Ignoring the advice of many on this board, I ordered a flute from Sam Murray almost 2 years ago and paid for it almost 1.5 years ago (January before last).
Since then I have emailed, phoned, left messages, been in person to his shop once, and had a friend of mine in Loughrea try to track him down. I’m in Loughrea now, and my friend has discovered Sam has moved his shop. Does anyone know where he has gone or how I can get ahold of him?
Thanks…
Well that sucks, big time. One of these stories every year, and people keep sending money… 
I’m afraid The Last Train has Left Loughrea, or at least Vincent Broderick tells us. . .
You have my deepest sympathies. . .
Bob
Yes, I can’t complain in the sense that I was warned… I’ll add my voice to the multitude and say don’t send him any money until you have the flute in hand.
[Thread given a minor dusting. Carry on 
- Mod]
Isn’t it really high time there was a sticky post here warning about Sam Murray. How many times does this need to happen?
Do you want to pay for Dale’s legal fees for editorially singling out one maker? Great! We’ll let you know where to send the check.
Should have happened long ago, but I doubt it ever will. Too politically incorrect.
Uh, no. But thanks for explaining that to us.
No need for a snarky response, truly.
Perhaps not, Chris. But there’s no need to raise this issue again, either. Truly.
The Chiffboard is not going to take an administrative action - creating a sticky thread - that exposes the board to potential legal liability and/or violation of the Safe Harbor provisions of US internet law.
We have no objection to members honestly describing their interactions, good or bad, with a maker or any individual, within the guidelines set out by the board’s CCCP Rules.
And we encourage members to use the searching, browsing, and partipation functions of the board to read up on anyone they expect to do business with - as the OP here obviously did.
Cheers,
Yet there is a sticky warning folks about Pakistani flutes. Hopefully, the entire country doesn’t decide to sue Dale…
I understand the concerns about singling out one individual, yet it apparently goes on and on. As Jon C. mentioned earlier, it just sucks that this comes up again and again.
Best wishes.
Steve
That topic title is actually (and deliberately) “Cheap eBay Flutes” - a broader category, with members filling in details from their own experiences.
But yes … When you’ve been around the block as long as Dale has, you’re bound to have ticked off an entire nation-state or two along the way. I mean, c’mon, who hasn’t?
I know I have.
Is that supposed to be a bad thing?
Ok if a sticky warning people not to send money to Sam, or leave flutes in his workshop isn’t on the cards, how about if people who’ve had flutes and/or money stolen by Sam Murray just post their stories on the Lost/Stolen/Missing Instruments Chiff & Fipple forum, even though we know who the thief is?
Big accusation there. You have evidence of this, do you? Apart from your personal opinion? (To be clear, by “evidence” I mean something that would stand up in court.)
NONE of them have asked me back.
Big accusation there. You have evidence of this, do you? Apart from your personal opinion?
Well, in all fairness, it’s not the first time we discussed how Steampacket left his flute in for repair and never got it back. Personal opinion? Personal experience.
I am all against trial by internet and very much dislike it if people who have had no dealings with Sam start piling on here in righteous indignation but Thomas has a case and is a left flute short.
“Big accusation there. You have evidence of this, do you? Apart from your personal opinion? (To be clear, by “evidence” I mean something that would stand up in court.)” benhall.
Evidence? Yes of course, a witness who was with me when I handed over the flute personally to Sam in his Galway City workshop. E-mails from Sam concerning the flute, One e-mail from Sam requesting 20 euros postage to send the flute back to Sweden. I paid the money into Sam’s account, but he still didn’t send the flute. As for court, well Sam’s in Galway and I’m in Sweden. I had Galway small claims court launched proceedings, but they cannot force the offending party to pay up, if the person doesn’t have funds. See the relevant C&F thread - I’ve moved on, written the flute off, no point in wasting time and energy, and I have better flutes. Just a shame he’s still ripping people off.
Maybe to take this thread in a different direction (and I’m never going to buy a flute from him - for sure!), but has anyone ever had a GOOD experience with Mr Murray? All I’ve ever heard, and I’ve been on this board for a while, are bad comments and experiences with him.
Pat