Northwest Analogue cartridge repair

[A Stuart]

I have given two years' cooling off period debating on whether to post this, given that a near irreplaceable amenity is being supplied.

Having previously seen favourable mention of Northwest Analogue in this forum, I sent a cartridge for repair to Dominic Harper of Northwest Analogue, paying upfront £1000+ in 2016.

My experience was that I suffered over two years of multiple repeated empty assurances again and again that “it would be ready in a couple more weeks”.
If they had simply said it would not be ready for another year or more, I could have accepted that and bought a cheap cartridge to be going on with, but instead I was continually given ever more fanciful explanations what was going on.

I became genuinely concerned that I had been conned out of £1000+ and that the business was no longer operating, so for only the second time in my whole life I was driven to contacting Trading Standards.
After fully two years (let's look at that as 20% of my expectancy before my hearing deteriorates), a formal letter drafted for me produced remarkably prompt results.


Dominic seems hugely knowledgeable and capable, but he absolutely couldn't/wouldn't see that I was trying to explain from a paying customer's point of view, that his whole service was being stabbed in the back by the false facts I was being sent.
He kept repeating, as an answer, how his £1000 worth of work was really worth at least £2000 – in essence he was doing me a favour.
He did not think the paying customer was entitled to a point of view. He even assured me it had been OK to send me these fobbing-off emails, because Natalie (who appears to act as secretary/manager) “didn't always know what was actually happening”.

So, the work was done, but the experience was appalling.