From what i can see SO FAR:
Ernie made clear to the individual that was going to do the work that the unit was purchased second-hand and did have a serial number. From that point on, it was up to the individual doing the labor to do their homework to verify if the unit was eligible for said service / upgrades under their specific policies PRIOR to Ernie making arrangements to have said unit delivered. As far as Ernie is concerned, he did what was within his power and knowledge to produce what should have been an easy-going transaction.
FS Audio was a dealer that got stuck in the middle of a transaction that lacked good communications. No fault or blame should be put on them for anything and i don't think that anybody has pointed fingers at them at this point in time. Their offer to try and work with Ernie is quite valiant given the fact that they are now fully aware of the up-hill battle that they face.
The distributor of EC or "Alan" as Ernie referred to him lacks customer skills and is a "jag". He did not follow through on the information that was presented to him, HIGHLY inconvenienced an owner of the product from the company that he represents and gave said customer nothing but grief. As such, he is a poor company representative and quite lacking as a "human". If all EC products are delivered, guaranteed and upgraded via "Alan" within the USA, i would avoid buying an EC product in the future. That is, so long as Alan is involved with the transaction and maintains the same attitude towards customer support. This is sad though, as i personally like and have recommended the EC player to several others. I will stop doing so immediately.
With all of the above in mind, Ernie has yet to contact EC directly and should do so immediately. I would NOT take the "vocal" approach as this would put EC on the defensive. Ernie should contact EC and explain that he owns one of their products that he purchased second hand. I would tell them that you were basically happy with the unit but were looking for ways to improve the performance of your system. As such, you had found out that there was an upgrade that could be done to this unit and you would like to do so. At the same time, you might want to mention that you had no reason to purchase another product from another company so long as EC was willing to offer good customer and product support. Doing such would allow you as a customer to continue to support a company and product that you had been quite happy with in the past. You should ask them how you can go about having the upgrade installed and who to contact. If they mention Alan, it is time to explain the situation while highlighting the fact that he was a truly poor representative of their company and that you simply wanted to continue to enjoy your EC product in upgraded form and he left you hanging. That is the high and low of the situation in a nutshell.
If EC truly is a "good company", it should not matter where the product was purchased if one of their customers is willing to pay for service and / or upgrades. Things would be different if it were a stolen item or the work was being submitted under the guise of a warranty claim, but since that does not come into the equation and the US distributor has already confirmed that the unit is not stolen, they should be able to make arrangements with a US dealer to satisfy Ernie's desires.
Needless to say, I will be curious to see where this goes. Sean
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