CGS Aviation - Hawk: Be careful who you trust

[tigger_na]

Good morning

It is very sad that my first post to this group is so negative, but I feel that it is necessary to warn prospective clients of the business methods of CGS Aviation, manufacturer of the Hawk Microlight and represented by Mr. Danny Dezauche. These business methods are under attack on several forums. CGS is responding by blaming the depression, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and even their own customers! I, on the other hand, blame the customer service and honesty of CGS. Some of you may have had good experiences with CGS, and some may have been unpleasant. This is mine:

In January 2011 I paid for two Hawks, making it crystal clear that the second Hawk was not a firm order, but was dependent on me being able to sell it to a buyer I would try to find in Namibia. I did this so that I could share the
cost of shipping and take advantage of a then very favorable exchange rate. Sadly I wasn't able to find a buyer and had to cancel the second Hawk in early March.

In the beginning the communication from CGS was fast and courteous. The advice I got from Danny was excellent; he saved me from investing in an air-cooled VW power plant that would have given me endless overheating problems. Thank you, Danny.

Things started to go pear-shaped when I inquired about the balance of my funds in August. Danny told me that he had used them to fund his SLSA project. I was annoyed, to say the least, as I was not informed that my funds would be tied up in a project I had no control over, but Danny assured me that he would refund me as soon as he shipped my Hawk.

Delivery date estimations were requested and went unanswered. In the beginning this wasn't an issue, because I wouldn't have the time to complete the kit anyway and my ducks were all over the place. Later, when I had them nicely lined up, communications went from bad to worse, to such an extent that it was basically impossible for me to organize packaging and shipping to a degree and price I found acceptable. When I proposed a shipping route Danny advised against it. When I asked for alternatives I didn't get an answer. Many e-mails went unanswered and by now it was impossible to get hold of CGS on the phone, due to what I presume is an answering service from hell. I attached one of our e-mails, to give you an idea of what may be in store for you. In the end I was forced to override Danny's entire shipping plan to get my Hawk shipped, which eventually happened in late November 2011.

During the course of my dealings with CGS I had developed a bad feeling about my refund and decided to employ an attorney to handle the receipt thereof. I sent Danny reconciliations of my orders and the refund due, but despite his promises I never received an agreement (or disagreement) thereto. When I informed Danny that the receipt of my refund (not the negotiation of it, which we would agree upon amongst ourselves) would be handled by my attorney, he undertook to appoint his own lawyer, accused me of being in breach of contract and broke off all communications.

I do not know how he considers our contract to be breached. How do you break a purchase order if you paid as agreed??? I do not know how much I am supposed to pay for his supply and services and thus how much he owes me (around USD 15,000, that much is for sure). I have a Hawk en-route (actually, I don't know how to pay for the shipping when it gets here!), but by the time it gets to Namibia I won't have the time to assemble it, as my window of opportunity will have passed long since. I have no funds left to pay for the MGL Odyssey I so dearly want to install in the Hawk. I paid CGS Aviation in honest and hard-earned cash and now I must resort to an attorney to see to it that I get it back. This is not how business is handled between honest men, this is not how *I *do business, but I cannot jeopardize my investment any further and am between a rock and a hard place. Grown men fighting via attorneys, what a disgrace!

The whole affair may still reach a satisfactory solution but my hopes are dwindling fast. If it does I will let you know.

Maybe you will receive better service, and I sincerely hope you do. From all I hear on this and other forums the Hawk has very loyal supporters and is the best value for money out there. Maybe I am treated this way because I cannot drive to the States and sort this out myself? One thing I learned from this is that I will never, ever, again pay upfront before the supplier is ready for shipping. How f* stupid can one be? Maybe you can learn from my experience too.

Blue skies
Arthur

PS: This is not a reflection of the service of the Austin family in South Africa, the local agents of the Hawk. When I started this transaction I bypassed the Austin's, simply because USA-Durban-Johannesburg-Namibia seemed like a very complicated way of getting a Hawk into my hangar. In retrospect I can assure you that it is not. My dealings with the Austins was always pleasurable and if you want to own a Hawk I can only recommend that you get in touch with them.

[Thatchman]

In every industry you will find different degrees of service levels and honesty and these ultimately result in a good or bad reputation for each business.

Just look at Paul lintot. He knows what he is talking about, is honest and provides very good service. Hence people do not hestitate to use him. He has a good reputation in our community.

Surely when one looks at making a large investment like this, you consider the size and reputation of the supplier. Especially a foreign supplier where you know it will be difficult and expensive to resolve differences.

Thats partly why I chose an RV as Vans are the largest kit manufacturerer in the world with worldwide customers and a good reputation

Also not good to publically slander a Company like this. Whilst I am sure that your intentions to warn are good, its also emotionally charged and could easily lead to a defamation charge with potential legal costs and damages. maybe just stating that you have had an unhappy experience with them is enough. I would look to edit your post and tone any slanderous comments down a bit. You can still get the message accross.

Good luck. I hope you can recover some funds and get your plane in the air.

[tigger_na]

Hi Thatchman

Thank you for your advice. Even if it doesn't look like it, I have tried hard to write an impartial letter. Looks like I haven't succeeded. . But I will not edit it. Slander is "a malicious, false, and defamatory statement". There is nothing malicious, false or defamatory anything about my post. I can prove every single statement I made here, otherwise I wouldn't have made it. I have in turn been accused by Danny of "trying to run his business from Africa", "causing delays" or "breaching our contract". I have asked about an explanation every time these accusations were hurled at me, but I never received any. Besides, to get the message to be careful across and into the thick skulls of people like me, using pink words will not do.

