Madaba Arts and Handicraft Center
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- Opinions And Editorials
Author: Cindy Hotaling
Released 25 March 2004
Hello Aramco ExPats:
I am a fellow Aramcon and wish to share an unfortunate experience while touring in Jordan. Madaba Arts and Handicraft Center is on the tour list of most tour companies and travel books. I hope you will share this with other Aramcons so that they can avoid going through the same frustrations we are dealing with this company.
On January 29, 2004 we took a trip to Jordan over the EID holidays. On our way to Petra that same day our first stop was at the Madaba Arts and Handicraft Center (affiliated with Queen Noor) where they displayed beautiful Mosaic Art. We purchased a lovely round Mosaic table for 1,440 JD with the exchange rate we paid $2,055 U.S. dollars (a lot of money to us). Mr. Issam Sweisat, the General Manager said we would receive the table two weeks from the date of purchase which was January 29, 2004 and we could track our shipment via the shipper's., TNT's, web site. We left happy.
After more then one month and several phone calls at our expense and e-mails to Madaba and TNT trying to track our shipment we finally got notice on March 13 it had arrived via Jordanian Air at our Airport in Dammam. Note that TNT never had record of our shipment.
When we arrived at the airport we discovered the table shipped to us was not the table we paid for, The figures were different and smaller and the detail was lacking. We refused delivery and contacted Madaba Arts and Handicraft the same day and asked that they credit our Master card and retrieve their table. We were told that the table we paid for had been shipped elsewhere. After refusing alternate compensatory offers and repeatedly requesting the people at Madaba Arts & Handicraft reimburse our money we were told our original table had be found. We requested a picture of this table before they shipped but they did not respond. At this point it is obvious we cannot trust what the people at Madaba Arts & Handicraft Center are telling us and we do not want to spend more money at customs to find the wrong table has been shipped once again.
Saudi Customs has since forced Namma Cargo to take possession of the table and base unit since they were our representatives. We now stand to be charged storage fees from Namma Cargo because the people at Madaba Arts & Handicraft Center failed to claim their table.
Our last e-mail to Mr. Al-Daoud was on March 18, 2004 requesting a credit to our Master Card and refusing to accept future shipments. We also forwarded the name and contact information for the location of the table waiting to be reclaimed. To date we have not received a response nor to our knowledge has Namma Cargo.
Regards,
Cindy Hotaling