RADIO SALES AND REPAIRS - TERMS AND CONDITIONS
PLUS GUARANTEE AND POSTAGE INFORMATION

In the nineteen-sixties, when I was a young man, I worked for a radio and television company as a service engineer. I went to college for five years and passed the City and Guilds Radio and Television Serving Exam. I then worked for a marine electronics company repairing radar, sonar, echo sounders, VHF and HF ship to shore communications equipment, and just about anything else they threw at me. I'm also a licensed radio amateur, my call sign is G4NSJ. But, apart from that, radio was and still is my hobby. Why am I telling you all this? Because I want you to know that I do have some knowledge of valve radios - over forty years experience, in fact. I do have to be business-like if you are giving me money in return for a restored radio or a radio repair, that's why this page is here. You don't want to be ripped off, and I don't want to be left out of pocket. So, here are a few rules by which you and I will abide...

MY CUSTOMER CARE POLICY...

The most important aspect of my business is customer satisfaction. A satisfied customer will recommend me to friends and family and, hopefully, I'll get more repair work and sales as a result. Part of my customer care policy is to provide an online progress report on radios in for repair. Rather than be left in the dark, wondering what's happening to your treasured radio, you can check the progress of your radio HERE. As far as I'm aware, this online service is unique to The Radio Workshop.

Please don't hesitate to email or phone me if you have any questions. I'm in the workshop all day every day, apart from the odd occasion when I pop out to the local corner shop for some milk. I'm here to help and I welcome your emails and phone calls. No matter how small or trivial you think your question might be, contact me and we'll talk about it. I'm Ray, my phone number is 01903 610090

SAFETY - AC/DC RADIOS

For safety reasons, I disconnect and isolate gram or pick up sockets on the rear of the AC/DC type of restored radios that I sell. I use class X or class Y safety capacitors where necessary - now class X1 X2 Y1 Y2 etc. I also disconnect and isolate high impedance extension speaker sockets where they are connected directly to the HT rail. These changes are purely for safety reasons and are not permanent and in no way have a detrimental effect on the radio or devalue the radio.

WHEN I SELL A VINTAGE RADIO TO YOU...

I take great care and spend many hours restoring vintage valve radios. The last thing I want to do when they're working beautifully and looking great is sell them. If I had a huge house and loads of money, I'd keep all my radios. In fact, I'd open a radio museum. I don't have a huge house or loads of money so I have to sell some of my restored radios. If you buy a radio from me, I can assure you that I will have restored it to a very high standard. I don't send the wooden cabinets away to a professional cabinet restorer because it would probably cost ten times more than the radio is worth. Besides, a radio of some fifty or sixty years old would look rather odd if the cabinet looked brand new. Vintage radios are vintage, and their cabinets will tend to reflect their age. Do bear in mind that a vintage radio will not be as sensitive as a modern solid state radio, so you may not be able to hear The Voice Of America on short wave quite as well as you would on a modern transistor radio.

BUYING A VINTAGE RADIO FROM ME...

If you buy a vintage radio from me, do not remove the back or bottom covers. Why? Because you could kill yourself. Apart from that, the guarantee will be null and void if you've had your fingers inside the radio and fiddled about with it. The screws on the back and bottom covers of the radios are sealed - break the seal and the guarantee is null and void. You will use the radio and care for it in a proper manner. You will not pour beer or other liquids down the back of the radio and then come crying to me because it blew up. Apart from anything else, it would be a waste of good beer. Due to the age of vintage radios, and their components, you will not leave it unattended when switched on. Fires can be caused by any electrical equipment, and vintage radios are no exception. You will unplug the radio from the wall socket when the radio is not in use.