And I'm not going to be too hard on myself for getting all hot and bothered either: This guy has, what, R125,000 of my money and has the gall to accuse me of "breach of contract"? I thought that these kind of manufacturers were weeded out by now. Much to my surprise they aren't. This is a great sport, we have a great community, we're untouchable in our pipe contraptions, but these vrot apples just spoil the fun for everyone.

Best regards
Arthur

[Johan]

Arthur
You started wrong from the beginning,
Dave Austin, the local Hawk agent gave his support but you decided to save a buck and under play the local agent and try to import yourself. What a lame excuse to say it’s a long road from Durban.
I’ve got no sympathy with your predicament.
I bought 2 Hawks through the Austin family with no hick-ups what so ever.
You make it sound as if CGS Aviation is a bunch of crooks but you didn’t walk straight on this one my friend.
Good luck with your project. You gonna do this one without local support and it seems if you had burn bridges big time over in the good US of A
Johan
A happy Hawk owner

[nicow]

Athur
I hope you get your money back.

[ZS-NEL]

I have spoken to Dave Austin a few times when I was still at African Pilot magazine and he seems like a very nice guy, however reading the rude e-mails from the owner of CGS aviation I don't know if I will ever order a Hawk, not even through Dave Austin. That is not the way you speak to customers no matter how wrong they are.

[falconp1]

Just to add some spice to the mix.

http://www.junkmail.co.za/v-pretoria-mo ... EdQX201145

I think it was unethical of the manufacturer to bypass the South African agent in the first place. If that was in fact what happened here.

[nicow]

I have spoken to Dave Austin a few times when I was still at African Pilot magazine and he seems like a very nice guy, however reading the rude e-mails from the owner of CGS aviation I don't know if I will ever order a Hawk, not even through Dave Austin. That is not the way you speak to customers no matter how wrong they are.

I agree.

[ZS-NEL]

Arthur, where are you based? I am so eager to get this going : http://www.infozone.tv/index.php?option ... &Itemid=70

I would like to set up Skype video interviews with all concerned parties if they agrees.

[tigger_na]

Hi Johan

I hear what you're saying, but maybe you understand me wrong?

• I want to assemble my own airplane. One will never know every nut and bolt as when you do when you finish it yourself. It is not only a question of cost (actually, the price I got from the Austins is less then what I will lose in income if I assemble myself). It's a question of safety. And learning. And fun.
• Yes, I started wrong from the beginning. Hindsight is 20/20, isn't it? The purpose of my post is to help others not make the same mistakes I did. The advice I have is: Use the local agent wherever you can, even if you have to make compromises. Taking the road less traveled means there'll be no-one to stop and help if you get stuck in the mud. It is an adventure and you'll be all the wiser for it, but make sure you have the means (financially , time-wise and emotionally) to deal with it.
• It is not a lame excuse at all to say Durban is far. Johannesburg is 2,100 km by road from the Hawk's hangar on the farm. My dad brought a Thunderbird up from Johannesburg in April, and besides the fact that it isn't something you want to ask of someone, ever again, it is not something you want to do to your plane. You can always fly it up, sure, but how do you get a license without a plane? Sometimes the egg has to come before the chicken.
• CGS Aviation (the one in Grand Bay, Alabama, under the ownership of Danny Dezauche) isn't necessarily a bunch of crooks. All I know is that their way of dealing with a customer (in my case, there's always two sides to a story, so maybe yours will be different) is atrocious and you may have to fight them with an attorney if push comes to shove. Whether they are crooks I will only know when the dust has settled.

I see in another post that the Austins want to sell the Hawk agency. Which is a crying shame. Technically they are 100% capable of constructing and maintaining Hawks, their customer service is excellent, they have all the experience you can wish for and the prices are reasonable. It is very difficult to keep a business like that profitable (I cannot for the life of me imagine how it can be done) and people like me make it all the more difficult (on the other hand, had I been in South Africa there's no chance that I would have bought direct). The Hawk is the best compromise you can make with a three-axis microlight for farming, and I'm eternally grateful that, at least, I have one. I wish they would reconsider.

Best regards
Arthur

[tigger_na]

Good evening

I promised to keep the group posted about any developments:

First the good news: CGS refunded the greater part of my deposit.

And then the bad news: CGS withheld USD 2,617.83 from the refund, without any explanation whatsoever. The amount is made up as follows:
$120: Increases on previously agreed prices for the fast-built kit and fibreglass nosecone.
$250: Increase on previously agreed price to handle third party equipment. The total handling charge ($750) was for receiving, storing and dispatching two smaller parcels and one welding machine and to my mind is completely over the top. Especially since CGS agreed to a $500 maximum before the first order was sent to them.
$750: For change orders. I am not aware of any change orders, but have not received a response to my request for an explanation. Instead, I have received this little jewel from CGS: "i will also involve my state department and anyone else i think i can to investigate your money dealings etc". This is from a supplier to a paying customer!
$600: Apparently a "bank mistake" of CGS's bank, which CGS refuses to investigate.
$897.83: Instead of buying $1,240 worth of equipment directly from Aircraft Spruce and Company, I bought via CGS, based on their assurance that they were a ASC dealer. I don't have a problem with companies turning a profit (that is, after all, how I am able to afford a Hawk in the first place), but nearly $900 markup on a @1,200 order is ridiculous.

My original advice is even clearer now: If you have to have a Hawk, DO NOT BUY IT FROM THE FACTORY. Use a dealer instead, and don't be too hard on him, because at the end of the day they too have to deal with this crook.

To end on a humorous note, the last line from the last e-mail from CGS: "you have caused me mental stress and health issues with your false accusations and i feel i have damages against you because of this".

Blue skies
Arthur