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[mattw]

As some of you are aware, I had a discrepancy with a swap deal that I did with someone on the forum called 'Kaz'(to my own detriment, I sent the bat too early to him - but as he had proved that he sent me the bat I thought it was fair enough) - anyway the original dispute topic can be found here http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=26246.0 if anyone is interested in revisiting it.

Anyway, since then after trying to speak to Charlie at Black Cat is was almost proving a pointless task to get any sort of response from him, as for example after sending the odd PM over the forum it would at least take me a week or so to get any response and then following that I emailed him at his Black Cat email account which took him over 2 months to reply to. I was trying to get some more information about this bat, whether it was still in any possible guarantee etc and I explained my position with the unfortunately circumstances and hoping that he would be able to help out being a forum sponsor etc...

However after waiting for ages to get any information other than the standard sort of messages 'Nothing can be done to a delaminated bat etc...' which any bat maker will tell you otherwise and GN showed on their Twitter feed not too long ago that they did a top job on a delaminated bat - in the end I gave up with Charlie @ BlackCat as it was obvious that he wasn't going to be any help with the matter and deflecting any responsibility. Which many other brands would look to help anyway they could especially with their own brands bats.

A couple of weeks back, I took it to Solitaire as I was getting Roger to clean up my match bat(pictures are below) and as there was a scuff sheet on it he said to leave it for now as you never know how badly it's damaged until the scuff sheet comes off. So I've used it in the indoor nets over the last couple of weeks along with my team mates and it seems to go pretty well still - however there was some fibreglass tape on the edges which was fraying off, so as it was looking tatty I decided to pull that off which then revealed a huge crack in the edge of the bat unfortunately.

So after taking all of the fibreglass tape off the edges and toe of the bat, it revealed more damaged that I had originally thought so I decided to have a go at taking the scuff sheet off as it definitely needs some work doing. However no idea if BlackCat or the previous owner applied the scuff sheet but it was bloody awful - brittle and very sticky. I was pulling it off across the bat to try and not pull out fibres of the bat but unfortunately the scuff sheet was such poor quality that it did exactly that which you can see by the state of it below. Anyway enough talking, I'll let the pictures to the talking of the delamination.







And here's the bat that I got back from Roger today;
Before - on the left(it wasn't in terribly bad nick, just wanted it cleaned up);



After;

[Ams4287]

Oh dear Matt, remember reading the story when you swapped it - looks as though it's ready for the fire.

Maybe send it to a sponsor and take a % in copies 

[mattw]

Oh dear Matt, remember reading the story when you swapped it - looks as though it's ready for the fire.

Maybe send it to a sponsor and take a % in copies 

I'm not one to do that though to be fair - it still goes and my team mates who used it said they loved it, so it still performs.

I'll take it to Roger again and see if he can work his magic on it I reckon - not a lot can really be done except for a bit of sanding and glue here and there and then a good quality scuff sheet applied. I'm sure it's still got plenty of life left in it as of yet - I've got to get my moneys worth from it after the disgusting swap deal.

[smokem]

Sorry to hear you got done over by the last owner and a fairly poor response from the brand. Looks like an awesome job was done by Solitaire on the other bat though. Hope they can turn that Joker around...

[smilley792]

Black cats customer service is poor,


I requested a custom joker in full width(standard joker being harrow width) they took 6 weeks to reply on here, and asked me to email there sales account. So I did with my specs.

And


Still waiting on a reply.


Got RK to make me a joker ish rep instead. Which pings. And RK reply within half an hour most pms. Lol.


Wonder how many other customers they have ignored? Or upset?

[Ams4287]

I'm not one to do that though to be fair - it still goes and my team mates who used it said they loved it, so it still performs.

I'll take it to Roger again and see if he can work his magic on it I reckon - not a lot can really be done except for a bit of sanding and glue here and there and then a good quality scuff sheet applied. I'm sure it's still got plenty of life left in it as of yet - I've got to get my moneys worth from it after the disgusting swap deal.

I know matt I'm pulling your leg.

Poor all round mate - especially in trade for a lovely Vantage! I'm the same in the respects I've always wanted to give a joker a go.

[uknsaunders]

I would hope black cat will reply explaining the shoddy service. Given the facebook plugging today maybe post this url and see if you get a response.

Sent from my HTC One mini using Tapatalk

[mattw]

I would hope black cat will reply explaining the shoddy service. Given the facebook plugging today maybe post this url and see if you get a response.

Sent from my HTC One mini using Tapatalk

There's no point really, I'm just going to take it to my trusted, local bat maker to fix up for me

[Fearless Fly]

Looks like you got the rough end of the pineapple there!
Could probably salvage it with glue and tape.
would love to have a crack at salvaging it

[Nmcgee]

Staggering the difference in attitude between bat makers.

I had a well know bat maker here in Oz do a weight reduction on my Torque Players. It was a disgrace and it's best I don't mention his name or business. He spent more time 'slagging' off the quality of my 'Indian made' bat than he did on the refurb.

On the other side of the coin, I got my BAS back from Lavers yesterday and the quality of workmanship is absolutely outstanding.

[Wickets-then-runs]

Staggering the difference in attitude between bat makers.

I had a well know bat maker here in Oz do a weight reduction on my Torque Players. It was a disgrace and it's best I don't mention his name or business. He spent more time 'slagging' off the quality of my 'Indian made' bat than he did on the refurb.

On the other side of the coin, I got my BAS back from Lavers yesterday and the quality of workmanship is absolutely outstanding.

what state are you in, mate?

[Nmcgee]

what state are you in, mate?

NSW but the refurb was done interstate.

[King pair]

I messaged them on Facebook and they were extremely helpful as always I asked 1000 questions. But the proof is in the pudding I suppose. Won't know till I get it back

[Six Sixes Cricket]

I suspect the bat is at least 2-3 years old, with a DIY refurb using a cheap scuff sheet. New bats usually come with a hammer edge.

[Jenko]

I played cricket with a lad who is mates with Charlie from BC Cricket during my stint in the UK. Might send him a message and see if he can shed some light on why he is such a hard man to get a hold of.