IMPORTANT GUARANTEE INFORMATION
please read this carefully

On restored vintage radios

MY GUARANTEE ON RESTORED RADIOS The radios that I have restored carry a one year guarantee, from date of purchase, against parts and labour. This guarantee does not cover abuse or misuse of the radio. If you smash the radio by dropping it, you can return it to me but I'll charge you for the work. In case of a genuine fault, I will repair the radio free of charge. If, for whatever reason, I am unable to repair the radio, I will replace it with a radio of equal value but not necessarily the same make or model. However, it is highly unlikely that I won't be able to rectify the fault. The guarantee is not transferable. If you sell or pass the radio on to someone else, the guarantee becomes null and void. POSTAGE COSTS You will return the radio to me and collect the radio from me at your own expense - this includes postage charges both ways. For further information on my guarantee, click here

IF YOU BRING YOUR RADIO TO ME TO BE REPAIRED...

If you bring your radio to me for repair, I will locate the faults and tell you roughly how much it will cost you for me to put it right. If you'd like your radio serviced, click HERE for my full service procedure. If you simply want your radio fixed, I will replace the valve or other faulty component to get the radio working again. Having said that, I will not give the radio back to you in a dangerous condition.

On repaired vintage radios

MY GUARANTEE ON REPAIRED RADIOS Radios that I have repaired for you will carry a one year guarantee against the repair I have carried out. Having said that, I take pride in my work and, if your radio packs up a month or so after the guarantee has run out, and it's down to my workmanship, I'll fix it free of charge. That's the way things were in the good old days. The guarantee is not transferable. If you sell or pass the radio on to someone else, the guarantee becomes null and void. POSTAGE COSTS You will return the radio to me and collect the radio from me at your own expense - this includes postage charges both ways. For further information on my guarantee, click here

PRICING OF REPAIRS...

Unlike some radio engineers, I don't charge by the hour. So, how do I price a repair? I work out the overall price on the aggregate of the replacement parts, the time the repair takes and the complexity of the faults. This may sound terribly un-businesslike, but it's fair and it works very well. What I will not do, unlike some engineers, is cost the price of the repair work according to the value of the radio. If you check out other restorers in the UK, you will find that my prices are way below theirs. Please don't be put off by this. I charge a fair price for a good job. Other restorers may also do a good job, but some seem to think that customers have unlimited funds!

ESTIMATES

I cannot guess at an estimate over the phone or by email if I haven't seen the radio and checked it over. Once I have checked the radio and discovered the faults, I will advise the customer of the approximate cost of the repair before going ahead with the work. Please bear in mind that I can't always give the exact cost because, very often, other faults will become apparent once I've got the radio working. Where possible, I will send estimates by email so that both the customer and I have the estimate in writing. If the customer does not have an email address, I will post the estimate. Please be aware that an estimate to repair or restore your radio will not include the cost of repairing or restoring the cabinet - unless otherwise stated. During a radio repair or restoration, I will give the cabinet a quick clean and polish as part of the service procedure. However, full cabinet restoration, including speaker cloth replacement, is a separate issue.
PLEASE NOTE... I never include the cost of post and packing when giving an estimate. Return post and packing has nothing to do with the estimate and is costed separately.

PAYMENTS...

I accept payments by PayPal, cash, bank transfer, personal cheque or postal order. Payment must be made in cash if you are collecting a restored or repaired radio in person. Payment can be made via PayPal, bank transfer, personal cheque or Postal Order, prior to your collecting or my posting your radio back to you.

PLEASE NOTE

If you are unable to collect your radio on completion of the repair work, and it is likely to remain with me for several weeks, I will require payment on completion of the work.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON'T PICK UP YOUR RADIO AND YOU DON'T PAY ME?

If you don't pay me for the work I've done, you won't get your radio back. That's fair, isn't it? If you don't collect your radio within three months after I've repaired it and I've notified you that it is ready for collection, I will dispose of it as I think fit. I have to do this because I just don't have the space to store repaired radios for months on end. Hopefully, you'll pay for and collect your radio and we'll both be happy.

POSTING A RADIO TO ME...

Please read this IMPORTANT NOTICE concerning postage.

YOU CAN CHECK THE PROGRESS OF YOUR RADIO REPAIR HERE

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