Stay away from Monarch!

[muddoctor]

I've read some really revealing posts in this thread at the Hardforums and some behind-the-scenes insight into what was going wrong at MCS. This person posting, Ju-No, said that he worked for MCS until recently when he jumped from that sinking ship and I for one believe the posts. Here is what he posted in that thread:

Originally Posted by Ju-No@HardForums

I ran into a fellow ex-employee today while I was out and about and discovered that Monarch has indeed been bought out. Whoever bought them wanted the rights to sell the Hornet system (since it was I believe a custom chassy).

Anyone who you knew who worked there is gone, from what I heard from this individual.

I feel bad for the company that bought them, as they owed quite a bit to several vendors, and the IRS as well, but that's because apparently someone didn't file the form that says "hey, not everything we sell is in GA, so most of it we don't need to pay tax on it."


Since everyone there is gone now, I'll say that anyone who did a chargeback up until maybe Septemeber, I was the guy who responded. Ditto with BBB. Sorry if I pissed anyone off with my responses, I was just following the company line. Ditto if you got sent to collections. Speaking of collections, if I get a bored day I'll post a copy of a letter we got from a guy we sent to collections. It's not related to the topic at hand really, but it's at least funny.

Another post now:

Originally Posted by Ju-No@HardForums

General Crespin:

The problems at Monarch started a good while ago, things started getting bad at the end of 2005, and during 2006 it just got crazy as the year progressed. Chargebacks just went up and up and up.

The rumblings I heard was that MCS had outside financing, which more or less was how they paid for the expansion they experienced. Then they didn't renew the financing because the head honcho decided he wanted to go it alone. So then we were wokring with a lto less cash. Refunds were stacking up, and we could maybe process ~$2000 a day, and then only if we got authorization, which generally didn't happen. We kept cataloging them, but they just piled up in an empty cubicle.

We had less cash, so we had a limited amount of inventory on hand. (On a side note, we had wayyyy too many cases in the warehouse (for some reason the head of purchasing was proud of the large number of cases we offered). Toward the end of my tenure there, the store had what seemed like a hundred cases, covering every available counter space, and they were just the scratch and dents.). We kept a good stock of commonly ordered items, but all the somewhat uncommon stuff that was listed as "in stock" on the website was really ordered in a just in time manner from several ATL distributors.

In the end there just wasn't any cashflow. The buyout is the end of MCS as it was known. No one that anyone here might has known is there anymore.


hardwarephreak:

"Seems you answer a good many questions here. The part that especially concerns me is the part where you say that you were just following company line. Any chance you could fill us all in a bit more about the "company line" and what it exactly was. I have a feeling it will be eye opening, and at the same time make people cringe a little."

The company line was to hold on to as much cash for as long as possible. When people would call in about refunds, they were told "oh, I'll forward it to the credit dept and expedite that since you've been waiting so long" or a myriad number of excuses. The Terms and Conditions were modified to refunds taking up to 30 days, it used to be 14 days.

With chargebacks, there were a few ways to hold on to cash. If it was from AMEX or Discover dispute I would wait until the last day possible to reply, especially if it was a cancel refund, where they were definetly due their money back.
In most cases I just warped the T&C to try and hold on to cash. If they bought a refurb item and returned it, I would say they weren't due a refund since reurb items were non-returnable and non-refundable. We would be happy to send them item back when the chargeback was resolved in our favor. That actually worked sometimes. Same deal if someone sent something back without an RMA.

I felt bad doing it sometimes (except on refurb items, it's pretty much clear that you're on your own in that case, or when peopel tried to return an item they bought a long freakin' time ago), but it was my job.

