Richard & Linda Thompson: Hard Luck Stories (1972-1982) [8CD Box Set; 11th September 2020]

The invoice for $239.11 is more the problem.... I still have to resolve that. If I'm in the clear? Well then fine. I'm more pissed at just how protracted this has all been. I'm lucky in that most any problem with past music purchases has been cleared up quickly. So maybe I've been lucky. I dont have many horror stories.

 

The invoice thing has already been cleared up - it's just so Universal can keep the books straight. No-one is getting charged.

 

Hi folks. Just heard back from Joe Black at Universal. "I can confirm there will be NO charge to anyone for replacement discs".
Good news.

See above. My post from Page 128.
The Invoices appear to be just for Accounting purposes. You aren't being charged and unless Universal have your payment details, how would they recover the cost from you?
I think Universal have been excellent in their resolution of the issue. The only failures in this release:
1. Poor Quality Control with the initial Box Set.
2. The confusing Registration Process for replacement discs - there appeared to be no acknowledgement of Registration resulting in multiple replacement discs being sent out.

 

Thanks.

 

I found a note of Recordstore in the Packaging of the replacement discs indicating a due price of GBP 84,14. It’s normal? I ave to pay?


(Ho trovato nella confezione uno scontrino che indica un debito di GBP 84,14. È normale? Devo pagare?)

 

Anybody else in the UK still waiting for their discs?

 

Received mine this morning. So no, but thought I'd make you aware they are definitely still coming!

 

No.

 

Thanks.

 

Received a 3rd set this morning! I've done a new bespoke cover, how do I post it? (jpg)

 

Thanks. Here's hoping they arrive today.

 

Nothing arrived in sunny Warsaw yet

 

Yes, I can't imagine anyone keeping faulty discs - so that's a non-problem. Buying new will obviously be a gamble as there has only been one production run, so it's a case of caveat emptor - not that there seem to be any sets left. I am sure that anyone selling second hand who has substituted faulty discs will say so and the buyer can ask. It's not surprising that Universal haven't adjusted the artwork as that would have added additional costs.

 

Sellers flipping unopened boxes may be unaware of any problems.

At present there are five sets on discogs (Richard & Linda Thompson - Hard Luck Stories 1972-1982 (Box Set, UK & Europe, 2020) For Sale | Discogs ):

• A set of replacement discs from Austria for €32.99
• An opened set that plays without problems for the UK seller, includes digital files for £125
• An unopened box plus replacement discs from the UK for £220
• An unopened box from the US for $349.99
• An unopened box from NL for €324.90

And on eBay (hard luck stories thompson | eBay )

• A set of replacement discs from the UK for £25
• An opened but unplayed box from the UK, starting price £25.20 with one bid so far
• An unopened box from Canada for CA$374.95
• A set of replacement discs from the UK, starting price £10, up to £25.75 with a couple of days to go

So only two of the six sellers of the original box set appear to acknowledge the problems.

 

Yes well done to all for sorting this out. I hope/ assume the cost involved in doing so will mean better Quality control moving forward.
peace and love✌Dave

 

I did also say it was a matter of caveat emptor, while the fact that on both Discogs and eBay there is mention of replacement discs might alert any potential buyer to the issue.

But the original point you made was that Universal's handling of the situation was unsatisfactory because the new discs look the same as the original discs. Given that not all the original sets were faulty and that anyone who had a faulty set could substitute the bad discs with good ones, Universal seem to me to have met their obligation to bona fide purchasers and to have no moral obligation for the after market and profiteering flippers. What they should have done for retailers, and I have no idea whether or not they did so, is invited them to apply for replacement discs for any unsold stock.

 

How long does it take Universal to reply to your mail? I've contacted them 2 days ago (lots of other things have been more important recently, so I've been slow with this) but haven't heard anything from them yet.

 

It seems to have varied quite a lot - I got a reply within an hour, others took much longer. However, it was a two stage process with an email response first logging the registration of the purchase and providing a link to a download of the discs. This was followed later by an email explaining how to sign up for the replacement discs. There is now confusion because it seems that some people who didn't get any reply initially, emailed and/or registered more than once and got multiple copies of the replacements. In other words it's not entirely clear that a lack of an email response means that you haven't been logged. However, the situation has now changed and in theory you needed to have ordered replacement discs by 15 November to get them. I think it's a good sign that your email didn't get bounced so the email address must still be open, but time is at best running out. I would email again soon and hope you get a reply the second time.

 

Imgur.com is best, I think. Upload it there, then use the file link (www.Imgur.com/examplewdty247.jpg) and link that with the pic icon in the toolbar here. As long as you get the link with an image appropriate filename (.jpg, .bmp, etc.) it’s easy to post here. And Imgur seems to keep images for a very long time. Ones I’ve posted YEARS ago still show in threads, while other sites generate a “file not found” message fairly quickly...

 

It sounds like I've missed the boat. Sadly there were some private things that have been more important lately, including both of my parents having covid.

 

You have your priorities straight! I hope they’re doing ok.

Perhaps a forum member who received extra/unneeded replacement discs can send you theirs? I’m in the States so haven’t received mine and SHOULD only get one set, but we’ll see...

 

Thank you for the offer, I'll let you know if I'll need a set.

 

There is no way they can enforce an arbitrary deadline to replace a defective product. I would email them anyway, the squeaky wheel always gets the grease. It would be severely short-sighted of them to have only manufactured replacement discs for the exact number of requests they received.

 

Absolutely disgusted that the Replacement Disc sets are being flipped. People really have no shame.

 

Apparently a West Coast thing as well. Here in Eugene, OR, my Gramophones since July started showing up this last week. Still missing September, I believe.