Warning regarding Award Session

**aboutIt** · 07-04-2016, 11:45 AM

If the email is broken/unpredictable, why not provide a phone number or mailing address? That would seem easy enough, no?

**bananafist** · 07-04-2016, 12:31 PM

Cmaj9 says he's already written via snailmail with no success.

**Sessionman** · 07-04-2016, 12:43 PM

Whilst we are happy to receive phone calls, we are unable to take sales calls due to pressure from credit/debit card companies to reduce fraud. Other online retailers accept phone orders... that's their choice, but accepting card details over the phone can be used by the sales person to order goods for him/herself! We do not want to be party to that possibly happening.

SESSION products go back to 1979 when we employed around forty people. So there's a very great amount of SESSION amps out there still in regular use. Sadly, we are now only three people and find it very hard to deal with significant numbers of phone calls relating to products made nearly thirty years ago! Further, we found that our landline developed like a 'chat-line'. To be very blunt, I could have spent all day on the phone. Email only was the answer to all these problems, when we could reply to less important enquiries outside business hours.

Award-Session is a very busy company and we accept we can make mistakes now and then... like anyone.

There are now some special measures in place supported by our hosting provider, that should enable us to get over this email problem. Frankly, I don't know what's been going on there... my job is design products and to ensure that customers' orders are made and sent.

When customers place an order, no money is taken from their card account until the goods can be shipped. Most of our products are custom made, so we DO NOT operate like a regular online retailer, where your card is debited immediately and goods despatched the same or next day.

Understandably, we cannot talk about specific instances on a public forum, so I hope that the OP will contact us soon via email so that I can then know the identity of the person and what he has ordered. Amps are taking roughly 8 weeks to despatch at the moment, due to popularity. But we have had a few holdups due to various components not being available. This we could not build into our program and has delayed certain cabinet finishes... mainly black Bronco.

The email problems have caused some upset and I can only apologise for the inconvenience and bad feeling this incident may have caused.

We DO NOT monitor forums, we are far too busy to find the time, frankly.

Please bare with us, we are totally stretched at the moment, but we will catch up. The recent G&B review was most welcome, but has caused a momentary glitch! It's known as 'growing pains' in the manufacturing world.

Stewart

**cmajor9** · 07-04-2016, 02:19 PM

Mr. Ward,

Thank you for your reply; I am glad to finally hear from you directly. I have sent two letters addressed to you by post, as was suggested on the Award Session Website for customers who encounter problems - I hope you have received and read these. I also have sent another email to Billy at Award Session as recently as 29 June; this email did not bounce back so I assume it was received. Should I send yet another email? In your reply you mention that you are happy to receive phone calls, but after thoroughly looking over the Award Session site I am unable to find a phone number, could you perhaps send this to me so that I might contact you?

I hope your response is a sign that there might still be hope for resolution, but after 6 months of waiting, I'm sure you can understand that I am not too hopeful.

(sent also as a PM to Sessionman)

**cmajor9** · 07-17-2016, 04:24 AM

Mr. Ward:

After your reply on the Jazz Guitar forum, I did send another email to Award Session as you suggested, but have heard no reply. In your post you say you are happy to receive phone calls, but looking thoroughly over your Web site I find no phone number listed. Could you please reply and send me the number to call, since email is not proving effective?

Best regards,

**edh** · 07-17-2016, 05:34 AM

It's a damm shame that you have to resort to coming on a forum to contact a business with problems you are having .

Good luck Cmaj9

**Little Jay** · 07-17-2016, 05:37 AM

If I read mr. Ward's answer correctly I conclude they are not using the phone option due to reasons stated in the answer (not enough time and personel, too many phone calls about their old products).

Do you have any more e-mail accounts? If your e-mail keeps getting bounced by their firewall ir something I would try with another e-mail address. (You can create a free new mail-account for that if needed.)

