Fire in Saddle makers factory?

[katastrophykat]

Hi All! You guys usually have your ears to the ground so I thought I’d ask if you had heard anything about a fire in a saddle maker’s factory, UK based, in the last couple of weeks?
Friend has been waiting months for a made to measure saddle and the latest excuse (yes, I know- covid delays... but this is now about 6 months... and has had a large down payment cleared at time of ordering) is that there has been a fire in the factory which has stopped production. Google searches have not found any news stories to back up the claim- has anyone heard anything??
Thank you!

 

[DirectorFury]

I'd guess that a small fire (that might impact materials, smoke damage of items being made) wouldn't necessarily make the news? Is there anything on the Facebook page for the brand or their fitters?

 

[katastrophykat]

No, nothing- it’s a one man band, I assumed that another company makes them to his spec and requirements. It’s a well known and respected fitter, so we wouldn’t usually worry, but it just sounded a bit odd.

 

[PeterNatt]

I hope that the down payment was made by Credit Card in which case the purchaser can ask for a 'Charge Back' and get their money back and find a more reputable saddler to make their saddle for them. If not then their only recourse is to ask for their money back or if they fail to co-operate make an application to the small claims court which can be done on-line.