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The ethics of Diamond Corp regarding the D-Jet

I thought I would post this as a D-Jet position holder now that a recent communique indicates that the project is very unlikely to get resurrected.

I feel the way I have been treated as a deposit holder is quite unethical, and I would certainly never buy from this company again.

I cancelled my order well within the time and terms before the D-Jet project was officially put on hold and D-Jet Corp (The separate entity that Diamond used as the legal structure to establish this project behind) went radio silent on me, refusing to return the deposit as they were obliged to by contract.

They simply waited six months, then lumped me in to the present situation of expecting me to hang on until some mythical investor stepped up to the plate, or they could blackmail the Canadian government into bailing them. Neither eventuality panned out.

They were also still taking deposits at various trade shows/events right up to the point they suspended the project, and must have known internally it was doomed considering they stalled me for over six months.

Once they had to switch up to the bigger Williams engine and other technical changes, this project was no longer viable in term of performance and running costs.

My prediction is that there will be a chapter 11 filing soon on the D-Jet Corp, thus allowing Diamond to wash their hands of the whole thing and walk away.

As of writing they have been paying a 4% annual break of contract interest payment to me (and I assume the other position holders) which must be hurting, but frankly IMHO does not absolve them of their behavior.

The numbers involved do not warrant any form of legal action unless a whole group of us banded together, but in so doing I feel we would simply accelerate the demise of this phantom corp.

It is a shame, since I like their other products, but it has a left an unpleasant taste in my mouth, and made me very wary of ever supporting a similar project in the future.

E

eal
Lovin' it
VTCY VTCC VTBD

How big was the deposit?

Legal action in one country if you live in another is going to be hard but I would have thought that anything over a few tens of k would be worth recovering.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I would have thought that anything over a few tens of k would be worth recovering

Recovering from whom? If the companies’ pockets are empty, what is the use of suing it?

LSZK, Switzerland

I don’t know anything about D-Jet bank balances but in general terms you sue for money owed to you before the company goes bust. After it goes bust, it’s too late because the secured creditors soak up all the available money. And very few businesses have actually no money in the bank.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

..with no disrespect to anyone concerned I always wonder how people can lose money in these schemes:

Everyone involved is

- intelligent as proven by their licenses
- healthy as proven by their medical
- successful in their business area or otherwise would not be able to invest in an airplane (after car, house and/or family)

I don’t want to go so far as to comparing Diamond or Avidyne (still waiting for the delivery on your 2008 deposit on the iFD anyone?) to a Nigerian scam but putting down (hundreds of) thousands of US dollars down without an escrow makes my eyes water. Would you do it in any other business? If so please forward your details. I have this business plan for a snake oil factory..

Last Edited by mrfacts at 10 Nov 09:26
EDLN and EDKB

I did look at legal options early on, but as soon as you involve a lawyer with an open ended billing policy, it soon looked like I would end up out of pocket at the end of it.

Good money after bad I decided.

My original intentions were to help Diamond out by not withdrawing the entire deposit I was owed on a previous DA42 order that I canceled at the height of the Thielert debacle.
At that time they did cancel my DA42 order and return a substantial deposit, some I took, and some I decided to leave on the D-Jet project, just in case it looked of interest to me a few years down the line.

Shame on me for being so trusting.

E

eal
Lovin' it
VTCY VTCC VTBD

I wonder what the historical % success rate is on these “pay up front, in return for a discount on the purchase price when it comes out” projects?

If you were to hold the vendor to the promised delivery date, it is surely just about zero, zilch, nowt.

If you are prepared to wait indefinitely, it must be a bit better, but I don’t off hand recall a case where the product delivered to deposit holders was in a usable condition.

The most notorious must be the Eclipse debacle. How many would compare Vern Raburn to Christian Dries? I don’t know but speaking to the private DA42 owners I know personally, their input would need to be censored. Some Eclipse deposit holders did get a plane eventually but opinions will vary on whether it was in a flyable condition for the type. I recall they were delivering them with a Garmin 496 for navigation.

Perhaps the best known one right now is Avidyne and their IFD boxes. These are several years behind their original delivery date and don’t yet exist in a deliverable form.

The Diamond jet has been self evidently dead in the water for years but I think eal paid his deposit before then.

Last Edited by Peter at 10 Nov 16:06
Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

eal,

I cancelled my order well within the time and terms before the D-Jet project was officially put on hold and D-Jet Corp (The separate entity that Diamond used as the legal structure to establish this project behind) went radio silent on me, refusing to return the deposit as they were obliged to by contract.

Well, one way of getting their attention is to threaten them that either your deposit is back on your account in 10 days or you shall be forced reluctantly to communicate the fact that they are obviously bancrupt and refuse to repay deposits to Aviation Week, Flight International and just about any other mag you can think of. List them all.

A pal of mine did the same thing with another company who were in similar woes and got his money back in 2 days. The last thing Diamond needs now is such publicity.

Worth a try, don’t cost nothing.

Best regards
Urs

LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland
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