Hi guys, just looking for some advice. I have a beogram 4002 that at the start of the year encountered some problems with the tonearm movement and lowering. Sorry for how long this is going to be.

I wasn't sure how to find a repair service, so I asked an eBay seller who was selling a refurbished model where he had went. He said they were a repair service themselves, and said they charged £25 for an evaluation with return shipping included. I asked what the fee was likely to be given the problem, and he said £75.

So I sent it away at the start of April, and then I hear nothing. I keep asking, and he hardly replies, and sometimes mentions waiting on a servo motor from somewhere. Still no actual actual return email about the evaluation, or consultation with a quote. Several months later, with many messages ignored, and finally I begin to suspect the worst and send a long message asking for clarification or else to just send it back as is. He then tells me that he's spent 11 hours working on it, at £30 an hour  meaning that it would cost £330, but he'll try to keep it under £100. But he said he would have it completed in 2-3 weeks.

Four weeks later, still nothing. I sent a message, got a reply from someone else saying he's away and would message mid-week. That didn't happen, and I had to message several more times. He just ignored my question of why he said it would be finished and it wasn't, and keeps giving different excuses of places being closed so he can't get the right parts, after saying he had already got the servo motor. He said there was excessive rust from it being stored badly (I took it apart myself before sending off, and there wasn't, and it was always kept in proper conditions) and that he's been putting in a lot of work in this area but he can send it back to me for a yet-unnamed price and I'll get back the still non-functioning turntable over 6 months after sending it.

He says I should be grateful he's not charging £500-700 as that's what the repairs on these usually cost (despite the initial £75 he said). I find that hard to believe given that that's how much a fully functioning 4002 generally costs on ebay.

He's gotten increasingly rude and says my "attitude" means he'll no longer keep working on it for cheap. He tried to say that the original evaluation didnt include return shipping, so I sent him screenshots of him saying the exact opposite.

I don't really know what to do, I want the turntable back but I've already paid £25 for the evaluation, £50 for getting it shipped with insurance over there, and now will have to pay to get it back, still not working. Should I get the police or a solicitor involved?

Also does anyone have any experience with repair services of these, and know how much they're likely to cost and how long they should take?