Aero Leather is only a Business...

[Tefouane]

I come here to explain my unfortunate adventure with Aero Leather. I have ordered two jackets, 1 in August and 1 in September. The order of August was fully paid and I have paid a deposit on the order of September. During the month of October I had a car accident (I hit a deer). my car is wreck and I have to buy a new one. I contact Ken and Holly to ask them to cancel these 2 orders because I need this money to buy a new car. they agree to refund me the fully paid order. however they refuse to return me the 230 euros of the deposit of the second. I find it purely shabby because I have a vital need for this money and the jacket has not even been started. For them it is only a commercial (an human) gesture and they refuse to do it. I have already owned more than 6 Aero jackets and have always defended their products. I find this kind of behavior pitiful as I promised Ken to place a new order as soon as my financial situation would allow. this situation is exceptional and Aero could have made an exception. Personally for me Aero it's over ....

 

[handymike]

Sorry to hear about your situation!
Your title states the reality pretty clearly. They are a business with great customer service, but yes- a business and not a close personal friend.

 

[Hh121]

I think, that's how deposit works.

 

[zebedee]

The deposits are non-refundable; they refunded the fully-paid order. It's an annoyance at best, but it happens in many areas- rent deposits if you leave a housing contract early, for example. The deposit policy isn't new- as much as it annoys you, it's there in black and white.

 

[Carlos840]

I think they did what they were legaly bound to do.
The fully paid jacket was refunded since it could be considered a return on a shipped item.
A deposit is a deposit, you don't get it back when you change your mind, it's the point of a deposit!

I see nothing wrong there, you are not special, they don't owe you special treatment.

 

[Tefouane]

I think they did what they were legaly bound to do.
The fully paid jacket was refunded since it could be considered a return on a shipped item.
A deposit is a deposit, you don't get it back when you change your mind, it's the point of a deposit!

I see nothing wrong there, you are not special, they don't owe you special treatment.

I did not change my mind (I really wanted this jacket), it's the situation that made me cancel this order. a little humanity in business would not hurt. especially when you pride yourself on being a family business .....

 

[Hh121]

I did not change my mind (I really wanted this jacket), it's the situation that made me cancel this order. a little humanity in business would not hurt. especially when you pride yourself on being a family business .....

I am very sorry for what happened.
But please do not be upset or even mad, not worth it. All the claim from those makers saying they have best customer service, they always stand behind their product or for any reason you are not satisfied you can always return the product are bullxxxx.
The only thing they want is your money, which is why they start this business.
Having said that, I don't think they did anything wrong.
P.S Family business doesn't mean anything, think about Corleone family, just joking.

 

[jacketjunkie]

I have always been irritated by people considering Aero friends. There is no friendship where money is involved, simple as that. Them being friendly to customers is them being professionel businessmen, not them being your friends.

Personally, I feel it's a shitty move to not return a deposit for a jacket not in production yet. Aero has had no expenses and you could perfectly legally return the jacket once done and cause them an actual financial damage, so them cashing in on a canceled order you would have returned at their expense otherwise is kinda lame.

 

[Boyo]

if they will refund a fully paid jacket but not a deposit placed on a jacket, you should pay the remaining amount left after the deposit and then ask for your money back...?

Catch-22

 

[Cheshire Symposium]

Although I do have some sympathy and it is an unfortunate situation. If €230 is going to put you in financial hardship; should you really have ordered 2 leather jackets in such relatively close proximity?

 

[handymike]

This is pretty interesting when compared to folks wanting/ asking/ complaining about their GW deposits. John seems to always return.

 

[Tefouane]

Although I do have some sympathy and it is an unfortunate situation. If €230 is going to put you in financial hardship; should you really have ordered 2 leather jackets in relatively proximity?

The price of 2 jackets is not the same that the price of a car....

 

[AlexB]

I think it’s annoying to have to pay the deposit, but as the others said that’s the definition of a deposit. It’s impossible to plan for circumstances like a car accident, but whenever I have to put down a deposit for something, these unforeseen things are part of my risk management calculation. Mentally you have to write off the deposit the moment you place an order. It’s the same with Thurston and all the other businesses. Especially if you run a small family business you probably have more equity at risk and have to make sure to ensure stable operations. Being friendly is professional, but adhering to a contract is too. No doubt, it would have been nice if Aero would have payed you back the deposit, but you shouldn’t be mad at them. Most important is that nothing serious has happened to you in the accident.


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[Will Zach]

I would say this - if you already bought 6 jackets from them (I assume that to be the case; not that you bought them second-hand), and these were # 7 and 8, by golly, I would make an exception and refund your deposit.

Businesses bend over backwards for good customers; if I bought 6 I would expect a refund.

Unless they told me they need the cash as badly as I do - then I would understand.

 

[Steven65]

Interesting that they agreed to a full refund of the August jacket but held the deposit of the other. Did you have some special order or customising on the September order?

Maybe you could post your e-mail exchange with them?

 

[El Marro]

I’m sorry about your car accident and also sorry to hear about your recent experience with Aero. I agree with what most of the others here have said. It seems the Aero is well within their rights to do this but also a bit unfortunate considering you have been a good and regular customer over the years.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I don't think it is a wise idea to make public emails that at least one party might consider personal correspondence.

 

[Bfd70]

Although I do have some sympathy and it is an unfortunate situation. If €230 is going to put you in financial hardship; should you really have ordered 2 leather jackets in such relatively close proximity?

The price of 2 jackets is not the same that the price of a car....

I think the point was if it’s the money here that’s the issue perhaps you’ve over extended yourself. If it’s a matter of principle then see all the posts about them being a business. Just because people say Ken and Julie like they meet them for coffee doesn’t mean making jackets isn’t their job. I personally decided a year ago not to purchase new from Aero because i thought their shipping time for a stock item (3 weeks to arrival) was unreasonable. It wasn’t personal. Just not a fair value for me.

 

[El Marro]

I don't think it is a wise idea to make public emails that at least one party might consider personal correspondence.

I’m with you on this one. Every thread that has gone down that road in recent memory ends up locked down in short order.

 

[Carlos840]

This is pretty interesting when compared to folks wanting/ asking/ complaining about their GW deposits. John seems to always return.

John is refunding but also incapable of delivering on his promise. If the OP had the money he would receive a jacket, most likely within promised time.
These are two different situations.

@Tefouane can you not ask them to keep the deposit on hold untill you can sort things out?