It basically turned into a "screw everyone you can" during the death throws. Screw customers by holding cash. Screw distributors by getting all the parts you can and lying about when you'll pay them. They evern screwed me in the end. I had about 2 weeks of PTO saved up, and I turned in my 2 weeks notice, but during the last week just couldn't stay anymore, so I turned in a form to use 2 days of PTO for the last 2 days. When I got my alst paycheck I got a typed note stating that I hadn't fulfilled my 2 weeks, so I forfited my PTO, and they included my PTO form with a nice big "REFUSED" written on it. They'd never previosuly refused a PTO request.

Oh well, my new job is better. Aside from a longish commute I have better coworkers, I learn more, and the pay is better.

And a third post:

Originally Posted by Ju-No@HardForums

Well ethics and seeing the company going down had me looking to jump ship.

It wasn't said in the words I stated, but that's what it amounted too. Those orders could only come from on high, there was no middle management. The leadership structure had the head honcho (Trey and Sterling's dad) at the top. He was the dicision maker. Sterling was in charge of purchasing, and Trey didn't do much of anything but drive a car the company paid for, arranging advertising, and coming to work maybe 3 days a week, but in the end they both answered to their dad.

In the end, it didn't matter if the person was in college, high school, or an elderly woman on a pension. They wanted to get the money immediately when the order was placed, regardless of wether or not they acually had access to the product.


Was the $600 on a CC? If you never recieved anything, the CC company has to let you do a chargeback. CC give you a lot of right in an online transaction, and they often circumvent any Terms and Conditions you agree to.

Now I don't know much about law, but some of the stuff this person is describing sounds illegal to me. And I would recommend that you follow the link and read through this section of that thread, which is on the last page or so.

[michaels39]

Since we only have Ju-No's word that he worked for Monarch,and I can't say I approve of the ethics he demonstrated while allegedly working there,I won't take his word as gospel as to what happened.That being said,the actions he describes seem all too plausible.Just reading complaint after complaint from ripped off customers leaves little doubt in my mind that honesty and morality have become foreign concepts to Monarch's ownership.And it seems to me the poster calling himself ACTUAL1TY who shows up to slam Ju-No and try and debunk him is far less believable,anyone who states that Monarch did nothing illegal,that he respects it's owners,and that they never tried to "screw anyone over" is either a naive fool or a company tool.And we've seen plenty of those turn up here and in other forums since this started.

[CW3SF]

There was only one guy( DAVID in tech. support) who helped me in my half a year ordeal with MONARCH. With out him I would be out $4000 and without a "gaming computer" that is OK and can be retrofitted and fixed.

I hope he does well in the future.

For all of the rest of those %@&*%$!!^&%$!! may the fleas of a thousand diesease ridden camels infest their arm pits!!

[michaels39]

Have you seen Dell's ratings?They may be better than Monarch,but that's not a stellar distinction.Some of their deals may sound good,but once you take a good look at the components,you see how little you're getting.And their "support" is located somewhere on the far side of the world.(Which world I'm not sure of yet. )

[frostbitetwice]

Originally Posted by michaels39

Have you seen Dell's ratings?They may be better than Monarch,but that's not a stellar distinction.Some of their deals may sound good,but once you take a good look at the components,you see how little you're getting.And their "support" is located somewhere on the far side of the world.(Which world I'm not sure of yet. )

I completely agree with you, michaels. I was on their web site the other day and all of their components are white labels, with the exception of the CPUs and graphic cards, which were very dated.

[Mindreaper]

Originally Posted by Brigette R.