I sure hope Award Session's success is not growing over their heads, because they do make a very nice product! Would be a real shame if this kind of bad luck would turn customer's opinion against them.

Maybe some other (tube?) amp-company hacked their servers because their amps sound so darn good........ :-D

**aboutIt** · 07-18-2016, 03:51 PM

I wonder why SessionMan doesn't PM cmajor9 and ask for his phone number so they can get to bottom of this. Seems like that would take all of a minute to do.

**Jabberwocky** · 07-18-2016, 04:38 PM

Cmaj9, reverse the charge. That will get their attention.

P.S. I see that Little Jay has left a short review for one. What happened in between Little Jay getting one and cmaj9 not hearing a peep?

**Little Jay** · 07-20-2016, 09:28 AM

Yup when I ordered mine about a year ago, everything went without problems. Hope it works out for you Cmaj9!

Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

**cmajor9** · 07-20-2016, 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by Jabberwocky

Cmaj9, reverse the charge. That will get their attention.

Jabber - I wish I still had that option, but the charge went through back in March, when my amp was supposedly going out for delivery.

**Little Jay** · 07-20-2016, 03:22 PM

Oh man, this is a real horror-story. You ordered your amp months ago, were billed for it in March, received nothing, no answer to emails nor to written letters..... Hmmm.

Please Steward, this man deserves a special treatment by now! Make sure he gets his amp (or his money back)!

**2bornot2bop** · 07-20-2016, 05:01 PM

Originally Posted by cmajor9

Jabber - I wish I still had that option, but the charge went through back in March, when my amp was supposedly going out for delivery.

Yes, but if you've not received the product your CC company will open an investigation, and they would likely do a charge back to the seller, especially if you paid via Visa, MC, or Amex. I know of no time limit for paying for an item, and not receiving it, and then filing a complaint with ones CC company. There may be a time limit, but I don't know of any.

**David B** · 07-20-2016, 05:03 PM

Google gives a phone number of 01256 477222.

**lstelie** · 09-14-2016, 01:12 PM

Hello,

Same kind of problem here

I send (after exchanging emails) my Sessionnette Chassis to be retrotoned to Award Session. The parcel has been delivered on July 12, and today (September 13 ) I have no reaction from them.
I sent several mails, one has been replied on August 31:

Dear Customer,
Internet Fault

Thank you for your enquiry, but we have not been able to see or reply to your email. This is because there was a fault at the telephone exchange and it took BT/Openreach from 14^th August to 31^st August to find the problem and completely fix it.
The week prior to this, we were closed for a week on summer holiday too, so it may seem like a long time. We returned to find the fault present.
We are now working hard to download all the backed up emails and orders, but it will take us a little time to catch up. Please bear with us.
Your order should arrive in a few days. Emails will be replied to as soon as we can.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
For normal workshop & office times, please see in the signature below.

Regards,

Billy W - Customer Adviser

.. but despite several further enquiries I have no news from my amp chassis...

Luc

**Boston Joe** · 09-14-2016, 01:23 PM

You know, it takes about three minutes to set up a gmail account. They could do that and solve their email problems instantly.

**lstelie** · 09-20-2016, 12:42 PM

Hello,

I wrote to complain so I need to write because things seems to join the right track..

I just received a few minutes ago an email saying that my Sessionnette chassis is done and reading to ship.. so I paid, and likely it will arrive.

Delay was long (chassis received at Session on July 12 2016..) but apparently things seems going well.

Luc

**cmajor9** · 09-22-2016, 02:44 PM

Istelle - I'm glad you heard back from Award Session, and I hope things will work out for you. I wish I could say they have for me, but after all these months there's still no resolution. I've heard nothing for months, all my attempts at communication were unanswered. Please post back and let the forum know if you do receive your amp back.

**Jabberwocky** · 09-22-2016, 03:19 PM

Luc, I hope you have good luck getting your amp back. I am not holding me breath till you do.

Perhaps cmajor9 could get in touch with Billy W, too? What's his contact?