getting into it, because it is obvious your mind is made up.. i just had a few things to say:

I don't care to hush things up. Just calm them down. Even if i get my head, i will still keep an eye on these threads and hope everyone else gets what they payed for too. But creating more drama doesn't help that. Yes. Chris made mistakes. Yes, he should have communicated better. But he can't change the past. He can only make it better in the future. So right now, he is working his butt off. Meanwhile, I (and others) have offered to help him communicate with the boards so that things get updated a bit more often. But only time will tell how this gets settled.

I have already asked him (about an hour ago) about refunds, and what his plans are. Hopefully i will get a response and I can move things along from there. But by being so in your face and ticked off like you guys are, you are making it worse (and harder for all of us) instead of making it better. I'm not saying you don't have a right to be angry. Not at all. But a lot of us are trying to sort this all out and make sure it has a happy ending. (and no, not just so I can get my head either)

I'm not gonna make excuses for him. He made a lot of mistakes. But he has also been slandered and attacked by people who have no idea what they are talking about, have not purchased a thing from him, etc. People have made personal attacks against him and gone on pitchfork crusades when they could have remained calm instead of inciting anger and foolish rants. We knew what we were getting into when we ordered from chris. At least I did. I understood that it could be a while, and that he had a real life to attend to. And while i hoped i'd get my head soon, i also knew that it was very possible that real life could get in the way, and screw things up. Obviously it did. Things tumbled out of control. But instead of everyone screaming and jumping off the moving vehicle.. could we all just calm down a little and share information with each other and see where it gets us?

Ok. So i had more than a few things to say. Sorry.

 

[The Drizzle]

You know, I just don't think I'm going overboard here. I have contacted him time and again, and been ignored. I have no problem being patient with a customizer. I understand that, I understand what's involved in it. I have money out with other customizers, and I'm not worried about them. The difference is they answer emails, and are friendly and honest with me- no problems at all. To this point, I still would not be having a problem with Chris if I still wanted the head, and he continued to provide honest updates. He has given so many people timeline promises, none of which he has fulfilled. It's been a lot of smoke and mirrors with precious few heads delivered.

He claims he's on painted heads now? Well, I was an unpainted head, I didn't get that or a refund, so something is wrong.

I agree people with no stake in it need to hush, but that's not me, nor is it plenty of the others who have a complaint.

I originally bought into the House head thing, because he guaranteed we'd like it, or we would not be committed to it. Granted my last few emails to him have been pretty stern, but the first few were extremely polite, and he still ignored me totally. There's no way in hell I believe the "Russian Spam" nonsense- there are numerous fast and easy ways around that if it had really been a real problem- and that is part of the problem here- absurd excuses that could just as easily have been honest updates instead.

 

[fire_fly]

Got my house sculpt in the mail and it looks great!!!

 

[Star Puffs]

There's no way in hell I believe the "Russian Spam" nonsense- there are numerous fast and easy ways around that if it had really been a real problem- and that is part of the problem here- absurd excuses that could just as easily have been honest updates instead.

I was upset too with Chris, thinking he was ignoring me. Then when he said use the simple one word subject line, I tried and got a very nice, thorough response right away. If you have not complied with that subject-line requirement then he sincerely may not have read your e-mails.

 

[The Drizzle]

I was upset too with Chris, thinking he was ignoring me. Then when he said use the simple one word subject line, I tried and got a very nice, thorough response right away. If you have not complied with that subject-line requirement then he sincerely may not have read your e-mails.

I've already tried that. He still ignored me. I have had people that he answered ask for me, and suddenly they stop getting answers. I think this makes it obvious that he is just answering what he wants to, the Russian Spammer schtick is horse hockey.

 

[captdan]

I've already tried that. He still ignored me. I have had people that he answered ask for me, and suddenly they stop getting answers. I think this makes it obvious that he is just answering what he wants to, the Russian Spammer schtick is horse hockey.

Let me add something to this about remaining calm and Chris being such a great guy.

As I stated previously I ordered and paid for my stuff 14 months ago and was told it would take 4-6 weeks to get them. Well that 4-6 weeks turned into months and now over a year. I was not emailing him constantly, only about once a month or even less. When he was communicating he was very friendly and I was not worried.

I started to get worried when he told me things had been shipped and after a few more weeks of waiting nothing arrived. When I asked about it he assured me that he had shipped them and the post office must have lost them. Not once but 3 times he told me the items had shipped and nothing ever arrived. That was an outright lie, he had not shipped anything to me at all. At that point I asked for a refund and all communication stopped.

Now the select few he chooses to communicate with he is playing the victim and is so nice and sweet in his emails and is working his fingers to the bone!
I'm sorry but he has lied to me on more than one occasion and I do not buy his BS anymore.

As others had stated all he had to do was be upfront and honest and stop taking others money until all outstanding orders have been filled. Look at his ebay auctions, he is running additional items now like the Klingon Warrior statue with 5 available.....

The facts speak for themselves, he made this bed and now he has to sleep in it.....

Oh and for those that he is communicating with be sure to update us on his response to refunds.....