I hate seeing small businesses fail. (Especially those founded by enthusiasts.)
Unfortunately, Rob brought all of this on himself. You can't do what he did, then just pretend none of it happened; and expect to conduct business as usual after that. Even if we accept all of the reasons Rob gave us regarding suppliers who screwed him over, it doesn't explain a certain Sprint-run of lights that Rob sold off. Lights that many of his customers waited a long time for and had already paid for. You don't sell items that belong to someone else, and then pocket the money.
As for legal issues, I'm not an attorney. Anyone outside the UK who is serious about legally going after Rob for compensation, just realize it's not going to be easy and will be time-consuming. Still, for some it's going to be worth it. No one should be able to get away with outright theft from numerous individuals, solely because that person lives in another country. You pay someone to create something for you, they do, then turn around and sell that item to someone else and pocket the money from both the first buyer who received nothing; as well as the 2nd buyer who received property that doesn't belong to the Seller.
Anyone outside of the UK should consult with a large legal firm. Preferably one with either an office in the UK, or an attorney on their payroll fully knowledgeable regarding UK civil laws and regulations. Especially concerning transactions in which buyer and seller are in two separate nations. That would be the best thing to do. Members cheated by Rob, and happen to have family members or very close friends living in the UK, sholud ask those individuals to help them out by having them consult with a local attorney who can answer the basic procedural questions about bringing a case against Rob.
Since this whole sorted mess, I've run into a surprising number of individuals outside of CPF who have discovered Lummi and asked if anyone has experience with their lights. Mostly new members to Jon's EDCF site. But there was someone on WUS (Watch U Seek forums [biggest site for watch enthusiasts and collectors]). A couple of individuals on the official Spyderco forums on Spyderco's website. Couple more on BladeForums. Not sure, but I believe there was even some interest on TPI (Total Protection Interactive.... and that forum site is basically dead except for a literal handful of die-hard, long-time, members who refuse to quit and just pretty much chat back and forth with each other through written posts).
Yeah, good old Mono gets around.
I'd find posts made by various members on those various forums.... Honestly, I PM them and tell them to stay away. Then, I give them a link to this topic so they'll understand why I gave them that advice. Don't misunderstand, I'm not bragging about all the money I've cost Rob in lost customers and thus lost "revenue." (Or, more opportunities to potentially cheat customers.)
Rob cheated himself out of those customers. Had he done the right thing, and honestly he had numerous opportunities to address the issues being brought up, apologize, and then do right by those customers who paid him but received nothing but excuses and the runaround. Had he done the right thing.... I and any other CPFer who goes to other sites would have given a whole-hearted recommendation to those asking, "Anyone have experience with Lummi?" Thus generating more actual revenue for Rob, which would have allowed him to keep his site open. Once again, Rob brought all of this on himself. Even on the internet, reputations count for a lot. Rob chose to flush his good name down a dirty toilet quite awhile ago.
