I got several of the ACS IDE to CF adapters down at RE-PE in Tukwila for $4 each... haven't tried them yet.

I understand that the VS-840's are fussy about what CF cards are used...

RE: Complaint ID: 98383965 filed 2/11/2009 and closed 3/26/2009

When I filed the complaint against Roland Corp. U S, of 5100 South Eastern Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90040 (Phone: (323) 890-3700), the BBB info on the company had at least 3 unresolved complaints and the company had a "C-" grade, if I recall correctly.

Following Roland's initial response on 02/25/2009, I submitted a rebuttal on 02/28/2009 because their reply was deceptive concerning the frequency of problem occurrence and failed to adequately address the fatal operating system design flaw owners and users of their VS-840 series of digital audio recorders have suffered with for years. Specifically, on behalf of VS-840 owners, I made 3 simple requests in the rebuttal 1) post a service bulletin on their web site, 2) post the repair committment information on their web site, 3) provide a copy of the repair disk to the user community to enable users to repair their own machines. Roland failed to respond by the 2 week due date established by the L.A. BBB, so the complaint was administratively closed as non-responsive and Roland's grade was dropped to an "F".

Approximately 2 weeks after the due date established by the BBB, Roland on 3/26/2009 sent an email to the BBB, which failed to answer any of the questions and requests put to Roland in the rebuttal. Their reply did nothing for owners and users of the VS-840, whose machines have failed from nothing more than turning the unit off, ejecting a disk, or experiencing a bad flash ROM update. Note that I didn't receive notice of their new reply until several days later, when the complaint was closed and Roland's grade had ZOOMED from an "F" to an "A-" and the record of unresolved complaints had been changed to "0".

You should also be aware of other despicable action on Roland's part. The VSPlanet.com user support forums for Roland VS recorders has rarely had any assistance from Roland. All help at VSPlanet.com is volunteer, from owners and users of Roland recorders - we are a 'user to user' support type group. On March 11th, someone at the Roland corportate office, whose computer IP address was traced by a VSPLanet forum moderator, created an account under the handle "VSLOVER" and posted a message chastising and attempting to discredit me for filing complaint with the L.A. BBB. I posted a courteous reply to the message from "VSLOVER" who then revised their original message and deleted the inflammatory statements. Typical of trollish behavior often seen on forums, "VSLOVER" did not follow up on my reply and then on 3/27/2009 "VSLOVER" logged in again to post another message to chide us about the change of Roland's grade from an "F" to an "A-". You can see the discussion thread here:

http://www.vsplanet.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=837392#Post837392

Aside from tracing VSLOVER's IP address to the Roland corporate office, the dates of VSLOVER's replies on the VSPlanet.com forums coincide with the responses from Roland to the BBB complaint and "VSLOVER" has only posted messages in the discussion thread for the BBB complaint against Roland.

The consensus of VS-840 users and owners I know is this: Roland has a disk that would fix this problem. Roland admitted as much in their reply. Disks can be copied. Disks can be mailed, or the software thereon can be archived and transmitted electronically for disk creation by users who download the archive. Roland claimed the disk was copy protected. Disks can be unprotected. Someone wrote the original program to repair the unit, the software program that repairs the problem cited in the complaint, resides somewhere in Roland's software program vault. All it takes is a little effort and good will from Roland to make a new disk, or an archive and provide it to users who suffer from the problem cited in the complaint. Since Roland is NOT charging for the repair of machines still owned by the original owners with proof of purchase, it should be NO issue to provide a copy of the repair disk or electronic image for ALL users, whether original or 2nd hand owner.

Roland's response and subsequent trollish behavior on VSPLanet.com forums by the user VSLOVER, is contemptuous toward VS-840 owners. Accordingly, I believe Roland deserves an "F" grade, not an "A-". Their 2nd reply was 2 weeks late, it does not satisfy the complaint, nor answer the questions in the rebuttal, so at the very least, Roland's grade should NOT go up beyond the C- they had when I filed the original complaint. Or does a 1 reply, regardless of acceptability, wipe out all negative history with the BBB?

Thank you for ongoing attention to this matter.

Jack Helser, etc., etc.

Jack,

We have received your recent correspondence regarding your complaint. Unfortunately, your complaint has already been pursued to the fullest extent possible through our system. We will note in our files that you are not satisfied and that the complaint is unresolved. If you are still not satisfied with the outcome, your next step would be to take legal action against the company. You may also contact your State Attorney General’s Office and/or the Federal Trade Commission at: (877) 382-4357 for further assistance. Please keep in mind that your complaint will stay on the company’s record and be reported for the next 3 years.

The rating the Better Business Bureau assigns a business is determined by our composite score of such factors as its type of business, length of time in business, compliance with competency licensing requirements, complaint volume, complaint history, seriousness of complaints, how the company responds to complaints, whether or not a company has committed to our standards, and our experience with the company's industry in general. The scoring system takes into account the importance we feel each factor is to the company’s reliability.

Thank you,

Elizabeth Barroso | Customer Service Representative

Better Business Bureau of the Southland

315 North La Cadena, CA 92324

Thanks for your reply, Elizabeth, and I appreciate you making note in the files that I am not satisfied with Roland's response to my complaint.

However, I am at a complete loss to understand how Roland went from a C- with several unresolved complaints BEFORE I filed my complaint, to an A with no unresolved complaints when I and the user community I represent, found their response unsatisfactory?

Could you tell me please, did you reopen all those old complaints and Roland provided satisfactory responses to all thee customers they've ignored in the past?

My professional background is in Quality Assurance Analysis in the aerospace industry (Boeing) and my experience with quality trend data causes me to suspect someone at the BBB has entered incorrect data or erased historical data from your grading system, that caused Roland to jump from a C- to an A- with multiple unresolved complaints. Certainly, a credible quality rating system would have caused Roland's grade to go down with an increase in unresolved complaints, not up.

Thanks for your continued attention to this matter.

Jack Helser

Jack,

It is unfortunate that the outcome to your complaint did not come to a satisfactory closure on your part. We do the very best we can but we can not predict or guarantee the outcome to a complaint whether or not the company happens to be a member or not.

As you’ve recognized we take a company’s response at face value. We also do the same when we accept a complaint. We’re not a party to the transaction and we are not present during any of the relevant issues nor are we during any settlement.

I apologize if you believe we could have done more to be sure that the business performed, but frankly – it isn’t possible. Your complaint against this company will stay on file for 36 months. You may wish to pursue with your State or Government agencies.

Respectfully,

Elizabeth Barroso | Customer Service Representative
Better Business Bureau of the Southland
315 North La Cadena, CA 92324

Greetings again, Elizabeth.

I guess I wasn't clear enough in my last email.

My question has to do with Roland's grade.

At the time I filed my complaint, Roland had a "C-" with 4 unresolved complaints, as best I can recall.

I filed my complaint and rejected their answer as unsatisfactory. Their 2nd reply was 2 weeks late and still did not provide a satisfactory solution.

That SHOULD have increased their unresolved complaints by 1 and lowered their grade, one would think.

So, WHY does the number of unresolved complaints for Roland now say 0 (ZERO) and WHY was Roland's grade changed to an "A-"?

That's the question I want answered. Roland's complaint record and grade is IN ERROR.

Thanks for answering my question.

Jack, I am sorry that you were very dissatisfied with our services.

However, the BBB is not a government entity or enforcement agency. We are a private, non-profit organization that provides third-party mediation and reporting services. We serve to facilitate a dialogue between the consumer and company, which is based upon voluntary participation and is documented through written correspondence. Although we do our best to assist both parties in resolving the matter, we cannot force an outcome nor do we make a decision on the matter other than ascertaining for our reports whether or not the company has properly addressed the allegations of the complaint. This service is offered free of charge to consumers as a vehicle for potential complaint resolution and an alternative to expensive legal proceedings.

Thank you and no further correspondence will be provided,

Elizabeth Barroso | Customer Service Representative
Better Business Bureau of the Southland
315 North La Cadena, CA 92324