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Model Forum / General / Railroads / September 2007LBF company and Fred Becker
Hello to all that read this In a phone call I got this morning I found out that Mr Fred Hubert has now dun the worst thing any one could have done in my book. Mr Hubert has not paid any wages of any of the bill's as well as the Tax's. I found out that the employee have not been paid in month and that the county has taken over. On Monday every thing from the LBF company will be sold on the Douglas county court house steps so this leads me to believe that Mr Hurbert just wanted to put LBF out and had no means to pay for what he took >From Mr becker Chris In Oregon >Chris In Oregon What has this got to do with trains? >>Chris In Oregon > >What has this got to do with trains? I dunno..What does any manufacturer/vender have to do with model rr'ing? Us REAL modelers mine our own copper to scratchbuild our brass models with..... Seriously, this ain't the first time old Fred has f.cked over suppliers, customers employees and the tax man. Ain't gonna be the last time either... I'm surprised he stayed "honest" as long as he did... > Seriously, this ain't the first time old Fred has f.cked over > suppliers, customers employees and the tax man. Ain't gonna be the > last time either... I'm surprised he stayed "honest" as long as he > did... Alas, there are just as many sleazy rip-off artists in the model railroading field as there are in others. Years ago I deposited $250 with Beaver Creek for a brass S.P. 2-10-2 that was supposedly already on the boat from Korea, and was promised a full refund if I wasn't satisfied with the loco. After 6 months of silence, I called them and was told that except for a single pilot model they hadn't yet been built, much less shipped to the US. When I complained and asked for a refund of my deposit, the owner of Beaver Creek literally laughed at me, and claimed that he'd *never* told me my deposit was refundable -an outright lie. In the end, Beaver Creek never imported the locos, I never got a penny ack -even though the Post Office investigated and found that mail fraud *had* been committed- and I later found out that Beaver Creek had sold the single pilot model to a collector at retail price instead of honoring my deposit. The good news? Said owner of Beaver Creek has since died and left the world a better place for his passing. Pete >The good news? Said owner of Beaver Creek has since died and left the world >a better place for his passing. whew - drastic but i understand! > >The good news? Said owner of Beaver Creek has since died and left the > >world >>a better place for his passing. > > whew - drastic but i understand! It was his chuckle that did it. Being ripped off is bad enough, but having the SOB who did it laugh at me put it *way* over the top. Pete >> whew - drastic but i understand! >It was his chuckle that did it. >Being ripped off is bad enough, but having the SOB who did it laugh at me >put it *way* over the top. I don't blame ya! >> Seriously, this ain't the first time old Fred has f.cked over >> suppliers, customers employees and the tax man. Ain't gonna be the [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >Creek literally laughed at me, and claimed that he'd *never* told me my >deposit was refundable -an outright lie. Yes. He was a crook - but what was silly is he didn't need to be. The models I did get out of him were museum quality - a pair of V&T 4-6-0s, five passenger cars and a caboose. He had deposits from me for a V&T 2-6-0, four V&T passenger cars and two water tank cars. It turned out he was living off the deposits he collected and spending the money on Chevy Corvettes. >In the end, Beaver Creek never imported the locos, I never got a penny >ack -even though the Post Office investigated and found that mail fraud >*had* been committed- and I later found out that Beaver Creek had sold the >single pilot model to a collector at retail price instead of honoring my >deposit. I still get letters from a lawyer representing the bankruptcy trustee occasionally. Eventually I wised up. They announced the V&T 4-4-0s but this time I wasn't going to pay a deposit. A few months later they were bankrupt. >The good news? Said owner of Beaver Creek has since died and left the world >a better place for his passing. He died before they went bankrupt. His girlfriend tried to keep the company going for a while with somebody else's help, but they were too far in the hole. Apparently he owed money to the Korean manufacturer as well, which surprised me because I thought they got the cash up front. >Pete > Yes. He was a crook - but what was silly is he didn't need to be. The > models I did get out of him were museum quality - a pair of V&T > 4-6-0s, five passenger cars and a caboose. He had deposits from me for > a V&T 2-6-0, four V&T passenger cars and two water tank cars. It > turned out he was living off the deposits he collected and spending > the money on Chevy Corvettes. (snip) Thanks for the detailed info. It's interesting in a sort of morbid fashion. In a vein that's somewhat less jugular, I've a good friend who's a successful artist -and train fan- who grew up with the V&T running literally through his back yard. He still does V&T loco paintings from time to time, and if you're fond of that line you might check out his website from time to time. You'll find it at http://www.jolleyart.com/ Pete >> Yes. He was a crook - but what was silly is he didn't need to be. The >> models I did get out of him were museum quality - a pair of V&T [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >and if you're fond of that line you might check out his website from time to >time. You'll find it at http://www.jolleyart.com/ Thanks for the link - I can't afford original paintings these