Island Music

Review: I rented a Armstrong student oboe for my daughter in October 2010 and was told this past year by her instructors to move her into an intermediate oboe. Upon inquiry with Island Music, they do not have the capacity to handle intermediate oboes. I have 34 months invested in the rental of this instrument. Island does not have a rent to own policy, but will allow 18 months of rental credit to apply toward the instrument rented or a step-up instrument they have in the store. I asked if we could apply credit to another instrument in store and was told no. I tried to negotiate the price for the credit earned $982.80 with [redacted], owner, and told me that the price on this instrument was $1295. Applied a 20% discount minus the credit earned to purchase at an additional fee of $249.90 +tax and felt I was left with no other recourse than to buy the instrument in our possession.

Moving onto another store that provides an intermediate oboe, they appraised the Armstrong oboe at a maximum of $500. I was flabbergasted. I will need to sell. I deal honestly and will not be the seller to take advantage of a buyer by charging more than appraised value. With that said, I revisited Island Music and spoke with [redacted] asking for a refund of $249.90 +tax for $262.40 as I feel that with his website stated 30 years of expertise repairing and selling brass and woodwinds, he would know an accurate resale value of this piece and I was blatently overcharged. He refused. We discussed value at the time of rental rather a value at the time of sale, not accounting for depreciation over the rental period of this piece to come into a price more inline with the appraisal value.

I am not discounting that I rented an additional 14 months to $1856.40 invested in the instrument and rental service provided. I simply asked for a fair transaction to value the oboe at the $982.80.Desired Settlement: I am requesting a refund for $262.40

Business

Response:

For 30 years, Island Music has offered an instrument

rental program that provides customers with an option to purchase rented

instruments, and this is the first time a complaint has been filed with the Revdex.com

regarding the company’s procedures.

When this customer rented an instrument from Island

Music in October, 2010, she was informed that there would be a limited amount

of rental fees (“rental credit”) that could be used towards purchasing the

rental instrument and that the rental program was not a Rent-To-Own

program. Island Music’s rental contract

states that rental credit is taken off of the retail price of the instrument

when calculating a price for purchase.

Island Music has a signed copy of this customer’s rental contract on

file that indicates that she agrees to the terms stated within it. One of these terms is that a maximum of 18

months’ rental fees can be applied towards purchasing the instrument (“rental

credit”) at the listed retail price.

As a courtesy to rental customers, every effort is

made to remind them when maximum rental credit has been reached. This customer acknowledged to [redacted]

that she received such notification in March, 2012 in the form of a postcard

stating that her accumulated rental credit of $982.80 could be used towards

purchasing the instrument, but that she could continue to rent as long as she

wished. The postcard also invited her to

bring it in within 30 days to receive an additional discount on the purchase of

the oboe.

She chose to continue to rent until August of 2013. [redacted] sold the oboe to her on August

28th, 2013 according to the terms outlined in her signed rental

contract, for the retail price ($1,295.00) less accumulated rental credit

($982.80), less an additional 20% discount ($62.30—the discount advertised on

the postcard mailed to her over a year ago) for a total of $262.40 (including

sales tax).

She could have purchased this instrument in the

spring of 2012 for this price, and Island Music encouraged her to do so, however, she chose instead to continue her

month to month rental agreement until August, 2013.

The appraisal she received from another music store

is irrelevant to the situation at hand, because that estimate means only that

$500.00 is approximately what they would offer as a trade in value or be

willing to pay for it as a wholesaler in its current, used condition.

The minute a new or used instrument leaves the store

or a new or used car is driven away from a dealership’s lot, it begins to

depreciate, regardless of the listed retail price or what the consumer

ultimately paid for it. Like car

dealerships and countless other companies that lease equipment, Island Music

does not reduce the retail price of rental inventory throughout the rental term

to account for depreciation. Instead,

Island Music allows customers to use one

hundred percent of the rental fees charged for the service provided, for a

finite, clearly disclosed term, towards purchasing a rented instrument.

This customer could have owned the instrument for a

fair price if she had purchased it in the spring of 2012 after receiving the

postcard notifying her that she had reached the maximum rental credit

allowed. At that point she had been

using the instrument for 18 months and receiving free maintenance and insurance

as part of the rental agreement with Island Music. Her monthly rental payments had whittled the

cost of owning the instrument down from $1,295.00 to $250.00, with no

penalties, fees, or finance charges.

She admitted that she received our reminder when

maximum rental credit had been reached, yet she chose to continue the month to

month rental agreement for an additional 14 months.

It is understandable that this customer may be

disappointed about this situation; however, she was treated fairly and in

accordance with the terms of her signed rental contract at every step of the

lease term and purchase transaction. No

refund will be issued.

Consumer

Response: