KAKE TV – By Bryan Ramsdale
WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) — Repair Touch technology repair store near Towne West Square closed weeks ago, according to customers, and the store still has their cell phones and computers.
“I didn’t hear from them for a couple of weeks. I tried to contact them and found out that they were no longer open, so I couldn’t get a hold of anybody and I couldn’t get my phone back,” said Ryan Hilmes.
Hilmes operates Sewer Ratz Plumbing and says the cell phone he gave to Repair Touch for repairs has important contact information on it, and he also could be missing out on business from customers calling that line.
Hilmes says the store, located at 530 South West Street, has been closed for weeks now.
He has contacted the owner multiple times and is getting a different answer as for when he will get his phone back.
“He is telling me that will be back this day or the other day and he just hasn’t shown up to call me…he is just giving me the run around,” Hilmes added.
Repair Touch owner Ashraf Hamada tells KAKE News that he will give the phones and computers back when he returns to Wichita.
Customers should expect to have their phones back by Saturday night or Sunday morning.
“Everything happened all the sudden. I got a hold of most [the customers], there were a few that were not contacted,” Hamada said.
“There is nothing shady. There is nothing going on,” he added.
KAKE News spoke to local attorney Dan Monnat of Monnat & Spurrier, Attorneys at Law for guidance on this issue.
Monnat says that the best route is to keep calm, be courteous and hope that being cordial gets them their product back.
If that does not work, Monnat suggests a lawyer.
“Excuses, postponements, missed deadlines may indicate that a reasonable time for repair of the property has already passed and that some emergency action by a court is necessary to protect the consumers rights,” Monnat said.
Reasonable time can be tricky for both the customers and the business owner as for what is reasonable to get the consumers products returned.
KAKE News reached out to the Wichita Police Department. A lieutenant says that the affect customers need to file a police report to document the incident. Affect customers can call their local police sub-station to file a report.