days but if he ever does prints.... >Pete > Thanks for the link - I can't afford original paintings these days but > if he ever does prints.... As a matter of fact, he does. I've got several of his railroad prints hanging in my home, as well as a few originals. Email him and ask him about prints, and tell him Pete Roehling sent you. I've *no* idea what he might -or might not- have in stock at any given moment, but it can't hurt to ask! Pete >>What has this got to do with trains? >I dunno..What does any manufacturer/vender have to do with model >rr'ing? Us REAL modelers mine our own copper to scratchbuild our brass >models with..... >Seriously, this ain't the first time old Fred has f.cked over >suppliers, customers employees and the tax man. Ain't gonna be the >last time either... I'm surprised he stayed "honest" as long as he >did... Ah THAT'S what i was looking for. I've never heard of the man and didn't know he was a manufacturer. Hope he get's the book thrown at him and it doesn't miss! > Ah THAT'S what i was looking for. I've never heard of the man and > didn't know he was a manufacturer. Hope he get's the book thrown at > him and it doesn't miss! Big Rich, if you Google "Fred becker" and rec.models.railroad, you'll see that he has quite a storied history, and not all flattering: http://groups.google.com/group/rec.models.railroad/search?q=%22fred+becker%22 >Big Rich, if you Google "Fred becker" and rec.models.railroad, you'll see >that he has quite a storied history, and not all flattering: Naa, your word is oky doky by me... > Hello to all that read this > In a phone call I got this morning I found out that Mr Fred Hubert has [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > had no means to pay for what he took >>From Mr becker Why does the subject (and everyone else's postings) refer to Fred Becker, while the text refers to Fred Hubert? Can someone please fill in the gaps in all this? >Why does the subject (and everyone else's postings) refer to Fred >Becker, while the text refers to Fred Hubert? Can someone please fill in >the gaps in all this? Oh yah... Good eye... And a big DUH for the rest of us... >> Hello to all that read this >> In a phone call I got this morning I found out that Mr Fred Hubert has [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] >Becker, while the text refers to Fred Hubert? Can someone please fill in >the gaps in all this? Just googled LBF (Loads By Fred); it appears Fred Becker sold the company in 2004 after a heart attack. It's just that old Fred B. had such a reputation for dishonesty that any mention of LBF and not paying bills brings him to mind....... > Why does the subject (and everyone else's postings) refer to Fred > Becker, while the text refers to Fred Hubert? Can someone please fill in > the gaps in all this? Fred Becker (a toolmaker) owned or had a controlling interest in several different failed hobby companies going back to the 1980's: first there was his hobby shop, then Front Range, McKean, E&C Shops, and LBF (Loads By Fred). While running LBF, he apparently took on a partner named Fred Hubert. For whatever reasons, Fred Hubert took over LBF and changed the name to Hubert's Model Railroad Mfg. Corp. (http://www.hubertsrr.com/). According to a friend of Becker's (the original poster here), Hubert screwed Becker over, and seized control of LBF. According to karma, Becker is getting his comeuppance as he has screwed many in the hobby over years (it's all in the r.m.r archive at Google). Put it this way, someone once described Fred Becker as "The Jim Jones of Model Railroading". Does that tell you anything? LOL Paul A. Cutler III ************* Weather Or No Go New Haven ************* > Fred Becker (a toolmaker) owned or had a controlling interest in several >different failed hobby companies going back to the 1980's: first there was >his hobby shop, then Front Range, McKean, FRONT RANGE?! McKEAN!? Is this guy responsible for the destruction of 2 of my most favorite companies? If so - HANG THE "BASTARD!!! ok, i'm done now... >> Why does the subject (and everyone else's postings) refer to Fred >> Becker, while the text refers to Fred Hubert? Can someone please fill in [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >Weather Or No Go New Haven >************* The only way that Hubert screwed over Becker is that when Becker tried to screw him as so many others, Hubert called in the loan and seized LBF's assets; injection molding machine(s), molds, etc. as payment. Hubert's is pretty much a one man operation that is trying to get off the ground, and the negative b.s. that some like to toss around doesn't help things. fl@liner >> Hubert. For whatever reasons, Fred Hubert took over LBF and changed the >> name to Hubert's Model Railroad Mfg. Corp. (http://www.hubertsrr.com/). > The only way that Hubert screwed over Becker is that when Becker tried to screw > him as so many others, Hubert called in the loan and seized LBF's assets; > injection molding machine(s), molds, etc. as payment. Hubert's is pretty much > a one man operation that is trying to get off the ground, and the negative b.s. > that some like to toss around doesn't help things. Has Hubert's actually produced anything, as distinct from advertising it? And if it does exist, does anyone actually sell it retail, or does one have to order it from the manufacturer (which might be perceived as a rather dangerous activity in the light of what else has been said here?) Their distributor/dealer page at http://www.hubertsrr.com/index.php?main_page=page_2&zenid=1hb3hejet5bamli8hlroi84i47 is scarcely encouraging. And even http://www.hubertsrr.com/index.php?main_page=about_us is little help. I got no response to an email sent several weeks ago via "contact us" on their website. |
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