I'm on my third RMA with Monarch Computor! The purchase of a custom built Hornet was a costly ugly mistake. I ordered this PC in January and it arrived in early Febuary. I bought a lemon. I've had approximately one and a half months of use. The majority of the time Monarch has been reapairing my PC. This time, they have been in possession of my PC since September 25. My patience has expired and I believe that I have been ripped off. I am convinced that Monarch is closing its doors and will no longer continue to do business. Despite my persistant calls on a daily basis, Monarch will not return to me my PC. They will not give me my moneyback. This is deliberate thievery! Monarch will not return my phone calls despite the many messages I have left. The entire technical support team is aware of my circumstances. I have concluded that they don't care and that their actions are deliberate. I believe that they are closing their doors because they aren't answerering their phones because there are no employees. The sales department is the only active department with Jason answering calls. I've been told that they are restructering and to continue to be patient. Their website is still active and they continue to solicit business. They continue to advertise a 24/7 technical support service knowing that there is none. The 24 hour support phone number is disconnected. One can observe that the parts available for sale on their website is shrinking. I've been ripped off, dogged- out down and dirty. The value of my PC is valued over $3500.00 dollars. I live in California. I must persue this matter legally. I must observe the process of filing civil suit in the Satate of Georgia, and bring this matter to the attention of the Attorney General Department of Fraud in the State of Georgia and the State of California. The skeleton staff of Monarch, I believe, are closing out. The Monarch store is open and the website is still active. Buyer beware! Stay away from Monarch!

Brigette R,

There's a federal ruling by the U.S. Supreme court that says that a company can NOT put forth a decree in any legally binding paperwork that would discriminate against the consumer's ability to pursue legal recourse. In other words, although MCS has written into their "contract", that we the consumer sign at the time of purchase, that you can ONLY file legal recourses against MCS in Georgia, it's illegal. The premis of the ruling was that it discriminated against the those who are unable to make it to, in this case Atlanta Georgie, whether it be for financial, social, or physical means. Other companies have tried this in the past and they've lost every time when it hits a federal level.

The thing is that anyone can go down to their county courthouse and file a complaint against anyone, at any time, for any reason. In this case, the company would be notified that they are being summoned to, in my case it's Franklin, TN, Williamson County, and must appear on whatever date the court decides to answer the charges. They have no choice since it's a legal summons. There's more to it than what i've just said but call an attorney in your local area, and if they're any good they'll tell you pretty much the same thing i just did.

As for me, even if i had to go to Atlanta and file the charge, i would do it in a New York minute! Granted, i only live 4 hours away but still, i would do it in a heartbeat just to ensure that the bastards got everything they deserved and didn't screw me over.

MR

[michaels39]

Just saw that Puget Computers is offering free labor to repair computers bought from Monarch and still under their warranty.
http://www.pugetsystems.com/monarch_computer.php
Note that this only covers labor,you'd still have to pay for parts and shipping,so anyone who paid for Monarch's extended parts and labor warranty is still screwed.Puget gets excellent ratings here for quality and support,but their prices are high.Not as outrageous as Alienware,Falcon,ect.,but I can get the same system from other well rated sites for $700 less than their price.

[mclazyj]

Well, I filled out my customer dis-service form. Most was choose the answer, and to most of those, I answered Worst. Then there was a comment on your service area and I let loose. I am sure at this point that it is moot, but I felt the need to say it.

Secondly, the company that bought out the company, wouldn't they be liable for the debts and warranties of customers, along with the return of people's merchandise. I am glad to see someone might be picking up the pieces and may even honor my warranty, but I still would never shop at a place that associates themselves with Monarch or any of their products. They have lost me as a customer due to this horrible process.

[michaels39]

I still have trouble believing anyone would want to buy out Monarch,look at all the problems they'd inherit.One look at their website tells you they have practically no inventory left.One rumor is that some company wants the rights to their Hornet systems,but there are plenty of small form cases and components out there a company could use to do their own system without buying into this mess.
Puget isn't involved in any way with Monarch,they're just offering help to those who have been abandoned by Monarch.I'm sure it's not entirely a charitable move on their part,they hope those they help will choose them as a replacement for their computing needs.But they are donating their time and labor costs to do it.But it doesn't in any way let Monarch's owners off the hook.If there's any real justice left,someone will be facing huge fines and maybe jail time for this.

[Ballast]

From Spectre:a moderator over at [H]ard Forum

Looks like the Systemax deal might go through.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread....post1030384386